Vatican сompares Biden's not running for a second term to Benedict XVI

Joe Biden. Source: vaticannews

The Vatican has praised the decision of the current US President Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race. According to Alessandro Gisotti, Deputy Director of Vatican Media, the American president's decision resembles Pope Benedict XVI's decision to "renounce the Petrine ministry".

"Whenever a prominent public figure chooses to step back, to take a leave of absence, he or she immediately captures public sympathy and esteem. We experienced this in a striking way on February 11, 2013, with Benedict XVI’s historic renunciation of the Petrine ministry. We grasp it – albeit in a different sphere – just as evidently in these last 24 hours after U.S. President Joe Biden announced that he will give up his run for a second term in the White House," the statement reads.

Gisotti noted that this decision "had been in the air" for some time, and many prominent members of the Democratic Party had urged Biden to drop his re-election bid. "However, the ultimate choice rested with the tenant of the White House, and thus the very personal and certainly not easy decision not to run for another four-year term as president has to be ascribed to him," the author concludes.

The Vatican hopes that Biden will use the remaining time in office productively, particularly to end the war in Ukraine.

"The time of politics after all can be very fruitful even in short periods: Joe Biden has “only” 6 months left before the handover next January 20, 2025. No longer having to make choices exclusively for the sake of the election campaign, it is to be hoped that the U.S. president will unleash bold and creative new initiatives to achieve those goals that will define his legacy in history, particularly in foreign policy, starting with ending the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East."

As the UOJ reported, media outlets revealed that ahead of the consideration of Bill No. 8371 on July 23, "urgent signals" were received from the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington not to vote for the controversial law banning the UOC.

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