On Father’s Day, just last month, Joe Biden said, “Family is life’s greatest blessing and responsibility.” In April, Biden told a group of kids that he had “six grandchildren. And I’m crazy about them. And I speak to them every single day. Not a joke.”

But it is a joke. Only no one is laughing. You see, Joe and Jill Biden have seven grandchildren – not six. It seems (to the Bidens) that the one grandchild who was born out of wedlock is less deserving of the Biden family’s love and affection due to the messiness of the child’s conception. They have even instructed White House aides to deny the reality that a seventh grandchild (fathered by Hunter Biden) even exists.

As a “devout” Catholic, the president knows how parents must regard their children as children of God and respect them as human persons. The Catholic Church, like so many other faiths, holds a deep respect for the inherent dignity and worth of every human being as a precious gift from God. Psalm 127:3 states, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.”

Recognizing every child and grandchild also entails the responsibility of nurturing and guiding them in faith. Proverbs 22:6 advises, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Jesus Himself demonstrated a special affection for children and emphasized their significance.

In Matthew 19:14, Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” This passage illustrates that children are to be recognized and embraced and encouraged to develop a relationship with God.

There’s no mention by Jesus of any qualifiers or conditions regarding to which little children the kingdom of heaven belongs. That’s because it matters not.

It matters not the circumstances under which an innocent child was conceived. Children should not be faulted for the mistakes of their parents. They should be loved and accepted, despite a culture where leftists push abortion relentlessly and promote the idea that unplanned pregnancies are unwanted – and easily disposed of.

It’s more than an out-of-sight, out-ofmind delusion with the Bidens and their turning a blind eye to this grandchild. At Christmas, for example, the Bidens hung stockings for each of their grandchildren, including their dog, but not for the grandchild born out of wedlock. The dog had a stocking hung by the chimney with care – but one of their own grandchildren did not.

“Well,” some would say, “that’s just happenstance and wasn’t intentional.” Oh, no? Jill Biden recently wrote a children’s book and was dedicated to all her grandchildren, listing them all by name, except – you guessed it – the one born out of wedlock.

And to add insult to injury here, Hunter Biden’s lawyers have appeared in court trying to reduce (or end) his child support payments to this little girl he’s abandoned (saying he’s penniless) when over the past 10 years he’s reported receiving income of almost $30 million.

So, while the kingdom of heaven is not too good for any child, the kingdom of Biden apparently is, and the Biden family’s refusal to acknowledge this granddaughter is beyond contemptible yet emblematic of Joe Biden’s legacy of lies and deceit.

Each child is a precious gift from God, created in His image and likeness, and each child possesses inherent worth and dignity – regardless of whether the Biden’s wish to acknowledge it or not.

Louis R. Avallone is a Shreveport businessman, attorney and author of “Bright Spots, Big Country, What Makes America Great.” He is also a former aide to U.S. Representative Jim McCrery and editor of The Caddo Republican. His columns have appeared regularly in 318 Forum since 2007. Follow him on Facebook, on Twitter @louisravallone or by e-mail at louisavallone@mac.com, and on American Ground Radio at 101.7FM and 710 AM, weeknights from 6 - 7 p.m., and streaming live on keelnews.com.