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President Joe Biden received Communion at St. Patrick’s Church during Saturday Vigil Mass, a day after he said Pope Francis told him he should continue taking the sacrament, prompting negative reactions from Catholic priests upset that the president’s position on abortion does not conform to Church Doctrine.
Several American bishops have expressed their dismay at the remarks reported by the Pope to Biden. Bishop Joseph Strickland, of Tyler, Texas, retweeted a scorching blog post by conservative Cardinal Raymond Burke which forcefully reaffirmed that Catholic politicians who support the right to abortion cannot receive the sacrament.
BIDEN SAYS POPE FRANCIS TOLD HIM TO CONTINUE RECEIVING COMMUNION, AT THE HEART OF PRO-ABORTION POLICY REVIEW
“I fear the Church has lost its prophetic voice,” Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin tweeted on Friday. “Where are the John the Baptist who will face the Herods today?”
Earlier in the week, Tobin publicly challenged Pope Francis to deny the president Communion.
âDear Pope Francis, you boldly declared abortion to be ‘murder’,â said Tobin. “Please challenge President Biden on this critical issue. His continued support for abortion is an embarrassment to the Church and a scandal to the world. Thank you. With respect, your brother + Thomas.”
PSAKI RECOGNIZES BIDEN AND THE POPE ON A DIFFERENT PAGE ABOUT ABORTION, EMBLEM WITH THE REPORTER
Biden told reporters on Friday that abortion was not discussed during his 75-minute meeting with Francis at the Vatican. âWe just talked about how happy he was that I was a good Catholic and that I should continue to receive Communion,â Biden said.
The president has come under heavy criticism from Catholic priests and parishioners across the country for continuing to receive communion and praise his Catholic faith despite his vehement support for unrestricted abortion.
During the summer, a group of Catholic bishops summoned to discuss a possible ban on communion that Biden noted he didn’t care to say, âI don’t think that’s going to happen.
While Biden regularly receives Communion in his home dioceses in Washington and Delaware, it was significant that he also received Communion in Rome. The Pope is technically the Bishop of Rome, and while he delegates day-to-day administration to his Vicar, St. Patrick’s Parish is technically in the Pope’s Archdiocese. As such, Biden received Communion in the Pope’s Archdiocese.
About 30 people attended mass and security guards surrounded the aisles. The Bidens sat in the last row which had been cordoned off as “reserved” and entered quietly, just after the start of mass.
Reverend Joe Ciccone, Vice-Rector of St. Patrick’s and a member of the Paulista Order, was the main celebrant and was joined by the Rector of the ward, Reverend Steven Petroff, and a third priest. The Associated Press attended the service.
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Ciccone’s homily was a meditation on love that he said he wrote a few days ago, before he knew the Bidens would attend. He said it was an honor to have them in the ward, and that Biden’s stance on abortion and whether to administer Communion was not an issue for him or the ward.
âCommunion is what brings us together in the Lord. None of us are pure and perfect. We strive throughout life. We are all saints and sinners,â Ciccone told The Associated Press afterwards. the service.
Associated Press contributed to this report
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