Archbishop: Joe Biden “Should Stop Defining Himself as a Devout Catholic” Because He’s Pro-Abortion

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Feb 15, 2021   |   4:56PM   |   Washington, DC

Catholic Archbishop Joseph Naumann said President Joe Biden should quit referring to himself as a “devout” Catholic because he’s radically pro-abortion, in violation of the pro-life teachings of the Catholic Church.

As The Daily Wire reports:

Speaking with Catholic World Report, Naumann flatly said that Biden “should stop defining himself as a devout Catholic” while acknowledging that his abortion views stand in direct opposition to the Catholic Church.

“Mr. Biden professes to be a devout Catholic, yet is 100% pro-choice on abortion. How do you think America’s bishops ought to respond to this situation?” CWR asked.

“I can tell you how this bishop is responding. The president should stop defining himself as a devout Catholic, and acknowledge that his view on abortion is contrary to Catholic moral teaching. It would be a more honest approach from him to say he disagreed with his Church on this important issue and that he was acting contrary to Church teaching,” Naumann responded. “When he says he is a devout Catholic, we bishops have the responsibility to correct him. Although people have given this president power and authority, he cannot define what it is to be a Catholic and what Catholic moral teaching is.”

“What he is doing now is usurping the role of the bishops and confusing people,” Naumann added. “He’s declaring that he’s Catholic, and is going to force people to support abortion through their tax dollars. The bishops need to correct him, as the president is acting contrary to the Catholic faith.”

Last week, Naumann said Biden is promoting a “great evil” through his new pro-abortion policies.

Speaking with Newsmax TV on Wednesday, the Kansas City archbishop said the situation is worse because Biden, unlike other presidents who have pushed pro-abortion policies, professes to be a devout Catholic.

“We’ve faced presidents before who were aggressive in their advocacy for abortion, but this is a unique situation for the church in the United States, the Catholic Church, because we haven’t had a Catholic in that office doing this,” Naumann told The Chris Salcedo Show. “So, he creates a real problem for the church in the United States because he’s confusing people about what authentic Catholic teaching is.”

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Biden describes himself as a devout Catholic, but his positions on abortion, religious freedom and other issues contradict the teachings of his faith as well as the views of most Americans, religious or otherwise.

Naumann, who chairs the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, also spoke out against Biden when he restored taxpayer funding to groups that treat the killing of unborn babies in abortions as a method of family planning.

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In January, Biden overturned the Mexico City Policy, a pro-life rule President Donald Trump put in place to defund abortion groups like the International Planned Parenthood Federation, which kills babies in abortions around the world and lobbies to legalize abortions in pro-life countries.

Naumann told Newsmax that Biden’s action is a “great evil” that “goes very much against fundamental Catholic moral teaching.” He also lamented how Biden describes the killing of unborn babies in abortions as “health care.”

“I think that’s particularly offensive in that health care doesn’t involve destroying life,” Naumann said. “It’s to help lives, heal lives, protect lives.”

More pro-abortion actions are expected from the Biden administration in the coming months. One issue in particular — getting rid of the Hyde Amendment – would be an unprecedented and radical pro-abortion action.

The Hyde Amendment prohibits taxpayer funding for elective abortions in Medicaid and other federal programs. According to the Charlotte Lozier Institute, it has saved about 2.4 million babies’ lives.

For decades, the amendment had strong bipartisan support, and polls show most Americans still support it. However, Democrat leaders now want it gone, and Biden recently embraced the radical new position.

Naumann told Newsmax he is concerned that Biden will help Democrat leaders force taxpayers to pay for abortions.

“… for a president who’s saying he’s working for unity, to make this a priority, and to try to shove this down the throats of the American people, I think is a very sad moment,” he said. “And the fact this president continues to identify himself as a devout Catholic makes that even more painful for those of us in the church.”

A January poll from Marist found that an overwhelming majority of Americans oppose Biden’s plan to force taxpayers to fund abortions. According to the poll, 77 percent oppose using tax dollars to support abortion in other countries. Significantly, this includes a majority of Democrats (55 percent) and pro-choice Americans (64 percent).

Most Americans (58 percent) also oppose using tax dollars to fund abortions in the U.S., according to the Marist poll. Similarly, a Politico/Harvard University poll found that just 36 percent of likely voters supported taxpayer funding for abortions, while 58 percent opposed it.