On January 30, when President Biden was walking on the White House lawn, he was asked by a reporter about Catholic opposition to publicly funded abortions. “Catholic bishops are demanding that federal tax dollars not fund abortions.”
In an angry reply, Biden pointed his finger and said, “No, they are not all doing that, nor is the Pope doing that.”
Biden’s monumental ignorance of basic Catholic teachings on abortion is startling.
From the day abortion was legalized by the Supreme Court in 1973, right up to today, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has not only opposed abortion, it has resolutely opposed publicly funded abortions.
Indeed, as recently as January 27, the USCCB’s Pro-Life Committee, chaired by Bishop Michael Burbidge, sent a letter to House and Senate leaders about this issue. Burbidge said that the “government should never fund the destruction of innocent preborn children.”
For Biden to misrepresent Pope Francis is even more serious.
On September 15, 2021, Pope Francis was unequivocal on this issue. “Abortion is murder.” He rightly observed that Catholic teaching is consistent with science. “Scientifically, it’s a human life. The textbooks teach us that. But is it right to take it out to solve a problem? This is why the Church is so strict on this issue because accepting this is kind of like accepting daily murder.”
For a Catholic president to misrepresent Catholic teaching on a life and death issue is appalling.
