Recently, Roman Catholic Cardinal Wilton Gregory criticized President Biden’s past claims about his Christian faith. The president has repeatedly referred to himself as a “devout Catholic” who attends church on a regular basis. However, Biden adopts political stances that are seemingly contradictory to the Christian faith, such as aggressively defending abortion.
During an interview with CBS News, host Ed O’Keefe asked Gregory, the country’s first black cardinal, about the state of Biden’s faith. “In the case of the President, do you get a sense that his regular attendance and adherence to the faith resonates with American Catholics,” the CBS host asked.
While claiming that he believes Biden is, in fact, “sincere” in his purported faith, the Cardinal asserts that there are aspects of his beliefs that do not cohesively fit within Christianity. Gregory used the colloquial term “cafeteria Catholic” to describe his faith, implying Biden picks and chooses to adhere to what is convenient within the tenets of Christianity.
“I would say that he’s very sincere about his faith. But like a number of Catholics, he picks and chooses dimensions of the faith to highlight while ignoring or even contradicting other parts,” Gregory said. “There is a phrase that we have used in the past, a ‘cafeteria Catholic,’ you choose that which is attractive, and dismiss that which is challenging.”
The Cardinal further expounded, particularly calling out “life issues” that the president seemingly refuses to address in a manner congruent with the Catholic faith. Gregory outright states that Biden views the situation as a “political pawn.”
“I would say there are things, especially in terms of life issues, there are things that he chooses to ignore, or he uses the current situation as a political pawn rather than saying, ‘Look, my church believes this, I’m a good Catholic, I would like to believe this.’ Rather than to twist and turn some dimensions of the faith as a political advantage,” Gregory added.
Since assuming the presidency, Biden has had a challenging relationship with the Catholic Church, even garnering criticism from Pope Francis over his stance on abortion in 2021. Watch the CBS interview where the Cardinal addresses Biden’s faith below:
Biden also sparked substantial controversy among Christians for his recognition of “Transgender Day of Visibility,” which fell on Easter this year. The White House released an official statement on the matter titled, “A Proclamation on Transgender Day of Visibility, 2024.”
“I am proud that my Administration has stood for justice from the start, working to ensure that the LGBTQI+ community can live openly, in safety, with dignity and respect. I am proud to have appointed transgender leaders to my Administration and to have ended the ban on transgender Americans serving openly in our military. I am proud to have signed historic Executive Orders that strengthen civil rights protections in housing, employment, health care, education, the justice system, and more. I am proud to have signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law, ensuring that every American can marry the person they love,” it read in part.
“NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2024, as Transgender Day of Visibility. I call upon all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination based on gender identity,” it added.
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.
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