American Catholics are outraged over news that Vice President Joe Biden, who openly declares himself to be Catholic, has officiated at a same-sex wedding.
ChurchPOP is reporting on the ceremony, which took place at the Vice President’s residence at 4:00 p.m. on August 1, where Brian Mosteller, the director of Oval Office operations and Joe Mahshie, a trip coordinator for Michelle Obama were united in “marriage”.
Apparently, the vice president obtained a license from the District of Columbia in order to officiate at the ceremony.
Afterward, he tweeted out a picture of the men holding hands as the “marriage” took place.
“Proud to marry Brian and Joe at my house,” Biden wrote. “Couldn’t be happier, two longtime White House staffers, two great guys.”
In spite of his actions, Vice President Biden insists that he is a devout Catholic who attends Mass and prays the rosary.
As ChurchPOP reports, he once told Stephen Colbert on his show, “For me, my religion is just an enormous sense of solace. Some of it relates to ritual, some of it relates to just comfort in what you’ve done your whole life. I go to Mass and I’m able to just be alone, even in the crowd. I say the rosary, I find it to be incredibly comforting.”
However, following Christ isn’t just about the comfort that religion brings to a soul. It’s also about following in his footsteps and being a sign of contradiction in the world, something the Vice President has consistently failed to do during his long political career. He has supported abortion, embryonic stem-cell research and same-sex marriage, all of which are considered gravely immoral by the Church.
As a result, he has been publicly criticized in the past by various bishops for these positions.
For example, Bishop Joseph F. Martino of the Diocese of Scranton, where Biden grew up, would not allow Biden to receive communion in his diocese. Bishop Michael Saltarelli of the Diocese of Wilmington, where Biden is now living, has also criticized Biden but the Vice President is permitted to receive communion.
In 2013, Biden was present at the Mass for the installation of Pope Francis and public received communion in spite of the fact that Pope Francis was famous for denying pro-abortion politicians communion in his diocese in Argentina.
In fact, while still serving as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, Pope Frances was one of the primary authors of theAparecida Document which was the concluding document of the 2007 General Conference of Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean. The document, which was approved by Pope Benedict XVI and reaffirmed by Pope Francis, reads:
“We hope that legislators [and] heads of government … will defend and protect [the dignity of human life] from the abominable crimes of abortion and euthanasia; that is their responsibility…. We must adhere to ‘eucharistic coherence,’ that is, be conscious that they cannot receive Holy Communion and at the same time act with deeds or words against the commandments, particularly when abortion, euthanasia, and other grave crimes against life and family are encouraged. This responsibility weighs particularly over legislators, heads of governments, and health professionals.”
In 2004, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, acting as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, sent a memorandum to Cardinal McCarrick of Washington DC instructing him on the worthy reception of the Eucharist.
“Regarding the grave sin of abortion or euthanasia, when a person’s formal cooperation becomes manifest (understood, in the case of a Catholic politician, as his consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws), his Pastor should meet with him, instructing him about the Church’s teaching, informing him that he is not to present himself for Holy Communion until he brings to an end the objective situation of sin, and warning him that he will otherwise be denied the Eucharist.”
As of this writing, it is unclear if Biden will face any kind of ecclesiastical censure for officiating at the same-sex ceremony.
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