Details of President Joe Biden's town hall in Cincinnati have yet to be confirmed, but speculation the event will be held at Mount St. Joseph University has already sparked controversy.
Several trucks, including a truck with a satellite dish, were parked at the Catholic university in suburban Delhi Township on Monday evening. Trucks marked Game Creek Video, a national TV production company based in New Hampshire, were parked outside University Theatre.
Biden, a Democrat and Catholic who often speaks of his faith, has drawn criticism from conservative Catholics and Catholic leaders for his support of abortion access and same-sex marriage.
More:JFK and Biden: Faith a pressure point for America's Catholic presidents. Here's why.
The Archdiocese of Cincinnati referred comments about Biden’s appearance to the Sisters of Charity that oversees Mount St. Joseph. Neither the White House nor CNN has confirmed the location for the town hall.
Some area Catholics want the archbishop to take a stand against Biden appearing at a Catholic university.
Auditor Dusty Rhodes, a Democrat and Catholic from Delhi, called Biden the “most pro-abortion president we’ve ever had.”
He said Catholic nuns agreeing to host him is “unconscionable.”
“For the Sisters of Charity, an alleged Catholic order, to allow him to use their facilities is just sending all the wrong signals,” Rhodes said.
Rhodes called the Archdiocese to ask Archbishop Dennis Schnurr to speak against it. He hasn’t heard back.
The university was established by the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati in 1920 as the first Catholic university for women in southwest Ohio. CNN is sponsoring Wednesday night's town hall with invited audience members.
Biden turned down an invitation to speak at the University of Notre Dame commencement due to a scheduling conflict. More than 4,300 alumni and other members of the Notre Dame community signed a petition urging the university not to extend an invitation to speak to Biden, the country's second Catholic president. The petition cited the president's "pro-abortion and anti-religious liberty agenda."
This story will be updated.
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