Biden and Pelosi pay tribute to Benedict XVI

CHRISTIANSTED, V.I. — President Biden praised former Pope Benedict XVI for his "generosity" on Saturday, joining other American Catholics in mourning the former pontiff .

Mr. Biden is the second Catholic president, along with John F. Kennedy, but has had a rocky relationship with the conservative wing of the church, largely due to the president's support for abortion rights. He visited the Vatican in 2021 while attending a summit in Rome and had an extended audience with Pope Francis.

Saturday while on vacation at St. Croix, Mr. Biden made no public appearances but issued a statement honoring the former pope.

"Jill and I join Catholics around the world, and so many others, in mourning the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI,” he said, adding, “He will be remembered as a renowned theologian, with a lifetime of devotion to the Church, guided by its principles and faith.”

Mr Biden recalled Benedict XVI's comments during a visit to the United States and the White House in 2008, where the pope noted that "the need for global solidarity is more urgent than ever, if all people are to live in a way worthy of their dignity".

"May his concentration ration on the ministry of charity continue to be an inspiration to all of us," Biden said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, who is also Catholic, released a statement on Saturday expressing admiration for the spirituality of Benedict XVI and recalling hosting the pope in Washington in 2008 and visiting him at the Vatican the following year.

"Paul and I join our fellow Catholics in mourning the passing of Pope Benedict XVI: a world leader whose devotion, scholarship and message of hope stirred the hearts of people across all faiths," she wrote in the statement, referring to her husband.

Some conservative Amer US Catholic bishops and priests have demanded that Mr. Biden and Mrs. Pelosi are denied Communion when attending Mass due to their position on abortion and L.G.B.T.Q. people. But neither Benedict nor his successor, Pope Francis, endorsed such a punitive decision.

Ms. Pelosi previously told The Times she had a folder in her office with photos and news clips commemorating her encounters with popes, dating back to a trip to Rome with her family in the 1950s to visit Pope Pius. XII, a sign of his commitment to her. faith and respect for the papacy. Her father, Thomas J. D'Alesandro Jr., a former mayor of Baltimore and member of the House, was also prominent in the American Catholic community.

However, Ms. Pelosi publicly disapproved of the church's position on abortion, which, along with access to family planning and women's rights, is a core value for his party.

"The church has its position, and we have ours, which is that a woman has God-given agency. My family is very pro-life," she told the Times in 2015.