In Rift With Biden, a Dramatic Show of Force by a Conservative Catholic Movement

A vote by the U.S. bishops was the most dramatic example of the conservative Catholic movement’s reach since Joseph R. Biden was elected. But the contingent had been gaining strength throughout the Trump era.

WASHINGTON — Pope Francis and President Biden, both liberals, are the two most high-profile Roman Catholics in the world. But in the United States, neither of these men is determining the direction of the Catholic Church. It is now a conservative movement that decides how the Catholic Church asserts its power in America. That reality was unmistakably declared last week, when the country’s bishops voted overwhelmingly to draft guidelines for the Eucharist, advancing a conservative push to deny Mr. Biden communion over his support for abortion rights.