President of the United States, Joe Biden. A Co. Louth community has been busy celebrating the success of president-elect Joe Biden in the 2020 American elections. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, parish priest of Cooley, Fr Malachy Conlon, said, “There would be a palpable feeling of pride. Absolutely.”
Fr Conlon welcomed Mr Biden to the area during his 2016 visit to Ireland, as he travelled to a family grave in Kilwirra Cemetery.
This week saw a pipe and drum band play An ode to local Joe at a ceremony beside the Thomas D’Arcy McGee monument, a specially-composed piece to celebrate his victory.
On the prospect of a return visit to Co. Louth, Fr Conlon said “People would be delighted if he did. He’ll certainly get a warm welcome.”
President-elect Biden has been widely-hailed in media as the second Catholic president the US has seen after John F. Kennedy. Mr Biden is a baptised Catholic, and has spoken many times of the sustenance he has drawn from his faith. In a campaign advertisement, Mr Biden spoke of how “faith is what has gotten me through difficult times in my life,” including the deaths of his first wife, eldest daughter, and son.
In the same commercial, he said: “Personally for me, faith, it’s all about hope and purpose and strength, and for me, my religion is just an enormous sense of solace.”
“I go to Mass and I say the Rosary. I find it to be incredibly comforting,” Mr Biden added.
However, many Catholics have been critical of Mr Biden’s Catholicism, pointing to discrepancies in his stances throughout his political career.
He has been routinely criticised for his acceptance of widespread abortion, as well as for his support of repealing the Hyde Amendment – legislation which bars the use of federal funds to pay for abortion or other contraceptives.
In October 2019, Mr Biden was refused Holy Communion at a Catholic church in South Carolina, with the priest invoking diocesan policy that prohibits politicians who have been supportive of legal protections for abortion from receiving the Eucharist.