Abortion Rights Rise, President Joe Biden Meets Pope Francis At The Vatican

Pope Francis with President Joe Biden at the White House, United States. (Wikimedia Commons/David Lienemann)

JAKARTA - United States President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with the head of the Catholic Church worldwide Pope Francis at the Vatican, Friday this week, amid disputes and disputes over abortion rights.

A devout Catholic, President Biden says he is personally against abortion. However, he could not impose his views as the elected leader.

This has drawn criticism from the Catholic media and conservative bishops in the United States, with some saying President Joe Biden should be barred from receiving Communion, the main sacrament of faith.

At the same time, abortion rights advocates are horrified by Texas's new law, which imposes a near-total ban on abortion. President Biden's administration has challenged the law, with the US Supreme Court due to hear the case next Monday

It is not known whether Biden and Pope Francis will discuss abortion and the communion dispute at their private meeting on Friday, the first since Biden took office in January.

Meanwhile, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Tuesday the two men would discuss climate change, migration and income inequality.

"It's clear that the Pope doesn't agree with the president on abortion. He made it very clear," Archbishop of Baltimore, Archbishop William Lori, told the Catholic News Service, citing Reuters Oct. 27.

Asked about last month's US communion debate, Pope Francis told reporters abortion is "murder". However, he also criticized the Catholic bishops of the United States for dealing with the issue in a political rather than a pastoral way.

Pope Francis with President Joe Biden at the White House, United States. (Wikimedia Commons/David Lienemann)

"Communion is not a gift for the perfect. Communion is a gift, the presence of Jesus and His Church," the Pope stressed.

"Bishops must use compassion and tenderness with Catholic politicians who support abortion rights."

Since his election in 2013 as pope, Francis has said while the Church should oppose abortion, the issue must not become a time-consuming battle in a culture war that distracts from things like immigration and poverty.

Separately, Jo Renee Formicola, a professor of political science at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, said the meeting would help Biden in his dispute with US bishops over abortion, shifting the spotlight to the social justice issues the two men share.

"The optics of the pope's meeting with Biden is basically saying to the American (Catholic) hierarchy: 'Listen, this guy and I have the same agenda. Don't expect that I'm going to compromise my teachings on things like the environment and immigration,' he told Reuters in a statement. a telephone interview.

Earlier, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement last week the meeting would include "cooperating on efforts based on respect for basic human dignity. That includes ending the COVID-19 pandemic and caring for the poor," she said.