RI Bishop Disappointed By 'Lack' Of Catholics On Democrat Ticket

PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island's bishop voiced his apparent displeasure with the presumptive Democratic presidential ticket, following Tuesday's announcement that Kamala Harris will be Joe Biden's running mate.

"Biden-Harris. First time in awhile that the Democratic ticket hasn’t had a Catholic on it. Sad," Thomas Tobin, the bishop of the Diocese of Providence, tweeted Tuesday night.

The tweet seemingly ignores Biden's self-identification as a Catholic, which he has publicly referenced. This could be due to the candidate's stance on controversial issues such as abortion and gay rights, which do not align with the church.

Brian Burch, the president of CatholicVote, a political advocacy organization. told Catholic News Agency that the church has no right to litigate Biden's personal faith, but that his policy decisions could be detrimental to the organization.

"Joe Biden says his Catholic faith is important to him, and it's not our place to question that," Burch said. "It's obvious Biden attends Mass, and it's obvious his Catholic faith has been a comfort to him at critical moments in his life ... What matters here isn't his devotional life, but his policies."