Cardinal Wilton Gregory offered a strong critique of President Biden’s Catholic faith during an Easter Sunday interview.
While not doubting Biden’s sincerity, Gregory categorized Biden as a “cafeteria Catholic” who picks and chooses which Church teachings to follow and which to ignore or contradict.
“I would say that he’s very sincere about his faith. But like a number of Catholics, he picks and chooses dimensions of the faith to highlight while ignoring or even contradicting other parts,” Gregory said.
“There is a phrase that we have used in the past, a ‘cafeteria Catholic’ — you choose that which is attractive and dismiss that which is challenging,” he said.
CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe asked, “Is there something on the menu he is not ordering?”
The cardinal cited Biden’s support for abortion as a prime example, saying the president uses the issue as a “political pawn” rather than acknowledging the Church’s stance.
“I would say that there are things — especially in terms of the life issues — there are things that he chooses to ignore. Or he uses the current situation as a political pawn, rather than saying, ‘Look, my church believes this,’” Gregory said.
Biden has faced criticism from other Catholic leaders over his abortion views being contrary to Catholic doctrine.
The assessment from Gregory and prior criticisms call into question how devoted Biden truly is to his faith.
“The president should stop defining himself as a devout Catholic, and acknowledge that his view on abortion is contrary to Catholic moral teaching,” archbishop Joseph F. Naumann said. “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.”
“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,” Naumann added.
