DC parish where President Biden attends Mass will not deny Holy Communion to anyone (Holy Trinity Catholic Church)

Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington, where President Biden regularly attends Mass, has released a statement: “As the Holy Trinity Parish Council, we stand with our Archbishop, Cardinal Wilton Gregory, concerning the issues surrounding offering the Eucharist to American politicians. . . . Holy Trinity Catholic Church will not deny the Eucharist to persons presenting themselves to receive it.”

The decision not to deny Holy Communion to anyone puts the parish at odds with the Code of Canon Law, which Pope St. John Paul II promulgated in 1983, following the Second Vatican Council. “Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty, and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin, are not to be admitted to Holy Communion” (Canon 915).