The American president was attending the opening ceremony of a cultural center dedicated to the history of LGBT rights in North America.

After his speech, the famous singer and master of ceremonies, Elton John, mentioned the threat of a rollback of gay rights if Donald Trump were to be reelected, ending his intervention with an expletive.

Biden then laughed out loud and made the sign of the cross, as if he regretted letting a laugh slip.

This untimely sign of the cross, in a context that was not religious, is not the first of its kind from Biden.

On several occasions, the Catholic president has surprised his audience by signing himself this way, raising questions among some faithful about a possible lack of respect for their shared faith.

A president accustomed to blessing himself

In 2012, while participating in a rabbinic congress in Atlanta, Biden blessed himself amid the audience's laughter when the presenter referred to his 36 years of experience as a senator from Delaware, an ironic way for Biden to react to his longevity in that position.

The same happened at the UN last September when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned before the press, in the presence of the American president, their 40-year friendship.

Finally, in April, Biden attended a meeting organised in support of abortion rights in Florida.

Following a somewhat clumsy joke from the leader of the Florida Democrats to Ron De Santis, the state's Republican governor, and former Trump rival, Biden laughed, immediately followed by a sign of the cross.

A hindrance to Biden's vote?

Among Biden's Catholic electorate, associating the sign of the cross with speeches on controversial subjects is far from trivial.

After the Florida episode, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield (Illinois) reacted, stating that making the sign of the cross at such an event related to promoting abortion rights amounted to "mocking the Catholic faith."

These episodes have fueled an already recurrent controversy over the American president's faith, with some bishops questioning his religious convictions and his standing in the church in light of his political positions. 4

Commenting on the 2020 campaign, the former bishop of Providence (Rhode Island) stated on X (formerly Twitter) that it was the "first time in a while that the Democratic ticket hasn't had a Catholic on it."

How to interpret these signs of the cross?

For Blandine Chélini-Pont, a specialist in American Catholicism and a professor of contemporary history at Aix-Marseille University, had this to say:

"these gestures by Biden are not religious, except to represent the contrition of a believing man," who conjures up "having laughed at vulgarity or an inappropriate word."

Massimo Faggioli, a historian of Catholicism and professor at Villanova University, and a regular contributor to La Croix International, said he believed that:

"these gestures say nothing about Biden's consideration for the Catholic faith and its faithful, but speak much more about an electoral context where every micro-gesture can be used against the incumbent president."

According to Faggioli, the American president's blunder is "thinking there is still room for irony in American public debate," especially when this irony relies on religious gestures.

• First published in La Croix
• Clémence Rebora is a journalist at La Croix

In a joint statement, Bishops from New Zealand's two biggest Christian Churches - Catholic and Anglican - are begging the warring factions in the Holy Land to stop.

Stop the war with the accompanying acts of violence it executes, the bishops' joint statement says.

Let it go. Release hostages. Stop fighting.

Everyone's saying stop the war!

The bishops' words join the international community's pleas for peace.

It's a sentiment Pope Francis applauds.

"Brothers, stop! Stop!" he said to thousands waiting to hear his Angelus message in St Peter's square on Sunday.

"War is always a defeat. Hamas must free Israeli hostages and all sides must allow humanitarian aid to reach the people of Gaza."

Later in the day, Francis phoned US President Joe Biden to discuss various conflicts and the need to identify paths toward peace, the Holy See Press Office says.

Then during his Angelus message on Wednesday, and for the 6th time, Francis called for a stop to the Isreal-Hamas war.

Violence doesn't work

"Hospitals and civilian infrastructure are protected under International Humanitarian Law," Anglican Archbishop Phillip Richardson says in the joint statement.

"Such niceties of law did not protect the wounded in Al Ahli Anglican Hospital and the people who were seeking sanctuary and protection. There are no winners in war: so often, it is innocent people who are maimed and killed."

The conflict between Israel and Palestine is a wound that has continued to fester... diplomatic efforts ... have failed because of the unwillingness to honour international agreements.

"Violence will never be a solution."

Blessed be the peacemakers

Bishop Steve Lowe, President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference, spoke of peace.

"As Bishops, we endorse ... those groups and institutions in Israel and Palestine who work for peace, justice and reconciliation.

"Such work recognises our common humanity. This is the path that we advocate for peace in the Holy Land."

Government and diplomatic authorities must advocate for an immediate ceasefire and the opening and ongoing safeguarding of humanitarian corridors, the bishops' joint statement says.

"In this very emotional time, we cannot let anger lead us into antisemitism or Islamophobia.

"Let us remember that there are innocent victims on both sides of the conflict. To our fellow interfaith religious leaders, we ask: ‘Let us unite in prayer and action for a lasting peace.

"To the people of Aotearoa New Zealand, we urge you to pray for peace and to support aid appeals for those impacted by this humanitarian crisis."

The statement then quotes parts of Psalm 130 which begs: "Out of the depths I cry to you O Lord; hear my voice. O let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleading."

In conclusion the bishops say: "May we too be attentive to those who call out to us from the depths of despair and destruction.

"May we commit ourselves to being instruments of peace."

• NZ Catholic Bishops Conference
• La Croix
• Vatican News
• America Magazine

US President Joe Biden hosted a dozen Pacific Island leaders in Washington amid increasing US concern about China's growing influence.

The US secured the support of all those attending for a joint declaration, setting out 11 areas of cooperation, despite the Solomon Islands signalling in the lead up to the event that it would not agree.

US State Department counsellor Derek Chollet said the summit was part of a broader effort to ramp up engagement with Pacific Island nations.

Read More

What has Biden said about the beginning of human life?

On March 2, EWTN Correspondent Owen Jensen asked Biden, "Why do you support abortion as a Catholic, defying Church teaching?"

"I don't want to get into a debate with you about theology," Biden responded, adding, "I'm not going to make a judgment for other people."

And in September 2021, Biden had said, "I respect those who believe life begins at the moment of conception. I don't agree, but I respect that. I'm not going to impose that on people."

Read More

The US bishops are drafting new guidance on the abortion-communion issue, which they expect to release in November.

Their decision to vote about this matter flouts a letter from the Vatican in May.

The letter explicitly urged the bishops to avoid the vote.

The decision also disregards Francis's pleas for them to de-emphasise culture war issues and expand the scope of their mission to climate change, migration and poverty.

The US bishops' vote resulted in a large majority - 168-55 - agreeing to begin drafting guidance on the sacrament of the Eucharist at the bishops' virtual meeting last Friday. Six bishops abstained from the process.

Although the guidance's details have not been divulged, it is assumed that conservative leaders in the U.S. church will use it as a vehicle to deny communion to prominent Catholics who support abortion rights. Biden is one such Catholic.

Church law, however, says for the bishops to pass a doctrinal declaration on banning communion, the conference needs either unanimous support - and at this stage not all US bishops are in agreement. The alternative is for the bishops to have two-thirds support and the Vatican's approval.

Vatican approval seems unlikely.

"It's not going to get to that point," says a senior Vatican official with knowledge of the thinking inside the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the church's doctrinal watchdog.

Biden, who attended Mass on Sunday (pictured) and was named several times during the bishops' debate, says whether he is allowed to receive holy communion is a "private matter".

He agrees with the Vatican that it's unlikely to happen.

The grave issue of Friday's vote is that it particularly threatens the unity of the American church itself.

"Bishops now want to talk about excluding people at a time when the real challenge before them is welcoming people back to the regular practice of the faith, and rebuilding their communities," Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich says.

Another critic, NCR's Michael Sean Winters takes particular aim at USCBC President Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez.

"If you look to Gomez for leadership, you are going to be severely disappointed.

"When he was named to Los Angeles in 2010, I held out hope that his pastoral instincts would triumph over the culture warrior attitudes of some of his colleagues. I was wrong.

"Gomez has led the bishops to this point.

"His inability to stand up to the bullies in the conference has crippled it.

"Now, this man who once said, 'There are no single-issue saints,' has allowed the conference to descend into a functional schism.

A Vatican spokesperson commented that Francis understood that only time would change the composition of the American Bishops conference and put the American church in alignment with Rome.

"There has to be a biological solution," he said.

"Francis has to wait for them to retire."

Source

• People
• National Catholic Reporter
• NY Times
• NCR
• Image: NY Times

"Pope Francis's visit was a historic and welcome first for the country," Biden said.

"It sent an important message, as Pope Francis said himself, that 'fraternity is more durable than fratricide, that hope is more powerful than death, that peace more powerful than war.'

"To see Pope Francis visit ancient religious sites, including the biblical birthplace of Abraham, spend time with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, and offer prayers in Mosul — a city that only a few years ago endured the depravity and intolerance of a group like ISIS — is a symbol of hope for the entire world."

Security was tight during the pope's March 5-8 trip. It had to cater for major security concerns inside Iraq, as well as the additional security needed during ongoing global pandemic: in Iraq, COVID-19 cases were on the rise.

Biden also spoke of Iraq's rich religious heritage, noting it is "steeped in religious and ethnic diversity."

"It's also home to one of the oldest and most diverse Christian communities in the world."

"I congratulate the Government and people of Iraq for the care and planning that went into organizing this monumental visit, and continue to admire Pope Francis for his commitment to promoting religious tolerance, the common bonds of our humanity, and interfaith understanding."

As a long-serving senator and former vice-president, Biden once estimated that he had visited the country a least 24 times.

His views on Iraq have changed over time.

In 2002, he voted to approve the U.S. war in Iraq, a decision he later said was a mistake. His son served in Iraq from 2008 to 2009 as a member of the Delaware Army National Guard.

In 2017, the U.S. State Department declared a genoicide by the so-called Islamic State against the country's Yazidis and other minority groups.

United States' top diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, was also full of praise for Francis.

He took to social media, saying:

"We believe his visit will inspire hope and help promote religious harmony and understanding among members of the different religions in Iraq and around the world."

Source

• NCR Online
• Image: Wall Street Journal