Uh, yes Biden does.

It was part of his 2020 campaign. They dedicated an entire section of the DNC to discussing his faith. He wrote about it in his book. They made ads in 2020 with him talking about meeting the pope (and nuns). washingtonpost.com/politics/biden…
Y'all he's been talking about his Catholicism throughout his political career it's a major part of his public persona and he's met with three popes GAH I GIVE UP religionnews.com/2020/11/07/pre…
WAIT I'M NOT DONE y'all he had Catholic religious references *in his victory speech* & *in his inauguration speech* and he began inauguration day *at Mass* and a Cardinal was *in his inaugural festivities* and he has a photo of Francis behind his desk and religionnews.com/2021/01/20/for…
…he quotes Catholic figures in speech after speech and people have written profiles on the intersection of his faith and grief (& he's done interviews about it) and he wears a rosary on his wrist all the time and…

:: sigh ::

I'll just keep reporting. religionnews.com/2020/12/15/in-…
ANYWAY @mviser's piece overall is otherwise very good and you should read it.

But the idea that Biden doesn't discuss his faith just…doesn't match the campaign/early presidency I've been covering. washingtonpost.com/politics/biden…

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More from @jackmjenkins

19 Jun
1. A story that sticks with me: The day insurrectionists stormed the Capitol—many invoking God—there *was* a counter-protest in DC.

It was a group of interfaith clergy, gathered in prayer around a BLM sign — a replacement for one destroyed by Proud Boys. religionnews.com/2021/01/06/as-…
2. DC's mayor dissuaded people from protesting in the city the day of the insurrection, and the interfaith demonstration — which was harassed by people in Trump gear — remains the only major counter-protest I'm aware of that day.

There's a reason for that.
3. The societal rift that wrenched apart the country in the Trump era is sometimes cast as a conflict between a certain form of "religion" & "secularism" — but that's an inadequate understanding of what transpired (and continues to this day).

There is a religious conflict here.
Read 20 tweets
18 Jun
Brought this up at Thurs presser, but important context for the communion debate:

In 2018, ONE bishop suggested canonical penalties (e.g., denying communion) for Catholics who aided Trump's family separation policy.

Unlike now, it went nowhere. #USCCB21 religionnews.com/2018/06/13/cat…
In my entire career as a religion reporter, I have never seen more universal faith-based condemnation for a federal policy than the separation of immigrant families in 2018.

The USCCB condemned it too, but has only mustered sizable pushes for Communion denial regarding abortion.
(Technically USCCB *members* are the ones who muster said Communion denial campaigns and then bring them up at USCCB *gatherings*, not necessarily the USCCB *as an organization*, but I digress.)
Read 4 tweets
17 Jun
Day 2 of the US Catholic bishops meeting—which will involve discussion of the Eucharist (and presumably whether it should be denied to politicians back abortion rights)—has begun.

The Eucharist convo likely isn't happening for a while, though, so sit tight. #USCCB21 Image
Oh: In a convo on a Native American/Native Alaskan ministry statement, Bishop Lucia brings up examining the Doctrine of Discovery.

As I note in American Prophets, DoD has come up a lot recently, and Indigenous activists have asked Pope Francis to revoke it (he hasn't). #USCCB21 ImageImageImageImage
Bishop Tyson says he isn't convinced on Eucharist vote yet, asks: "To what extent is this discussion really just about making a point on abortion, to the exclusion of other issues?”

Rhoades says doc would also involve ppl who human traffic back, white supremacy, etc. #USCCB21 Image
Read 42 tweets
16 Jun
Didn't take long for Biden to show up at this USCCB meeting: Retired Bishop Michael Pfeifer asks to add a separate discussion of Biden's abortion initiatives, which he argues amount to "infanticide."

…But he's told he *can't* introduce a motion, bc he's retired. #USCCB21
There's now discussion of a proposal by Bishop Mitchell Rozanski of St. Louis, who asks for every bishop to be given unrestricted time to speak during the debate over the Eucharistic document. #USCCB21
Bishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, who has said Biden "shouldn't present himself for communion," speaks out against allowing unrestricted time for the debate, calling it a "stalling tactic."

Source for that Naumann quote: washingtonpost.com/religion/2021/…
Read 14 tweets
14 Jun
1. Gonna share some @RNS content to help y'all prepare for Ecclesiological Meeting Week: The Southern Baptist Convention *and* the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops are gathering over the next few days, and both are fielding controversies and/or scandals as they begin.
2. First up: the SBC (the largest US Protestant denom), whose meeting has basically begun.

But in the days/months before, some things happened.

First, @bobsmietana broke that Beth Moore, a hugely prominent SBC member, was leaving the denomination: religionnews.com/2021/03/09/bib…
3. Actually, to back up a bit: It was back in Dec (i.e., a lifetime ago) when Pastor Charlie Dates explained in an @RNS editorial why his church was ending its affiliation of the SBC, accusing SBC leadership of "alienate(ing) Black and brown Christians." religionnews.com/2020/12/18/we-…
Read 28 tweets
11 Jun
NEW: Me, @ClaireGiangrave & @alemolina were curious what Catholic bishops actually think about proposals to deny communion to Catholic pols—say, Biden—who back abortion rights.

So we reached out to every Roman Catholic bishop in the country to find out. religionnews.com/2021/06/11/wha…
An important thing to understand up front: When U.S. bishops meet next week, they aren't actually voting on this issue. They're voting on whether to draft a document *relating* to it.

But that doesn't mean the larger issue of communion denial isn't getting *a lot* of attention.
At the heart of the issue is "scandal," a world with a technical theological meaning within the Catholic Church.

William Mattison breaks it down this way: Image
Read 8 tweets

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