Nearly every weekend, President Joe Biden attends church. He attends Mass at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Georgetown, when he is in Washington. He visits St. Joseph on the Brandywine, his family parish, when he's home in Wilmington, Delaware.In his victory speech in November, President-elect Biden used the Roman Catholic hymn "On Eagles Wings", and in his January inaugural address, he cited St. Augustine. Beau, his late son's rosary, is often carried by the president.It is not difficult to see that President Biden has a deep Catholic faith. This makes his election as the second Catholic president almost inexplicable. Contrast with John F. Kennedy's 1960 election is striking. The senator from Massachusetts had fought hard to overcome America's anti-Catholicism history. The strong Catholic identity of Mr. Biden may have been an advantage in key Rust Belt countries last November.The president's faith now takes center stage. His top diplomat Secretary of state Antony Blinken met with Pope Francis today at the Vatican. This was a resetting of U.S.-Vatican relations after the turbulent Trump era. In October, Mr. Biden will meet with the pope in Rome.In a flash of controversy, the stance of Mr. Biden on abortion rights, which had become more liberal over time, returned to the forefront after the conservative-dominated U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, (USCCB), overwhelmingly voted to draft guidance for the Eucharist or communion.It was widely believed that conservatives were trying to expel Mr. Biden, who had been criticised by prominent bishops, from the ritual. The USCCB issued a Q&A on June 21 clarifying that the vote was not limited to any one person. The one-page document does not contain the word abortion.A church with two partiesYet, there is a bigger conflict: The rank-and-file American Catholics are a shrinking congregation, much like other traditional faiths in America, and they are becoming increasingly hostile to church leadership.Continue the storyAccording to a Pew Research Center poll, only one-third of U.S. Catholics hold the core belief that the bread and wine served during communion are the body and blood Jesus Christ. Two-thirds of American Catholics believe Mr. Biden should be allowed communion, despite his pro-abortion politics.These percentages can vary greatly depending on which party you are. Pew found that 87% of Democratic Catholics support Mr. Biden while 44% of Republican Catholics agree. Experts on U.S. Catholicism say this disparity reflects the larger polarization in U.S. politics and the increasing polarization within church.Massimo Faggioli, professor at Villanova University in Philadelphia, and author of Joe Biden and Catholicism: The United States, says that the country's two-party system has created an unifying Catholic Church.Professor Faggioli draws parallels between the political behavior and increasing conservatism of white Catholics in America and white evangelicals. Pew reports that 6 out 10 non-Hispanic Catholic voters now vote Republican. This is up from 4 out 10 in 2008. Eight in ten non-Hispanic white evangelicals voted for Donald Trump in 2016, and again in 2020.The largest Protestant denomination in the country, the Southern Baptist Convention, has been experiencing its own cultural turmoil, particularly over race, gender and politics. The SBC's annual meeting saw the denomination narrowly avoid an ultraconservative takeover.Professor Faggioli says that the situation is similar, but not identical. He says that Catholics are unlikely to be split into two churches like the Baptists in mid-1800s because of slavery. Although I think there is a sense that the Catholic Church still holds a sense of unity, Im not sure what the future holds. What is happening is a soft Schism.Another point of contention is LGBTQ rights. Last October, the pope made headlines when he supported same-sex civil marriages. Biden, who is a more liberal ally than Obama, supports same-sex marriage just as Vice President Barack Obama did. When Mr. Kennedy ran for president in 1960, concern about Catholicism was centered around the fear of Vatican influence in U.S. government. Prayer in schools was the most important political issue, and not abortion or gay rights.U.S. politics and church politics are closely intertwined today. The Vatican warned the U.S. bishops not to take steps that would lead to the denial of communion to those who support abortion rights before they voted on the draft communion guidance. This issue is also relevant for pro-abortion-rights Catholic politicians like Nancy Pelosi, Democratic House Speaker, and John Kerry, former Secretary of State, who is now Mr. Biden's special climate envoy. Both faced denial of communion calls from bishops, even when Mr. Kerry was Democratic presidential nominee in 2004.The local bishop ultimately decides whether to grant or deny communion. As a presidential candidate, Biden was denied communion in 2019 by a South Carolina priest. Despite the conservative USCCB tilt, President Biden has never been denied communion in Washington or Wilmington. The relevant bishops are liberal.The issue has been a matter of little public discussion by Mr. Biden. He said nothing publicly about the U.S. bishops' vote to draft a Communion Statement and the possibility of a rift within the Catholic Church.Bidens changing stance on abortionThe U.S. Supreme Court's return to abortion politics is complicating matters. With a 6-3 conservative majority now, the high court will hear a Mississippi case in the fall. This could dramatically reduce the right to abortion as per Roe v. Wade 1973.This case has inspired activists from both sides in the run-up to the 2022 midterm elections and sheds light on Mr. Biden's increasingly liberal position regarding abortion.Senator Biden used to stress that he opposed abortion, but he refused to force his views onto others. He now supports the mainstream Democratic position that emphasizes women's rights. Two years ago, Biden gave up his opposition to federal funding for most abortions.Americans are becoming more homogenous, and Democrats who identify themselves as pro-lifers are disappearing. It can be difficult to define the Catholic vote. Voters who identified themselves as Catholics split almost evenly between Mr. Biden, and Mr. Trump in the 2020 election. One expert on Catholic voters claims that there is a divide between Catholics who attend Mass every week and adhere to all the church tenets including those on abortion.George Marlin, the author of American Catholic Voter. Two Hundred Years Of Political Impact, states that Trump was helped by practicing Catholics in winning key battleground states in 2016. In 2020, President Trump won the practicing Catholic voter.He also supports the U.S. bishops' decision to issue a statement about the Eucharist. He says they have an obligation to clearly state the teachings of Christ. There is no one who forces someone to become Roman Catholic. It is not possible to have your cake and eat it as well.His comment is a hint at the statement made by a U.S. cleric in the past that a smaller, purer church would be better than one that is more faithful and larger to all church teachings.Liberal church activists claim that the emphasis by conservative Catholics on abortion puts pressure on lay Catholics, who are forced to choose sides. The Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice's Sister Simone Campbell, head of the Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice (NLCSJ), said that in January the church was ravaged by the political obsession with abortion criminalization.Last year, Sister Simone was asked by the Catholic News Agency if her organization opposed legal abortion. She replied, "That is not our problem."Relations U.S.-VaticanThe U.S.-Vatican relationship is more fluid under President Biden than it was under President Trump. However, perspectives can still differ at times. According to Shaun Casey (US special representative for religion, global affairs, under President Obama), there are many issues that need to be discussed in Secretary Blinkens Monday meeting with the pope, top Vatican officials and other leaders.The Vatican welcomed the U.S.'s return to the Paris climate agreement, but the China issue is more complicated, as a 2018 agreement allowed the Vatican to appoint Chinese bishops.According to Professor Casey, who is the director of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University, this diplomacy aims to make life easier for those in countries where the Catholic Church is a small, oppressed minority.He adds that the Vatican is an advocate for religious freedom for all peoples, even China's Uyghurs.The larger controversy surrounding Mr. Biden's communion in the U.S. has served not only to highlight intra-church conflict but has also been able to engender sympathy towards a president whose Catholic faith has infected his life and provided comfort during times of personal tragedy.Bobby Juliano, a Washington lobbyist and long-time friend of Mr. Biden's family since 1973, said that Catholicism is at the core of his character.The Monitor interviewed Senator Biden in 2007 about his faith. He said that he was disturbed by church sex abuse scandals involving children but that he still believed in the church.It is my church, just as much as the church of a bishop, cardinal, or janitor. He said that, and I'm not going anywhere.Similar storiesThis story is available at csmonitor.comBe a member of the Monitor community
