Current contender for Democratic nomination and former vice-president Joe Biden has never been shy about expressing his faith with the nation. Biden was visibly moved recently, though, when Reverend Anthony Thompson asked Biden about his faith and how it affects his personal and political choices.<\/p>\n
Both Biden and Thompson have suffered great tragedy over the years. Thompson is an Episcopalian minister whose wife was killed in the 2015 Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church massacre, and Biden lost a son to brain cancer the same year. Biden also lost his first wife and a daughter in a traffic crash in 1972.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, reverend, I kind of know what it\u2019s like to lose family, and my heart goes out to you,\u201d Biden said, fighting tears. \u201cAs you may remember \u2014 after Barack and Michelle and I were there \u2014 I came back on that Sunday because I had just lost my son. And I wanted some hope because what you all did was astounding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biden struggled with emotion as he responded during a CNN Townhall moderated by Chris Cuomo.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know whether you all know this,\u201d Biden said, addressing the crowd. \u201cAll of those who died, who were killed by this white supremacist, they forgave him. They forgave him. The ultimate act of Christian charity.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the shooting at the Charleston church, the congregation publically forgave the man who shot and killed nine members of their church.<\/p>\n
\u201cI happen to be a practicing Catholic,\u201d Biden said. \u201cI found that there\u2019s that famous phrase from [S\u00f8ren] Kierkegaard: \u2018Faith sees best in the dark.\u2019 I find the one thing it gives me \u2014 and I\u2019m not trying to proselytize, I\u2019m not trying to convince you to share my religious views \u2014 but for me it\u2019s important because it gives me some reason to have hope. And purpose. I\u2019ve learned the only way, I don\u2019t know how you\u2019ve dealt with it, reverend, but the way I\u2019ve been able to deal with when my wife was killed and my daughter was killed and then my son died. I\u2019ve only been able to deal with it by realizing they\u2019re part of my being.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bident continued on, saying he was inspired by the changes Thompson and his community were able to make in South Carolina in the years since the mass shooting. He specifically highlighted the removal of the Confederate flag from public statehouses.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re the ones who changed the attitude in this state in a way that was profound,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I think that\u2019s how it gets done.\u201d<\/p>\n