Democratic congressman Rep. Ted Lieu (Calif.) dares the Catholic church to deny him communion over his support of abortion rights and other issues that the church condemns.
This after the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) voted on Friday to create document on the meaning of communion that some hope would limit President Joe Biden and other pro-abortion politicians participation in the Eucharist.
Rep. Lieu called the bishops “nakedly partisan” and “hypocrites” over the move, and mentioned other prominent members of the Catholic church who support issues not in line with the teachings of the church.
Dear @USCCB: You did not deny Communion to the following Catholic Republicans: -Newt Gingrich, who believed in open marriage & had multiple divorces. Bill Barr, who expanded death penalty executions. Chris Collins, who stole by insider trading You are being partisan hypocrites,” Lieu wrote.
“Dear @USCCB: I’m Catholic and I support: Contraception, A woman’s right to choose, Treatments for infertility, The right for people to get a divorce, The right of same sex marriage,” Lieu wrote in another tweet. “Next time I go to Church, I dare you to deny me Communion.”
As attorney general during the Trump administration, Bill Barr, a Catholic directed the reinstatement of the federal death penalty after 16 years and conducted a number of executions during the Trump administration’s final months in office. In fact, more executions were conducted under Trump than any president in at least a century.
“The Justice Department upholds the rule of law – and we owe it to the victims and their families to carry forward the sentence imposed by our justice system,” Barr said at the time according to Insider.
Capital punishment runs counter to the Catholic church’s teachings. The USCCB, the same group advancing the effort to deny President Biden communion due to his support for abortion rights, has called for the end of the death penalty in the US for decades.
