President Joe Biden, despite supposedly being a "devout Catholic," keeps finding himself in the news over his obsession, and the obsession of his administration, on abortion. On Tuesday, we covered how his administration may be looking to declare a public health emergency declaration, this time on abortion. Earlier in the week, on Monday, Biden had also been confronted by a reporter about such a pro-abortion stance, which led to the president giving a rather head-scratching answer about his Catholic faith.
As our friends at Twitchy highlighted, Biden was confronted by a reporter from EWTWN, a Catholic network, who pointed out that "Catholic bishops are demanding that federal tax dollars not fund abortions." Biden, wagging his finger at the reporter, claimed "no, they are not all doing that, nor is the pope doing that."
"Catholic bishops are demanding that federal tax dollars not fund abortions."
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 30, 2023
BIDEN: "No they are not" pic.twitter.com/58bphBj7KZ
Despite the president's claims, though, Bishop Michael Burbidge of nearby Arlington, Virgina, who is also the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Pro-Life Committee, did in fact last Friday write a letter urging Congress to pass the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act.
Like the name suggests, the bill would ban taxpayer funding of abortion by making the Hyde Amendment permanent. Taxpayer funding of elective abortions is currently not allowed due to Hyde passing each year as a budget rider. It's worth noting that Hyde has passed in spite of efforts from Biden and other pro-abortion Democrats who have been hellbent on trying to get rid of it.
Not only was Biden's steadfast response anti-Catholic and ignorant, it's also stunningly hypocritical. As Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), he voted year after year to pass Hyde, including for versions that didn't include the rape or incest exceptions that they do now, and even bragged to constituents about supporting Hyde.
Bishop Burbidge's letter to bill sponsors Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) mentions the passage of protections like Hyde, going on to explain why this law is so badly needed:
Despite all of this, congressional action is required. Each of the existing fundingl imitations affect only a particular funding stream, and many have to be reenacted every year in annual appropriations. This puts them – and subsequently women and their children – at risk in a polarized climate. It also puts numerous other important, positive programs at risk from being caught up in unnecessary political gridlock when there are questions of impact on abortion related funding. This can affect the health and wellbeing of those in need worst of all.
The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act would take a modest but important step to correct these problems by making permanent and government-wide the long-standing policy of preventing federal taxpayer funding of elective abortions. The government should never fund the destruction of innocent preborn children. Rather, Congress can better serve the common good by prioritizing policies that comprehensively assist women, children, and families in need in ways that will not only encourage childbirth but make it easier to welcome and raise a new child In taking up such priorities, Congress would advance a society that promotes life and hope for both preborn children and their mothers,
Bree A. Dail, the Rome correspondent for The Daily Wire, also shared a clip of the exchange, quoting Pope Francis to remind that the head of the Catholic Church is indeed pro-life.
This included a May 25, 2019 article from the Associated Press in which Pope Francis spoke out against abortion being acceptable and compared the procedure to hiring a hitman. “Is it licit to throw away a life to resolve a problem?” he asked. “Is it licit to hire a hitman to resolve a problem?” He particularly spoke out against abortion in the case of diagnoses made in utero, saying a human being is "never incompatible with life."
As the Catholic News Agency reported more recently, last July, Pope Francis also said it is an "incoherence" that Biden is a pro-abortion Catholic.
@PressSec, you are on notice to cite where and how President Biden received support from Pope Francis on federal funding of abortion.@EWTN @owentjensen
— Bree A Dail (@breeadail) January 31, 2023
Also included in Dail's thread are a series of tweets putting White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre "on notice" to force the administration to bring receipts as to "where and how" Francis indicated he is okay with federal funding of abortions. She also indicated she reached out to the Holy See for clarification.
Dail's thread got the attention of Bishop Joseph E. Strickland of Tyler, Texas, who also tweeted a call for clarification and declared "It is time to denounce Biden's fake Catholicism."
Mr Biden can’t be allowed to twist the words of Pope Francis in this way. I implore the Vatican press office to emphatically clarify that Pope Francis rightly calls abortion murder. It is time to denounce Biden’s fake Catholicism. https://t.co/RBEbWmczsl
— Bishop J. Strickland (@Bishopoftyler) January 31, 2023
This is hardly the first time that the president has faltered when it comes to the faith he claims to follow and his position on abortion.
During remarks in September of 2021 for instance, he made clear he doesn't agree that life begins at conception, though he claimed "I respect that," a laughable position given that he is making those who accept this basic biological fact fund abortion. More recently, in October of last year, he also seemingly compared himself to the Devil over his stance on the issue.