The Atlantic
America’s second-ever Catholic president supports abortion rights, leaving the bishops unsure about how to move forward.
March 14, 2021
Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, at a Mass held on the eve of the 2020 March for Life in Washington, D.C.Gregory A. Shemitz
Archbishop Joseph Naumann is anxious about President Joe Biden’s soul. The two men are in some ways similar: cradle Catholics born in the 1940s who witnessed John F. Kennedy become America’s first Catholic president. Both found a natural home in the Democratic Party in Naumann’s midwestern family, asking Catholics if they were Democrats was a redundancy. Naumann became a priest and Biden became a politician, but their paths really diverged over the issue of abortion. Now in his 70s, Naumann watched Biden America’s second Catholic president transform into a vocal supporter of abortion rights while competing for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Naumann runs the Archdiocese
him receive holy communion because of biden s support for abortion. communion is a sacrament central to catholicism. in a statement, the reverend said in part, any public figure who advocates for abortion, places himself or herself outside of church teachings. i will keep mr. biden in my prayers. biden was asked about it during a phone interview today. he says it s personal but defended himself as a good catholic. i ve never let my religious beliefs, which i accept based on church doctrine, to impose that view on other people. biden s position on abortion has moved further left, pundits say, to be in step with other democratic presidential hopefuls who haven t been shy about invoking god on the campaign trail. mayor pete buttigieg, who is not catholic, sparked controversy back in september when he stood in defense of abortion is that the bible supports life beginning with a breath. some say that kind of appeal to
shannon: so this is what the priest said, any public figure who advocates for abortion places himself or herself outside of church teachings. as a priest it is my responsibility to administer to those souls entrusted to my care and i must do so even in the most difficult situations, i will keep mr. biden in my prayers, so ethan, he says basically i didn t have a choic choice. yeah, i totally disagree, obviously, because the bible actually sets that precedent. first things first, the reverend doesn t know what is and vice president biden s heart, how dare he is a mortal man can judge what is in his heart and his relationship with god, his being joe biden. furthermore, we have procopio adultery where himself in the gospel of john didn t turn away the prostitute who was brought to him. he said go and said no more. he didn t judge people for what they re doing. he said i am open, i am here to accept you in the catholic church is suffering, attendance on sundays is down 50% over the las
prayers. here s joe biden today. i m a practicing catholic, i practice my faith, but i ve never let my religious beliefs, which i accept based on church doctrine, to impose that view on other people. martha: here now, judge andrew napolitano, senior judicial analyst, could you if you are, also a practicing catholic. brought you into talk about this beside your legal expertise but we d seen similar things with john kerry, nancy pelosi is also pro-choice and claims to be an active catholic. how do you square the schematic it s really up to the discretion. as i understand church teachings, it s really up to the discretion of individual priests so the priest judgment is you re not judging a person s soul, he s judging whether or not the distribution of the blessed sacrament, which as you know we believe his body, blood, soul and divinity of jesus christ, will give scandal when it s delivered to a person who