LifeSite and other news sources are saying that in an interview with Corriere della Sera Newspaper Benedict XVI is reported to have said that Biden is “personally against abortion.”
Even if he did say that, and we can’t be sure that he did, for a Catholic there can be no distinction between a so called “personal position” and a supposed “public position” in matters of faith and morals, that is, settled doctrine in the truths that are necessary for a Catholic to believe and profess in order to be saved.
First of all, we can’t be entirely sure that this is accurate reporting or that Benedict actually said this. There is the matter of translating from Italian into English and other potential issues that could have resulted in an erroneous translation.
But above and beyond that, when it comes to Catholics in public life, as for any Catholic it is impossible to assert that one can have a “private position” on a moral teaching and a “public position” which differs from that private position.
The Lord says “what you do in the dark will be seen in the light and what is whispered in private will be proclaimed from the rooftops”. If Biden is promoting abortion publicly he cannot claim to have a private pro life position. There is no such division in the human person as being for something in public and against it in private or vice versa.
The Lord also teaches “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.” Luke 11
If Biden “scatters” in public by funding, promoting and aggressively exporting abortion around the world he cannot at the same time privately “gather” with Christ when it comes to respecting the sacredness of every human life.
We can be sure that Benedict XVI knows this well, which is why I would be surprised if he did in fact deny it as is claimed.
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