Poll: 74% of Regular Catholic Churchgoers Say No Communion for Joe Biden

Pope Francis (C) walks with US Speaker of the House, Republican from Ohio John Boehner (L)
Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images
Dr. Susan Berry

National faith-based organization CatholicVote released a survey Wednesday that found 74 percent of Catholics who regularly attend Mass say Catholic politicians who oppose the Church’s teachings should not receive Holy Communion.

Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote, said in a statement politicians who claim to be Catholic, but then promote policies the Church considers to be “gravely immoral,” serve to “create confusion and discord among believers.”

Results of the survey are published as President Joe Biden, a self-described Catholic, has visited the Vatican, and the U.S. Catholic bishops are meeting to weigh the question of whether Catholic politicians who support abortion, same-sex marriage, euthanasia, and other policies that are in conflict with the Church’s teachings, should receive communion.

Burch explained further:

Catholics’ concern about the flouting of Catholic social teaching by public leaders is less about politics and more about the integrity of the faith, along with reverence and respect due the Holy Eucharist. This polling data should bolster the confidence of Catholic bishops as they prepare to discuss how to recover an understanding of the beauty and richness of the sacrament – among all Catholics.

“The data is very clear,” Burch asserted. “Bishops have an obligation to act.”

The poll results found 83 percent of Catholics who regularly attend Mass believe Catholic public officials who promote policies that violate Church teachings create confusion and disunity.

Additionally, the survey revealed 88 percent of Catholics who are regular churchgoers say it is “important for Catholic bishops to teach and lead others in matters of the faith, including those who are public officials and other people in influential or powerful positions.”

Similarly, 87 percent of this group said a bishop should defend the teachings of the Church, even though some Catholics may disagree with them, and 82 percent believe public officials who identify as Catholic but openly promote policies that violate Church teaching are hypocritical.

National pro-life leaders have repeatedly noted the prominent officials who claim to be Catholic, such as Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, yet support taxpayer funding of abortion and forcing doctors to perform abortions and gender transition surgeries.

In May, Biden issued a proclamation for the National Day of Prayer in which he not only failed to mention “God,” but also said the day is one in which “Americans of faith can call upon the power of prayer” as they confront “racial justice” and “the existential threat of climate change.”

Also in May, Pelosi said during a press briefing she can use her “own judgment” regarding the decision to receive Holy Communion, regardless of the fact her support for legalized abortion and legislation to help more women obtain abortions is in conflict with the teachings of the Church.

The survey was conducted June 1-8 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.

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