At the November 15-18 conference in Baltimore, the bishops plan to vote on a document that clarifies the meaning of Holy Communion, a fundamental sacrament of faith.
A committee drafted the document after the June bishops’ conference, where they debated whether to take a position on the eligibility of prominent Catholics like Biden – whose political actions they say contradict Church teaching – to receive communion.
Biden, the first Catholic president since John F. Kennedy, has said that he is personally opposed to abortion but supports a woman’s right to choose. It is committed to protecting the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy in the face of increasingly restrictive laws enacted by some states.
Last month, his administration asked the Supreme Court to block a Texas that prohibits abortions after six weeks of gestation.
The issue has divided the United States Episcopal Conference and he has pitted the more conservative Catholics with those who support the president’s views.
About 55% of American Catholics believe abortion should be legal in all or most of the cases, compared to 59% of the general population, according to a Pew Research poll conducted in April.
The debate has sown further discord in the Church’s struggle to retain its members. Nearly 20% of American Catholics have left the Church in the past two decades, according to a Gallup poll conducted in March, as sexual abuse scandals involving priests have emerged.
Biden met privately with him Pope Francisco in the Vatican last month and said afterwards that the pontiff had pointed out to him that he was a “good Catholic” who could receive communion.
Before that meeting, Francis, whose liberal theology has bristled many conservative Catholics since his 2013 election, appeared to criticize the US bishops for treating the issue politically rather than pastorally.
“Communion is not a prize for the perfect. Communion is a gift, the presence of Jesus and his Church,” the Pope said, adding that bishops should use “compassion” with Catholic politicians who support abortion rights. .
Source From: Ambito
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