Bishops to debate Communion rules that may affect Biden

Bishops to debate Communion rules that may affect Biden

U.S. Roman Catholic bishops are due this week to discuss whether politicians, including President Joe Biden, should receive Communion while supporting abortion and LGBTQ rights, a debate that has divided the clergy and laid bare internal cultural rifts.

This report produced by Yahaira Jacquez.

Catholic Church leaders in the U.S. are expected this week to debate whether politicians who support abortion and LGBTQ rights should receive Communion.

Those affected could include President Joe Biden.

Biden is the second Catholic to serve as president.

He proudly discusses his faith and attends weekly Mass.

But his support for same-sex marriage and abortion right alarm Church leaders say those stances contradict Catholic teachings.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will hold their annual meeting from Wednesday to Friday.

The body will ask the Committee on Doctrine to draft a teaching document on the topic of Communion, a sacrament central to the Roman Catholic faith.

If the conference decides to commission that document, it could be a strong symbolic rebuke of those - including Biden - who espouse views that run contrary to the Vatican.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a woman willfully terminating her pregnancy is "gravely contrary to the moral law" and marital love should be shared between men and women, not people of the same sex.

Biden, a former vice president and U.S. senator, has become a staunch advocate for LGBTQ rights in the past decade.

Since taking office in January, he has also rolled back federal restrictions on abortion pills to make them more accessible, and proposed - in his 2022 budget - to scrap a ban on federal dollars for abortions.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.