Some Roman Catholic groups and leaders worry about Biden

Some Roman Catholic leaders are expressing concern that President-elect Joe Biden is enacting policies that would create “confusion” about what the Church teaches.

In a November 17 virtual meeting for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop of Los Angeles, Jose Gomez, explained that a group was being formed to address some of the leaders’ concerns about Biden, who would become the second practicing Catholic to be president. .

“The president-elect has given us reason to believe that his faith commitments will push him to support good policies. This includes policies to reform immigration, refugees and the poor, and against racism, the death penalty and climate change, ”said Gomez, president of the USCCB, towards the end of Tuesday’s session. .

Catholic Church” class=”blkBorder img-share” style=”max-width:100%” />

Biden is only the second president in U.S. history to join the Catholic Church

“He has also given us reason to believe that he will support policies that go against certain core values ​​that are dear to us as Catholics. These policies include: repealing the Hyde Amendment and preserving Roe vs. Wade. Both of these policies undermine our top priority of ending abortion. ‘

Gomez continued to cite various policies and agenda items that worried him and other leaders, including “reinstating the HHS mandate” and “passing the equality law.”

“These policies pose a serious threat to the common good,” Gomez said. “Whenever politicians support them. “

While praising President-elect Biden’s work against racism and immigration, Gomez criticized him for his support for marriage equality and abortion.

The sentiment was shared by CatholicVote.org, a conservative nonprofit that led an intense anti-Biden campaign ahead of the election and also advanced Trump’s unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud.

Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas also pleaded with Biden to “repent” for straying from Catholic teachings in his endorsement of abortion and marriage policies.

Gomez said the Catholic Church has long opposed these policies and “will continue to do so.”

“When politicians who profess the Catholic faith support them, there are additional problems,” he said. “It creates confusion among the faithful as to what the church is actually teaching on these matters.”

The sentiment was shared by CatholicVote.org, a conservative nonprofit that led an intense anti-Biden campaign ahead of the election and also advanced Trump’s unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud.

“CatholicVote fully agrees with @USCCB President Abp. Gomez’s assessment that many of Joe Biden’s policies create “confusion among the faithful” and “pose a serious threat to the common good,” the group said in a thread Thursday.

A look at the political views of Archbishop José Gomez

The Archbishop of Los Angeles, Jose Gomez, is a strong advocate for immigrant rights, having become a US citizen after being born in Mexico.

Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez is a strong supporter of immigrant rights, having become a U.S. citizen after being born in Mexico, but is otherwise known for his conservative sentiments, according to his website.

A supporter of the DACA, Gomez calls immigration reform a “question of conscience and national identity” and pleads for a “generous path to citizenship” for undocumented migrants.

Gomez is not a fan of the death penalty, calling for an end in California and the country.

“By opposing the death penalty, we bear witness to the sanctity of life,” he said. “We say that even the most sinful and guilty lives are precious to God and should not be taken by others. ”

Besides not caring about the death penalty, Gomez is perhaps the loudest in his aversion to abortion and euthanasia.

“The fundamental injustice in our society is the killing of unborn innocents by abortion and the killing of the sick and helpless by euthanasia and assisted suicide,” he said on his website.

Gomez describes America as “falling apart” and becoming “more and more divided by money, privileges and the interests of the social class”.

“It is a deeply troubling fact – that the families of those responsible do not have to live with the consequences of some of the political decisions they make,” says Gomez.

“We have come to accept an America where schools and infrastructure are crumbling and drinking water is contaminated – not in neighborhoods where elites live – but only in minority and poor communities.”

“If Biden is officially elected, his administration has laid out plans to reduce pro-life policies protecting unborn lives, free up millions for abortion services, and overturn religious freedom protections for religious organizations like the Little Ones. Sisters of the Poor.

“These plans and policies represent a radical anti-life and anti-Catholic agenda in clear and direct conflict with Catholic social teaching and the values ​​that Catholics rightly favor.”

Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, also pleaded with Biden to “repent” for straying from Catholic teachings in his approval of policies regarding abortion and marriage.

“He aspires to the highest office of our country and must be guided by the truth that God has revealed to us,” said the bishop. ‘I pray that he will find the Truth.’

Catholics broadly backed the former vice president in the 2020 election, winning Biden 52% of the vote versus 47% for Trump. Trump defeated Hillary in 2016 with 50% of the vote to 46%, according to Washington post exit polls.

Catholics broadly backed the former vice president in the 2020 election, winning Biden 52% of the vote versus 47% for Trump. Biden pictured with Pope Francis in 2015

White Catholics specifically decreased their support for Trump, who had a 24-point margin in 2016. He only had a 12-point lead nationally among the specific group for the 2020 election.

There have been Catholic leaders who have lent their support to Biden, including Sister Simone Campbell, a nun who runs the Network Lobby – a nonprofit that aims to promote women’s leadership in the Catholic Church.

Campbell shared a link to the “Also sacred” scorecard that details how the policies of President Trump and President-elect Biden interact with the “FULL teachings of the Catholic Church”.

The scoreboard only made Trump do “better” than Biden in one category – his overthrow of Roe v. Wade.

‘Equally Sacred’ dashboard seeks to see how Trump and Biden approach things in Catholic education