A controversial proposal from the U.S. bishops’ doctrinal committee that seeks approval to begin a process of drafting a document about the Eucharist seems on track to come up for a vote.
Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
Joe Biden, the Bishops & Vatican II: The Battle Over the Brand of U.S. Catholicism
The Catholic Church in the United States is in danger of losing its relevance if its presentation of the Gospel is alien to the world in which people live.
Posted inOf Many Things, Politics & Society
Why are American Catholics obsessed with the politics of Communion? (Hint: Because we’re American.)
Such debates don’t really happen elsewhere in the Catholic world.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
What a 60-year-old excommunication controversy tells us about calls to deny Biden Communion
In April 1962, Archbishop Joseph Rummel of New Orleans not only denied Communion to three Catholics in his archdiocese; he formally excommunicated the three, who vehemently opposed his efforts to desegregate Catholic schools.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Biden and abortion could change the bishops’ culture of consensus at next week’s USCCB meeting
When U.S. bishops meet virtually next week, most eyes will be focused on a controversial vote related to the Eucharist that some fear politicizes Communion by taking aim at the nation’s second Catholic president.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
Are some bishops ‘politicizing’ the Eucharist? Yes, in a perfectly sound, pastoral way.
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone and others are acting for the good of souls. As a last resort, they propose denying Communion to people who persistently and publicly promote the grave evil of legal abortion.
Posted inEditorials, Politics & Society
The Editors: Refugee resettlement has a political cost. It is still worth paying.
Though an about-face by the Biden administration brought welcome news to advocates for refugee resettlement, the process raised concerns about the political calculus at work.
Posted inFaith, News
It’s time for our Catholic president to address the church’s sexual abuse scandal
For more than 25 years, the U.S. Catholic Church has been dealing with the horror of widespread clergy sex crimes and cover-ups. Yet U.S. abuse survivors have never received official acknowledgment of their pain by any federal official.
Posted inFaith, News
Jesuit Father Kevin O’Brien, President of Santa Clara University, resigns due to inappropriate behavior
The 54-year-old priest said in a May 9 letter to the university community that based on the results of this review, he would begin taking part outpatient therapy program for alcohol use and stress management.
Posted inFaith, Podcasts
Podcast: The Vatican steps into debate over Biden receiving Communion
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell examine how binding the Vatican’s letter and the U.S. bishops’ agreements are, along with what decisions the bishops now face.