US presidential candidate Joe Biden was denied Holy Communion on Sunday, when he attended Mass at a South Carolina Catholic Church, because of his support for legal abortion.

Rev. Fr. Robert Morey, a priest at St. Anthony Catholic Church in the Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina, denied the Democratic presidential candidate Holy Communion at Sunday Mass for his support of legal abortion, the Florence Morning News reported Monday.

Fr. Morey said in a statement he sent to Catholic News Agency on October 28: “Sadly, this past Sunday, I had to refuse Holy Communion to former Vice President Joe Biden.”

He added: “Holy Communion signifies we are one with God, each other and the Church. Our actions should reflect that. Any public figure who advocates for abortion places himself or herself outside of Church teaching.”

Morey continued: “As a priest, it is my responsibility to minister to those souls entrusted to my care, and I must do so even in the most difficult situations.”

While not supporting taxpayer funding of abortion as much as other presidential candidates, Biden’s campaign platform would seek to “eliminate all of the changes that President Trump made to family planning programs, according to POLITICO. Biden said he would increase funding of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider.

“I will keep Mr. Biden in my prayers,” Morey concluded in his statement.