this American Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will vote this week on draft guidelines that clarify the meaning of the sacrament, which may prohibit Catholics who express support for abortion-such as President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi-from accepting the Eucharist Sacrament.
The bishops will vote They discussed the document during a meeting in Baltimore this week. A committee wrote the document after the June meeting of bishops, at which they discussed whether to take a position on the eligibility of prominent Catholics whose behavior conflicted with the teachings of the church.
In September, Bishop Kevin Rhoades, chairman of the USCCB Doctrinal Committee, stated that the document would remind Catholics of the importance of the sacrament, but he did not specify whether they would outline who should be considered worthy of the sacrament.
Draft documents obtained by Catholic Communications pillar It says that “people who exercise some form of public power have a special responsibility to embody the church.” It adds that Catholics who live in a state of “major sin” without repentance should not receive the sacrament, but it does not say who should sit down and receive it. Trial.
The vote will be held after Biden met Pope Francis at the Vatican last month. He later told reporters that the Pope once said he was an “excellent Catholic” and could receive the sacrament.
Pope Francis previously stated that the bishop should show “sympathy and tenderness” to Catholic politicians who support abortion rights.
“The sacrament is not a reward for the perfect… The sacrament is a gift, the presence of Jesus and his church,” the pope said.
At the June meeting, The Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone, asked how bishops would “expect to be taken seriously” if they did not “act bravely, clearly and convincingly on this core Catholic value”. Washington post Report.
Cordileone, the archbishop of Pelosi, said the priest Sacrament should be rejected Catholic public figures who support abortion rights.
However, Robert McElroy, Archbishop of San Diego, believes that the proposal may make the acceptance of the Eucharist a partisan activity.
“The Eucharist itself will become a tool for vicious partisanship. Even if everyone wants to do this, it will not be possible to prevent its weaponization,” McElroy said. “Once we legalize exclusion based on public policy… we will invite all political hostility into the heart of the Eucharist celebration.”
At that time, a reporter asked Biden about the possibility that he would be disqualified from receiving the Eucharist because of his abortion stance. The President responded, “This is a private matter, and I don’t think it will happen.”
