Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C., criticized President Biden on Sunday for being a “cafeteria Catholic” and for choosing what he wants to believe in, such as abortion rights.
Biden, 81, the second Catholic president-elect, says he is personally opposed to abortion but has defended efforts to keep the procedure legal.
“I would say he is very sincere about his faith. But like a number of Catholics, he chooses which dimensions of the faith to highlight while ignoring or even contradicting other parts,” Gregory, the country’s first black cardinal, said on “Face the Nation” from CBS.
“There’s a phrase we’ve used in the past, ‘a Catholic cafeteria,’ you choose what’s attractive and reject what’s difficult,” the senior church official said.
While Biden has supported the right to terminate a pregnancy, he has largely ceded attention on this issue to Vice President Kamala Harris, who has embarked on a “reproductive freedoms tour.”
Harris is Baptist. First lady Jill Biden has joined Harris in some of these efforts to push for abortion rights.
Gregory suggested that abortion was the main issue on his mind when he talked about “cafeteria Catholics.”
“Especially when it comes to life issues, there are things he chooses to ignore, or he uses the current situation as a political pawn,” Gregory said, referring to Biden.
Biden has publicly admitted that “I’m not a big supporter of abortion.
“I am a practicing Catholic. I don’t want abortion on demand, but I thought ‘Roe v. Wade’ was right,” Biden told supporters at a fundraiser last month.
Gregory suggested the pontiff may have previously expressed similar frustrations to the president over abortion. Biden met with Pope Francis during the first year of his presidency.
“I would not be at all surprised if Pope Francis had the opportunity to speak directly to the president about this,” the cardinal said.
“One of the things that I think Pope Francis…does extraordinarily well is he engages people. »
At times, Biden has angered his progressive flank by not being more aggressive on abortion rights and has also caved to pressure on occasion.
For example, during his last presidential campaign, Biden was pressured to reverse his long-standing support for the Hyde Amendment, which banned the use of federal funds for abortion procedures.
During his State of the Union address, Biden repeatedly referenced abortion by emphasizing the need to “restore eggs,” among other talking points, but never actually used the word “abortion”.
Other prominent Catholic Democrats, such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), have also faced similar criticism for their stance on abortion.
One of the issues related to Catholic teachings that Biden has adhered to is his opposition to the death penalty, although his administration has taken little action on that front.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post on Sunday.
New York Post
