With all due respect, the Biden communion stories are NOT stupid
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(ANALYSIS) “The Biden Communion stories are stupid,” proclaims the headline atop a Religion News Service column by the Rev. Thomas J. Reese.
The opinion by Reese, a Jesuit priest and RNS senior analyst, follows a flurry of news reports — which we first mentioned last week — about whether the nation’s second Catholic president might be denied Communion because of his support for abortion rights.
“This is a stupid story for canonical, theological and political reasons,” Reese writes. “First, and foremost, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops does not have the canonical authority to tell (President Joe) Biden that he cannot go to Communion.”
For insight on the canonical, theological and political issues, I’d highly recommend Reese’s column.
As for his claim that the news stories are stupid, I’d respectfully disagree. From a journalistic perspective, they are, in fact, highly newsworthy. Even if much of the coverage could be better, as ReligionUnplugged.com’s own Clemente Lisi explains.
Another helpful read here at Religion Unplugged: Stephen P. Millies, an associate professor of public theology at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, dissects the power struggle behind the U.S. bishops’ move.
Among this week’s related headlines:
• Pelosi’s archbishop says prominent Catholics who support abortion rights should be denied Communion (by Reis Thebault, Washington Post)
• How faith groups feel after Biden’s first 100 days (by Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News)
• New bishop of Biden’s hometown mum on Communion question (by Nicole Winfield and Luis Andres Henao, Associated Press)
• Catholic bishops who want to deny Biden Communion may have to reckon with the pope (by Jack Jenkins and Claire Giangravé, RNS)
• Vatican prelate says individual bishops have final say on Communion (by Claire Giangravé, RNS)
Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads
1. Americans return to in-person church with emotion — and uncertainty about the future of worship: “The wave of vaccinations in recent weeks is bringing some back to experience fellowship after the pandemic upended their spiritual life,” notes this colorful story by Washington Post religion writer Michelle Boorstein.
Boorstein opens with a 26-year-old worshiper who describes his return to in-person services after a year away as “a small glimpse of heaven.”
2. 'Good Jewish boy' or chief 'infiltrator'? New Jersey man spent years as fake rabbi in Israel, groups say: This is a fascinating deep dive into Rabbi Michael Elkohen, a self-professed "good Jewish boy from New Jersey" living in Jerusalem.
“The father of five with the black hat, beard and side curls was fluent in Judaic texts and traditions but living a double life,” writes Deena Yellin, who covers religion, faith and values for NorthJersey.com. “Born Michael Elk in Salem County, he was actually a Christian missionary sent to the Holy Land to convert Jews, according to two anti-missionary groups whose accusations have captivated Israelis in recent days.”
Eklohen was born to a Methodist mother and Protestant father, according to an exclusive piece by Jake Wallis Simons and Jonathan Sacerdoti in the Jewish Chronicle.
3. In South Texas, Hispanic Republicans try to cement the party’s gains: This insightful report by New York Times national writer Jennifer Medina is not a religion story per se, but beliefs — including opposition to abortion — figure prominently.
“I am a believer in God and the American dream, and I believe the Republican Party represents that,” Jessica Villarreal, 33, tells the Times.
Emma Green, who covers politics, policy and religion for The Atlantic, commended Medina’s reporting. Green herself has an enlightening piece this week that while not directly about religion definitely deserves a close read. Be sure to check out “The liberals who can’t quit lockdown.”
More Top Reads
• 'Not erasing his memory': Church dropping name of slaveholding bishop of Tennessee (by Holly Meyer, The Tennessean)
• Tree of Life moves toward a fresh start, taps world-renowned architect to oversee synagogue redesign (by Peter Smith, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• A religious community and the weed farm in the middle of it (by Valeriya Safronova, New York Times)
• Biden raises refugee ceiling, and faith-based groups brace for rebuilding work (by Emily McFarlan Miller and Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service)
• Christians ‘pray the news’ in a year of doomscrolling (by Kate Shellnutt, Christianity Today)
• The prospects of American religion have never been higher (analysis by Ari Lamm, Wall Street Journal)
• Officials grapple with coronavirus vaccine hesitancy among Latino evangelicals (by Tibisay Zea and Frances Stead Sellers, Washington Post)
Inside The Godbeat: Behind The Bylines
It’s the Godbeat equivalent of signing Mike Trout, the No. 1 player in baseball: The Associated Press has hired Peter Smith, the Pulitzer Prize-winning religion writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, to cover the national religion-and-politics beat.
AP’s global religion editor, Sally Stapleton, is a former Post-Gazette managing editor and a longtime fan of Smith’s work.
He will remain based in Pittsburgh.
Charging Station: In Case You Missed It
Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from Religion Unplugged.
• Sufjan Stevens’ latest album mourns a year’s loss without saying a word (by Jillian Cheney)
• Indians are forced to change rituals for their dead as COVID-19 rages through cities and villages (by Natasha Mikles)
• How gun trafficking fuels religiously motivated violence in Africa (by Olusegun Akinfenwa)
• The interfaith groups preventing Muslim-Christian violence in Nigeria (by Innocent Eteng)
• 2020 revisited: Repeat after me — White Catholic voters, White Catholic voters ... (by Richard Ostling)
• Christian clergy, some who left church, are creating unconventional spaces on TikTok (by Jillian Cheney)
• The World Cup final of Easter services: Jerusalem’s Holy Fire ceremony (by Mladen Aleksic)
• With latest EP 'Freedom,' Justin Bieber follows Kanye West to recreate Gospel music (by Hannah Gillihan)
• Clergy in South Sudan face rising death threats but they refuse to leave (by Juma Peter Maya)
• Israel in shock after 45 Jews crushed to death at festival (by Gil Zohar)
• An unsung hero from Brooklyn with an ambitious goal to heal America (by Meagan Clark)
The Final Plug
The awards keep coming for ReligionUnplugged.com, which was recognized in eight categories — including e-newsletter for Weekend Plug-in — in the annual Evangelical Press Association contest.
Meagan Clark and Jillian Cheney won first place for their series on “Evangelicals in the Environmental Movement,” and Clark and Paul Glader took top honors for their reporting on Liberty University alumni demanding change after Jerry Falwell Jr.’s exit as president.
Other honorees include Ryan Burge, Micah Danney, Michael Ray Smith and Liza Vandenboom.
Congrats to the entire team!
Bobby Ross Jr. is a columnist for Religion Unplugged and editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 15 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.