President Joe Biden made sure to use his pulpit for the National Prayer Breakfast to hit all the Democratic talking points.
Let’s see: Climate change, racial justice, lives and jobs lost due to COVID-19, the Capitol riots — which he characterized as “an assault on our democracy … a violent attack that threatened lives and took lives” — and the need to “confront and defeat political extremism, white supremacy, and domestic terrorism.”
“For so many in our nation, this is a dark, dark time. So, where do we turn?” the Democrat inquired.
He had an answer; but the first Catholic commander-in-chief since John F. Kennedy didn’t say “God” or “Jesus” — or even “Buddha” or “Muhammad.”
“Faith,” Biden replied to himself before finally quoting a religious figure — philosopher Soren Kierkegaard — saying “faith sees best in the dark.”
“I believe that to be true,” he continued. “For me, in the darkest moments, faith provides hope and solace. It provides clarity and purpose as well. It shows the way forward as one nation in a common purpose to respect one another, to care for one another, to leave no one behind.”
After reminding us that “the Bible tells us ‘weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning,'” Biden concluded his speech by finally invoking God: “May God bless you all, and may God protect our troops.”
Pushback
As you might guess, not everyone was tickled pink by Biden’s address.
The Christian Post reported that Brian Burch — president of CatholicVote, a national faith-based advocacy organization — stated that the president ignored “the aggressive and hostile steps taken by his administration against people of faith, including the anti-science transgender mandate and the deeply unpopular decision to fund abortion around the world.”
While Biden has been criticized by Catholics and other Christians for such views, he’s seen plenty of support elsewhere. The New York Times called Biden the “most religiously observant commander-in-chief in half a century,” pointing out that he “regularly attends Mass and speaks of how his Catholic faith grounds his life and his policies. And with Mr. Biden, a different, more liberal Christianity is ascendant: less focused on sexual politics and more on combating poverty, climate changes and racial inequality.”
But Burch wasn’t buying any of it.
“It’s important to also remember that President Biden does not speak for Catholics or the church,” he said, according to the Post. “In fact, he explicitly departs from many of the church’s non-negotiable beliefs and teachings. For this reason, the Catholic Bishops of the United States have rightly pointed to deep concerns about Biden’s policies that would ‘advance moral evils’ on issues such as marriage, family, religious liberty, and the defense of vulnerable children in the womb.”
He added, “Our country is desperately in need of healing and unity. Throughout our history, our leaders have called the country to prayer and obedience to the truths of our Judeo-Christian heritage. President Biden’s words this morning were both underwhelming and disappointing,” the outlet noted.