I have seen a few articles appearing saying that many Catholics are happy that Joe Biden will be president as he is only the second Catholic to hold this office, after John F. Kennedy.
(Before beginning to discuss this it's important to note that the election results are not official yet. Many have jumped to the conclusion that Joe Biden has won, but the electors do not officially choose the winner of the election until December 14. I'm no legal expert, I'm not even American, but I have heard that Trump even has some recourse beyond this date. Anyway, that's just a long side-note and not relevant to our discussion.)
As mentioned, Joe Biden has been declared and declares himself Catholic. But it's not just a statement of fact, but something he brings up from time to time when discussing his faith. Some have gone so far as to say he is a devout Catholic. I can't say whether or not he is, and particularly I cannot say whether or not he considers himself to be such. But there are some strange things that have happened regarding Biden in relation to his faith.
One that came up recently was Mr. Biden was quoting the "Palmist" as he put it. He should have said Psalmist, as in a writer in the Book of Psalms. Psalms are spoken or sung at every Mass, and referred to quite often. For a "practicing" and "devout" Catholic not to know how it is pronounced seems very odd. Of course, the P and not the S are silent in this word.
This is not a matter of personal pronunciation and there are no accepted variations on how to say Psalm or Psalmist. It's not as if some people just pronounce it differently. It would be like someone pronouncing psychologist "pie-chologist".
I once remembering hearing a guy who was about 15-17 years old pronounce Psalm the same way as Joe Biden. These are probably the only two people whom I've ever hear do so. Even at that time I thought it was odd. I wrote it off as just him not knowing the word or being able to pronounce it. He's a teenager, that happens. But for a man who was Vice President of the United States and is over 70 years old, this seems somewhat unbelievable.
However, we must keep in mind that while mispronouncing Psalm or Psalmist is a little odd, it's not really a moral issue. On the other hand, fully supporting and promoting abortion paid for by tax dollars is a grave moral issue. We cannot simply see that stance as as acceptable position. It would be the equivalent of a politician declaring their support for murder. There are not two sides to this issue from a Catholic perspective. There are other moral issues as well that would put Joe Biden on the wrong side of the faith.
Some bishops, but not all, have declared they would not give Joe Biden the Eucharist during Mass, meaning they believe his actions and belief put him outside of "communion" with the Church.
We cannot judge the state of his Joe Biden's soul, that's between him and God. I'm only talking about his outward words and actions.
I look forward to your comments!
P.S. I just looked up the word "palmist" in Google Images when making the headline graphic and found out that there is a word palmist and it seems to be a fortuneteller who reads palms. I have no idea if this means anything about Joe Biden. It would be very unnerving if he was more familiar with palm reading than a book in the Bible, especially since palm reading is prohibited by the Catholic Church and a violation of the First Commandment.
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