A Tyler, Texas-based Catholic bishop had strong words for President Joe Biden Tuesday, referring to the commander-in-chief's motives as "fake Catholicism," in the aftermath of Biden's latest public comments on abortion.
Bishop Joseph Strickland of the Catholic Diocese of Tyler offered a social-media criticism of Biden, after the president insisted that Pope Francis, along with other Catholic bishops, were comfortable with federal dollars being used to fund abortions throughout America.
"Mr. Biden can't be allowed to twist the words of Pope Francis in this way," Strickland tweeted. "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."
Pope Francis has "forcefully" condemned abortion on many occasions, according to the Washington Examiner.
As one example, in 2019, the Pope likened abortion to "hiring a hitman" and slammed abortions that were made based on prenatal testing results.
On Monday, a White House press corps member informed Biden that "Catholic bishops are demanding that federal tax dollars not fund abortions" days after Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and the head of the Diocese of Arlington in Virginia, requested that Congress pass a bill disallowing taxpayer funding for abortion.
This prompted President Biden, a self-described "devout" Catholic, to respond with, "No, they are not all doing that, nor is the Pope."
Biden, the second Catholic president in U.S. history (after President John F. Kennedy), has made abortion a common talking point with his presidency, including the public call for the House and Senate to remove the Hyde Amendment — a provision in the annual federal budget which prohibits taxpayer funding for abortion.
According to the Examiner, the Archdiocese of Washington D.C., led by Cardinal Wilton Gregory, has yet to offer a public comment about Biden or Strickland.
However, last year, Gregory reportedly condemned a group of pro-abortion-rights Catholics who projected graphics onto the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in the district.
In his statement, Gregory equated the pro-abortion group to the disciple Judas.
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