Joe Biden in Biden and Catholicism, by Massimo Faggioli
On Principles & Values:
Segment of American Church questions Biden's Catholicism
Catholicism has come far in two centuries in the context of the nation's political life, but it is also very different from what it was at the time of John Kennedy. For the first Catholic president, his being
Catholic was a problem for important sectors of the Protestant establishment of the nation; for the second one, the country has no problem with being Catholic, from among its bishops, its clergy, and its faithful.
Having won numerous elections as Senator since 1973, two national elections to the US Vice Presidency, and now as president in 2020,
Joe Biden lacks no political legitimacy. And yet significant sectors of the Catholic (and otherwise Christian) electorate question his morals.
Source: Biden and Catholicism, by Massimo Faggioli, p. 3
Jan 20, 2021
On Principles & Values:
Publicly open about his faith without imposing it on others
Unlike his predecessors, Biden's Catholicism fits into the twenty-first century, thanks to his easy going way of carrying his faith in public in a way that differentiates it from Kerry's reluctance to defend his faith on a public stage. It combines
traditional devotion (regular attendance at Sunday Mass, the rosary that belonged to his son Beau in his pocket) with freedom of conscience as a public figure; it also combines
American exceptionalism with respect for the international role of the Vatican."What I'm not prepared to do is propose a precise view that is borne out of my faith on other people," he said in a 2015 interview with the Jesuit Magazine America.
A stutterer like Moses, Biden's speeches are often referenced to God, the bible, or the Pope but without sounding aggressive. During the election campaign, he often spoke of, "a battle for the soul of America."
Source: Biden and Catholicism, by Massimo Faggioli, p. 50-51
Jan 20, 2021
On Principles & Values:
Cited hymn "On Eagle's Wings" in his victory speech
Joe Biden made his Catholic faith a central part of his 2020 election campaign, leaving no doubt about where his roots lie and what sustains him. In his speeches and public comments, he did not hesitate to refer to religion. He called his campaign, "a
battle for the soul of America." In his victory speech on November 7, he cited both the Bible and one of the liturgical hymns of the Catholic repertoire most readily identified with the post-Vatican 2 era, "On Eagle's Wings."
Introducing the latter, he commented, "it captures the faith that sustains me, which I believe sustains America. And I hope it can provide some comfort and some solace to the more than
230,000 families who have lost a loved one to this terrible virus this year." And then after quoting several lines of the hymn, Biden concluded, "And now together on eagle's wings we embark on the work that God and history have called upon us to do."
Source: Biden and Catholicism, by Massimo Faggioli, p.125-126
Jan 20, 2021
On Principles & Values:
Catholic doctrine taught me faith without works is dead
In a videotaped message that he prepared for the funeral of George Floyd, killed during a 2020 police arrest in Minneapolis that sparked a summer of deep unrest in the country,
Biden said, "I grew up with Catholic social doctrine, which taught me that faith without works is dead, and you will know us by what we do."
And in a Thanksgiving Day message, he offered words of comfort to a country struggling with the deadly pandemic, evoking the movements of mourning in his own life: "It takes your breath away.
It's really hard to care. It's hard to give thanks. It's even hard to look forward. It's so hard; I understand."
Source: Biden and Catholicism, by Massimo Faggioli, p.126
Jan 20, 2021
Page last updated: Nov 25, 2021