As though Joe Biden didn’t have enough to worry about in this race for the presidency, now he has to face growing opposition from his church. No, it’s not “official” opposition, but it is a growing swell of questioning by clergy as to the depth of his beliefs and adherence to basic church teaching.
The church in question is the Roman Catholic Church. Biden has always spoken of his Catholic faith and, quite frankly, has made quite a big deal of it, his going to Mass and receiving Communion.
In this race for the presidency, much as been made of the fact that if elected, Biden would be only the second Roman Catholic president –-the first being John F. Kennedy.
There had long been an anti-Catholic bias in American politics, and Kennedy took a lot of flak during his campaign. When he ran, Kennedy actually had to reassure the American public that he would not be taking orders from Rome during his presidency.
Kennedy was elected, and religion was not a problem during his tenure.
Many Catholics regarded him as some sort of saint, and many religious believed he was almost perfect. He wasn’t. As history has shown, Jack was a rake, and his marriage was not as perfect as we were led to believe, despite the beauty of the visuals of his wife and children.
Was John Kennedy a good Catholic? Only God knows, but from what we in the general public know, he didn’t lead what might be called “a saintly life.”
So now we have Joseph Biden. This is a man who has made an issue of his faith. He speaks of carrying the rosary that belonged to his deceased son. He essentially uses his faith as a means to tell the public that he is moral and good man.
The degree to which that might be true is being weighed against his political position on issues that overlap into the religious beliefs of his church, the key conflicts being his position on abortion, on marriage and LGBT issues.
Keep in mind that when the campaign first began, U.S. bishops praised Biden, and now that many assume he is the president-elect, they see him as the next Catholic president. But now, there are questions being raised about just what that might mean.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) just ended its General Assembly, but it was left with questions about if or how Biden would support Catholic positions on faith that conflict with his politics.
Because of those questions, the president of the group, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles, established a “working group” to assess the situation. As reported in LifeSiteNews, the group will be headed by Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit. He is the current vice president of the USCCB and formerly bishop of Oakland, California.
Gomez mentioned some of the issues that are presenting problems for Biden – his support of abortion, LGBT issues, marriage (he officiated at a homosexual wedding), repeal of the Hyde amendment, immigration, the treatment of Catholic schools and others.
He said Biden’s positions on these issues “creates confusion with the faithful about what the Church actually teaches” – calling the situation “difficult and complex.”
As if this doesn’t present enough ethical and moral problems for Biden, there is the growing evidence of widespread voter fraud in the election. However that all gets sorted out legally and otherwise, it is clear that Joe Biden is a tarnished candidate even before he becomes president – IF he does.
The bishop of Tyler, Texas, Joseph Edward Strickland, reacted to all this in a tweet to Biden, as reported by LifeSiteNews:
“As a bishop I beg Mr. Biden to repent of his dissent from Catholic teaching on abortion and marriage for his own salvation and for the good of our nation. He aspires to the highest office in our land and must be guided by the truth God has revealed to us. I pray for him to find Truth.”
Strickland has been most outspoken on the these moral issues and Biden’s stances. In May, he wrote on his diocesan website a blog post urging “… the faithful in this diocese to realize that anyone who directly promotes abortion is not acceptable for leadership in our society.”
I guess we know where he stands on that.
One wonders whether Joe Biden knows, or whether he even cares. Somehow, I doubt he does. Joe Biden is not stupid. He’s been in politics long enough to know what he must, and will, do to get elected. He clearly wants to be president, and he clearly will do what it takes.
This is a man who has said he will increase immigration, knowing that many Americans feel we have already reached a limit. Despite that, his administration plans to increase border crossings and to radically change border enforcement.
This is a man who realizes the issues this country and the world have with militant Islam – remember 9/11 – and the cautions many countries, including the U.S., have concerning Muslim immigration and travel.
Despite that, Biden has said that Muslims would serve “at every level” in his administration.
Consider all this as food for thought as the battle continues over the results of the election.
Regardless, Joseph Biden has stepped on the toes of his professed religion. One wonders how he will rationalize that and what God will think of it.
Be careful, Joe.
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