Originally published at National Catholic Register
COMMENTARY: Pope Francis, on Jan. 11, became the third pope to be given the highest civilian honor in the U.S.
Careful observers of papal-presidential relations were mildly surprised when President Joe Biden did not include Pope Francis in his final list of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients on Jan. 4.
Alongside the Congressional Gold Medal, which is voted upon by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Biden awarded it in 2022 to Sister of Social Service Simone Campbell (2022) of “Nuns on the Bus” fame, and Jesuit Father Greg Boyle, who worked with troubled youth in Homeboy Industries. It would follow that a Catholic president who has given the medal to Catholic leaders would do the same with the Holy Father.
With his name absent from the Jan. 4 list, it was simply assumed that Biden would give the award during his visit to Pope Francis on Jan. 10 in Rome. When that trip was canceled due to the Los Angeles fire emergency, the White House announced that the medal — awarded “with distinction” — had been bestowed on Pope Francis on Jan. 11, making
