(ReliableNews.org) – President Joe Biden is only the second Catholic president in American history. The first was former President John F. Kennedy. With the issue of abortion at the forefront of voters’ minds, some may wonder how Biden’s Catholic faith lines up with his stance on women’s reproductive rights. Officially, the Catholic Church opposes abortion, but Biden is a proponent of women’s rights, promising to restore Roe v. Wade protections.
On April 23, the president visited Florida as part of his campaign tour across the country, where he talked extensively about abortion. While listening to another Florida Democrat talk about the issue, Biden reportedly made the sign of the cross. The US leader was immediately criticized by commentators and many Catholic groups who deemed the gesture made at that time as sacrilegious.
Biden apparently made the sign when Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said, “15 weeks wasn’t good enough” for Florida’s gestation cut-off time for abortions. Instead, she said, the state had to shorten the time to six weeks. In fact, Biden timed his visit to coincide with the time change to highlight his stance on the matter.
Founder of Students for Life of America Kristan Hawkins went so far as to say it was “evil,” adding that it should be called out. She said it was a reminder of the gap between Biden’s actions and the teachings of the Catholic faith.
Hawkins said the motion at that moment was “despicable” and “openly mock[ed] the Christian belief in the sanctity of life.” While Biden says he’s a “devout Catholic,” many don’t believe that’s true.
A recent poll shared by the NY Post showed that only 13% of those polled view the president as “very religious.” Regardless, the United States practices the separation of church and state, making any president’s religion a non-issue when it comes to executive decisions.
The White House didn’t comment on the incident, and neither did the president.
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