Pope Francis says bishops should be pastors, not politicians in US debate on denying Biden communion over abortion
CNN
Pope Francis on Wednesday said bishops debating whether to deny communion to public figures who support abortion rights, such as President Joe Biden, should make their decisions from a "pastoral" viewpoint and not a political one.
"The problem is not theological, it's pastoral," Francis told reporters while traveling from Slovakia to Rome on Wednesday. "How we bishops deal with this principle. We must be pastors, also with those who are excommunicated. Like God with passion and tenderness. The Bible says so."
His comments come amid a simmering debate within the US Catholic Church over granting communion to Catholic politicians who support abortion rights, including the nation's second Catholic President. Biden had been denied the sacrament in the run-up to the election and the issue drew new attention in June when the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops proceeded with a plan that could deny communion to such public figures, setting up a potential public rebuke of the President.
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