President Joe Biden appeared in Tampa on Tuesday where he was seen making the Sign of the Cross as Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried criticized the state’s pro-life law and complained that even more preborn human beings could soon be protected from abortion in Florida.
In the video, Fried states, “And then we come back here to [the] state of Florida, where 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.” It was when she said, “15 weeks wasn’t good enough,” that Biden is seen making the Sign of the Cross. Moments later, he gave a pro-abortion speech.
About five months ago, Biden also made the sign of the cross immediately after mentioning “my predecessor” in a speech, in reference to Donald Trump. Biden’s audience laughed.
This. Is. VILE!
President Biden makes the Sign of the Cross at an abortion rally in Florida!
You cannot be Catholic and support abortion!
You cannot invoke GOD and promote Death! pic.twitter.com/aG4P542EM0
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) April 23, 2024
Catholic Vote shared the video on X stating, “This. Is. VILE! President Biden makes the Sign of the Cross at an abortion rally in Florida! You cannot be Catholic and support abortion! You cannot invoke GOD and promote Death!” The Catholic news outlet then published an article discussing the controversial move from the president.
“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,” said CatholicVote President Brian Burch.
“His gesture openly mocks the Christian belief in the sanctity of life,” Burch added. “There is no divine support for destroying the lives of innocent children, and he should know better.”
Burch stated that Biden is “either terribly naive, or senile, or callously indifferent to the foundational beliefs of millions of Christians in America.”
Responses on X, including one from The Sarcasticat, were largely negative. The Sarcasticat said, “Seriously, this is grotesquely scandalous. The Church needs to come down hard on this or risk losing credibility. People, catholics and otherwise, are desperate for strong leadership.”
Another commenter suggested that Biden wasn’t making the Sign of the Cross but rather the satanic sign of the inverted cross.
Others called on the bishops to take action. “Where are the shepherds? In either the Diocese of Wilmington or Archdiocese of Washington, DC… why won’t one of our ordained clergymen come out publicly and speak?” said one.
Another angrily wrote, “When will you cowards at the @USCCB [United States Conference of Catholic Bishops] do something about this apostate!”
“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.
His gesture openly mocks the Christian belief in the sanctity of life. There is no divine…
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) April 24, 2024
Though Florida currently protects most preborn children from abortion after 15 weeks, the law has received criticism for not protecting enough preborn children, as most abortions take place before this point in gestation.
Next week, the state’s law protecting most children from abortion after six weeks of pregnancy will take effect. In November, Florida will vote on the “Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion” known as Amendment 4, which, if passed, woud add a false “right” to killing preborn children through at least 24 weeks to the state constitution. It must get 60% of the vote in order to pass.
After making the Sign of the Cross, which is a prayer on its own as well as an act of faith, Biden spoke about abortion.
“Next week, one of the nation’s most extreme anti-abortion laws will take effect here in Florida. It’s criminalizing reproductive health care for before women even know whether they’re pregnant. I mean, this is bizarre,” he said.
He called the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the current pro-life laws that were enacted as a result of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health a “nightmare” and said there is “one person responsible… Donald Trump.” He also said that pro-life laws are causing “cruelty and chaos” to unfold.
