WASHINGTON (CNS): It is “time for our leaders to come together in a spirit of national unity,” said Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), following the election of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States of America (US).
The archbishop said they also must “commit themselves to dialogue and compromise for the common good,” in a statement issued late on November 7.
A few hours earlier, after three days of uncertainty as election officials tallied the surge of mail-in votes, news organisations such as The Associated Press, The New York Times and Fox News had called the election in favour of Biden and running mate, Kamala Harris.
This came following the announcement from Pennsylvania election officials that Biden had won the state’s 20 electoral votes, putting him over the 270 electoral vote threshold needed to secure a victory.
Biden is only the second Catholic in US history to be elected to the nation’s highest office, following the late president, John F. Kennedy, who was elected 60 years ago, on 8 November 1960. Harris becomes the country’s the first Asian-American, African-American and first female vice president-elect.
Biden is only the second Catholic in US history to be elected to the nation’s highest office, following the late president, John F. Kennedy, who was elected 60 years ago, on 8 November 1960. Harris becomes the country’s the first Asian-American, African-American and first female vice president-elect
“I sought this office to restore the soul of America, to rebuild the backbone of this nation, the middle class,” Biden said, “and to make America respected around the world again. And to unite us here at home.
Between George Washington and Kennedy, thirty-three men served as US president. Until Kennedy, all were white Anglo-Saxon Protestants.
Joe Biden told hundreds of supporters outside his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, that he pledged “to be a president who seeks not to divide but unify” and “who doesn’t see red states and blue states— only the United States.”
He will work with “all my heart, with the confidence of the whole people, to win the confidence of all of you,” he said on November 7 speech after the media had called the election result, “And for that is what America I believe is about. It’s about people. And that’s what our administration will be all about.”
“I sought this office to restore the soul of America, to rebuild the backbone of this nation, the middle class,” Biden said, “and to make America respected around the world again. And to unite us here at home.
“It’s the honour of my lifetime that so many millions of Americans have voted for that vision. And now, the work of making that vision is real, it’s a task—the task of our time.”
However incumbent president, Donald Trump, has been reluctant to concede and lawyers with his campaign have filed lawsuits in states where Biden has a slim margin over his Republican challenger.
Biden thanked his family members for their support and called it an honour to be serving with such a “fantastic vice president,” noting Harris is making history “as the first woman, first black woman, the first woman from South Asian descent, the first daughter of immigrants ever elected in this country.”
Biden emphasised, “I’ll work as hard for those who didn’t vote for me as those who did,” he added, “Let this grim era of demonisation in America begin to end here and now. The refusal of Democrats and Republicans to cooperate with one another, it’s not some mysterious force beyond our control.”
The country, the president-elect said, has “an opportunity to defeat despair, to build a nation of prosperity and purpose. We can do it. I know we can.”
Biden emphasised, “I’ll work as hard for those who didn’t vote for me as those who did,” he added, “Let this grim era of demonisation in America begin to end here and now. The refusal of Democrats and Republicans to cooperate with one another, it’s not some mysterious force beyond our control.”
As he closed, quoted from the hymn, On Eagles Wings, by Father Michael Joncas, which he hoped would bring “comfort and solace” to the thousands of Americans who have lost a loved one because of Covid-19.
“And he will raise you up on eagles’ 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,” Biden quoting.
“And now together on eagles’ wings,” Biden concluded, “we embark on the work that God and history have called us to do with full hearts and steady hands, with faith in America and in each other, with love of country, a thirst for justice. Let us be the nation that we know we can be. A nation united, a nation strengthened, a nation healed.”
“And he will raise you up on eagles’ wings, bear you on the breath of dawn”
“We thank God for the blessings of liberty. The American people have spoken in this election,” Archbishop Gomez said in the USCCB’s November 7 message.
“As Catholics and Americans, our priorities and mission are clear,” the archbishop said. “We are here to follow Jesus Christ, to bear witness to his love in our lives, and to build his kingdom on earth.”
Archbishop Gomez said he believes “at this moment in American history, Catholics have a special duty to be peacemakers, to promote fraternity and mutual trust, and to pray for a renewed spirit of true patriotism in our country.”
“Democracy requires that all of us conduct ourselves as people of virtue and self-discipline,” he added. “It requires that we respect the free expression of opinions and that we treat one another with charity and civility, even as we might disagree deeply in our debates on matters of law and public policy.”
The archbishop asked Mary, as “patroness of this great nation,” to “intercede for us.”
