(FeaturedHeadlines.com) US President Joe Biden is under fire from Christians for seemingly invoking the faith during a speech in support of greater access to abortion. On April 23, Biden attended an event in Florida, where Democrats were speaking in opposition to a Florida law set to restrict abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which will replace the state’s current 15-week restriction in May.
During a mention of the law and its support from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Biden made the sign of the cross in an apparent attempt to use Christianity to defend abortion. The gesture could also be interpreted as a cheeky way to signal opposition to DeSantis and his politics more generally.
The sign of the cross is used by some Christians to bless oneself and is frequently accompanied by reference to the Christian Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As such, some Christians viewed Biden’s action as invoking the Trinity to justify looser abortion laws.
Catholic advocacy group CatholicVote shared a clip of the incident to social media, calling it “vile” and arguing that the president cannot simultaneously support abortion and claim to be Catholic. The incident resulted in some commentators characterizing Biden as a “bad” Catholic.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, a summary of the church’s doctrine, says that it is blasphemous to use God’s name to cover up criminal practices, torture people, or put them to death. The Catechism recognizes the “inviolable right of every innocent being to life” from the moment of conception.
Biden is the second Catholic US president, following John F. Kennedy. However, Biden’s apparent use of the sign of the cross during pro-abortion remarks demonstrates a disconnect between his actions and Catholic teachings, pro-life organization 40 Days for Life said.
A poll conducted in February found that a majority of Americans do not buy Biden’s identification as a devout Catholic. Just 13% of Americans think Biden is “very religious,” according to the poll.
Regardless of how Biden self-identifies, it appears as though his personal beliefs and actions conflict with the faith he claims.
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