The Rosary in Joe Biden’s Pocket: A Study in Contrasts

Holy Rosary

The coolest Catholic I know is retired Archbishop Charles Joseph Chaput (who should have been named a cardinal, in my honest opinion), and not just because he is a Capuchin. Capuchins are very cool, and not just because their name sounds like “cappuccino.” They are joyfully crazy, seriously hardcore followers of St Francis of Assisi, and many of them still run around in bare feet.

Archbishop Chaput’s Rosary

Yes, I think Archbishop Chaput is awesome, but not just because he is a card-carrying member of the Potawatomi Tribe with two native names meaning “rustling wind” and “good eagle.” Somehow, his mother knew what her son was going to amount to early on in life.

Finally, he’s not terrific just because I wrote him a letter and he actually wrote me back, and I will cherish that letter forever.

No, Archbishop Chaput is the coolest Catholic I know because he is unashamedly, unabashedly, and unequivocally Catholic, and he doesn’t care what anyone else thinks. He’s authentic. He’s the real deal. And, best of all, he never ever talks about himself.

So you won’t ever view Archbishop Chaput on Stephen Colbert’s show.

You won’t see Archbishop Chaput at a PRIDE Parade.

And you’ll never hear Archbishop Chaput telling the media that he carries a rosary in his pocket at all times.

Calling Out Biden and Pelosi

But, beginning in 2008, you will hear Archbishop Chaput humbly, yet fearlessly, call out Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi for claiming to be a Catholic while openly supporting funding for the killing of unborn babies.

In his Meet the Press interview, Sen. Biden used a morally exhausted argument that American Catholics have been hearing for 40 years: i.e., that Catholics can’t “impose” their religiously based views on the rest of the country. But resistance to abortion is a matter of human rights, not religious opinion. And the senator knows very well as a lawmaker that all law involves the imposition of some people’s convictions on everyone else. That is the nature of the law. American Catholics have allowed themselves to be bullied into accepting the destruction of more than a million developing unborn children a year. Other people have imposed their “pro-choice” beliefs on American society without any remorse for decades.

[Similarly,] Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, describing herself as an ardent, practicing Catholic, misrepresented the overwhelming body of Catholic teaching against abortion to the show’s nationwide audience, while defending her “pro-choice” abortion views.

If we claim to be Catholic, then American Catholics, including public officials who describe themselves as Catholic, need to act accordingly. We need to put an end to Roe and the industry of permissive abortion it enables. Otherwise all of us—from senators and members of Congress, to Catholic laypeople in the pews—fail not only as believers and disciples, but also as citizens.

My Irish Grandmother’s Sayings

Lately, I’ve been reminded of some things that my Irish grandmother used to say:

Never trust anyone who prays the rosary on the streetcar.

Don’t trust the people who use their faith as a method of scoring political or social status points. Don’t believe people who talk a good game, but don’t walk the walk. Don’t be impressed by people who use their faith as one lifelong virtue signal.

Lower the kneeler gently.

Don’t draw attention to yourself. Quietly take your seat and pray, or better yet, go to your room. It’s not about you; it’s about Him.

The stars make no noise.

“The Implications for the Present Moment”

More recently, Archbishop Chaput restated the Church’s teachings regarding the immorality of abortion in connection with Mr. Biden’s receiving of Holy Communion.

The implications for the present moment are clear. Public figures who identify as “Catholic” give scandal to the faithful when receiving Communion by creating the impression that the moral laws of the Church are optional. And bishops give similar scandal by not speaking up publicly about the issue and danger of sacrilege.

Bravo, Archbishop Chaput.

And never trust anyone who likes to announce that he always keeps a rosary in his pocket, especially if his hands are stained with the blood of innocents.

Shame on you, Joe.

Editor’s Note: This essay was originally published under the name of “Anthony S. Layne” in error. It should have been published under Cynthia Millen’s byline. My apologies.—ASL

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11 thoughts on “The Rosary in Joe Biden’s Pocket: A Study in Contrasts”

  1. Here’s what my Catholic Bible says,
    Matthew 6:5-15
    New American Bible (Revised Edition)
    Teaching About Prayer. 5 “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. 7 In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
    The Lord’s Prayer. 9 “This is how you are to pray:
    Our Father in heaven,
    hallowed be your name,
    10 your kingdom come,
    your will be done,
    on earth as in heaven.
    11 Give us today our daily bread;
    12 and forgive us our debts,
    as we forgive our debtors;
    13 and do not subject us to the final test,
    but deliver us from the evil one.
    14 If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.

  2. I agree: Bravo, Archbishop Chaput. Recently COVID deaths in the USA hit 3000 in a single day. The governments, media and news organizations blasted that dreadful stat all over. Every day, about 3000 unborn children are killed in America and you hear nothing. Shame on Joe, Nancy and too many other so called Catholics who, by their actions, refuse to live according to the teachings of the Catholic Church.

    1. Bravo Dennis Dillon…..so when they come to get the HOST,they get the WRATH OF GOD…..RIGHT?.

    2. Father Luis body to be found incorrupt after the miracle.” His body has been dug up, it’s not incorrupt.May be because people dug up before the Miracle day?,,,,please explain to me/Thanks

    3. And Donald Trump has said that he has done nothing to ask for forgiveness from God, while rarely going to church, cheating on his 3 wives, cheating on his taxes, repeatedly lying to everyone, fornicating with porn stars, etc.

  3. So POWERFUL! It is time for us all to step up! Massachusetts has approved abortion up until birth. What are Nancy and Joe and all the rest who support killing babies say to Jesus when they meet?

  4. an ordinary papist

    The stars make sound we do not hear, just as their light is ever old by the time we see it.
    Everyone is working the long game to form a more perfect union so it’s impossible to judge
    it while in play.

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