President Biden made the sign of the cross, a gesture Catholics often make before and after prayer, while listening to pro-abortion comments by a fellow Democrat in Florida.
The president's actions came Tuesday as Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried, the state's former Democratic gubernatorial nominee, blasted an upcoming law restricting abortion to within six weeks of gestation. Biden was heavily criticized in response to the move, which several Catholic groups and commentators described as sacrilegious given the Catholic Church's strict teaching condemning abortion.
"And then we come back here to the state of Florida where [Gov.] Ron DeSantis felt like he needed to run for president and so 15 weeks wasn’t good enough. We had to go to six weeks," Fried said at the event alongside Biden.
At the moment Fried said "15 weeks wasn’t good enough," Biden made the sign of the cross, appearing to mock Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' efforts to limit abortion.
Critics of the president, who is a practicing Catholic, said his actions mocked Christians. Kristan Hawkins, the founder of Students for Life of America, said Catholics "should be calling this evil out." The pro-life group 40 Days for Life said Biden's gesture is a "stark reminder of the disconnect between his actions and Catholic teachings on the sanctity of life."
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"Biden’s decision to make the sign of the cross in support of abortion extremism is a despicable charade that attempts to co-opt a sacred practice in support of his new abortion religion," added CatholicVote President Brian Burch. "His gesture openly mocks the Christian belief in the sanctity of life."
"There is no divine support for destroying the lives of innocent children, and he should know better," he added. "Biden’s gesture suggests he is either terribly naive, or senile, or callously indifferent to the foundational beliefs of millions of Christians in America."
The incident comes shortly after a Pew Research poll showed a large majority of Americans are not convinced by Biden's presentation of himself as a "devout Catholic." The poll, conducted in late February, found that just 13% of Americans think of the president as "very religious," while 41% say Biden is "somewhat religious" and another 44% say he is "not at all" or "not too religious."
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the church has "affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion" for centuries. It adds that the teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable.
The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
