"Not on the ballot": U.S. Catholic leaders clarify possible move to deny Biden communion
26 June 2021
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops quietly clarified this week that there will be "no national policy on withholding Communion from politicians" after some bishops had raised the issue.
Why it matters: A wave of controversy and debate occurred after the conference overwhelmingly voted to draft a "teaching document," which many hoped would rebuke Biden and other Catholic politicians for receiving Communion despite their support for abortion rights, per AP.
- Four days after the vote, the USCCB released a Q&A without its previous references to Biden, a national policy or abortion.
What they're saying: "The document's central goal is to educate Catholics on the Eucharist," USCCB spokeswoman Chieko Noguchi told Axios. Bishops have grown increasingly concerned about the declining belief and understanding of the Eucharist among the Catholic faithful, she said.
- "The document being drafted is not meant to be disciplinary in nature, nor is it targeted at any one individual or class of persons," the Q&A states, adding that the Vatican is not involved. "The question of whether or not to deny any individual or groups Holy Communion was not on the ballot."
- The document will instead focus on calling all Catholics to "support human life and dignity and other fundamental principles of Catholic moral and social teaching."
For what it's worth: "That’s a private matter, and I don’t think that’s going to happen," Biden told reporters last week when asked about the vote.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.