Catholic Leaders Challenge Joe Biden’s Commitment to Faith

Democratic presidential candidate and former US Vice President Joe Biden visits Grace Luth
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.

Catholic and pro-life leaders have challenged Joe Biden’s claims of being “guided” by his Catholic faith in his political positions, insisting that he flouts rather than follows Church teaching.

Mr. Biden “shamelessly” claims to be a pious Catholic, while supporting “the state-sponsored killing of babies in the womb without limit,” wrote Lila Rose, founder of the pro-life group Live Action on Twitter Monday, calling Biden’s position “the most lethal & cruel hypocrisy in American politics.”

“You cannot claim to be a practicing Catholic and support the slaughter of children in the womb,” Ms. Rose told Biden in a separate tweet. “To do so is heinous and despicable. And you cannot claim you ‘didn’t know’ when your faith, and basic moral law, is telling you loud and clear: You shall not kill.”

Rose was responding to Biden’s October 29 essay for the Christian Post, in which he insists that his Catholic faith guides his policies, including his proposed “mask-mandate” to defeat the coronavirus, rooting out “systemic racism,” ending the “evil of poverty,” welcoming immigrants, and building “a future that moves us closer to our highest ideals.”

Somehow, in his 2,000-word essay, Mr. Biden never manages to explain how his Catholic faith guides his full-bore support for abortion-on-demand, or encourages him to persecute the Little Sisters of the Poor.

Biden’s candidacy has been confusing to Catholic voters “who believe that being Catholic is more than just another label,” said Ashley McGuire, senior fellow with The Catholic Association.

“Joe Biden has campaigned on his Catholic faith while promising policies that contradict Catholic teaching and even threatening the Little Sisters of the Poor,” Ms. McGuire told Fox News. “The Bishops Conference has warned of the devastating consequences of the Equality Act for religious liberty and for girls and women but Joe Biden supports it.”

Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote, said that Biden “has put himself on a collision course with the Catholic Church by promising to pass the Equality Act in the first 100 days of his presidency.”

“Biden’s aggressive support of the Act, together with his extreme abortion position, opposition to school choice, and pledge to restart the war on the Little Sisters makes clear his Catholic faith will be readily sacrificed at the altar of political expediency,” Burch said.

“Come Tuesday, Catholics must understand the existential threat posed by a Biden-Harris ticket. Donald Trump remains the best – and only – choice for Catholic voters this election,” he added.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.