Jesuit priest calls Lou Holtz's comment on Biden's Catholic faith 'terrible'


Lou Holtz, a former college football coach, caused controversy during the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night when he declared that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is a "Catholic in name only."
Biden has been vocal about his faith, which he says has helped him through difficult times in his life, like when his son, Beau Biden, died of brain cancer in 2015. Holtz made his judgment while delivering a speech praising President Trump, saying he is a man who "genuinely cares about people" and is someone Americans can "trust." Not long after Holtz was finished, liberals and conservatives alike jumped to Biden's defense on Twitter.
On MSNBC, Jesuit priest James Martin said he doesn't believe this is something "you should say about anybody." Holtz, he continued, "cannot look into the soul of Joe Biden ... I think it's a really terrible thing to say about someone. He has no clue what's going on inside of Joe Biden's heart."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Holtz has been involved in Republican politics for decades. In 1983, he resigned as the University of Arkansas' football coach after being criticized for appearing in commercials endorsing the re-election of Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.). At the time Helms, who once said the 1964 Civil Rights Act was "the single most dangerous piece of legislation ever introduced in the Congress," was leading the effort to keep Martin Luther King Jr. Day from becoming a national holiday.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
5 cartoons about the TACO trade
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on America's tariffs, Vladimir Putin waiting for taco Tuesday, and a new presidential seal
-
A city of culture in the high Andes
The Week Recommends Cuenca is a must-visit for those keen to see the 'real Ecuador'
-
The Chagos Islands: Starmer's 'lousy deal'
Talking Point The PM's adherence to 'legalism' has given Mauritius a 'gift from British taxpayers'
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges