U.S. Catholic bishops overwhelmingly approved the drafting of a "teaching document" that many of them hope will rebuke Catholic politicians, including President Joe Biden, for receiving Communion despite their support for abortion rights.
The decision, vehemently opposed by a minority of bishops, came despite appeals from the Vatican for a more cautious and collegial approach to the divisive issue. And it raises questions of how closely the bishops will be able to cooperate with the Biden administration on issues such as immigration and racial injustice.
The result of the vote -- 168 in favor and 55 against -- was announced Friday near the end of a three-day virtual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The bishops had cast their votes privately Thursday after several hours of impassioned debate.
The fight comes as anti-abortion activists across the United States are emboldened and as reproductive rights activists want Biden to speak more forcefully in their defense.
An assembly of the country's 433 active and retired bishops, the conference can issue guideline statements, but it does not have authority to decide who can or cannot receive the sacrament of Communion. That power is reserved for the pope or for the local bishop, who has autonomy in his diocese.
But supporters of the measure said a strong rebuke of Biden is needed because of his recent actions protecting and expanding abortion access.
"We've never had a situation like this where the executive is a Catholic president who is opposed to the teaching of the church," said Bishop Liam Cary of Baker, Ore.
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Opponents warned that approving such a measure would portray the bishops as a partisan force during a time of bitter political divisions across the country.
As a result of the vote, the conference's doctrine committee will draft a statement on the meaning of Communion in the life of the church that will be submitted for consideration at a future meeting, probably an in-person gathering in November. To be adopted, the document would need support of two-thirds of the bishops.
One section of the document is intended to include a specific admonition to Catholic politicians and other public figures who disobey church teaching on abortion and other core doctrinal issues.
Bishop Donald Hying of Madison, Wis., said during Thursday's debate that he speaks with many people who are confused by a Catholic president who advances "the most radical pro-abortion agenda in history," and that action from the bishops' conference is needed.
"They're looking for direction," Hying said.
Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego countered that the bishops conference would suffer "destructive consequences" from a document targeting Catholic politicians.
"It would be impossible to prevent the weaponization of the Eucharist," McElroy said. He warned that the initiative would weaken the bishops' ability to speak on issues such as poverty, racism and the environment.
BIDEN RESPONSE
Biden, who attends Mass regularly, says he personally opposes abortion but doesn't think he should impose that position on Americans who feel otherwise. He's taken several executive actions during his presidency that were hailed by abortion-rights advocates.
During a White House event on the covid-19 pandemic Friday, Biden was asked about the possibility that the bishops would approve a document suggesting that his abortion stance should disqualify him from receiving Communion.
"That's a private matter, and I don't think that's going to happen," the president said without elaborating.
The chairman of the Conference of Catholic Bishops' doctrine committee, Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., said no decisions have been made on the final contents of the proposed document. He said bishops who are not on the committee will have chances to offer input, and the final draft will be subject to amendment before it is put to a vote.
The proposed outline, earlier reported by America Magazine, said it would "include the theological foundation for the Church's discipline concerning the reception of Holy Communion and a special call for those Catholics who are cultural, political, or parochial leaders to witness the faith."
Rhoades said the document would not mention Biden or other individuals by name and would offer only guidelines, leaving decisions about Communion for specific churchgoers up to individual bishops and archbishops.
Cardinal Wilton Gregory, archbishop of Washington, has made clear that Biden is welcome to receive Communion at churches in the archdiocese. Bishop-elect William Koenig of Wilmington, Del., Biden's hometown, has remained largely quiet on the issue ahead of his installation next month.
Gregory was one of nearly 70 bishops who signed a letter to conference president and Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez urging him to delay the Communion discussion until the bishops convene in person, but that request was not granted.
"The choice before us at this moment," Gregory said during Thursday's debate, "is either we pursue a path of strengthening unity among ourselves or settle for creating a document that will not bring unity but may very well further damage it."
The conference has identified the fight against abortion as its "preeminent" priority. But the bishops' collective stance is at odds with the views of many Catholics in the U.S.
CATHOLICS SURVEYED
In recent polls by the Pew Research Center, about 56% of U.S. Catholics surveyed said abortion should be legal in most or all cases, and 67% said Biden should be allowed to receive Communion during Mass.
On the latter issue, Pew found a sharp partisan divide: 55% of Catholics who identify with the Republican Party said Biden's abortion stance should disqualify him from Communion, compared with 11% of Catholics who lean Democratic.
Sixty Catholic Democratic members of the House issued a statement Friday urging the bishops to drop any effort to exclude politicians from Communion over the abortion issue, and calling it contradictory.
"No elected officials have been threatened with being denied the Eucharist as they support and have supported [other] policies contrary to the church teachings," the statement said, "including supporting the death penalty, separating migrant children from their parents, denying asylum to those seeking safety in the United States."
David Campbell, a political science professor at the University of Notre Dame, said the bishops' vote "reflects the fact that the same fault lines dividing all American voters also divide American Catholics -- and Catholic leaders."
"The more attention the bishops focus on the Communion question, the more the church will be perceived as being in the political fray, which risks driving some Catholics away," Campbell said via email.
The fact that Biden's views on abortion are even a matter of public discussion is already a victory for conservative Catholics.
Biden, like Pope Francis, embodies a liberal Christianity focused less on sexual politics and more on racial inequality, climate change and poverty. His administration is a reversal of the power that opponents of abortion, including bishops who advanced the measure, had under former President Donald Trump.
State legislatures have introduced more than 500 abortion restrictions over the past five months, and the Supreme Court, with its newly expanded conservative majority, agreed to take up a case on a Mississippi law that bans most abortions at 15 weeks, which could challenge the constitutional right to abortion established in Roe v. Wade.
There are six Catholic justices on the court, five of whom were appointed by Republicans.
With the bishops expected to vote on the forthcoming statement in November, just ahead of the midterm elections, conservatives will have a tool to criticize Democratic politicians throughout the campaign cycle. Abortion has long been one of the most mobilizing political forces for the religious right.
That subtext was made plain as the bishops debated Thursday: "I can't help but wonder if the years 2022 and 2024 might be part of the rush," said Bishop Robert Coerver of Lubbock, Texas.
Rhoades of the doctrine committee replied at a news conference that the coming midterm and presidential elections "never entered my mind, or the committee's."
Anti-abortion advocates already see political opportunity in the bishops' plan. The organization Students for Life held rallies in seven cities Thursday to urge the bishops to vote "yes."
So far, Republicans are "not having much luck demonizing Biden," so they are testing abortion as a potential issue on which to criticize him, as they did with transgender athletes in youth sports and critical race theory, said Mike Mikus, a political consultant in Pittsburgh who advises Democratic campaigns.
"The point is to mobilize Republicans. It is all a play to the base," he said.
Information for this article was contributed by David Crary of The Associated Press and by Elizabeth Dias of The New York Times.
