Archbishop Andrew Bellisario, who oversees some 32,000 Alaska Catholics in the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau, is among a minority block of U.S. bishops who wish to delay a conversation on whether pro-abortion politicians such as President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, should be banned from receiving Holy Communion, a sacrament which Catholics hold to be the source and summit of the church and a visible sign of moral and spiritual unity among the faithful.
Murkowski has long presented a problem for the Catholic Church in Alaska. She grew up attending Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage and still presents herself for Communion in Alaska parishes despite her increasingly staunch support of abortion. She has refused to oppose taxpayer-funded abortion on demand and is a strong advocate of the Equal Rights Amendment, which will likely dismantle pro-life laws, expand LGBTQ rights and erode religious liberties. Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest provider of abortion, considers Murkowski an ally.
Bellisario is one of 67 bishops who signed a May 13 letter urging the national U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to suspend a planned conversation this month on how to deal with Catholic politicians who flaunt the most fundamental moral teachings of the church when it comes to protecting unborn human life.
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