President Joe Biden provoked the ire of Catholics this week when he made what was considered a blasphemous gesture during an abortion ban talk.
Biden was listening to pro-abortion remarks by Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried on Tuesday when he made the sign of the cross, a gesture that outraged the faithful because of the timing of his reaction and the nature of the Tampa rally.
“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,” Fried, a former 2022 Florida gubernatorial candidate, said, referring to Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Sunshine State’s abortion ban. “We had to go to six weeks.”
As Fried spoke, Biden made the traditionally pious gesture.
“Absolutely vile, pray for the soul of our president, he is a feeble old man, he needs to prepare to meet his maker…,” Catholic Bishop Joseph Strickland wrote on X, sharing a clip of the moment posted by Catholic Vote.
Absolutely vile, pray for the soul of our president, he is a feeble old man, he needs to prepare to meet his maker… https://t.co/hOqvJZ3Oa8
— Bishop J. Strickland (@BishStrickland) April 24, 2024
“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, told Fox News Digital.
“The Sign of the Cross is a sacred gesture used by believers to bless themselves, ask forgiveness, or to protect them from temptation. Instead, Biden has turned this ancient Christian practice into an endorsement of abortion extremism,” he added.
While Biden insists he is a devout Catholic, this is not the first time he has used the sign of the cross to poke fun or get a laugh. He did so last September when Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu mentioned that they had been friends for four decades.
Meeting with Israeli PM Netanyahu, Pres. Biden makes the sign of the cross. pic.twitter.com/IT46JujDeK
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) September 21, 2023
And in November, Biden again used the gesture when speaking of former President Donald Trump. The move sparked laughter from his audience and surely it was not meant as a blessing of any sort.
“No Catholic, regardless of their position on abortion, can support this grotesque abuse of religious piety,” Burch told Fox News Digital about the president’s latest use of the gesture. “Voters of faith need to wake up and understand what is at stake this November.”
Catholics “should be calling this evil out,” said Kristan Hawkins, the founder of Students for Life of America.
William Wolfe, the executive director for the Center for Baptist Leadership, called it “demonic” in a post on X.
“When I say evil spiritual forces are at play in his administration, I mean it,” he wrote.
Others also dragged Biden for his disrespect.
WTH is he doing the sign of the cross for??? I’m genuinely confused
— Average Jerzee Joe (@Jerzee_Joe26) April 24, 2024
Blasphemous
— BossyMother (@BossyMother) April 24, 2024
I am Catholic and I am upset that @JoeBiden would make the sign of the cross at this abortion rally! Was @Pontifex notified of this mockery? How about it?
— Sweet Polly Purebred (@shesova) April 25, 2024
This disgusting human being is such a fraud.
What went through this contemptible man’s mind as he made the Sign of the Cross about abortion?
He made a mockery of the faith he swears to be a “devout” follower.
This just makes me sick…
— Dana (@DanaBougon) April 25, 2024
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Author: Frieda Powers
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