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Catholic Bishops Attack Biden

Posted by Hannah Menefee at 9/15/2008 12:00:00 AM

Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden is feeling the brunt of the attack by Catholic bishops. The day after Obama announced his selection of Biden as his running mate, the archbishop of Denver, Charles Chaput, declared that the Senator should "refrain from presenting his self for communion" due to his position on abortion. According o Time magazine, this past Wednesday, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops reacted to comments about abortion made by Biden during a September 7 Meet the Press interview. Moderator Tom Brokaw asked Biden to respond to the question, when does life begin? His answer began fine but his subsequent comments began to garner the attention of Catholic officials. Biden stated, "As a Roman Catholic, I'm prepared to accept the teachings of my church--I'm prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception." He continued by arguing that there was a debate within the Catholic Church about the issue of abortion and when life begins. This was when Biden began to try and interpret Catholic theology.


Just days after the comments were made, Catholic officials responded against Biden. Cardinal Justin Rigali, head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops committee on pro-life activities, and Bishop William Lori, chair of the committee on doctrine, released a statement on behalf of the entire bishops conference addressing Biden's theological errors. 

This was not the first time that Catholic Democrates have been sanctioned by the Church for their views on abortion. During his 2004 campaign, John Kerry was warned that he could be denied communion because of his pro-choice beliefs. This year, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius received a "pastoral action" from her archbishop due to her support for abortion rights. The archbishop of Kansas demanded that she stop receiving communion.

According to official Catholic Catechism, "human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception." Their position on abortion is clear and undisputed within the Church. However, some liberal members of the Church obviously have views that disagree with its teachings. As a Catholic myself, I believe that no Pro-choice person should receive communion at Mass. Communion is not a right but rather a privilege given by God. In order to receive the Eucharist, one must be pure in conscience and have asked for forgiveness for their sins. But if someone is in disagreement with the teachings of God, they cannot have a pure conscience and should not receive the body of Christ through communion. 

Amy Sullivan of Time Magazine raised the question, will a Catholic Democrat ever again win national office? Through the course of this election, we will have to see if the voices of conservative Catholics are enough to keep Obama and Biden out of office. 

 

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