SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY: PRAY FOR THE DEAD

Joe Biden visits Catholic parish cemetery to pray for his deceased family members

As Catholics, we know the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. It is an important part of our faith. Even those outside our faith often note the respect we Catholics pay to the deceased. The Trump campaign is now in a five alarm damage control mode over The Atlantic magazine's report that Trump told aides after scrapping a visit to Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018 to honor the dead service members, "Why should I go to that cemetery? It's filled with losers." According to The Atlantic, Trump also called our servicemembers "suckers" at some point during the same trip.

Given this situation, it seems the worst time to attack Joe Biden for respecting the dead. Yet that is exactly what the Trump campaign did last Sunday.

Joe Biden, after attending Sunday Mass in his parish church, then took time to do what many pious Catholics do. He stopped by the adjoining churchyard to pay his respects and say a prayer at the graves of his son Beau, his daughter and his first wife.

Francis Brennan, a high ranking Trump campaign official, mocked Joe Biden for visiting the graveyard where his son, daughter and first wife are buried. He tweeted that Biden was "meandering along" after Mass instead of campaigning, as he should be.

The Trump campaign did not disavow the criticism, nor answer a question about why the attack remains on Brennan's feed.

Frankly, every Catholic should see this as absolutely shameful.