Archbishop labels Biden ‘cafeteria Catholic’: Cardinal Wilton Gregory criticizes the president for ‘picking and choosing’ parts of his faith to suit him, following anger over Easter’s proclamation of Transgender Day of Visibility

Archbishop of Washington Cardinal Gregory Wilton on Sunday described President Joe Biden as a “cafeteria Catholic,” criticizing him for singling out parts of the Catholic faith and ignoring other church teachings.

The archbishop commented on Biden’s faith during an appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation, which aired Sunday with host Ed O’Keefe.

“I would say he’s very sincere about his faith. But like a number of Catholics, he chooses the dimensions of the faith to emphasize while ignoring or even contradicting other parts.’ said during the interview. “There’s a phrase we’ve used in the past, a ‘cafeteria Catholic,’ you choose what’s attractive and ignore what’s challenging.”

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Gregory responded as Catholics and Christians expressed outrage this weekend after Biden declared March 31 “Transgender Day of Visibility,” which was also Easter Sunday.

Biden claims he is a “practicing Catholic” and attends Mass every week, but repeatedly contradicts the church’s teaching on abortion.

The Catholic Church teaches that “human life must be absolutely respected and protected from the moment of conception,” according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The archbishop said Biden was too willing to ignore the Catholic Church’s teaching on life from conception and unwilling to defend life in all its stages.

Biden, he noted, was using the issue of his faith and the issue of life as a “political pawn” where he would “distort and change some dimensions of faith as a political advantage.”

The archbishop urged Biden to be more explicit in his personal beliefs on the issue of public life, but also criticized him for using the issue of abortion to help him politically.

‘He regularly goes to church with great devotion. But he also pushes some of the hot button issues aside, or uses the hot button issues as a political instrument. Which is not the case, it’s not the way I think we want our faith to be used,” he said.

Since the Dobbs Supreme Court decision sent the issue of abortion back to the states, Biden has repeatedly expressed support for Roe V. Wade, promising voters to sign a bill to federally legalize abortion if Democrats win in the 2024 elections. He also supports using taxpayer money to pay for abortions.

Biden has publicly expressed his opposition to the Church’s teaching on abortion.

“I respect those who believe that life begins at the moment of conception and all that… I respect that. I don’t agree. But I respect that,” he says said in September 2021.

The archbishop said Biden had to choose whether he was Catholic and believed all the church’s teachings or not.

‘That’s not possible, you can’t pick and choose. You are someone who respects life in all its dimensions. Or you have to step aside and say: I’m not pro-life,” he said.

Gregory said he would not be surprised if Pope Francis spoke to Biden about the issue of life and its importance to the Catholic faith, but indicated the pope would not be aggressive with the president.

“One of the things that I think Pope Francis does, and does extremely well, is he engages people,” Gregory said. ‘He meets people, he doesn’t attack them. But he encounters them. And he invites them to respond to their better angels.”

After meeting with the pope at the Vatican in October, Biden claimed the issue of abortion had not been raised.

“We were just talking about how he was happy that I was a good Catholic and continued to receive communion,” he said.

The Vatican declined to comment at the time on the meeting with Biden, citing its personal nature.