Within 48 hours of the inauguration of Joseph R. Biden as the 46th President of the United States, and only our second Catholic president, Archbishop Gomez’s statement issued the same day proved to be prescient.
As president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Gomez spoke of the significance of this historic moment. In the face of aggressive and encroaching secularism, a president whose faith and piety are so often on public display can be an opportunity for public witness and fruitful dialogue. Archbishop Gomez signaled the Church’s eagerness to work with a president who understands the importance of religious faith and institutions.
As a symbolic gesture, President Biden couldn’t have been clearer than when he invited members of both parties to join him for Mass at Saint Matthew Cathedral before the inauguration. He wants to heal a divided nation and be president for all Americans. He wants to be a president of unity.
While welcoming our new president with assurances of prayer and an eagerness to work with him, Archbishop Gomez also stated that from the outset there are challenges ahead for a president whose Catholic faith ostensibly means so much to him. Unfortunately, many of President Biden’s stated goals, policies and political promises place him squarely at odds with the teachings of the Catholic Church whose faith he professes, and in which he finds comfort and consolation.
The prescience of Archbishop Gomez’s statement was on full display less than 48 hours later. Two days after the inauguration, on the 48th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, the Biden/Harris administration announced its intention to codify that decision so that if Roe v. Wade is ever overturned, it will be impossible for states to outlaw abortion. Their statement euphemistically refers to abortion as health care.
This apparently is only the first move in what is likely a sweeping attempt to dismantle the hard-won limits that have been placed on abortion and public spending for abortion. The Mexico City Policy prohibiting federal funding of international NGOs that promote abortion as well as the Hyde Amendment that prohibits the use of federal funds for elective abortions also are likely to be repealed in the days or weeks ahead.
This is only the opening salvo. Threats to religious liberty are on the horizon in view of the administration’s stated intentions in advancing gender theory and antidiscrimination measures that will make it difficult for Catholic institutions to operate our schools, health care ministries, adoption services and other charitable ministries without government interference and with compromises to our religious faith and moral principles.
As Archbishop Gomez stated, our moral principles do not align neatly with the platforms of either political party. “We are Catholics first, seeking only to follow Jesus Christ faithfully and to advance his vision for human fraternity and community.” Some of the policies that the new administration is championing will provide opportunities for collaboration, but others will advance moral evils and be a threat to human dignity. These we must oppose.
Another cause for concern for me as a pastor is the fact that President Biden will be the most high-profile Catholic in our nation. I am all for public Catholicism. Our faith is not merely a private affair. He is overtly religious. He is public about his Catholic faith. He refers to his faith and leans on his faith daily and especially during times of personal challenge as when he suffered the loss of his first wife and two of his children. Faith can be a tremendous comfort and consolation in such times.
But, faith is not only meant to console. It is not merely a security blanket. Faith also is meant to be a sure guide, to enlighten, but also to correct and to challenge us. It teaches us to conform ourselves to Christ and the truth as expressed by the teaching of his Church as well as the light of reason.
What we risk with the new administration is the real danger of scandal. When the president publicly opposes and undermines the teaching of the Church by his actions, then others can be led astray, and perhaps lead into sin by the confusion and error sown in peoples’ consciences.
The mantle of leadership is a heavy burden. A fellow Catholic has been entrusted with leading our great nation. In charity, we have a duty to pray for him. Let us pray for his continued conversion and the courage and wisdom to lead in a way that truly honors the dignity of every life from conception to natural death. Let us pray that he will be the Lord’s instrument in healing a divided nation and advancing peace and harmony throughout the world.