Joe Biden criticized by top Catholic bishops for officiating at gay marriage

Chiqui Guyjoco Tuesday, August 09, 2016

Vice President Joe Biden garnered criticism from at least three top Catholic leaders for officiating at a gay marriage on Aug. 1.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (C) walks next to cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi (R) in Paul VI hall at the Vatican April 29, 2016. | Reuters/Max Rossi

Three bishops of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) did not mention Biden, the first Roman Catholic to be America's vice president, on their statement posted Friday on the USCCB' blog but they clearly denounced the latest action taken by the politician as a "counter witness, instead of a faithful one founded in the truth."

"When a prominent Catholic politician publicly and voluntarily officiates at a ceremony to solemnize the relationship of two people of the same-sex, confusion arises regarding Catholic teaching on marriage and the corresponding moral obligations of Catholics," wrote USCCB president and Louisville Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, joined by Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo, New York, who also chairs the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth; and Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, who chairs the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.

According to the Associated Press, longtime White House staffers Joe Mahshie and Brian Mosteller asked Biden to officiate their wedding which took place at the Naval Observatory. Biden secured a special temporary certification from the District of Columbia to grant the couple's request.

"Proud to marry Brian and Joe at my house. Couldn't be happier, two longtime White House staffers, two great guys," tweeted Biden with an accompanying photo of the wedding scene.

The bishops made it clear that they stood behind Pope Francis's stance on marriage as a union between a man and a woman. They also reminded Catholics and Catholic leaders on their responsibility to uphold the laws that support the fundamental human values and to denounce laws and policies that run counter to them.

Edward Peters, a canon lawyer at Detroit's Sacred Heart Major Seminary, said that Biden "went out of his way to act with contempt" against the Catholic doctrine and "is daring the church to do anything about it."

Peters called on the denial of the sacrament of the Holy Communion as the most appropriate punishment for Biden's "scandal."