Cardinal Castigates ‘Cafeteria Catholic’ Joe Biden

Despite this wanton degeneracy, Biden still claims to be a Catholic — in fact, his lackeys in the media world often tout him as a “devout Catholic.” But a former Vatican official has a different term to describe America’s most radically pro-abortion President. In a recent speech at the Napa Institute in Washington, D.C., Cardinal Robert Sarah labeled Biden a “cafeteria Catholic.”

The former head of the Vatican’s liturgy office, Sarah lamented that Christianity’s influence has waned in the West. He noted, “The West, while not the birthplace of Christianity, is the home of much of what was once called ‘Christendom’ and much of what has become modern society, the roots of which are firmly European.” The West African prelate observed that many Catholics in the West have adopted the secular mindset of the “general population” and have allowed their faith to become dethroned, subjecting it to modern ideas and values. (READ MORE from: In Defense of the Sacred Heart)

“You have a self-identified Catholic who is an example of what Cardinal Gregory recently described as ‘cafeteria Catholic,’” Sarah continued, referring to Washington archbishop Wilton Gregory’s comments earlier this year. Biden’s promotion of abortion, transgenderism, gay “marriage,” and a host of other evils or vices places him squarely in contradiction to the perennial moral teachings of the Catholic Church.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church declares that “human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person — among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.” Therefore, the Church warns of the “moral evil of every procured abortion.” The Catechism continues, “This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law.”

So grave, in fact, is the sin of abortion that it carries with it the penalty of latae sententiae excommunication — that is, the evil is so grave and so clear that excommunication is automatic, no trial or tribunal is required. In Catholic teaching, excommunication is the most stringent and serious of penalties that can be imposed, effectively cutting off the soul from communion with the Church, which is the mystical Body of Christ. More than just a penalty, latae sententiae excommunication serves as both a warning against and a remedy for extreme evils, too. Such a consequence denotes for Catholics the severe depravity of certain acts, warning those who value their faith to keep as far from such evils as possible. But it also serves to call those who obstinately engage in such evils to repent, seek forgiveness, and return to the Body of Christ.

In 2004, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — at the time, the head of the Vatican’s doctrine office and later Pope Benedict XVI — issued a strict warning that politicians who both promote abortion and claim to be Catholic must be informed of the evil they are endorsing and forbidden from receiving Holy Communion, which the Catholic Church proclaims to be the Body and Blood of Christ. Pope Francis reaffirmed this in 2013, declaring that those who call themselves Catholic “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 his speech, Sarah lamented that authentic Catholic faith, already a minority belief in America, has “been traded for cultural assimilation.” Despite this, Sarah did see reasons for hope in the Church in America. “The Catholic Church in the United States is very different from the Church in Europe,” he said. “The Faith in Europe is dying, and in some places is dead. The interaction between severely secular governments and the Church have not served the Faith very well.” (READ MORE: Pride Month, Leftism, and ‘The Ape of the Church’)

Nearly 100 years ago, the Catholic convert, essayist, novelist, and apologist G.K. Chesterton wrote, “Christendom has had a series of revolutions and in each one of them Christianity has died. Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it had a God who knew the way out of the grave.” While the cognitively-dissonant apostasy of such a high-profile figure as Biden and the monstrous advance of not merely secular but openly anti-Christian ideologies and practices across the West — which, as Sarah so wisely noted, has long been the home of Christianity — may have the appearance of eventual and final defeat, may even appear apocalyptic at times, it is crucial to recall that Christ has already conquered death, that the gates of Hell shall never prevail against the Church He founded, and that even in what may look like the darkest of hours, Christ will lead those who love Him out of the grave.

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