The Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Ohio, said in a Tuesday statement that its archbishop would not have granted permission for President Joe Biden to come to Mount St. Joseph University.
The statement distanced Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr from the university’s invitation to the pro-abortion president, noting that Schnurr had “not been contacted by any involved party about the upcoming visit” — a CNN town hall meeting at the Catholic university in which Biden will reportedly answer questions from locals on his economic plans, according to Reuters.
“Archbishop Schnurr has therefore not been asked for, nor would he have granted, his approval for any such event to occur on Catholic premises,” the statement said. “Mount St. Joseph University operates under the sponsorship of the Sisters of Charity and not under the direct oversight of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.”
Authorities are reportedly expecting protests against the event, Reuters reported, noting opposition to the event by the pro-life group Cincinnati Right to Life.
Neither the archdiocese nor Mount St. Joseph University immediately responded to requests for comment.
Biden, the second Catholic in the nation’s history to assume the highest office in the land, has frequently drawn criticism for supporting and advocating for policies that the Catholic Church explicitly opposes.
Though Biden referenced his faith as a reason for his pro-life votes in the Senate earlier in his career, he has changed his abortion stances and today champions almost unlimited abortion access as a presidential candidate. This prompted a priest to deny Holy Communion to Biden during mass at a Catholic church in South Carolina in October 2019.
“Sadly, this past Sunday, I had to refuse Holy Communion to former Vice President Joe Biden,” Father Robert E. More told the Morning News. “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.”
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has warned that Catholics in politics “have an obligation in conscience to work toward correcting morally defective laws, lest they be guilty of cooperating in evil and in sinning against the common good.”
The Catholic Church teaches that abortion is “a crime against human life,” “constitutes a grave offense” and that a person who obtains an abortion is automatically excommunicated from the Catholic Church.
In June, the USCCB overwhelmingly approved a measure to draft a statement discussing whether high-profile pro-abortion politicians may be denied Communion.
As for whether the bishops will ultimately deny him communion, Biden told reporters last month: “That’s a private matter and I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
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