<p><span><span>On June 16-18 the </span><span>United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will hold its 2021 spring meeting during which they will discuss whether Catholic political leaders who support access to safe and legal abortion should be denied Communion. The decision is a drastic attempt to weaponize the Eucharist and force U.S. Catholics to submit to the bishops whims.</span></span></p><p><span><span><span>While the USCCB has long flexed its political muscles to promote narrow and contentious interpretations of Catholic doctrine the bishops are increasingly acting in a brazenly partisan manner.&nbsp;</span></span></span></p><p>Earlier this week DignityUSA joined other Catholic renewal organizations who oppose this plan and spoke out against this attempt to weaponize Holy Communion against faithful Catholics. Our Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke spoke at this event (which can be viewed below) and condemened the plan in a piece published by Religion News Service earlier this week entitled <a href=https://religionnews.com/2021/06/10/catholics-are-asking-for-bread-their-bishops-are-giving-stones/>Catholics are asking for bread. Their bishops are giving stones.</a>&nbsp;In this piece Marianne Duddy-Burke explains:</p><p style=padding-left: 30px;><span>Withholding Communion from any Catholic to punish them for their identity actions or beliefs is coercion. It forces the person to the margins of their faith community. It shames them by encouraging people to speculate about why they are unworthy of approaching the sacred table. It violates the duty of care that is the central ministry of the ordained.</span></p><p><span>DignityUSA was joined by Catholics for Choice&nbsp;<span>FutureChurch the Women's Ordination Conference&nbsp;<span>CORPUS and the Quixote Center in denouncing the bishop's plan.</span></span></span></p><p>You can see the whole event online here:</p><p><img src='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu4xfuintKk'></p>