Should President Joe Biden receive Communion?
Some members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops don’t think so. The bishops recently voted 168-55 to draft “a formal statement on the meaning of the Eucharist in the life of the Church.”
It raises the possibility that the church may deny the president Communion because of his abhorrent public position on abortion. While Biden’s political views on abortion are a disgrace to the Catholic faith, denying him Communion isn’t a good idea.
True, it would send the message that the Catholic Church values the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. It would also show that the second Catholic president ever is wrong not to do everything in his power to make abortion illegal. However, it also wouldn’t change Biden. And it would likely alienate liberal Catholics from the church.
Biden is a tried and true Democrat. He goes where the party goes. He was anti-bussing when it was politically convenient for him in the 1970s. He was against Roe v. Wade when it made sense for him politically. He was tough on crime in the 1990s, and he was anti-pot when marijuana was unpopular. Now, he’s for affirmative action, wants to repeal the Hyde Amendment, he’s soft on crime, and has finally come around to decriminalizing marijuana. Biden has been denied Communion before. It didn’t change his view of abortion. What makes someone think it will work this time?
If anything, it would result in fewer people going to church. There are a lot of liberals who identify with the Catholic Church, especially in the Northeast. Like Biden, many of them cherry-pick which parts of their faith they want to follow. But then again, one can make the same argument about conservative Catholics when it comes to things like taking in refugees and calling efforts to boost the safety net acts of socialism.
In a conflict between the church and Biden, who would liberal Catholics pick? Conversely, who would conservative Catholics pick in a conflict between Donald Trump and the church?
Conflict between politicians and the church is not a good thing. One might think of Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Hawaii Democrat, as the chief anti-Catholic politician in America, but even Trump and Steve Bannon have engaged in such things when it fit their agenda. Trump called Pope Francis “disgraceful” for questioning his highly questionable Christian faith. Bannon accused the church of supporting the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program
because it needs people to fill seats.
The church has its views, and there isn’t a major political party in the United States that reflects its exact views. There are some things that Democrats do that mirror the values of the Catholic Church, and there are some things Republicans do as well. Neither party backs a consistent life ethic and traditional marriage while calling to take in more refugees and expand the safety net. For one thing, Republicans are afraid to even touch the marriage issue anymore.
Hopefully, Biden doesn’t repeal the Hyde Amendment and takes tangible steps to reduce the number of abortions that occur in the U.S. in a one-term presidency. That’s about the best we can expect from him. But the Catholic Church shouldn’t fight a battle that ultimately harms its ability to reach those who need it.
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts. He is also a freelance writer who has been published in USA Today, the Boston Globe, Newsday, ESPN, the Detroit Free Press, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Federalist, and a number of other outlets.
