A Catholic bishop from Maryland recently issued a scathing rebuke of President Joe Biden over the president’s “progressive” political views that are contrary to his religious beliefs.
While delivering a sermon at the Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption in Saginaw on April 5, 2024, Bishop Robert Gruss of the Diocese of Saginaw slammed Biden, arguing he does not understand Catholicism.
“I don’t have any anger towards the president,” Gruss said. “I feel sorry for him. I’m not angry at him. He’s just stupid. It’s not stupidity in the derogatory way; it’s stupidity in the sense of […] he doesn’t understand the Catholic faith.”
Gruss’ comments come after the president has embraced things that oppose the Catholic religion, such as abortion and the LGBT community.
Despite criticizing Biden, the bishop urged others to forgive the president and confess their anger toward him.
“If you’re harboring bad, negative, resentful feelings towards our president, you’re not free,” Gruss said. “Otherwise, you’re letting him control you and your thoughts and your words and your actions. And I guarantee that if he is a problem for you, then those thoughts, words, and actions are negative — they’re gonna come out and then we commit sin. That’s what sin is.”
“How many times have you confessed your anger towards the president? I’m serious. I’m not kidding. If you have it, you should be confessing it. Otherwise, you’re not free,” the bishop added.
Gruss’ remarks prompted a backlash, leading him to backtrack slightly.
“In a recent talk on Forgiveness and Unforgiveness, my comments about the president of the United States were taken out of context,” the bishop said.
My video on the talk about Forgiveness and Unforgivenesshttps://t.co/NGK3GiCvno
My apology. https://t.co/kM9qo3D877
— Bishop Robert Gruss (@BishopGruss) April 20, 2024
“I was speaking in the context of forgiving the president and any people in government who offend us by their words and actions — that we cannot harbor resentment toward them because in doing so, it would be sinful,” he added.
Gruss said using the word “stupid” to reference Biden was “poor judgment” and that he did not mean to disparage the president.
BizPacReview pointed out that this isn’t the first time a Catholic bishop has criticized the president.
In 2021, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops advanced a measure to deny Biden Communion for supporting abortion.
