It’s difficult to imagine given contemporary standards, but when John F. Kennedy sought the presidency 61 years ago, his Roman Catholic faith was a major national issue. The United States had never elected a Catholic president before, and public anti-Catholic animus was more common than it is now.

Kennedy, of course, championed the separation of church and state before winning the presidency in 1960. As University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato noted yesterday, the church “benefited enormously” from the JFK presidency — prejudice against Catholics declined — and church leaders welcomed the “JFK effect.”

Six decades later, Americans elected only the second Roman Catholic president, but some prominent church leaders are not celebrating. On the contrary, as the New York Times noted, some Catholic bishops are pushing a plan to deny President Joe Biden communion, despite his lifetime commitment to his faith and the church.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops voted last week to draft new guidance on the sacrament of the Eucharist, in a challenge to Mr. Biden for his support of abortion rights, which contradicts church teaching. The new statement will address the sacrament broadly. But ultimately, it could be used as theological justification to deny communion to Mr. Biden and Catholic politicians like him who support abortion rights.

As a practical matter, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops won’t be able to dictate to every individual church who can be denied communion based on their policy beliefs. But as the Times’ report noted, last week’s vote “was a dramatic show of force by an ascendant conservative movement within Catholicism,” which is apparently prioritizing a culture war against the left and progressive goals.

A group of Catholic congressional Democrats last week warned against the “weaponization” of communion, though that seems to be what conservative bishops have in mind.

What’s more, while Biden appears to be the central focus of these efforts, there’s no reason to assume the president would be the only political official affected: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is also a devout, church-going Catholic, and she’s also pro-choice.

Looking ahead, San Diego Archbishop Robert McElroy told the Washington Post, “The Eucharist itself will be a tool in vicious partisan turmoil. It will be impossible to prevent its weaponization, even if everyone wants to do so. Once we legitimize public-policy-based exclusion … we’ll invite all political animosity into the heart of the Eucharistic celebration.”

That prediction is very easy to believe. It’s also one conservative bishops appear indifferent towards.

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To be sure, the Catholic Church is a private institution that can do as it pleases. It does not want or need suggestions from political commentators, especially those who are not part of their faith tradition.

That said, the rise of the religious right political movement ended up alienating many from evangelical churches, as the lines between the denominations and Republican politics blurred. It gave rise to a growing secularist movement in the United States.

It seems other traditions would look to that example and take care to avoid similar decisions.

Update: A regular reader reminds me that Pope Francis’ top doctrinal official warned the American bishops not to do this, but they did it anyway, which is itself quite extraordinary. The New York Times reported, “The deeply conservative American bishops conference has already flouted a remarkably explicit letter from the Vatican in May urging it to avoid the vote. It has disregarded years of the pope’s pleas to de-emphasize culture war issues and expand the scope of its mission to climate change, migration and poverty.”