A Catholic bishop is facing calls to have him effectively silenced after he admonished President Joe Biden for supporting abortion.
Two progressive groups have joined in an effort to call out Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, insisting that he should not question Biden’s “devout” faith.
“Contrary to Catholic moral teaching”
Faith in Public Life and Faithful America teamed up to circulate a petition to see Naumann removed from the U.S. bishop’s pro-life committee.
The backlash stems from Naumann’s statement in February that he believes Biden should be denied communion in the Catholic Church because of his support for the moral atrocity of abortion, adding that the president is “usurping the role of the Bishops and confusing people” through his interpretation of the faith’s teachings.
“The president should stop defining himself as a devout Catholic and acknowledge that his view on abortion is contrary to Catholic moral teaching,” the bishop said at the time.
He went on to suggest that it would be “more honest” for Biden “to say he disagreed with his Church on this important issue and that he was acting contrary to Church teaching.”
For those representing certain progressive organizations, however, it is Naumann who is no longer aligned with Catholic doctrine. According to the petition, he is acting out of personal animosity and a desire to be seen as a “culture warrior” by speaking out on the hot-button issue of abortion.
“Choosing the culture wars over pastoral leadership”
The groups dismiss his opposition as a “single-issue, culture-war attack” on the nation’s second Catholic commander in chief. Indeed, the petition claims Biden “regularly demonstrates how important faith is to his personal life.”
Through Naumann’s public statements “questioning Biden’s faith and even claiming he should not receive Communion,” the petitioners say he “is choosing the culture wars over pastoral leadership.”
Both of the groups behind this push reportedly advocate for far-left “social justice” theology and have previously targeted religious leaders who align with former President Donald Trump. According to Breitbart, Faith in Public Life is partially funded by controversial leftist billionaire George Soros.
For his part, however, Naumann declared that it is “the responsibility” of bishops to “correct” Biden, adding that the president “cannot define what it is to be a Catholic and what Catholic moral teaching is.”
Some Catholic organizations have defended him, including CatholicVote, which recognized his “courage in transmitting ‘sound doctrine’ and for your commitment to defending the most vulnerable among us.”
The post Progressive groups want bishop removed from pro-life panel over criticism of Biden’s positions first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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