Current presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden was denied Holy Communion this week at a Catholic church over his pro-abortion stance.
Father Robert E. Morey says he refused to serve Biden Communion because of his beliefs and platform regarding abortion, reports SCNOW.
Biden, who has been a Catholic his whole life, attended Saint Anthony Catholic Church’s 9 a.m. Mass Sunday in Florence, South Carolina. But Morey felt he could not serve Communion to the Democratic presidential candidate without harming his conscience.
“Sadly, this past Sunday, I had to refuse Holy Communion to former Vice President Joe Biden,” Morey told the Morning News. “Holy Communion signifies we are one with God, each other and the church. Our actions should reflect that. Any public figure who advocates for abortion places himself or herself outside of church teaching.
As a priest, Morey says, “it is my responsibility to minister to those souls entrusted to my care, and I must do so even in the most difficult situations. I will keep Mr. Biden in my prayers.”
Biden refused to comment on the matter: “I am not going to discuss that. That is just my personal life.”
When the Supreme Court first legalized abortion in 1974 with Roe v. Wade, Biden said the decision was “too far” and that he didn’t “think that a woman has the sole right to say what should happen to her body.”
But in recent years, Biden has said that he would seek to eradicate the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the government from using federal money to pay for abortions except in cases of incest, rape or danger to the mother’s life. He also said he would try to codify Roe v. Wade, according to CNN, which would severely limit pro-life states from being able to restrict abortion laws.
But Biden has said publicly that although he personally opposes abortion, he “[refuses] to impose that on others.”
