Catholic bishops in the US have criticised Joe Biden’s latest claim that some church leaders are okay with taxpayer funds’ being used to conduct abortions.
EWTN’s White House correspondent told Biden: “Catholic bishops are demanding that federal tax dollars not fund abortions”
“No, they are not all doing that, nor is the Pope doing that,” Biden replied.
One of the most outspoken conservative Catholic bishops in the US, Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, immediately criticised Joe Biden’s claims.
He wrote on Twitter: “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.”
Biden’s comments sparked more reactions on social media; many hit out at Biden for using Pope Francis to defend his claim.
The leader of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Timothy Broglio issued a statement rejecting Biden’s claims.
Broglio’s statement read: “The Catholic bishops of the United States are united in our commitment to life and will continue to work as one body in Christ to make abortion unthinkable.”
“Taxpayer funding of abortion would force people of good conscience to participate in this grave evil against their will. It would contradict our right to live in accord with the tenets of our faith,” it continued.
Pope Francis has previously compared procuring an abortion to “hiring a hitman”.
(Picture Courtesy: Rueters)
