Biden, Pope Francis Meet Amid Controversy Over Abortion

VATICAN CITY—President Biden, the second Catholic president in American history, traveled to the Vatican on Friday for a meeting with Pope Francis that is expected to focus on climate change but has been overshadowed by controversy among church leaders over the president’s support for abortion rights.

Some U.S. bishops say that Catholic politicians who support legal access to abortion should be barred from Communion. In a little more than two weeks, at their annual fall meeting in Baltimore, U.S. bishops are expected to debate whether to make a collective statement to that effect. But the pope has taken a more conciliatory approach toward the president and the Vatican has said that linking the politics of abortion to the reception of Communion would be divisive.