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Bishop Paprocki: Biden Mocks Catholic Faith by Invoking Christ in Pro-Abortion Message

Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, is accusing President Joe Biden of “making a mockery of our Catholic faith” after he made the Sign of the Cross while promoting abortion.

Biden, who is the country’s second Catholic president, made the Sign of the Cross at an abortion rally in Tampa, Florida, more than two weeks ago. In his speech, the president criticized Catholic Gov. Ron DeSantis for signing a bill that restricts abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. The governor had previously helped enact legislation limiting abortion to 15 weeks of pregnancy.

During the rally, Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried said that when DeSantis decided to run for president, “15 weeks wasn’t good enough; we had to go to six weeks,” at which point Biden made the Sign of the Cross in apparent disapproval of the pro-life laws.

In a May 8 video posted to the diocesan YouTube channel, Bishop Paprocki said: “To misuse this sacred gesture is to make a mockery of our Catholic faith.”

“Making the Sign of the Cross is one of the most profound gestures a Catholic can make in showing reverence for Christ’s death on the cross and belief in the Holy Trinity as we sign ourselves in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” the bishop said.

Bishop Paprocki expanded on his criticism of Biden on the diocesan Dive Deep podcast the following day, May 9, saying Biden is “mocking the gesture” of the Sign of the Cross because he was doing it “to promote something that was evil, and that’s what makes it sacrilegious.”

In his original video, Bishop Paprocki discussed the provisions by which one could excommunicate himself and provided the definitions for heresy, schism and apostasy. However, he stopped short of attaching any of those terms to Biden. During the podcast, the bishop said that would require a “canonical process,” which would likely need to take place within his diocese, the Archdiocese of Washington.

Bishop Paprocki did say that Biden’s support for abortion is “in effect … rejecting at least part of the Fifth Commandment,” which prohibits murder.

“[Biden] seems to be saying he has no problem with killing babies in the womb,” the bishop added.

Read more at National Catholic Register 

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