Kamala Harris and Catholicism

Most Catholics don’t seem to be aware of the expressed views or the record of the Democrat Party’s vice presidential candidate, Senator Kamala Harris, particularly as they relate to the Catholic Church. I suppose this is understandable since she has made herself available for almost no press conferences or other Q&A opportunities since her party nominated her. But despite her recent unwillingness to do what politicians have always done, she has made no effort to hide or disguise her views in the past, and her record is certainly public. 

When examined, the senator's record of anti-Catholicism most often addresses such issues as abortion, so-called transgender surgery, and homosexual marriage. Because the Catholic Church doesn’t hesitate to condemn each of these as serious sins, the senator has focused her attacks on all things (and many people) Catholic. Joe Biden, of course, escapes her wrath because he has shown himself to be Catholic in name only and publicly denies Church magisterial teaching on these and many other moral issues of the day. When it comes to these issues, he’s certainly not a moderate.

Rather than repeat here what you can read in more detail elsewhere, I'll refer you to several articles, all written by Kenneth Craycraft, an attorney and moral theologian. That he has successfully managed to merge these two professions is reason enough to read him. He is currently the James J. Gardner Family Chair of Moral Theology at Mount St. Mary's Seminary and School of Theology.

Each of these articles appeared on the First Things online website. I am a longtime First Things subscriber, probably the one journal I would never give up.

Kamala Harris’s Threat to Religious Believers (September 7, 2020)

Joe Biden Is No Moderate (September 16, 2020)

Kamala Harris’s Record of Anti-Catholic Bigotry (October 12, 2020)

The Adult in the Room

Have you been watching the confirmation hearings conducted by the Senate’s Judiciary Committee? If you haven’t you should watch them today. You will see something truly remarkable. You will see how a wise, caring, patient adult handles a collection of spoiled, ignorant, petulant children. One woman, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, perhaps the most qualified nominee for the Supreme Court in my lifetime, responds to the foolishness of her interrogators with grace and wisdom and truth. I suppose we should expect this from a woman who, along with her husband, is raising seven children. And what a joy it was to see her children seated behind her in that senate hearing room, supporting their mother with their presence, and doing so with far more poise than that displayed by many of the senators.

I suspect the Democrat members of the committee hope their constituents are not watching the hearings, because compared to the nominee, they looked very silly indeed. Each of the Democrats began with a long, highly politicized statement which was read from papers prepared by staffers. Each then asked one inappropriate or irrelevant question after another, which also had to be read from notes because the Senator didn’t seem to know what kind of questions he or she should ask someone nominated to be a Justice on the Supreme Court. 

The most telling moment of yesterday’s hearing occurred when Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) asked Judge Barrett to hold up the notepad on the table in front of her. She held up a small pad of paper, completely blank, embossed at the top of each page with the words, “United States Senate” — a fitting souvenir of her visit to that august body. Yes, unlike the senatorial inquisitors who were supported by stacks of papers written by others, she had no need of notes because she knows of what she speaks. The appropriately blank U.S. Senate pad perhaps tells us too much about the Senate itself. 

 

Judge Barrett is also a faithful, loving Christian, who no doubt accepts the Word and promise of Jesus Christ:

"When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say” [Lk 12:11-12].

Interestingly, the Democrat Senators who obviously despise Judge Barrett, asked almost nothing about her qualifications, preferring instead to paint her as a political operative, as a conservative who will simply do the bidding of President Trump. Their questions -- when they actually got around to asking a question -- were focused on political issues, and rarely dealt with the role of a Supreme Court Justice.

Because she is such a remarkable and accomplished woman, and because she is a woman of faith, the Democrats have been forced to avoid the kind of public, personal attacks usually inflicted on nominees. For that they must rely on their media surrogates. One thing we know for certain, the Democrat Party has become the party of anti-Catholicism. No longer discretely covert, they now openly ridicule any Catholic who actually believes in the teachings of the Church. Of course, the same applies to any Christian who accepts the teachings of Jesus Christ and lives them.

God bless Judge Barrett.

Just a Few Thoughts

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits [Mt 7:15-16].

Portland “Protesters” 

In Portland a man who apparently supported the president was murdered by an unknown assailant. Afterwards, the crowd of so-called protesters, made up largely of Black Lives Matter and Antifa Marxists radicals, were told by one of their leaders with a megaphone that, "I just got word, the person who died was a Patriot Prayer person...He was a f***ing Nazi. Our community held its own and took out the trash. I'm not going to shed any tears over a Nazi." The crown of Biden voters cheered. Really, do you think they’ll vote for the president?

These words, of course, were spoken by a woman who has no idea what the Nazis -- the National Socialist German Workers Party -- believed. Indeed, it's unlikely she even knows what she, as a Marxist, is supposed to believe. Her comments were echoed the following day in a video by one of the leaders of Black Lives Matter who told his followers: "I'm at a point where I'm ready to put the police in the f***ing grave! I'm at the point where I want to burn the White House down! I want to take it to the senators! I want to take it to the Congress!"

If you've been one of those passive supporters of BLM and Antifa, assuming they're simply peaceful protesters, I trust you've been disabused of that notion. There's a sad irony here. The rioters are ignorant, rootless young people, and as Russell Kirk wrote years ago, "The rootless are always violent, and the lonely and bored find riot a welcome diversion." 

Eventually, though, and this always happens in this country, the sanest of a nation's citizenry will refuse to accept the continued violence and destruction, and demand a response. Such a response, designed to stop senseless violence, will likely involve an acceptable level of directed, defensive violence. Violence always begets violence.

Far Left Democrats and Jews.

I'd call them anti-Semites, but I doubt if that label would bother too many of them, just as some seem to take pride in being called anti-Israel. It's really been an amazing transformation, watching the Democrat Party move so quickly from supporter of Israel and friend of the Jews to the party of the anti-Israel far left. Like the Islamists of al-Qaeda and Isis, many members of the far left wing of the party simply hate Jews. Sadly, these views seem to be moving to the party's so-called mainstream.

It's really quite disturbing, even for someone like me who has no ties to Israel. It's disturbing because it should be obvious whom we should support in the Middle East. The Muslim nations surrounding Israel are either authoritarian theocracies or just corrupt dictatorships; and most despise the United States. With only a few exceptions, they also teach their children anti-Jewish hatred, revenge, and extreme violence.

Do you support these nations, or do you support Israel, the only true representative democracy in the Middle East? Surrounded by its enemies, Israel must defend itself constantly from an insane degree of aggression. It's the kind of aggression that celebrates when Islamist terrorists murder a young Israeli family, stabbing them to death as they sleep. It's the kind of aggression that sends unguided rockets to strike random targets in Israeli cities and towns. Yes, Israel responds. Israel always responds. The nation must respond because its survival demands it and its sane citizens demand it. Just last week, Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon fired on Israeli troops on the border. This prompted Israel to send attack helicopters and other aircraft to strike Hezbollah targets. This was the first raid of its kind by Israel since the 2006 Second Lebanon War. Violence begets violence.

Black Lives Matter and Slavery.

Black Lives Matter protesters claim to be concerned about racial injustice and the legacy of slavery in the United States. But have you ever heard them protest the slavery that still exists in Africa today? Of course not. BLM, you see, really has little interest in the lives of black people, whether Americans or Africans. As a Marxist movement, it is concerned only with rewriting the history of the United States, undermining the nuclear family and religious values, and destroying our form of representative government. Injustice against blacks, which certainly exists but is far from "systemic," simply provides a handy excuse to take to the streets so they can continue their destructive work.

Slavery does exist today, and in some nations on a rather large scale. In the West African nation of Mauritania, for example, it is estimated that 20% of the population is enslaved; that is, they are "owned" by others who can do with them as they please. In fact, ownership of slaves in that country often passes from father to son. Given the Qur'an's rather explicit support for slavery, it's no wonder there's no Islamic abolitionist movement. And the left, Including Black Lives Matter, does not dare to criticize Islam. Christianity and Judaism are far safer targets.

Kamala Harris and Religion.

Senator Harris has made a career of attacking the religious values of her political opponents and others she hopes to  destroy in the public square. Her attacks on Catholics have been especially virulent. Two years ago she tried to block the nomination of a federal judge, Brian Buescher, because he was a member of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal and charitable organization. Such an attack, of course, violates the Constitution's prohibition of religious tests:

"...no religious test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." [Article VI, Clause 3]

The senator also smeared current Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh, a Catholic, during his confirmation hearings.

Interestingly, though, when Joe Biden was accused of sexual assault last year, Senator Harris said this of Biden's accusers: "I believe them and I respect them being able to tell their story and having the courage to do it." And now, although she never retracted those comments, she's Joe's running mate. Do you get the feeling she might be a complete opportunist, lacking any moral or philosophical foundation?

Harris has repeatedly attacked pro-life advocates and led the fight to keep abortion legal right up to the time of birth. As the Attorney General of California, she tried to inflict pregnancy centers with regulations really designed to close their doors. Taken to court, she lost her case thanks to the U. S. Supreme Court. She also co-sponsored the so-called "Equality Act" that would not allow Catholic hospitals to be Catholic by destroying rights of conscience and free speech, and even the freedom to follow one’s religious values. Her support for Planned Parenthood, gay marriage, and transgendered rights, plus her denial of school choice, especially for the poor, has put the Catholic Church in her cross-hairs. 

Nancy Pelosi on Children.

Every so often -- and these days it's far too often -- I read something that makes me want to scream nasty words. Fortunately, Diane's presence softens me and (usually) forces me to think twice before letting the neighbors know how I feel. The words of Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), inexplicably the current Speaker of the U.S. House of Representative, are the most recent cause of my loss of verbal control. Here's what she said:

"My whole purpose in politics, the three most important issues facing the Congress: our children, our children, our children...that's the hill I fight on."

Yes, hearing these words from Nancy Pelosi is truly scream-inducing. She cares so much for "the children" that during her 33 years in Congress she has overseen the slaughter of tens of millions of unborn children. I'm sorry, Nancy, but the hill you fight on is indeed a huge hill, one made up of the dismembered bodies of more than 60 million American children. The hypocrisy of this woman, who constantly claims to be a "devout Catholic," is beyond comprehension.

How wonderful that this week Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the president of the Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life, demanded that Catholic politicians "must stop promoting anti-life laws." He went on to say that "it is a great error" for Catholic legislators "to promote legislation favoring abortion or euthanasia." Encouraging the Catholic faithful to correct their errant political leaders, he said, "The Church has a great responsibility to help its members, first of all, to convert to the Gospel of life, to the beauty of life. It is important that we avoid the dirty work of death and carry out the beautiful work of life."

One can only pray and hope that our Catholic politicians, including Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi, will listen and convert.

Cardinal Pell, Suffering Apostle

Given the climate in most dioceses today, I thank God that we still have men who respond to God's call to the priesthood. All that's needed to destroy permanently a priest's (or a deacon's) reputation is a single "credible" charge of sexual abuse. Such a charge leads to the immediate removal of the priest from his ministry, and even if that charge is investigated and the priest is cleared of any wrongdoing, it's unlikely he will ever again return to pastoral ministry. Guilty until proven innocent...and then never really innocent, but always guilty in the minds of many, certainly in the secular media.   

All of this exists in a cultural environment where the Catholic Church, as well as Christianity in general, is not just under attack, but despised by the media and political elites. The media has framed the story as one of pedophilia, so the public will assume it's all about priests abusing young children. The truth is something quite different. The vast majority of cases concerning priestly abuse of minors involve not young children but post-pubescent teenaged boys. That's right, it's really all about predatory homosexuality. But this would conflict with the zeitgeist that extols the "normality" of homosexual behavior. 

In recent decades far too many bishops have ignored the blatant homosexuality of candidates for the priesthood and have ordained men who have gone on to become predators. Others live lives of near open homosexuality in total opposition to Church teaching. In writing this I am not merely reporting what others have written; no, I can speak here from first-hand knowledge. And it's not limited to seminarians and priests; sadly, active homosexuality of the Cardinal McCarrick kind, is a trait possessed by more than a few of our bishops. It took over 20 years before the bishops decided that maybe their draconian policies should perhaps apply to bishops as well. 

In the face of this, the prevailing culture, then, must conjure up abuse allegations against those who most strongly support and preach the Church's orthodox beliefs. The culture's most famous victim is George Cardinal Pell, who for years had been, and remains, one of my ecclesial heroes. Cardinal Pell was convicted of several counts of child abuse despite hard evidence that should have exonerated him. After serving 13 months of a six-year sentence he was finally freed in April when Australia's high court unanimously overturned his conviction. 

George Cardinal Pell

About his trial and his time in prison, the Cardinal said, "I was quite confident that my small sufferings -- and they weren't enormous -- were something that could be offered, with Christ's suffering, for the good of the Church...I knew I was innocent, I knew logically and forensically that I had a very strong case, that I would be vindicated. But in a spectacular failure, the most senior judges in Victoria were unable to see that." (It was a 2 to 1 decision.)  Ultimately, the nation's high court recognized the injustice that had been committed, and unanimously acquitted him. 

Cardinal Pell, as every Christian should be, is the ultimate optimist: "The irony of it is -- and it's demonstrated in the Catholic world in Belgium, Holland, Quebec, and to some extent in Switzerland and Austria -- the more you adapt to the world, the faster the Catholic Church goes out of business...but aversity is not necessarily bad for the Church. Adversity can bring the best out of us." 

If you'd like to read more about legal issues surrounding this apostle's journey in the midst of today's world, read this article by Gerard V. Bradley, law professor at Notre Dame: Cardinal Pell Acquitted

Ignatius Press plans to publish the Cardinal's prison journal early next year, a book that is already being praised as a likely classic. Read about it here: Spiritual Classic.

Is there a message in all this to our bishops? From my limited and lowly perspective I would encourage our bishops to turn to the Apostles, to be Apostolic in their approach to the world. The Apostles gave their lives for the faith. They didn't fear bad publicity. They didn't fear the loss of federal funds. They didn't fear the loss of tax exemptions. They didn't turn to their lawyers, asking, "What should I do?" No, they proclaimed the truth, constantly, loudly, and boldly, but always mercifully. They listened to and followed the Lord Jesus' command:

"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the ned of the age" [Mt 28:19-20].

Pray for Pope Francis and our bishops.

Through the Looking Glass...Again!

Every so often I come across news stories that cause me to suspect that I've wandered into Wonderland. Here are a few that cannot be ignored.

The Extremist Catholic Church. The U. S. Army has apparently classified the Catholic Church (among others) as a "religious extremist" organization. You think I'm joking? Think again. As you can see, the following slide, from a U. S. Army Reserve PowerPoint presentation, lumps the Catholic Church and Evangelical Christians, into the same category with the Islamist terrorist organizations al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Hamas. 

Since Catholics and Evangelicals make up over 50% of our population, it's interesting that the Department of Defense believes a majority of the people it serves and protects are extremists. The real reasons behind the inclusion of the Catholic Church on this list are well known: the Church's stance on both abortion and so-called same-sex marriage. For today's leftists -- and make no mistake, today's DoD is managed by the left -- these issues trump everything else. If the Church would only agree to kill the babies and let the sodomites marry, it would immediately be removed from the list. Of course, the Church will never change it's teaching because it reflects divine law, something which no man can change. Ironically, the Army author of the presentation used the Southern Poverty Law Center as his primary source. The SPLC is perhaps the leading hate group of the American left. 

At this point I suppose I can now claim, without fear of contradiction that, as an ordained member of the Catholic clergy, I am officially a religious extremist who can reside comfortably on President Obama's enemies list. For more on this story, check out these links:

Original story from The Washington Times.

Follow-up from  Human Events.

Images from The Daily Mail.

Jesuit colleges in need of reform. Many Catholics expect Pope Francis to initiate reforms within the Church and especially within the Vatican's Curia. Personally, while I'm sure some reform of the Curia is needed, I really believe the new Pope should first turn his attention to his own order, the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). My reasons stem from a couple of other Wonderland stories:

Loyola Marymount University, a Jesuit institution of higher learning located in Los Angeles, has a Bioethics Institute which, according to its mission statement, enables "students to reflect systematically on contemporary issues in bioethics and healthcare principally through the prism of the intellectual heritage of the Roman Catholic philosophical and theological tradition." One would think, therefore, that this "Catholic philosophical and theological tradition" would reflect the teachings of the Catholic Church. One would also expect the director of the Institute to agree with these teachings. Such expectations, of course, do not take into account that Loyola Marymount is run by the Jesuits. 

It seems the university is conducting a search for a new director of the Bioethics Institute, and that two of the three finalists are -- irony of ironies -- pro abortion. One of the candidates, Professor Ann Mongoven of Michigan State University, has stated that abortion and contraception are acceptable beliefs within the Catholic tradition. Another candidate, Professor Denise Dudzinski of the University of Washington, has also written about the moral permissibility of abortion. The question, asked from beyond the borders of Wonderland, is why are these two people finalists? Read more about it here: National Catholic Register.

Not to be outdone by Loyola Marymount, those who administer Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, another Jesuit institution, have decided not to recognize the Knights of Columbus as a student organization because...drumroll...the K of C is a Catholic organization and, sin of sins, limits membership to men. That's right, the Catholicity of the Knights betrays the university's “commitment to non-discrimination and inclusivity.” One certainly has to be careful in today's Catholic university, especially one run by the Jesuits, and not be too Catholic. Interestingly, the Knights are the largest fraternal organization in the world. Read more here: The Daily Caller

Turning my attention to Florida, I read that Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity have been issued a "notice of violation" by the city of Miami, Florida alleging that they are "operating a business without a license." A certain city inspector, a bozo named Cornellius Pierre (May I call someone a bozo? Sure. Why not.), issued the violation despite the fact that the good sisters have been ministering to Miami's poor for more than 30 years and doing so with the city's full approval. Read more here: Catholic News Agency

There are more similar stories, many more, but I am being paged by my visiting three-year-old granddaughter, who must be obeyed.

Pax et bonum...

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Anti-Catholic Political Ad in Minnesota

The Minnesota Democratic Party sponsored one of the most blatantly anti-Catholic ads I have ever seen, accusing the Catholic Church of ignoring the poor. That's right, the Catholic Church, the organization that does more for the poor of the world than any other organization is accused of ignoring them. Why? Because the Church speaks the truth about abortion and same-sex marriage and condemns them.

The ad is in the form of a postcard that was sent out to Minnesota voters. You can see the postcard below. Click on the photo's caption to view a larger version. To read more about the ad, click here: The Most Anti-Catholic Political Ad You'll Ever See.

Anti-Catholic Ad by Minnesota Democratic Party

Abortion and so-called gay marriage have become such defining elements of the political left in this country they supersede all other issues. And since the Catholic Church and its teachings are the greatest obstacle to the general acceptance of both homosexual marriage and abortion, it is viewed as the #1 enemy. This ad is merely one of the more obvious manifestations of this hatred for the Church.

Interestingly, Islam also condemns homosexual marriage and abortion. Why do I believe that the Minnesota Democratic Party will never publish a similar ad depicting a Muslim cleric?

Pray for and defend the Church.