Prominent Catholic Cardinal Raymond Burke said a South Carolina priest was “right and just” to deny communion to Joe Biden because of his abortion advocacy.
The Christian Post reports Burke, who serves on the highest court of the Vatican, suggested that more priests should do the same with Catholics who openly oppose the faith.
“What the priest did in South Carolina was right and just — would that more priests would act in a similar manner!” Burke told The Wanderer in a recent interview.
Biden, a front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, claims to be a devout Catholic, but he supports legalized abortion on demand.
In October, the Rev. Robert E. Morey of St. Anthony Catholic Church in Florence, South Carolina, said he refused to give communion to Biden while he was campaigning in the state. Morey said Biden’s open opposition to basic protections for the unborn was his main reason.
“Sadly, this past Sunday, I had to refuse Holy Communion to former Vice President Joe Biden,” the priest said at the time. “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.”
Though some criticized Morey, Burke defended the priest.
“I demonstrate that in the whole tradition of the Church, the discipline with regard to not admitting people who are involved in public grave sin, after having been admonished, has been constant and that it certainly applies to those who publicly support abortion and so-called same-sex marriage legislation,” he said.
Click here to sign up for pro-life news alerts from LifeNews.com
Burke said the matter has nothing to do with politics; it is a question of morality.
“The moral law applies to politicians as much as anyone else,” Burke said. “If one is ignorant of the truth and promotes abortion legislation, that is one thing. But if one is a professed Roman Catholic who has been admonished that he (or she) cannot support legislation against the natural moral law, he (or she) is bound to be obedient to that law.
“How can bishops stay out of the matter, when politicians who profess to be Catholic are giving scandal to the whole nation by voting in favor of abortion? How can they silently stand by?” he continued.
Burke recalled an incident in 2004 when a government leader asked him if the Catholic Church would consider changing its teachings about the sanctity of human life and abortion.
“‘How can you ask that question?’” Burke said. “After all, the question was one of the natural moral law and did not have to do with any specific denominational or confessional matter. ‘Well,’ he replied, ‘I could give you the names of probably 80 to 100 Catholic legislators who regularly vote in favor of abortion legislation. So I figure it cannot be a very firm teaching of your Church.’ This is a major scandal!”
Biden is one of many so-called Catholic politicians who support abortion on demand. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is another.
Though Biden once was more moderate, he recently has embraced his party’s extreme platform on abortion. In June, he announced that he no longer supports the Hyde amendment, which restricts taxpayer-funded abortions.
Biden’s health care plan would expand abortions. His plan would codify Roe v. Wade into federal law, prohibiting states from passing even moderate restrictions that protect unborn babies from late-term abortions. It also would force insurance companies to cover abortions as “essential” health care under Obamacare.
In direct opposition to Catholic teachings about the sanctity of human life, Biden said he also would force American taxpayers to fund Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers by restoring the cuts President Donald Trump made to their funding.
Biden has a strong pro-abortion voting record that goes back for many years, and he 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.
