President Joe Biden was confronted about his abortion beliefs by an EWTN reporter this past Ash Wednesday.
“As a Catholic, why do you support abortion?” The reporter asked Biden March 2 on the White House lawn. Biden, with ashes on his forehead following a meeting with Archbishop of Washington Wilton Cardinal Gregory answered, “Well, I don’t want to get in a debate with you on theology, but you know – I’m not going to make a judgment for other people.”
Biden’s remarks came after his annual State of the Union Address, in which the President affirmed support for abortion rights and Roe v. Wade – the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision declaring abortion a constitutionally protected right.
“The constitutional right affirmed in Roe v. Wade—standing precedent for half a century—is under attack as never before,” Biden stated in the Address. “If we want to go forward—not backward—we must protect access to health care. Preserve a woman’s right to choose. And let’s continue to advance maternal health care in America.”
Ashes on the President’s forehead can be seen in the video on Wednesday. Biden told reporters that he had met with Gregory, the most prominent Roman Catholic official in Washington, for Ash Wednesday, a holy day of fasting and penance observed by the Roman Catholic Church and liturgical Protestant denominations.
“As President Biden shared this morning, Cardinal Gregory paid a brief pastoral visit to the White House for Ash Wednesday,” a spokesperson for the archdiocese said in a statement. “Cardinal Gregory also gave the President a cross-shaped mark of ashes on his forehead, a traditional Christian way to mark the beginning of Lent.”
Gregory has criticized Biden’s support of abortion in the past but has told reporters that he would not deny pro-abortion Catholic politicians communion.
“He’s not going to be on speed dial, and I hope I’m not on his speed dial,” Gregory told a reporter from the Today Show. “But there will be moments when I will be able to speak to him about faith, about the works that he is trying to accomplish that we can be supportive of, but also areas where we’re not going to agree. But I’m going to always do it in a respectful way.”
Gregory’s comments follow a decision by U.S. Catholic bishops to approve a teaching document on who should receive Holy Communion that some believe was aimed at Catholic politicians who support abortion rights. The document, passed by a vote of 222-8 at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in Baltimore, appeared to empower individual priests to deny Communion to pro-abortion rights politicians.
In addition to his remarks in the State of the Union, Biden pushed support for abortion on multiple occasions in recent weeks.
On March 8, International Women’s Day, Biden released a statement that recognized “the achievements of women and girls” and promoted his “effort to protect reproductive rights.”
This past Saturday, March 5, Biden denounced a Florida bill that would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape or incest. Biden tweeted, “Last night, the Republican-controlled Florida legislature passed a dangerous bill that will severely restrict women’s access to reproductive healthcare. My Administration will not stand for the continued erosion of women’s constitutional rights.”
Florida Catholic Bishops disagreed with the President and declared their support for the bill. The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops announced, “While we look continue to look forward to the day when the full protection of unborn life is recognized in law, we are encouraged that HB 5 further limits the grave harm that abortion inflicts upon women and children.”
Furthermore, on February 28, a Biden-backed House bill that preserved nationwide access to abortion was blocked by Senate Republicans. In a statement issued last September, Biden offered his support for the bill and committed to “working with Congress as the Women’s Health Protection Act advances through the legislative process to ensure that this bill codifies and is consistent with the protections established in Roe and subsequent Supreme Court precedent.
In the statement, Biden attacked the recent Texas heartbeat bill that restricted abortion at six weeks, stating it “blatantly violates existing Supreme Court precedent…The Texas law significantly impairs women’s access to critical reproductive health care.”
Biden’s recent pro-abortion push anticipates the Supreme Court’s pending Dobbs v. Jackson decision – the 2021 case concerning a Mississippi ban on abortion after the fifteenth week of pregnancy. The case challenges the precedent established in Roe. The Supreme Court is expected to release its Dobbs decision in Spring 2022.
Comment by Tom on March 11, 2022 at 5:29 pm
Jesus was pretty scathing about those who practiced an outward religion while ignoring and disobeying God’s commands. The phrase “whitewashed sepulchres,” among others, comes to mind.
Comment by Loren J Golden on March 11, 2022 at 7:00 pm
“As a Catholic, why do you support abortion?” (a) reporter asked Biden, … (who) answered, “Well, I don’t want to get in a debate with you on theology, but you know – I’m not going to make a judgment for other people.”
I’m sorry, Mr. President, but that answer does not wash. You make that decision for the millions of unborn children who will needlessly perish during your administration, because the laws of the land do not safeguard their lives. You are in a position to do something about it, but you will not. What makes you so certain that you will not be called to account for their deaths on the Day when Christ returns to judge the whole Earth?
“This past Saturday…Biden denounced a Florida bill that would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape or incest.”
Why should the unborn child be made to pay the ultimate penalty, simply because one or both of his or her parents committed a grievous sin? Do the lives of the innocent not matter to you, Mr. President?
“Last night, the Republican-controlled Florida legislature passed a dangerous bill that will severely restrict women’s access to reproductive healthcare. My Administration will not stand for the continued erosion of women’s constitutional rights.”
But it will stand for the erosion of the few legal protections in place that are intended to safeguard the lives of unborn children.
“Biden attacked the recent Texas heartbeat bill that restricted abortion at six weeks, stating it ‘blatantly violates existing Supreme Court precedent… The Texas law significantly impairs women’s access to critical reproductive health care.’”
The “existing Supreme Court precedent” is blatantly unjust, Mr. President, and abortion does not constitute “reproductive health care,” unless the pregnancy directly imperils the mother’s life, and very few abortions, indeed, are performed for that reason.
Comment by Thomas on March 13, 2022 at 11:02 am
The guy is a complete fake and hypocrite, but he isn`t the only one unfortunately. Cardinal Gregory is a mediocre and just follows the lead of moral relativism patron Cardinal Bernardin. He once said that communion should be denied as a last resort. I hope he realised that this last resort already came.
Comment by George on March 14, 2022 at 9:03 am
It appears that the Vatican is more concerned about its billions than with the millions of babies being slaughtered. Our president’s hypocrisy knows no bounds and the silence of the catholic leadership is deafening. Those ashes on his forehead all an insult to all of the true catholic believers. Where will we be in another 50 years? Where?
Comment by David on March 14, 2022 at 12:19 pm
When Kennedy was running for President, Catholics were required to make their church the official one in any country they might live. This was used against Kennedy and Catholics in general as this was contrary to the US Constitution. Eventually, a Vatican council eliminated this provision. The Church was a latecomer in support of democracy.
Comment by George on March 14, 2022 at 10:49 pm
David, I’m not sure of the connection your trying to make. “Democracy “ is not mentioned in my bible. However the murder of innocents is mentioned many places. President Biden
has ignored the basic concepts of Christian love and respect for life. We all fall short but his hypocrisy on Ash Wednesday along with a church blessing stinks.
Comment by Search4Truth on March 18, 2022 at 9:10 am
What can you expect when direction from Rome is so ambiguous?