Democrat President Joe Biden has provoked a furious backlash from Christian groups after he invoked his alleged Catholic faith during an appearance at a pro-abortion rally.
While appearing on stage to rally against abortion restriction in Florida, Biden made the Sign of the Cross.
Biden made the ostensibly pious gesture at a pro-abortion rally in Tampa.
The president joined Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried as she complained about Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state’s tightening six-week ban on abortion.
“We come back here to the state of Florida, where Ron DeSantis felt like he needed to run for president, so 15 weeks wasn’t good enough,” said Fried.
“We had to go to six weeks.”
As Fried spoke, Biden motioned the cross by touching his forehead, chest, and shoulders in the traditional formula.
The Sign of the Cross is an ancient expression of piety.
It has existed since at least the third century and is commonly used by Catholic and Orthodox churches as a form of blessing.
“Biden’s use of the Sign of the Cross in support of abortion is a disgusting insult towards all Christians, but especially of Catholics whom he claims as his own,” Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote, said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The Sign of the Cross is a sacred gesture used by believers to bless themselves, ask forgiveness, or to protect them from temptation,” he added.
“Instead, Biden has turned this ancient Christian practice into an endorsement of abortion extremism.”
Biden has leaned into his claimed Catholic identity in his presidential campaigns.
He claims to be a devout believer despite his blatant disregard for non-negotiable church teachings.
Last week, a bishop in Michigan accused Biden of “stupidity” regarding the dissonance between his religion and politics.
“I don’t have any anger towards the president,” said Bishop Robert Gruss of the Diocese of Saginaw.
“I feel sorry for him. I’m not angry at him, he’s just stupid.
“It’s not stupidity in the derogatory way, it’s stupidity in the sense of […] he doesn’t understand the Catholic faith.”
While blasting Biden for making the Sign of the Cross, Burch accused the president of being part of a “grotesque” agenda to “mock and ultimately destroy Christianity.”
“No Catholic, regardless of their position on abortion, can support this grotesque abuse of religious piety,” Burch said.
“Voters of faith need to wake up and understand what is at stake this November.
“The new abortion religion, which seeks to mock and ultimately destroy Christianity, is on the ballot.”
Bishop Gregory Parkes in the Diocese of St. Petersburg — the geographic region of the Catholic Church that has jurisdiction over Tampa — also weighed in on the president’s abortion rally.
A spokesperson for Parkes issued a statement that said:
“Bishop Gregory Parkes consistently teaches about the Catholic Church’s position on abortion.
“Also, Bishop Parkes and the bishops of Florida have recently issued a statement to educate people on the Catholic Church’s teaching on abortion and why they should vote no on Amendment Four.”
Amendment Four, as proposed by Florida pro-choice groups earlier this year.
It would dictate that “no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.”
The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops released a statement this month saying:
“We urge all Floridians of goodwill to stand against the legalization of late-term abortion and oppose the abortion amendment.
“In doing so, we will not only protect the weakest, most innocent, and defenseless of human life among us but also countless women throughout the state from the harms of abortion.”
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