(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Catholic bishops on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a controversial teaching document on who should receive Holy Communion that many believe was aimed at President Joe Biden and other Catholic politicians who support abortion rights.

But the document, passed by a vote of 222-8 at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in Baltimore, does not mention Biden or any other politician by name, avoiding a more direct confrontation.

It appeared, however, to empower individual priests to deny Communion to pro-abortion rights politicians should they encounter them.

“It is the special responsibility of the diocesan bishop to work to remedy situations that involve public actions at variance with the visible communion of the Church and the moral law,” the document reportedly said.

The vote is the culmination of year-long debate between America’s largely conservative bishops and the Vatican about whether punitive measures should be taken against public officials who are at odds with the church’s teaching on abortion.

Biden, only the nation’s second Catholic president, who has said his “personal” views were a “private matter,” has openly professed his faith throughout his political career — diligently attending Sunday Mass, infusing speeches with scripture and wearing his late son Beau Biden’s rosary beads.

After his meeting last month with Pope Francis before the G-20 summit, and amid criticism from conservative bishops, Biden said that the pope told him that he should continue receiving Communion and said the pope called him a “good Catholic.”

Some bishops, however, see things differently, citing Biden’s vocal public support of abortion rights as a key reason why clarification on who can receive Communion is necessary.

Prominent Catholic politicians, including Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have typically been careful about where they attend Mass so as to avoid controversy.

While Cardinal Wilton Gregory of the Archdiocese of Washington has said that he doesn’t plan to deny Biden Communion, he has publicly questioned whether the president is living up to Catholic Church teachings on controversial issues, including abortion.

“The Catholic Church teaches, and has taught, that life — human life — begins at conception,” Gregory told journalists at the National Press Club in September. “So, the president is not demonstrating Catholic teaching.”

While the document does not mention Biden or other pro-abortion rights Catholic politicians by name, its intent is to issue a stern rebuke of individuals, especially of public officials, who present themselves for Communion after breaking with church teaching on fundamental issues.

In a leaked draft of the document before the conference, the bishops reportedly wrote “there are some sins, however that do rupture the communion we share with God and the Church.”

“As the Church has consistently taught, a person who receives Holy Communion while in a state of mortal sin not only does not receive the grace of the sacrament, he or she commits the sin of sacrilege by failing to show the reverence due to the Body and Blood of Christ,” the document said.

An official at the bishop’s conference insisted that they are staying true to their mission of defending church teachings, pointing to the conference’s outspoken disagreement with the Trump administration’s policies regarding undocumented migrants.

According to a Pew Research Center survey, many American Catholics are divided about whether Biden should be denied Communion over his support of abortion rights.

A majority of U.S. Catholic adults say Biden should be allowed to receive Communion during Mass, while nearly 30% say Biden should not be allowed to receive Communion.

The divide underscores a growing tension amongst American Catholics about who they see as the true authority on matters of faith and what they should believe.

“The U.S. bishops, and Pope Francis see things in very different ways,” said Massimo Faggioli, a theology professor at Villanova University. “American Catholics for the first time in many decades have to decide if they want to follow Pope Francis or U.S. bishops, which is new, because U.S. bishops are traditionally very Roman, loyal to the pope.”

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(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate if “illegal conduct” is to blame for surging gas prices hurting Americans’ pocketbooks.

Fuel prices are averaging above $3.40 a gallon, according to the American Automotive Association, which forecasts more than 48 million Americans are likely to hit the road next week to drive to Thanksgiving celebrations.

“The bottom line is this: gasoline prices at the pump remain high, even though oil and gas companies’ costs are declining. The Federal Trade Commission has authority to consider whether illegal conduct is costing families at the pump. I believe you should do so immediately,” Biden wrote in a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan.

High gas prices can pose a big political problem for the president as a new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows 70% of those surveyed rate the economy negatively, including 38 percent who say it is in “poor” condition. About half of Americans overall and political independents blame Biden for fast-rising inflation.

The administration had previously asked the commission to monitor the gasoline market for any illegal conduct earlier this year, leading to the FTC increasing their oversight on mergers of oil companies that result in fewer options for consumers.

Biden argues the math doesn’t add up when it comes to pricing, noting that while the price of unfinished gasoline (for example, before ethanol has been added) has been down more than 5% in the last month, prices at the pump are up 3%. Usually, the prices for unfinished gas correlates with what is used to fill up car tanks, he said.

“The unexplained large gap between the price of unfinished gasoline and the average price at the pump is well above the pre-pandemic average. Meanwhile, the largest oil and gas companies in America are generating significant profits off higher energy prices,” Biden wrote.

“I do not accept hard working Americans are paying more for gas because of anti-competitive or otherwise potentially illegal conduct. I therefore ask the commission to further examine what is happening with oil and gas markets, and that you bring all the commission’s tools to bear if you uncover any wrongdoing,” he added.

Biden’s call for a probe is not likely to lead to any immediate relief at the pump.

The move prompted swift pushback from the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, which argued bad administration policy decisions, coupled with a market shift, have caused spiking prices.

“This is a distraction from the fundamental market shift that is taking place and the ill-advised government decisions that are exacerbating this challenging situation. Demand has returned as the economy comes back and is outpacing supply,” said Frank Macchiarola, API’s senior vice president of policy, economics and regulatory affairs.

“Rather than launching investigations on markets that are regulated and closely monitored on a daily basis or pleading with OPEC to increase supply, we should be encouraging the safe and responsible development of American-made oil and natural gas,” he added.

The administration has been pressed in recent weeks about how Biden planned to address the soaring costs of fuel Americans are feeling at the pump, with many particularly wondering if the he planned to tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to alleviate some of the price spike.

The administration largely stayed mum on specifics, arguing instead there were a range of options they were considering to address the issue.

“The message to Americans is that we’re not just closely and directly monitoring the situation, which of course we’ve been doing, but we’re looking at every tool in our arsenal,” Psaki told reporters Nov. 12. “The president is quite focused on this as is the economic team.”

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