Biden Schmoozes With Nuns in Latest 'Being Biden' Audio

Official White House Photo by David Lienemann

In the second installment of his "Being Biden" audio series, Vice President Joe Biden recaps a moment he shared with two nuns, whom he described as "lovely women," outside of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City earlier this week when he attended the Inauguration Mass of Pope Francis.

"What you see is, I had just walked out the side door of St. Peter's Basilica after meeting and getting the opportunity to shake hands and a great conversation with Pope Francis, and the first people I saw were a group of nuns who to me epitomize everything Pope Francis talked about in his homily and what he stands for about generosity to other people, about reaching out, about making it a point to understand that we are our brother's keeper," Biden said in the installment called "A Good Omen."

Biden, the nation's highest-ranking Roman Catholic, led the presidential delegation to Pope Francis' investiture earlier this week and was accompanied by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Gov. Susana Martinez, R-N.M.

"In his homily, the pope said being human means respecting each of God's creatures, responding and respecting the environment in which we live," Biden said. "He said it means protecting people, showing love and concern for each other, every person, every child, elderly, those in need were often the last we think of and that's what in my experience being raised as a Catholic and educated by the nuns, that's what those, those lovely women I'm talking to symbolize to me. So I thought it was a good omen.

"We are our brother's keeper. We have an obligation and I think that's the way, the only way we're going to make the world better and safer.

"It translates at home with the simple things like making sure we fix the broken immigration system, making sure we make our neighborhoods safer by having rationale gun safety and international relations, reaching out and have war as the last option to protect our interests and so it was an exciting time. It gave me a lot of hope and, again, I'll close where I began. Just look at the expression in the faces of those two nuns. You can tell they share my view," he said.

Biden launched his "Being Biden" series last week and described the importance of the Second Amendment to him and the hunters to whom he served rolls at a wild-game dinner earlier this month.