The uber-Catholics who run CNSNews.com are all too eager to slam President Biden as insufficiently Catholic for supporting abortion rights in America.
By Terry Krepel Posted 8/23/2021
The uber-Catholics who run CNSNews.com -- namely editor Terry Jeffrey and managing editor Michael W. Chapman, both of whom think they're more Catholic than the pope -- has not been shy about seeking every opportunity to attack Joe Biden as insufficiently Catholic by refusing to force all Americans to submit to Catholic dictates, particularly on abortion.
Before the election, for instance, CNS dredged up a vice presidential debate from the 2012 election to complain that Biden said he "accepted that “life begins at conception” but would not interfere with women doctors aborting human lives in the womb," quoting him as saying on the Catholic Church's anti-abortion stance that "I refuse to impose it on equally devout Christians and Muslims and Jews, and I just refuse to impose that on others." And Chapman found a random Catholic priest to rant that the "Democrat Party [sic] is the Party of Death" and that Biden is its leader. (Weird how a Catholic priest who is supposed to be above politics is spouting the deliberate right-wing misnaming of the Democratic Party.)
Then, Jeffrey had a bizarre meltdown that Biden's victory speech interrupted a Notre Dame football game. "Did Biden--a self-described devout Catholic--know that Notre Dame was playing Clemson?" Jeffrey ranted. "The game was in the second quarter--and Biden could not even wait until halftime."
This petulant rant set the tone for CNS' post-election attacks on Biden's purported lack of faith. On Nov. 9, Jeffrey declared that "Joe Biden also supports letting biological males who are 'transgender' claim to be females on government identity documents—and to play on girls’ sports teams and use girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms," suggesting that Biden wasn't a true Catholic for supporting this.
The Biden-bashing continued over the following weeks:
On Nov. 19, Chapman quoted a bishop who called on Biden "to 'repent' from his support of abortion and gay 'marriage' for 'his own salvation' and the good of the country." Curiously, Chapman referred to Biden as a "Democratic presidential candidate" even though by this time he was president-elect.
In a Dec. 3 article, Jeffrey unearthed a 2015 interview of Biden where he "spoke of his admiration for Pope Francis and what this pope was doing for the church," quoting Biden saying that the pope was "the embodiment of the Catholic social doctrine I was raised with." Jeffrey hates Pope Francis for not being right-wing enough.
Two days later, Chapman found a bishop who thought Biden "should not receive Holy Communion" because of "his long history of supporting 'grave moral evils,' such as abortion."
CNS published a Jan. 5 column by Catholic activist CJ Doyle blaming Biden for being personally responsible for millions of abortions because he voted against the Supreme Court nomination of Robert Bork, who would have been an activist on the court to overturn Roe v. Wade (ironically demonstrating that Bork was unfit to be on the court).
On Jan. 14, Chapman found a cardinal who proclaimed that Biden "ran on a platform avidly supporting this gruesome capital punishment for innocent pre-born babies."
In a Jan. 18 article, CNS found another bishop who thinks that any Catholic priest who gives Holy Communion to Biden "without clearly teaching the gravity of his facilitating the evil of abortion (and his approval of same-sex relationships), they do a serious disservice to their brother bishops and their people."
The same day, Chapman located yet another priest to claim Biden should be denied communion because he "has not repented of his avowed pro-abortion policies," and "has not sought God's forgiveness for them." Of course, the priest cannot possibly know that because the sacrament of confession is veiled in secrecy.
CNS gave a Jan. 26 column to anti-abortion activist Hugh Brown, who ranted that "There is no such thing as a liberal Catholic" and that anyone who thinks so, like Biden, "are the anti-Church spoken of by St. John Paul II."
On Jan. 28, dishonest Catholic Bill Donohue was given space to huff that "Biden has a real problem with the most basic moral teachings of his professed religion" and that "Biden's choice of Thursday [when Catholic bishops were holding a Vigil for Life] to announce his pro-abortion executive orders makes him look like a rogue Catholic."
Chapman penned a Feb. 1 article highlighting the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) condemned Biden's action rescinding the Mexico City policy, which had blocked U.S. support to foreign organizations that mentioned abortion as a choice for women, which was effectively a gag rule -- as furthering the "destruction of human lives in developing nations."
Chapman wrote in a Feb. 3 article: "African Catholic Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, one of Nigeria's most powerful leaders, said that Democratic President Joe Biden's executive orders to promote abortion widely in the United States and abroad are contrary 'to reason' and they violate 'human dignity."' Chapman also proudly touted that Kaigama once explained "why it is morally right to imprison people who contract 'gay marriage.'"
None of these articles gave anyone a chance to counter the anti-Biden slant CNS is promoting, even though CNS' mission statement declares that it "endeavors to fairly present all legitimate sides of a story."
Chapman invoked one of his favorite hardline Catholics in a Feb. 16 article:
Two days after President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris announced that they are committed to codifying Roe v. Wade into law, Catholic Cardinal Raymond Burke, an American, gave a sermon in which he said such a plan is part of the Evil One’s “program of lies and death.”
This is the same Cardinal Burke who said in August that Biden “is not a Catholic in good standing and he should not approach to receive Holy Communion.”
The same day, a column by anti-abortion activist Judie Brown criticized Catholic bishops for supposedly not bashing Biden hard enough on the issue of abortion: "As members of the media press hard for Biden’s abortion agenda—including the repeal of laws that require parents to be notified if their minor child seeks to abort her baby—we find it nearly unbelievable that the bishops really need to clarify the obvious facts about abortion. What is it actually going to take for not only bishops, but Catholics in general, to awaken to the sad reality of our time?"
The next day, CNS' favorite dishonest Catholic, Bill Donohue, huffed: "President Biden used his first day in office to discuss human rights. However, he did not speak to this issue in a broad manner; rather, he limited his discussion to the rights of homosexuals and transgender persons. This tells us a great deal about his priorities."
That sort of hostile coverage continued:
An anonymously written Feb. 21 article carried the headline "Catholic Bishops: Stop Biden-Backed Equality Act That Would ‘Force Girls...to Share...Shower Spaces With Biological Males’."
On Feb. 22, Chapman found a bishop to attack Biden as "not a real Catholic ... just a fact." Chapman went on to lecture: "Biden and his supporters in the left-wing media frequently refer to his 'devout' Catholicism, but gloss over his support for abortion on demand, gay marriage, gay adoption, and other issues contrary to the moral teachings of the Catholic Church."
On March 2, Donohue huffed that "If there is one thing that makes Biden "overtly religious," it is his habit of carrying a rosary. ... What does that have to do with his public policy decisions that are of interest to the Catholic Church?"
Two days later, Donohue complained: "Not a day goes by without some commentators, usually left-wing Catholics, trying to convince the public that [Biden] is a model Catholic. This is disingenuous. If Biden were a model Catholic, there would be no need to assure us that he is."
Chapman spent a March 26 article highlighting another bishop's attack on Biden, declaring that he "'should not present himself' for Holy Communion at Sunday Mass given his decades-long support for abortion and other grievous sins." Chapman further editorialized: "Biden should not present himself for Communion because he has used his power and vote over the years to ensure that abortion occurs in this country (and abroad) and that Planned Parenthood receives federal funding. Abortion and contraception are contrary to Catholic moral teaching."
Chapman called on his favorite Biden-hating bishop again on March 31: "In response to a question about President Joe Biden's open defiance of the Catholic Church's moral teaching, particularly on abortion, Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, an American, said that 'a person who claims to be a Catholic and yet promotes in such an open, obdurate, and aggressive way a crime like procured abortion is in the state, at least, of apostasy.' He added that the next step to consider is a church penalty for the 'crime of apostasy, which would be excommunication.'
On April 5, Jeffrey was the one who scrounged up a Biden-bashing bishop, "stating that President Joe Biden, who supports abortion and same-sex relationships, should not receive Holy Communion.
Chapman harrumphed on April 14: "Although President Joe Biden is a Catholic -- a Catholic who rejects nearly all of the fundamental moral teachings of the church -- a recent survey shows there is "little evidence" that his faith is resulting in "high approval ratings from his fellow Catholics." In fact, his highest job approval rating, 67%, is among people who never attend church." Chapman went on to tout: "Many Catholic bishops have denounced Biden's support for abortion and gay "marriage," and Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke has said Biden could face public excommunication from the church."
Jeffrey returned on April 28 to promote yet another Biden-bashing bishop: "It can create confusion. ... How can he say he’s a devout Catholic and he’s doing these things that are contrary to the church’s teaching?”
As usual, CNS refused to give any Catholic Biden supporters a chance to respond to the attacks.
Bashing bishops who congratulated Biden
Catholic officials are acknowledging that Joe Biden, a Catholic, won the presidential election, and the pro-Trump CNSNews.com is not having it.
When the head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops congratulated Biden, CNS editor in chief Terry Jeffrey went on a lengthy Nov. 9 diatribe under the needlessly long headline "Top Catholic Bishop Acknowledges Pro-Abort, Pro-Gay-Marriage Biden as Second ‘President to Profess Catholic Faith’":
Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles, who currently serves as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has issued a statement describing Joe Biden—who supports legalized abortion, taxpayer funding of abortion, same-sex marriage, and allowing biological males to play on girls’ sports teams and use girls’ locker rooms—as “the second United States president to profess the Catholic faith.”
“We thank God for the blessings of liberty. The American people have spoken in this election,” said Archbishop Gomez in his statement--which is posted on the website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“Now is the time for our leaders to come together in a spirit of national unity and to commit themselves to dialogue and compromise for the common good,” said Gomez.
Jeffrey further ranted that "During his presidential campaign, Joe Biden staked out a number of positions that directly contradict Catholic moral teachings laid out in the Catechism of the Catholic Church," such as supporting gay marriage when "The Catholic Catechism, by contrast, holds that marriage is between a man and a women and that homosexual acts are “acts of grave depravity” that “are contrary to the natural law.”, and that "Biden also supports letting biological males who are “transgender” claim to be females on government identity documents—and to play on girls’ sports teams and use girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms" when "The Catholic Catechism cites Genesis 5:2 in stating: “Male and female he created them.”
The same day, an anonymously written article complained that the Vatican News website "has posted a headline today that says: US Bishops welcome Biden: ‘It’s time for unity,’” adding that "In his campaign—as noted by materials posted on his campaign website—former Vice President Biden supported legalized abortion, taxpayer funding of abortion and same-sex marriage. These things all violate Catholic moral teachings."
On Nov. 10, managing editor Michael W. Chapman gave space for an anti-abortion group to go on a hateful tirade against the bishops for the sin of congratulating Biden:
In response to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issuing a statement that congratulates Joe Biden and claims he is the second U.S. "president to profess the Catholic faith," leaders at the American Life League said this proves that the organization is "a feckless, spineless, conglomerate of dead souls."
[...]
Joe Biden is a Catholic who supports abortion, gay "marriage," gay adoption, and allowing biological males (transgender "women") to play on real women's sports teams and use their locker rooms, all of which is contrary to Catholic moral teaching.
American Life League President Judie Brown said, "The USCCB has affirmed what many of us have suspected for many years, and that is that most Catholic bishops have no problem with a Catholic politician spitting at the face of Christ by supporting the vile murder of the preborn."
"Joe Biden is such a man; he claims to be Catholic, yet he gives 100 percent support for abortion every day of the week and in every manner of brutality against the innocent," said Brown. "The Catholic bishops have erred, and as a Catholic, I am ashamed of them."
ALL Executive Vice President Hugh Brown said, "The reality of the USCCB issuing a statement of congratulations to Joe Biden should not be a surprise to anyone. The USCCB is a feckless spineless conglomerate of dead souls. They are not the descendants of the Apostles."
Chapman and Jeffrey never explained why the simple, polite act of congratulating a newly elected president must be retaliated against with such ridiculous partisan venom.
Politicizing Easter to bash Biden
How much does CNS hate Biden? It turned Easter into a cudgel to attack him.
An April 1 column by Tom Kilgannon of the right-wing Freedom Alliance carried the headline "Cafeteria Catholic Biden Should Not Go to Communion at Easter Mass," going on to declare: "Holy Week is the most meaningful time of the year for Catholics. It is when Jesus gave us the sacrament of the Eucharist. He died for our sins, and He rose from the dead so that we may have eternal life. This is the Church Joe Biden loves but for which he is causing problems. He, and he alone, has the ability and responsibility to correct the situation."
This was followed the next day by a rant from Donohue, who sneered: "As we approach Easter, the bishops, as well as millions of practicing Catholics, are not going to have their concerns about Biden allayed by photos of him clinging to his rosary beads. He cannot at once declare himself to be a "devout Catholic" while at the same time supporting abortion-on-demand, gay marriage, sex transitioning for minors, and the war on religious liberty. It's time for President Biden to stop living a lie." This from a guy who has told more than his share of lies, so maybe he should address that first before accusing others.
On April 5, CNS served up an anonymously written article noting the Bidens' Easter message that "cited the Gospel of John" and quoted the message as noting "the sentiments of Pope Francis, who said that getting vaccinated is a moral obligation." This was surprisingly free of editorial commentary, but that was rectified later that day by an article from Emma Riley, who found something to complain about anyway:
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden shared an Easter video message on Sunday that talked a lot about COVID and a “moral obligation” to get vaccinated, but did not mention the words Jesus Christ.
Easter is, as the Encyclopedia Britannica explains, the “principal festival of the Christian church, which celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after His Crucifixion.” Easter is celebrated every year by the global Christian population, estimated at 2.54 billion people.
CNS even got mad at another Democrat for wishing people a happy Easter: An anonymously written April 5 article attacked Rep. Ilhan Omar for sending out a happy-Easter tweet, then appeared that Easter Sunday on CNN show hosted by Jake Tapper, where "At both the beginning and end of this Easter Sunday interview, as transcribed by CNN, Tapper wished Omar an 'early' happy Ramadan."
Apparently, only right-wing Christians are allowed to wish other Christians a happy Easter as far as CNS is concerned.
Campaign to bar Biden from Communion fails
CNS' campaign to get bishops to deny Biden from receiving Holy Communion continued in May and June, along with the usual Biden-bashing:
Chapman touted in a May 3 article: "In a May 1 pastoral letter on the moral evil of abortion, Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco explains why Catholic politicians (and other public Catholics) who support abortion must not receive Holy Communion and why they must stop pretending that advocating for abortion is compatible with the Catholic faith."
In a May 18 column, anti-abortion activist Judie Brown cheered the idea of bishops denying Biden Communion, huffing that "seeing their bishops debate whether or not a Catholic public official like Biden or Pelosi should be denied the body of Christ because they support this killing is an absurdity. And it creates confusion everywhere." Brown then ranted: "Pelosi, Biden, and others have pandered to evil and insulted the body of Christ for many years. Do the bishops and the Vatican really need to study this, or are they obligated to Christ Himself to say once and for all, 'Choose! Unity or division, Christ or Satan!'?"
Chapman highlighted in a June 1 article how another bishop "largely denounced President Biden's budget proposal for excluding the pro-life Hyde Amendment, stating that 'Congress must reject the Administration’s proposal to subsidize the deaths of unborn children.'"
Donohue used a June 4 column to huff that it was "character assassination" when a liberal Catholic publication argued that bishops desperate to publicly rebuke Biden are trying to create a "MAGA church" and are "in the pockets of wealthy donors pushing a political agenda." Three days later, Donohue contributed a column that purported to list "Biden's 30+ Departures From Catholicism Thus Far."
An anonymously written June 14 article quoted a bishop who issued s statement "in which he cites President Joe Biden for promoting evils, including the abortion of unborn babies, the marriage of people of the same sex and people identifying as the opposite sex of the one they are biologically," adding that "the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, as planned, should discuss at their virtual meeting this week why Catholics who advocate abortion cannot receive communion."
An anonymously written June 18 article found a bishop who said that Biden's "calling abortion a 'right' and trying to abolish the Hyde Amendment so taxpayers must pay for it is 'the most aggressive thing we’ve ever seen in terms of this attack on life when it’s most innocent.'"
In a May 12 article, Chapman complained that CNS' anti-Biden goal of denying him Communion was being resisted by the Vatican:
As U.S. Catholic bishops prepare for a June meeting on how to address the scandal of pro-abortion Catholic politicians receiving Holy Communion, the Vatican's doctrinal office has sent a letter to the bishops essentially urging them to slow down, delay, take more time to debate and communicate before formulating a policy on the issue.
Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the office that defends official Catholic teaching, said in a May 7 letter to the bishops that when this topic was discussed in 2019-2020, "the formulation of a national policy was suggested ... only if this would help the bishops to maintain unity."
"This Congregation notes that such a policy" today, "given its possibly contentious nature, could have the opposite effect and become a source of discord rather than unity within the episcopate and the larger Church in the United States."
[...]
In the United States, some of the most prominent Catholic politicians who support abortion are well known and their anti-life position has been well-documented for decades.
CNS continued building up to that meeting of bishops. A June 18 article by Melanie Arter featured how Biden said "he doesn’t think the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will deny him Communion based on his support for abortion," and a June 22 column by Pat Buchanan hyped bishops' alleged "alarm that the public religious practice of President Joe Biden is conveying a heretical message to the faithful and the nation."
But when that meeting of bishops resulted in them declining to establish a national policy of withholding Communion from Biden and other Catholic politicians, CNS ... reported nothing. It wasn't until July 1 -- several days after the bishops' meeting -- that the outcome was first mentioned on the CNS website, and that was in a column by Donohue complaining that a newspaper criticized the bishops for even considering such drastic action.
This was followed by a July 6 column by Brown complaining that "Catholic bishops, for the most part, seem to be unfamiliar with the difference between profaning the body of Christ in the Eucharist and being coherent in a policy that defends and protects Him from sacrilege." Then, a July 8 column by Stephen Kokx ranted:
How much do Catholic bishops in the United States care about unborn babies? Or, for that matter, infallible church teaching on the Eucharist? By the looks of it, not that much.
[...]
It would’ve been a glorious moment in Church history — perhaps something even akin to St. Ambrose rebuking Emperor Theodosius in the 4th century — had the bishops taken a stand and boldly defended Catholic doctrine at their June meeting. Instead, they caved to media and Vatican pressure and are now complicit in the continued profanation of the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. May God have mercy on their souls.
Kokx didn't explain why it's a bad thing for Catholic bishops to be influenced by "Vatican pressure." That's the head of the Catholic church, after all.
CNS has yet to devote a "news" article to the bishops' decision.
