Front page of Florence, S.C. Morning News (@VoiceOfPeeDee) pic.twitter.com/4bm7CXnrgt
— Bobby Ross Jr. (@bobbyross) October 29, 2019
Way to go, Florence Morning News.
The South Carolina newspaper — specifically government and politics reporter Matthew Christian — got a scoop this week on a Catholic priest denying Holy Communion to former Vice President Joe Biden.
But the paper didn’t just get the news, it got it right.
This is solid, solid coverage by the Florence paper:
FLORENCE, S.C. — Former Vice President Joe Biden, a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 presidential race, was denied Holy Communion on Sunday morning at a Florence church.
Father Robert E. Morey of Saint Anthony Catholic Church confirmed Monday afternoon that he had denied the presidential candidate Holy Communion because of his stance on abortion. Biden, a lifelong Catholic, had attended the church’s 9 a.m. Mass.
Communion is one of seven sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church. The others are baptism, reconciliation, confirmation, marriage, anointing of the sick and holy orders.
In communion, parishioners receive the Holy Eucharist, a wafer and wine that when consecrated become the body and blood of Jesus, according to Catholic doctrine. In order to receive it, a Catholic must be in the state of grace, have gone to confession since his or her most recent mortal sin, have a belief in the doctrine of transubstantiation (a belief that the wafer and wine become the body and blood of Jesus), observe the Eucharistic fast and not be under censure.
Serious question: When’s the last time you saw that level of important religious detail that high up in a daily newspaper story?
From there, the South Carolina paper quotes both the priest and the Biden campaign:
“Sadly, this past Sunday, I had to refuse Holy Communion to former Vice President Joe Biden,” Morey told the Morning News via email. “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.”
Morey said that as a priest, it is his responsibility to minister to those souls entrusted to his care and that he must do so in even the most difficult situations.
“I will keep Mr. Biden in my prayers,” Morey added.
The Biden campaign would not confirm he had attended the church but said if he did attend he did so in a private capacity. A spokesperson directed the conversation to a public appearance at 11 a.m. Sunday at Jerusalem Baptist Church in Hartsville.
In case that avoidance of comment by the Biden campaign doesn’t make it clear, this doesn’t seem to be a storyline that the former vice president is interested in pushing.
But already, it’s spreading to national outlets. For non-religion reporters, it helps that the initial report was so well done. It’s more difficult to mess up the basic facts when the first outlet gets it right.
One journalist who’d get it right in either case is Godbeat pro (and former GetReligion contributor) Sarah Pulliam Bailey. In her Washington Post report, Bailey offers this important context:
This is not the first time Biden has been barred from receiving Communion over his stance on abortion rights. Biden was baptized and spent his early years in Scranton, Pa., where the bishop there had reportedly barred him from receiving Communion.
Publicly, Biden has a complicated relationship with Catholic leaders. After he announced his presidential run in 2008, several U.S. bishops insisted he should be refused Communion in their diocese.
Biden said in 2012 that he personally opposes abortion. “But I refuse to impose it on equally devout Christians and Muslims and Jews. … I do not believe that we have a right to tell other people that — women they can’t control their body,” he said during a debate.
In the past, he has supported the 1976 Hyde Amendment, which prevents federal funding of most abortions. But earlier this year, he joined with other Democratic presidential candidates saying that he did not support the amendment, and he defended his record at a Planned Parenthood event.
The Catholic News Agency coverage is helpful, too.
Just published as I’m wrapping up this post: an analytical piece from The Associated Press on “What Biden’s communion denial in S.C. tells us about the tension between religious values and political positions heading into 2020.”
NEW: What Biden’s communion denial in SC tells us about the tension between religious values and political positions heading into 2020. https://t.co/maw15r4EvM w/@MegKinnardAP
— Elana Schor (@eschor) October 29, 2019
Also on the story: the Deseret News’ Kelsey Dallas:
Speaking of context, how complete was the initial South Carolina story?
My editors asked me to write about the Catholic communion hubbub sparked by Joe Biden being turned away https://t.co/WHKd4J6fgv
— Kelsey Dallas (@kelsey_dallas) October 29, 2019
Consider this: The reporter actually managed to highlight the faith backgrounds of all the Democratic candidates:
Biden also is the only Catholic among the most likely candidates to win the Democratic nomination. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts is Methodist. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders from Vermont was raised in the Jewish faith but has described himself as not particularly religious and not religious in a traditional manner. South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg was baptized a Catholic but attends an Episcopalian church. Andrew Yang identifies as spiritual but not religious. U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris is a Baptist.
I’ll end the way I started, by saying this: Way to go, Florence Morning News.
Home page image via Wikimedia Commons
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