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Five years into his papacy, Pope Francis is a polarizing figure. Within the Catholic tradition, marriage is seen as indissoluble: the result of a sacred covenant between the couple, the church, and God. Divorce, therefore, is not permitted although, in some cases, the church can grant an annulment : a decree that the marriage in question was never valid.
For this reason, divorced-and-remarried couples are generally not permitted to receive the Eucharist i. Unlike in Protestant traditions, Catholic doctrine states the communion wafer and wine are the transubstantiated body and blood of Jesus Christ. This makes the Eucharist particularly significant.
Influenced , in part, by his friend and colleague the progressive German theologian Walter Kasper , Francis has repeatedly challenged the idea that remarried Catholics should be permanently barred from receiving communion.
Francis or Kasper has never suggested that the Catholic Church should allow divorce. In other words, the Eucharist should be available to those whose sexual lives put them at odds with the formal doctrines of the Catholic Church, so long as they have expressed a sincere desire to live within the Catholic faith more generally.
The Francis-Kasper view is that the church should balance justice with mercy: recognize the complicated nature of sexual sin and prioritize welcoming as many Catholics as possible to the communion table. The pope is responsible for safeguarding Catholic doctrine and cannot directly contradict it but can interpret or expand it. More formal or sweeping codifications of change in interpretation are generally done collectively, through ecumenical councils.
Generally speaking, Catholic doctrine is understood to be unchangeable but subject to development or interpretation. There is greater room for change when it comes to ecclesiastical p ractice — say, the doctrine of priestly celibacy, which only dates to the 12th century — than when it comes to theology proper say, whether marriage is indissoluble. His words were technically nonbinding. It was, as Douthat notes, also a politically risky move, one that essentially licensed a division between formal church teaching and parish practice.
Yet there is a deep divide among practising US Catholics over the president and the Eucharist. A majority said they believed the president should not be denied communion because of his views on abortion, but nearly a third disagreed, including a majority of Republican or Republican-leaning Catholics.
Adam Wozniak, a Latin major at Georgetown, a Jesuit university near Holy Trinity, says a hallmark of Catholicism is "faith that does justice". He thinks the president embodies this ethos through his efforts to help the middle class, and promote racial equity.
Manny Yrique, a self-described "cradle Catholic" who makes promotional products for companies in Phoenix, sees it differently.
Biden and other politicians who support reproductive rights are going against church doctrine, he says. The president should stand back during Mass, and not take the Eucharist: "He's placed himself above the teachings of the church. Still, Tinner-Williams says that the president should decide for himself whether or not to receive communion, and that a church edict about the matter would be excessive, even harmful.
Tinner-Williams adds: "A church policy could lend itself to misjudging a person. Jamie Manson, an openly gay pro-choice activist, likes the way that Biden mixes faith with politics. She believes Biden should be able to receive communion. The faithful are now arguing with each other about the Eucharist, and the president. If the bishops take additional steps to deny him communion, many liberals will rebel against them.
Regardless of how the bishops vote, however, one thing is clear: politics in the US has become increasingly divisive among Catholics, reflecting a national trend outside of the church.
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Joe Biden: America's second Catholic president. Image source, Getty Images. Biden, a Catholic president, has tried to balance his faith with politics, while serving in office.
Biden, says anti-abortion activist Anna Lulis, is "living in mortal sin", and should not receive communion. The looming battle over abortion in the US.
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