US President Joe Biden(C) leaves Holy Trinity Catholic Church in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington,DC on January 24, 2021. | AFP via Getty Images/Nicholas Kamm
The Vatican sent a letter to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops giving advice and warnings regarding a possible move by the American leadership to deny communion to pro-abortion Catholic politicians.
In recent times, there has been much debate within the Catholic Church about whether to deny communion to elected officials who support or advocate for abortion despite identifying as Catholic.
Cardinal Luis F. Ladaria, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of the Catholic Church, sent a letter to USCCB President Archbishop José H. Gomez on the issue, which was first reported by America magazine on Monday.
The Vatican sent a letter to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops giving advice and warnings regarding a possible move by the American leadership to deny communion to pro-abortion Catholic politicians.
Then-Archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer speaks at a Vatican press conference in this Sept. 8, 2015, file photo. (CNS/Paul Haring)
Cardinal Luis Ladaria, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote a letter to the president of the U.S. bishops conference, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez, regarding the conference s plans to draft a policy on the worthiness of pro-choice politicians to receive Communion. In it, the Vatican doctrinal chief gave a tutorial in what it means to be a bishop, a lesson that is sadly as necessary as it is embarrassing for the U.S. bishops.
Not only did Ladaria effectively derail those plans, he diplomatically asked, What the hell are you thinking? He is at pains to remind them how bishops should conduct themselves. The letter systematically pulls apart the rhetorical building blocks that had been assembled by the advocates of denying Communion to President Joe Biden.
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The second Catholic US president has attended church services at least 16 times since taking office.
His support for abortion rights is renewing debate on whether he should receive Communion.
A bishop organization is weighing drafting a document on Eucharistic consistency and public life.
President Joe Biden usually slips into the back pews of the mid-19th-century Catholic church during the priest s entrance procession. He genuflects, hugs his grandchildren when they re there, receives Communion, and typically leaves before other parishioners.
President Joe Biden holds his first formal news conference at the White House March 25 in Washington. (CNS/Leah Millis, Reuters)
If we are honest with ourselves, all Catholics should approach the Eucharist in fear and trembling. It is like the words Thy will be done in the Lord s Prayer: We say them sometimes without thinking of their dreadful meaning, when we should always ponder the crucified Christ when we utter those words. But we also should approach the Eucharist in hope and confidence. However great our sins, God s mercy is yet greater.
That goes for President Joe Biden too.
I do not know what goes through Mr. Biden s mind when he stands in line for Holy Communion. I suspect that the responsibilities of his office awaken in him a humility that is quite astounding, as he carries burdens most of us can only imagine and that he cannot really share with anyone. If he turns to the Mass for solace or comfort or inspiration or grace, thanks be to God.