June 21- 2021- 4:00 p.m.
One of the biggest proponents of a plan to deny communion to Roman Catholic politicians who support abortion is San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone.
Last week, members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) voted 168-55 to approve a document that creates a formal policy for who can receive the sacrament of communion. Proponents argued that it was necessary to deliver a rebuke to President Joe Biden — a Catholic who is pro-choice — while the 68 in dissent argued that the bishops and the Catholic Church at-large would be seen as partisan actors by approving such a document.
Cordileone, who has served as San Francisco’s archbishop since 2012, backed the document, and according to the Associated Press, was “one of the most outspoken advocates of a USCCB rebuke to Biden.”
After the vote, Cordileone issued a statement celebrating the victory. Crux Now, a news outlet that covers the Catholic Church, reported that just “a few” bishops put out statements.
“The eyes of the whole country are on us right now,” Cordileone said. “If we do not act courageously in presenting this teaching document clearly and convincingly on this core Catholic value, how can we expect to be taken seriously on any other topic?”
He later did interviews in which he insisted that the vote was not political, but rather a “moral imperative,” as KGO phrased it.
The full policy will be voted on in November. If it passes, it will be up to local bishops to deny Biden communion, but the president said last week, “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
