Washington, D.C., Archbishop Wilton Gregory on Tuesday said that he would not refuse President-elect Joe Biden communion over his support for abortion.
Biden, whose abortion policies earned censure from Catholic bishops last week, landed in controversy last year when a South Carolina priest refused him communion, citing the then-candidate’s support for abortion. Gregory, however, noted that never once during Biden’s time as vice president did a Washington priest withhold the sacrament from him.
“I’m not going to veer from that,” Gregory told the Catholic News Service.
Gregory instead said that, as the leading Catholic voice in Washington, D.C., he hopes to instead focus on areas where the Biden administration and the church can work together.
“I hope it’s a real dialogue because I think that’s the mantra of Pope Francis — that we should be a church in dialogue, even with those with whom we have some serious disagreements,” Gregory said.
Gregory’s comments came after U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops President Jose Gomez said last week that Biden’s vocal support for abortion, coupled with frequent references to his own Catholicism, “create confusion with the faithful about what the Church actually teaches on these questions.” Gomez added that Biden’s positions posed “a serious threat to the common good.”
Gregory objected, saying that Biden’s opinions are “not a matter of confusion” but rather a chance for church leaders to “be in dialogue” with Biden “even in those areas where we obviously have some differences.” Gregory, whom Francis has named a cardinal and will assume the rank Saturday, added that “informed” Catholics will be able to tell where Biden diverges from Catholic orthodoxy.
“Conflict within the church is not a new reality; it goes back to apostolic times,” Gregory said. “What seems to be new is the capacity for people to broadcast the conflicts and to allow social communications to intensify the conflict.”
Gregory, set to be the first black cardinal in the United States, earlier this year spoke out strongly against President Trump following a White House visit to the Saint John Paul II National Shrine. Gregory denounced the visit, orchestrated by the Knights of Columbus to honor the pope’s legacy in promoting religious freedom, as “baffling and reprehensible.” Gregory, in a public event shortly afterward, accused Trump of dishonoring John Paul’s legacy.
This summer, the Archdiocese of Washington, in an event sponsored by Gregory, organized a protest behind the White House following the visit, calling out Trump for making use of religious imagery in public appearances.
