By BARBARA SIMPSON
It was interesting to see President Biden on Ash Wednesday with ashes on his forehead — a tradition for members of our Catholic faith. It was another of Biden’s public showings of his being a “good” Catholic. For whatever reason, he seems to think that his being a public “good Catholic” is an important part of his persona and will help him politically.
Whether that is a fact, who knows, especially as he apparently will soon be campaigning for another term as president. Whether his religion will have any effect on his popularity and ability to get votes remains to be seen.
Personally, I hope it has NO effect at all. Whether or how he worships God should have no effect on voters — because frankly, who knows whether what voters see is true or accurate. Given that Biden has spent years of his life in politics, I believe that his every action and decision are geared to get him votes and probably have no relationship to truth.
Joe Biden knows that the Catholic faith does not condone or permit abortion. But that does not stop him from taking political actions that go against that position.
A directive from Biden’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has issued a directive that illegal immigrant children in federal custody must be allowed access to abortions and related services. This includes not only the actual abortion but transportation and housing in states that allow the procedure.
Biden’s administration has facilitated ways to provide abortion access for pregnant women and girls in U.S. Immigration custody in states with bans and, in fact, has been flying minors from Texas shelters to other states for their abortions.
His actions have not gone unnoticed by the bishops of the United States. The group issued a formal statement in late 2022 criticizing Biden for his “single-minded” prioritization ensuring the legality of abortion in the U.S. The group has not changed its position since then.
Baltimore Archbishop William Lori was blunt: “The President is gravely wrong to continue to seek every possible avenue to facilitate abortion.”
He continued in his October 25, 2022 statement: “This single-minded extremism must end, and we implore President Biden to recognize the humanity in preborn children and the genuine life-giving care needed by women in this country.”
Also, Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann urged Biden to act like the “devout Catholic” he says he is, by opposing the evil of the procedure. “It’s really sad,” Archbishop Naumann, former head of and now consultant to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities, told EWTN News Nightly on October 8. The Biden administration, he added, is “in the control of abortion extremists.”
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of the Archdiocese of San Francisco (where former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lives) has been outspoken concerning the issue — and has maintained that you “cannot be a good Catholic and support abortion.” Last May, Archbishop Cordileone barred Pelosi from receiving Communion.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that abortion is “gravely contrary to the moral law.” The Code of Canon Law also states that those “obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion.”
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI, wrote of the need to withhold Communion from pro-abortion Catholic politicians. As Catholic News Agency reported in 2022:
“In the 2004 letter, the then prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said that ‘when a person’s formal cooperation becomes manifest (understood, in the case of a Catholic politician, as his consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws), his Pastor should meet with him, instructing him about the Church’s teaching, informing him that he is not to present himself for Holy Communion until he brings to an end the objective situation of sin, and warning him that he will otherwise be denied the Eucharist’.”
And: “When ‘these precautionary measures have not had their effect…,’ and the person in question, with obstinate persistence, still presents himself to receive the Holy Eucharist, ‘the minister of Holy Communion must refuse to distribute it’.”
I think Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and other Catholic politicians missed that statement. It hasn’t happened and Communion continues to be given to those politicians who want it.
Biden has shown himself to be the most pro-abortion president in U.S. history and he isn’t finished yet.
Catholic League President Bill Donohue has been quoted as saying that it’s time for “Biden to stop living a lie” — referring to Biden’s participation in the Catholic sacraments while promoting abortion.
In his October statement, Archbishop Lori said that the U.S. bishops “deal daily with the tragic impacts of abortion” and know that “abortion is a violent act which ends the life of preborn children and wounds untold numbers of women.”
He continued: “The Catholic Church wishes to continue in our work with our government and leaders to protect the right to life of every human being and to ensure that pregnant and parenting mothers are fully supported in the care of their children before and after birth.”
As the politicians are gearing up for the upcoming elections, it remains to be seen what role “religion” will play in the campaigns. Specifically, what role abortion will play in the elections. What do Americans think about the legality of abortion and its ever-increasing availability?
These are questions for our future.
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