Mr Biden, a Catholic, was admitted to the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of South Carolina on January 19, the day before he handed over the US presidency to Donald Trump.
His membership was announced at a ceremony in which Victor C. Major, the Most Worshipful Grand Master of the South Carolina lodge, said: “I…on behalf of the members of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of South Carolina, hereby confer membership upon President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. in recognition of his outstanding service to the United States of America.”
By joining the Masons, Mr Biden, 82, puts himself starkly at odds with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
In its 1983 Declaration on Masonic Associations, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) stated that membership was not permitted in any circumstances.
It said: “The Church’s negative judgement in regard to Masonic association remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership remains forbidden.
“The faithful who enrol in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion.”
Just two years ago, the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) upheld the 1983 decree, saying that “active membership in Freemasonry by a member of the faithful is forbidden because of the irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry”.
Mr Biden has been frequently criticised by fellow Catholics for taking an à la carte approach to Catholic teaching, especially on the subject of abortion.
His membership of the Masons nevertheless presents American Catholic leaders with a new challenge when he presents himself for Holy Communion, since Pope Francis and his closest aides are opposed to Masonry.
The DDF had upheld the ruling against Freemasonry in response to a question posed by Bishop Julito Cortes of Dumaguete in the Philippines amid “the continuous rise in the number of the faithful enrolled in Freemasonry” among Filipino Catholics.
Bishop Cortes asked Argentine Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the prefect of the DDF, for suggestions on how to engage the issue pastorally while also taking into account “the doctrinal implications related to this phenomenon”.
Cardinal Fernández said that those who are formally and knowingly enrolled in Masonic Lodges have embraced Masonic principles and therefore fall under the provisions in the 1983 declaration.
In part, Vatican objections to Masonry are theological, grounded in concerns that Masonic doctrines foster pantheism, rationalism and a naturalist view of the world.
The Vatican has also long objected to the practice of secrecy with Masonry, seeing it as a potential cover for subversive and anti-social activity, including attacks on traditional political and spiritual authority.
Not only are Catholics who join Masonic associations risking being excommunicated and banned from receiving communion and the other sacraments, but according to Church doctrine they are also prohibited from acting as sponsors for Baptism or Confirmation and they are not allowed to be admitted as a member of parish or diocesan structures.
In some countries Catholics who become Masons are denied funeral rights unless some signs of repentance before death have been shown.
In his 2024 book, The Exorcist Files, Fr Carlos Martins, a Canadian exorcist who broadcasts a popular podcast, explained the spiritual dangers of membership in the Freemasons, arguing that it is effectively a neo-pagan religion.
He said its membership rituals include blasphemies and oaths incompatible with Christianity and which are designed to forge a covenant relationship which leaves a member “vulnerable to demonic transference”.