On Tuesday, Nov. 3, Americans went to the polls and cast their ballots in the presidential election. On election night, President Trump carried Ohio, Florida, Kentucky, and other states while Democratic candidate Joe Biden won Virginia, New York, California, among others.
With tens of millions of Americans voting early in-person and by mail due to COVID-19 concerns, poll workers in various states took longer than usual to complete the ballot counting process. After Biden won Michigan and Wisconsin on Nov. 4 and carried Pennsylvania on Nov. 7, he surpassed the 270 electoral vote threshold needed to win the presidency.
President-elect Biden addressed the nation from outside the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware on Nov. 7 following his electoral victory.
“In the last days of the campaign, I began thinking about a hymn that means a lot to me and my family, particularly my deceased son Beau. It captures the faith that sustains me and which I believe sustains America,” President-elect Biden said in reference to the popular Catholic hymn: On Eagle’s Wings. “I hope it can provide some comfort and solace to the 230 million Americans who have lost a loved one through this terrible virus this year […] It goes like this: ‘And He will raise you up on Eagle’s wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, and make you to shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm of His hand.’”
President-elect Biden will be the second Catholic ever to hold the nation’s highest office. John F. Kennedy, the former Democratic senator from New England, became the first Catholic president after his inauguration in January 1961.
President Trump’s legal team has filed and is currently litigating multiple legal challenges alleging voter fraud and irregularities in key swing states that went for President-elect Biden, including Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.
After the presidential election results were announced on Nov. 7, Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez, President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), issued a statement.
“The American people have spoken in this election. Now is the time for our leaders to come together in a spirit of national unity and to commit themselves to dialogue and compromise for the common good,” Archbishop Gomez wrote. “We congratulate Mr. Biden and acknowledge that he joins the late President John F. Kennedy as the second United States president to profess the Catholic faith.”
Following the public portion of the USCCB’s Fall General Assembly on Nov. 16 and 17, Archbishop Gomez announced that a bishops’ working group would be formed to evaluate a Biden presidency.
“The president-elect has given us reason to believe that his faith commitments will move him to support some good policies. This includes policies of immigration reform, refugees and the poor, and against racism, the death penalty, and climate change,” the USCCB president said. “He has also given us reason to believe that he will support policies that are against some fundamental values that we hold dear as Catholics. These policies include the repeal of the Hyde Amendment and the preservation of Roe vs. Wade. Both of these policies undermine our preeminent priority of the elimination of abortion.”
Pope Francis spoke to and congratulated President-elect Biden on Nov. 12 in a phone call. President-elect Biden conveyed his desire to coordinate with the Holy See on issues of climate change, immigration, and poverty alleviation. He also “thanked His Holiness for extending blessings and congratulations and noted his appreciation for His Holiness’s leadership in promoting peace, reconciliation and the common bonds of humanity around the world,” according to the Biden transition team.
Featured image courtesy of Gage Skidmore via Flickr
James Pritchett is a Sophomore studying History and Classics with a deep affinity for his native land, the Golden State. Despite being the most recent lover of Catholicism on the Torch staff, he is the C101 editor and his main interests consist of reading Dostoyevsky, playing devil’s advocate, and correcting people on niche theological heresies.
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