This week, the nation saw Joseph R. Biden’s inauguration as the 46th president of the United States of America. Whether an individual chose to vote for Biden or the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, at this point, the matter is moot. Mr. Biden is the President of the United States, and we, as a united country, need to pray for him.
We need to recognize that, despite Trump’s flaws and some of his followers’ terrible conduct, he was the president of the greatest nation on this planet. Be grateful for the work he did to advance the anti-abortion movement and the effort he made to promote religious freedom both here, in our nation, and abroad.
In 2020, President Trump became the first president to attend the March for Life in Washington, D.C. in person. On Sep. 23, he announced that he would sign an executive order to ensure that babies born alive are given proper medical care. He also nominated three pro-life judges to the Supreme Court during his presidency.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has praised President Trump for his pro-life positions as well as for his defense of religious freedom. At the same time, the USCCB has criticized him for some of his immigration policies and for resuming federal executions since 2019.
We should be justly outraged by other aspects of Mr. Trump’s presidency, which American historians will undoubtedly analyze and debate over the years. However, as of Wednesday, January 20, Mr. Biden, the former Vice-President under Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States of America, is our President. Our duty both as Catholics and as citizens is to pray for Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris for the good of our nation under their watch.
Just like under Mr. Trump, there will be many issues with which Catholics will rightly have questions and difficulties. There will be questions on Mr. Biden’s policies, which may place him in opposition to our moral stance as a Church. Many fear this will be the most pro-abortion administration in U.S. history. His administration will probably be less friendly to Catholic
schools and religious freedom than the last one.
Catholics should be ready to stand for the unborn and the most essential freedoms under this administration. Yet, at the same time, there will no doubt be many areas, like immigration, where Biden might prove to be a champion. St. Paul in his First Epistle to Timothy reminds us: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
Therefore, as good citizens, offer prayers for our leaders, our nation, and for the dignity of human life from conception to natural death. May God bless our land and each and every one of us.
