We still don’t know exactly how Catholics voted in this election, but based on previous election cycles we can assume each candidate probably received more than 40 percent of the Catholic vote.
The media projected Joe Biden as the winner on Saturday, Nov. 7. He has since received congratulatory messages from Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, as well as foreign leaders and President George W. Bush.
However, President Trump has not conceded the election and his campaign has filed numerous lawsuits alleging voting irregularities in battleground states. Many Republican leaders in Congress have not broken ranks with the president and have not publicly called on him to concede the election. We hope that the days ahead will bring an end to this long, acrimonious, and unique electoral campaign.
This has been a heated race to the White House and neither major political party, and especially its candidates, truly exemplified the major moral convictions that Catholics must have in making a decision on whom to vote.
President Donald J. Trump, although friendly to the Catholic Church in many ways, most especially in his support of an anti-abortion platform and in the promotion of religious freedom, is hardly an ideal president, not only due to his, at times, irascible temperament but also due to his stances on issues like immigration.
On the other hand, Joseph R. Biden, although a baptized Catholic who regularly attends Holy Mass and demonstrates a basic understanding of the dignity of the human person, holds positions and proposes policies to which Catholic teaching does not support.
We need to remember that there will be several issues which Biden supports that would also be thorny for Catholics.
Among these issues, of course, the most important is Mr. Biden’s support for abortion “rights.” Biden has become an extreme supporter of abortion in recent years.
But, in addition, issues of religious liberty certainly are at stake under the Biden administration, as in the case of the Little Sisters of the Poor.
He has stated in his declaration on his policies that he is against school choice, as well as in his support of the Equality Act, which would be devastating to Catholic health care. These are major concerns, to say the least.
There are, of course, many issues that Joe Biden and the Church can and do agree on, most especially in terms of care of the poor and eradicating poverty, welcoming immigrants, and rooting out systematic racism in the United States of America.
If Biden ends up winning the presidency, we pray that he will make his personal faith a priority in the midst of a demanding schedule and that the teachings of the Catholic Church will guide and direct his conscience as he makes decisions for the good of our nation.
We pray for a peaceful transition of power. We pray for Trump and Biden and their families as they begin a new phase of their lives.
I’d also point out that not only does President-elect Biden represent a major step forward in character for the Presidency, especially in the areas of truthfulness, charity of spirit, and marital fidelity – fundamental Catholic values – but he is soundly in keeping with papal teachings from Leo XIII’s “Rerum Novarum” to Pope Francis’ “Laudato Si”. Should we Catholics not celebrate a newly elected President (the incumbent’s childish denials notwithstanding) who prays the Rosary, attends his parish’s Sunday Mass faithfully, and can spontaneously cite Michael Joncas’ hymn “On Eagles Wings” in his public remarks? Quibble if you will – public policy is always open for debate – but I hope The Tablet will not hesitate to report and praise the many ways in which Joe Biden will restore character to the White House and a moral compass to national administration.