US bishops to draft Communion statement that may rebuke Biden

Risking division within the US Catholic Church, bishops take aim at a Catholic president who supports abortion rights.

A divided conference of Roman Catholic bishops in the United States announced on Friday that they will draft a statement on Holy Communion that may admonish Catholic politicians, including President Joe Biden, who support abortion rights. The 168-55 decision to draft a teaching document on the Eucharist, a holy sacrament in the Roman Catholic faith, came after two hours of debate at the virtual assembly of the US Catholic Bishops’ Conference on June 17, in which the bishops weighed the merits of reaffirming church teachings against the possibility of sowing partisan division. The debate this week laid bare some of the cultural and political rifts that have rocked the church in the last several years. US Catholic Church membership has dropped nearly 20 percent in the past two decades, according to a Gallup poll published in March, as sexual abuse scandals involving predatory priests have come to light and members have become increasingly divided on social issues.