US politicians supporting abortion rights likely to be denied sacred rites

In a hard step against US politicians who support the right to abortion, the US Roman Catholic bishops decided in a meet to draft a statement on Holy Communion which could potentially admonish Catholic political figures of the country.

US President Joe Biden, who is also Catholic, is likely to be impacted by the step.

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The decision, which resulted in a tally of 168-55, was made after two hours of discussion at the United States Catholic Bishops’ Conference, which was held virtually on Thursday, reported Reuters.

The Eucharist, also known as the holy communion, is among the most sacred rituals in the Catholic church and there have been calls from some conservative church leaders to deny the sacrament to politicians who support abortion rights, reported AFP.

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A 20% drop in the membership of the US Catholic Church was seen as various cases of priests being involved in acts of alleged sexual violence, reported Reuters quoting Gallup poll published in March. 

However, the Vatican directed the US bishops to proceed cautiously “to address the situation of Catholics in public office who support legislation allowing abortion, euthanasia or other moral evils”, reported AFP.