President Biden’s decision to make a sign of the cross during a Florida abortion-rights rally isn’t sitting well with the Catholic Church’s leadership.

Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois joined Bishop Jose Ignacio Munilla, bishop of the Orihuela-Alicante Diocese in Spain, in condemning the president’s use of the gesture as “sacrilegious.”

“Making the sign of the cross is one of the most profound gestures a Catholic can make in showing reverence for Christ’s death on the Cross and belief in the Holy Trinity as we sign ourselves in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the Holy spirit,” said Bishop Paprocki in a Thursday message.

---

---

“To misuse this sacred gesture is to make a mockery of our Catholic faith,” he said.

He referred to Bishop Munilla, who said during his show on Radio Maria Espana that “crossing oneself is meant to be used as a sign in which we remember that Jesus gave us life for us, he gave us life for all the innocents, he gave his life to restore innocence, and to make us saints.”

To use the gesture in support of abortion is “sacrilegious” and “the desecration of the sign of the cross,” he said, as reported April 29 by the National Catholic Register.

In his message, Bishop Paprocki said that “to use the sign of the cross as Biden did, however, is to invoke the cross in a sacrilegious manner. I fully support Bishop Munilla, and agree with what he said.”

Bishop Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield, IL slams President Biden for sacrilegiously making the Sign of the Cross during a pro-abortion rally.

“To misuse this sacred gesture is to make a mockery of our Catholic faith.” pic.twitter.com/fYgVZpSdU1

— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) May 11, 2024

Mr. Biden stunned observant Catholics by making the four-point sign during an April 23 abortion-rights event in Tampa as he stood next to Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried.

Ms. Fried criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signing of legislation to reduce the gestational limit for most abortions, saying “Ron DeSantis felt like he needed to run for president, so 15 weeks wasn’t good enough, we had to go to six weeks.”

Bishop Paprocki pointed out that “as soon as Fried said ‘wasn’t good enough,’ Biden began to cross himself with the sign of the cross.”

Bishop Joseph E. Strickland, who was removed in November as Bishop of Tyler, Texas, in a clash with Pope Francis, condemned the president’s gesture the same day, calling it “vile.”

The White House has not commented on why Mr. Biden made the sign of the cross during Ms. Fried’s call for expanded abortion access, but it may have been a delayed reaction to hearing Mr. DeSantis’ name.

The gesture is sometimes performed humorously in the context of warding off evil. Mr. Biden himself used it that way in September 2021, making the sign during a get-out-the-vote event in Long Beach for California Gov. Gavin Newsom ahead of his recall election.

“All of you know that last year, I got to run against the real Donald Trump,” said Mr. Biden before crossing himself, drawing laughs from the audience, according to the White House transcript.