The Pope and the President

I’ve been critical– on this page and via the Papal Posse at EWTN, among other venues – of many things Pope Francis has said and done. With a proper respect, I believe. But more than everything else – more than the indirect infidelities in Amoris Laetitia; the cringe-making chumminess with McCarrick, Zanchetta, Battista Ricca, and many other abusers; the harsh measures against the TLM; even the outrage of Pachamama – he’s done nothing more outrageous than telling Joe Biden – if the story’s true – that he’s a “good Catholic” and should “continue receiving Communion.”

Biden has demonstrated a very casual relationship with the truth over many years. And we may yet find out that something different was said behind closed doors. The Vatican was evidently nervous about this meeting, which is why it took the unusual step of not allowing any live filming. The Vatican press office has not denied Biden’s account and has only said that it was a private conversation. And that it doesn’t comment on private conversations.

This already is close to an outright lie. The president of the United States of America, claiming to be a Catholic, at a time when he is pushing the most extreme measures on abortion and the funding thereof, as well as other unnecessarily radical policies, is facing a rebuke, perhaps even condemnation, from the American bishops at their annual November meeting in Baltimore. Under the circumstances, a meeting with the pope in Rome is not a “private conversation.” It – like the earlier meeting with Nancy Pelosi – is essentially a public declaration.

For the rest of Robert Royal’s column, click here . . .