Catholic Cardinal Raymond Burke said Joe Biden should not receive Holy Communion because of his long record of supporting abortion on demand.
Newsweek reports Burke discussed Biden’s claims of faith in an Aug. 31 interview with Catholic Action for Faith and Family founder Thomas McKenna.
While Biden claims to be a devout Catholic, he opposes Catholic Church teachings about the sanctity of human life. He supports abortions without restrictions and wants to force taxpayers to pay for them.
“Certainly, he is not a Catholic in good standing, and he should not approach to receive Holy Communion,” Burke said in the interview.
The cardinal emphasized that his statements about Biden are not political, rather he is concerned about the politician’s soul.
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“I don’t intend to get involved in the recommending any candidate for office, but simply to state that a Catholic may not support abortion in any shape or form, because it is one of the most grievous sins against human life, and has always been considered to be intrinsically evil,” Burke said. “And therefore to support the act is a mortal sin.”
Burke said Biden also gives the false impression that it is ok to be Catholic and support the killing of unborn babies in abortions.
“I don’t know why Catholics who are involved in politics can’t get this straight in their heads,” he added.
Burke said Biden does not just support abortions, he wants to expand them and has said so openly on the campaign trail.
For example, Biden’s plan for health care would expand abortions by forcing taxpayers to pay for them. After years of supporting the Hyde Amendment, Biden now says he will advocate against it. The long-standing amendment prohibits federal funding for elective abortions in Medicaid and other programs. Since it was first enacted, it has saved approximately 2.4 million unborn babies’ lives, according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute.
He also wants to Roe v. Wade into law and appointing pro-abortion judges to the U.S. Supreme Court so that the killing of unborn babies in abortions can continue for years to come.
In June, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a major abortion case out of Louisiana, Biden said he believes in a “woman’s constitutional right to choice under any circumstances.” During the coronavirus shutdowns, he even called elective abortions an “essential medical service.”
Catholic leaders have been condemning Biden’s pro-abortion stance for years. In 2019, a South Carolina priest denied communion to Biden because he supports abortion in violation of church teachings.
“Sadly, … I had to refuse Holy Communion to former Vice President Joe Biden,” said the Rev. Robert E. Morey of St. Anthony Catholic Church. “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.”
Biden has a strong pro-abortion voting record that goes back for many years. He also supported President Barack Obama’s leadership as the most pro-abortion president in U.S. history.
As the vice president, he supported the administration’s pro-abortion policies, including Obamacare, which forced religious employers to pay for drugs that may cause abortions. The Little Sisters of the Poor and Hobby Lobby did win legal victories against the Obamacare contraception mandate, but Biden said he would restore the mandate, if elected.
