Since it’s Sunday, we might as well squeeze in a bit more news related to the Catholic Church. Back on April 5, Bishop Robert Gruss invoked the name of President Joe Biden while delivering a lecture at the Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption in Saginaw, Michigan. But the Bishop wasn’t offering any sort of campaign endorsement. He was instructing the flock about how forgiveness is at the heart of true Christianity and urging them to let go of anger and resentment toward others. Seemingly out of the blue, he decided to single out the President as an example, asking the faithful how often they have been angry at Joe Biden. He said that if anyone was harboring anger toward Biden they should confess and be free of it. He then said that he isn’t personally angry with Biden… “he’s just stupid.” He then clarified the remark by saying that Biden “doesn’t understand the Catholic faith.” (Fox News)
Reflecting on his own feelings towards Biden — who has embraced a public affiliation with Catholicism while also supporting abortion, gender ideology, and other policies contrary to Church teaching — the bishop said he pities him.
“I don’t have any anger towards the president. I feel sorry for him. I’m not angry at him, he’s just stupid,” Gruss said.
The comment provoked renewed laughter from the audience, though the bishop remained serious.
“It’s not stupidity in the derogatory way, it’s stupidity in the sense of […] he doesn’t understand the Catholic faith.”
To be fair to Bishop Gruss, he later apologized for calling Biden stupid. He said that he “should have chosen a more precise word.” I’m not sure what word would have been more “precise” or accurate in those circumstances, but it’s only natural that a Bishop would apologize for potentially offending someone. He said that he hadn’t intended to be “disparaging” toward the President.
Joe Biden makes a big deal out of being a Catholic when giving speeches, or at least when it suits his convenience to do so. You’d be hard-pressed to tell that he is based on how he governs, however. On topics ranging from abortion to gender identity, he is completely out of step with the message coming from the church. The Pope went so far as to call him “incoherent” on abortion. And Biden’s sympathy for the poor doesn’t appear to go much further than words unless the poor in question happen to be illegal aliens.
Then there are Biden’s repeated claims he frequently attended a Black Baptist church when he was younger. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course (assuming it’s true), but if you are buying all of his claims, it doesn’t sound like he spent all that much time attending Catholic mass.
Of course, we don’t elect presidents based on their faith, or at least we’re not supposed to. But that doesn’t mean that voters can’t take factors such as the appearance of morality and devoutness into consideration. We should also remember, however, that simply being a good Christian (or whichever religion you prefer) does not assure competence or capable leadership. Jimmy Carter was probably the most faithful, God-fearing man to sit in the Oval Office in the modern era, but he was mostly a disaster as a president. And yet, as I have discussed with Ed Morrissey on many occasions, he was also arguably our best ex-president. He was constantly out there getting his hands dirty and working to help the homeless, making time to teach Sunday school almost every week.
Let’s just say I’m not expecting that sort of behavior from Joe Biden in his post-presidential years. I’d love to be wrong and I will cheer for him if that’s the case, but his history of actions – as opposed to words – doesn’t suggest it. Then again, he has clearly robbed Jimmy Carter of the title of worst president. Perhaps he will surprise us on this score as well.