On Thursday, March 7, President Joe Biden presented the State of the Union address.
Partisan secular media aligned themselves with their appropriate sidelines. Those on the left applauded the president’s forceful delivery, while those on the right considered it a 70-minute rant from an old man saying, “Stay off my lawn.”
The speech’s tone was seen as different from traditional State of the Union addresses given over the years.
From the Catholic perspective, Biden, who professes to be a devout Catholic, separated himself from Church teachings from beginning to end.
The president forcefully professed from the onset to pronounce his strong support of creating federal “rights” to abortion as well as in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Biden also directly confronted the Supreme Court justices — in an unprecedented move — citing the majority opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that overturned Roe v. Wade, where the justices wrote: “Women are not without electoral or political power.”
He vowed, “I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again.”
The president stressed his position that access to abortion should be expanded by congressional legislation. He also expressed support for access to fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization following a controversial ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that frozen embryos should be considered unborn children under the state’s wrongful death law.
Catholic critics on X had questions about the president’s adherence to his faith.
“It’s remarkable that a Catholic president of the United States can openly say he is pro-abortion and actively work to secure abortion access in the country, and yet there is no obvious consequence for his communion with the Church of Jesus Christ,” wrote Father Thomas Petri, OP, president of the pontifical faculty at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington.
He added, “That he could say parents should be able to abort children with disabilities and still present himself as a faithful Catholic is scandalous. Moreover, it puts his soul in real jeopardy. I pray his pastor(s) are addressing this with him, and seeking his conversion.”
Also on X, Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins fact-checked the president’s claims about last month’s landmark Alabama Supreme Court ruling on IVF. “Despite Joe Biden’s lies” and “despite media rhetoric,” the “Alabama decision doesn’t outlaw IVF,” she wrote. “Instead, the IVF clinics can continue to operate but with further accountability to treat embryonic children as human beings, and not to be discarded or carelessly handled like waste.”
Hawkins also commented on Biden’s Justice Department investigating pro-life Catholics.
“You’re not about revenge Joe Biden? Tell that to the traditional Catholics, pro-life volunteers, and families you’ve targeted during your reign of terror,” she wrote.
First lady Jill Biden went along with the anti-Catholic theme by inviting Kate Cox, a woman who sued Texas last year over her right to have a late-term abortion. Cox was denied the abortion by the Texas high court, but left the state to get the procedure.
Live Action Founder Lila Rose said on X, “Kate Cox’s life wasn’t at risk.” She “demanded a late term abortion of her disabled baby girl, and she left Texas to ensure her daughter’s death.”
Say what you want about the politics; our Catholic values are not a priority for this White House, despite the window dressing.