Pols and Celebs

I’m always amazed, although I suppose I shouldn’t be, when politicians and celebrities say absolutely stupid things. Both of these groups of self-proclaimed elites experienced a collective meltdown over the U. S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. The court ruled that the Constitution does not include a right to abortion and consequently returned abortion laws to state legislatures. I've decided to share a few of these luminaries’ openly expressed thoughts relating to abortion and other issues. Even though I certainly could add extensive comments to each of these quotes, I will resist and, other than some brief introductory words, let these folks speak for themselves. Here goes…

Vice President Kamala Harris explains why abortion rights are fundamentally American:

"Don't hear, 'It can't be done.' Don't hear, 'Nobody like you has done this before.' I like to say, 'I eat no for breakfast.'...What essentially has happened is the statement has been made that the government has a right to come in your home and tell you, as a woman and as a family, what you should do with your body...We have to recognize we're a nation that was founded on certain principles that are -- that are grounded in the concept of freedom and liberty."

And our Vice President is also a lawyer?

Then there’s the always edgy Bette Midler, who was obviously upset about the Supreme Court’s recent decisions. She tweeted a meme purporting to be a photo of the enrobed wife of Justice Clarence Thomas as if Ginni Thomas were hiding behind a mask of the Justice. Ah, yes, she, the white wife, must obviously be the real power behind the Uncle Tom throne. Racist? You can decide:

An English pop star, Lily Allen, who apparently just had an abortion, explained in rather vulgar language why the vast majority of women choose abortion. I will try to cleverly disguise her most explicit language:

"I wish people would stop posting examples of exceptional reasons for having abortions [Note: by this, Ms. Allen meant rape, incest, etc.].  Most people I know, myself included, just didn't want to have a f***ing baby. And that is reason enough! We don't have to justify it. It shouldn't have to be said, and I think examples just play into the hands of the baddies."

From the White House we hear from Brian Deese, the National Economic Council Director, as he explains that the public will just have to grin and bear it when it comes to higher prices for fuel and food. The government, you see, has more important long-term concerns than the common financial concerns of struggling citizens. In the Director’s words:

"What you heard from the president today was about the stakes. This is about the future of the liberal world order, and we have to stand firm."

Ah, yes, the “liberal world order” which no leftist dares define publicly for fear the peasants would rise up armed with torches and pitchforks -- of course those are about the only weapons the Biden administration would want civilians to possess. I suspect Director Deese regrets his slip of the tongue, a rare instance in which someone in the Biden White House actually spoke the truth.

Another potty-mouth politician, the lovely Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago, has decided that we must clean up our public discourse and generate more Kumbaya moments that will bring us all together. In a news conference on Monday, following the tragic shootings in Highland Park, Illinois, the mayor said:

"What it feels like is happening in this moment in our democracy is people are losing respect for the institutions of our democracy...The toxicity in our public discourse is a thing I think we should all be concerned about...We have got to focus on what brings us together and not what tears us apart, and we've got to get back to respect for each other and respect for community. And that's the thing, I think, that concerns me the most over the arc of the last two years."

Respect for our institutions, for each other, for community, getting rid of toxicity, bringing us together...how absolutely wonderful!

Of course, in May this same mayor urged a "call to arms" to attack those who don't accept her woke creed. Perhaps the hundreds of murders in Chicago are just part of this armed ongoing war against whatever. And just last week, unhappy with Justice Clarence Thomas, the detoxified mayor of Chicago publicly screamed, "F*** Clarence Thomas" at a rally. Later she attacked those who objected to her language, and added, without apology, "I said what I said." Yes, indeed, a lovely woman, and quite the lady.

I am particularly distressed by this final example because it relates to the United States Navy. As a retired Navy Captain I wore the uniform for 30 years and truly enjoyed a wondrous career as a Regular Navy and Naval Reserve officer. As a military organization, a fighting force, the Navy always focused on its ability to defend the country while not sweating the political correctness that infects many other elements of our society. In other words, the Navy was never very “woke” — at least until now. Captain Dave Hecht is a public affairs officer who works for the Chief of Naval Personnel. In an email to the American Military News, Hecht was all aflutter about the possibility that Navy personnel might use inappropriate pronouns. The Navy, after instituting its new policies, will have to punish violators. Here’s just a little of what Hecht had to say:

“Intentional misuse of transgender service member pronouns is inappropriate and inconsistent with the Navy zero tolerance policy on harassment…Violations of regulation or law, to include failure to comply with the UCMJ [Uniform Code of Military Justice], may be punishable by administrative or judicial action…[The Navy] appreciates that pronouns are a part of individual identity.” Hecht went on to say that both civilian and uniformed Navy members are expected to use appropriate rank or title, pronounce names correctly, and use “an individual’s pronouns consistent with their gender marker in DEERS or as reflected in an exception to policy (ETP) for that individual.” [DEERS is a personnel database containing information on active-duty, reserve, and retired service members and their families.] Captain Hecht went on for quite some time, even waxing eloquently about a training video that teaches Navy personnel on the proper use of gender pronouns and inclusive language.

Your tax dollars at work, folks. Don't you just love the idea of putting our nation's defense, and our lives, in the capable hands of people concerned about what pronoun others use when speaking to them?

God help our country.

Thank God for WHAT?

Let me begin simply by repeating the chant of a large collection of pro-abortion screamers who were trying to disrupt worshippers at a Catholic church: 

"Thank God for abortion!" 

Yes, indeed, that's what they shouted at anyone and everyone within earshot. Of course, for someone who actually believes in God, such a chant is pure blasphemy, since it attributes an intrinsic evil to God. I have, however, become convinced that pro-abortion fanatics, and this also includes most of today's Democrat Party politicians, really don't believe in God. Oh, they talk about God as their biggest supporter, they attend church services and take advantage of the photo-ops, and they always refer to themselves as "devout." But it's all just talk, just smoke and mirrors...you know, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." 

The pro-abortion pols who claim to be Catholic apparently have no problem discarding Church magisterial teaching when it seems politically expedient to do so. We are left to conclude that they have raised their personal beliefs above the Word of God and the Church's deposit of faith. In other words, they have replaced the Living God with themselves, a bunch of little god wannabes. This is the great temptation to which those who crave power always fall prey: to become a god. 

Our Vice President, too, joined in the cacophony and in a recent speech repeatedly screamed, "How dare they!" She was all upset that any Supreme Court Justice, or any legislator, would try to prevent a woman from doing whatever she wanted to her body. Kamala Harris conveniently failed to mention that there's another body involved, and that the woman's decision to abort brings about this innocent person's violent death. Her near frenzied support of abortion is difficult to understand since she is a black woman and abortion providers have specifically targeted minority women. In truth the population of black Americans would be double its current numbers if abortion had not been legalized by the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision. Any black American who supports abortion is grossly ignorant, a pure Leftist ideologue, or just suicidal...or, more accurately, self-genocidal. 

As I mentioned in a previous post, I believe the Left has made a crucial error by reacting as they have to the illegal leak of the court's draft majority opinion. All they have done is released the crazies who will show the rest of the country what complete weirdos the abortion-loving fanatics really are. I realize I will be criticized for labeling them, but I've always believed that telling the truth is a charitable act and should not be avoided when to do so would lead others to sin. Just check out these photos of current protests.

Yep, these folks will certainly convince all those average Americans to join the next pro-abortion protest in their quiet neighborhoods...yeah, right.

Lest we get distracted by all the weirdness in the streets, let's keep one thing in mind: abortion is the work of Satan and those who support abortion are joining in his evil work. Of course, ultimately, they will fail. They just don't know it. Pray for them.

And to alter that ugly chant slightly, let me quote the Catholic poet, Joyce Kilmer:

"Thank God for God."

Politicians, Truth, and Hypocrisy

Politicians are a unique breed, especially those who turn politics into a lifelong career. And don’t you just love those pols who speak of their dedicated career of “public service” when we all know their true goal is their re-election? I’ll admit, we all sometimes place our own needs over the needs of those we serve, but politicians seem to have turned this into a true science. They assume — too often, correctly — that we voters will forget their past indiscretions and self-indulgence and instead focus only on the government funds tossed our way. But their most serious sin, at least from my perspective, is their blatant hypocrisy. 

Things might be changing, though. We the People are starting to awaken to the fact that politicians are supposed to represent us, our beliefs, our values, and our need to live free.  Just look at President Biden's current support. Citizens have begun to recognize and resent all the hypocrisy and all the lies. Here’s a very recent example that has generated a lot of comment:

___________________

The other day President Biden, in response to the identification of a new COVID variant, which arose in and is now spreading throughout much of southern Africa, issued a travel ban. Here is his tweet informing us of his decision:

“The WHO has identified a new COVID variant which is spreading through Southern Africa. As a precautionary measure until we have more information, I am ordering air travel restrictions from South Africa and seven other countries.”  [2:38 PM.  Nov 26, 2021]

This seems a reasonable decision, as the president said, “until we have more information.” But how many Americans recall candidate Biden’s reaction when President Trump issued similar bans back in early 2020? On January 31, 2020, President Trump declared a public health emergency because of the COVID-19 pandemic and temporarily restricted travel from China, where the virus originated. The very next day Joe Biden attacked President Trump by tweeting the following:

“We are in the midst of a crisis with the coronavirus. We need to lead the way with science — not Donald trump’s record of hysteria, xenophobia, and fear-mongering. He is the worst possible person to lead our country through a global health emergency. [5:01 PM.  Feb 1, 2020]

In that same month, when President Trump added travel restrictions from several African and Asian nations — Nigeria, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, Eritrea, Sudan, and Tanzania — the Democrats declared the president’s decision was “driven by hate.” Candidate Biden’s tweet was particularly interesting in light of his current actions:

“Trump further diminished the U.S. in the eyes of the world by expanding his travel ban. This new ‘African Ban’ is designed to make it harder for black and brown people to immigrate to the United States. It’s a disgrace, and cannot let him succeed.” [10:16 PM   Feb 1, 2020]

The same day Kamala Harris hopped on the “Trump’s a racist” bandwagon by tweeting: 

“Trump’s extended Un-American travel ban undermines our nation’s core values. It is clearly driven by hate, not security.” [5:16 PM   Feb 1, 2020]

About a month later, on March 11, 2020, President Trump suspended travel from Europe, hoping to slow the spread of the virus. Once again, on the very next day, candidate Biden responded with:

“A wall will not stop the coronavirus. Banning all travel from Europe — or any other part of the world — will not stop it. This disease could impact every nation and any person on the planet — and we need a plan to combat it.” [8:05 PM   Mar 12, 2020]

“...impact every nation and any person…” Did I detect a little fear-mongering in there? 

Of course, Speaker Nancy Pelosi had to join the fray and label President Trump a cruel, bigoted, biased, callous person whose actions must be unconstitutional. Her actual statement is worth repeating:

“The Trump Administration's expansion of its outrageous, un-American travel ban threatens our security, our values and the rule of law. The sweeping rule, barring more than 350 million individuals from predominantly African nations from traveling to the United States, is discrimination disguised as policy.

“America's strength has always been as a beacon of hope and opportunity for people around the world, whose dreams and aspirations have enriched our nation and made America more American. With this latest callous decision, the President has doubled down on his cruelty and further undermined our global leadership, our Constitution and our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants.

“In the Congress and in the Courts, House Democrats will continue to oppose the Administration's dangerous anti-immigrant agenda. In the coming weeks, the House Judiciary Committee will mark-up and bring to the Floor the NO BAN Act to prohibit religious discrimination in our immigration system and limit the President's ability to impose such biased and bigoted restrictions. We will never allow hatred or bigotry to define our nation or destroy our values.”

Okay, what are the odds any Democrat, or any member of the mainstream media, will even hint that Joe Biden’s travel ban, aimed exclusively at Africans south of the Sahara, might be slightly hypocritical or worse, a racist policy designed to restrict immigration of black people? 

Strange Times, Stranger Thoughts

Corruption and more. Okay, I’m bothered by odd thoughts during these even odder times. For example, a few weeks ago I told Diane I was pretty sure that, whatever the ultimate outcome of the election, Joe Biden would not be the sitting president two years from now. I simply believed that, should he be elected, corruption or dementia or other health issues would catch up with him and force him out of office. As a long-time resident of The Villages, I know that many 78-year-old men are in excellent physical and mental shape and could no doubt handle the rigors and demands of the presidency...but not all. And Joe...well, he just doesn't seem to be running on all cylinders these days. Should Biden depart office ahead of schedule — something I believe many of the movers and shakers who supported him have planned for — Kamala Harris would become president, a possibility that should frighten anyone with any sense. It should certainly cause serious concern for any believing Christian or Jew. 

Thank God for God, Who remains in charge of our decaying world. We need to pray, folks. As St. Paul reminded us in today's liturgy:

Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything: retain what is good. refrain fro every kind of evil [1 Thes 5:16-22].

Read these words every day, to remind yourself to follow God's will, and that everything in our lives calls for rejoicing and prayers of thankfulness. These words of St. Paul also make an excellent brief examination of conscience.

Oddity in St. Peter’s Square. Did you happen to catch the sneak peek offered to the public of the so-called Nativity scene destined for St. Peter's Square? Only one word can adequately describe it: hideous! Some call it art, but I prefer to label it trash. I have no problem with much contemporary art, and actually have a couple of signed prints from Dali and Chagall, along with works of several other modern artists. But this Nativity display has to be the ugliest ever devised, certainly the ugliest ever displayed publicly by the Church. That the Church founded by Jesus Christ would consider this an appropriate symbol to represent our Savior’s birth boggles the mind. Take a look:

Such a heartwarming a scene! But even more bizarre, and uglier still, is this unique pair of characters who resemble escapees from a low-budget Star Wars wannabe movie.

Okay, that sheep kinda resembles a sheep, one suffering from a disease of his wool coat, but want exactly are the others? I first thought they were an astronaut and an alien, but perhaps they represent those who must wear HAZMAT gear during the current pandemic. Who knows?

Of course the "angelic" figure that towers over the entire scene is especially bothersome:

And to show how deeply affected were those among the faithful privileged to view the preview, one Italian observer noted: 

"Ugliness is the first thing you notice, followed by a lack of familial warmth and the distancing guaranteed by the cylindrical figures. If you wish to judge harshly, the cylinders call to mind the sacred poles of Satanic cults condemned in the Bible." 

Yes, indeed, it looks like something one would expect to find when excavating a pagan Canaanite temple.

I’m pretty sure Pope Francis had nothing to do with the decision to display this ugly collection of weirdness, but he has unfortunately surrounded himself with folks who probably believe it to be a perfect depiction of the familiar scene described by St. Luke. I'll assume the pope has not yet seen it. After all, he recently tweeted:

"Accompanied by the Mother of Jesus on the journey towards Christmas, in these times that are difficult for many, let us make an effort to rediscover the great hope and joy brought to us by the coming of the Son of God into the world." 

In no way does this display bring joy and hope into the hearts of those who encounter it. In early November the pope also published an apostolic letter on the importance and meaning of the Nativity scene first introduced by St. Francis of Assisi. It's quite good and you can read a synopsis of this letter here: Admirabile signum.

 

One would hope the more sensible among the Church's Vatican hierarchy would perhaps decide this display should be discretely removed from public view and tucked away deeply in the Vatican's Secret Archives. Otherwise the children of Rome may be troubled by weeks of nightmares.

Empty Churches? If you've read this blog for a while, you'll know that Maddie and I take a twice-daily walk through the surrounding neighborhoods. Maddie's a remarkable dog and will often lead me to people in some need. One day, early last week, I had decided to go one way, but Maddie wouldn't budge. She finally turned toward the opposite direction and tugged at the leash. Accepting that her sixth sense probably had some purpose, I agreed. After walking perhaps 50 yards, she noticed a man coming towards us, so she sat down and waited for him to arrive. An older man, perhaps in his early 80s, he seemed vaguely familiar. 

As he approached us he smiled and said, "Deacon, can you help me?" Maddie, of course, simply displayed her standard Bichon smile as I said, "Sure, what's up?" 

"I have a new rosary that needs to be blessed. I'd take it to the Church, but my wife won't let me attend Mass. Too dangerous. Can you bless it for me?" Of course I agreed, so he said he'd bring it by the house and let me bless it. Then he added, "I really miss the Eucharist. Not being able to receive Jesus is the worst part of all this."

I didn't want to come between him and his wife, so I thought it best simply to suggest attending a daily Mass on occasion since weekday congregations are usually smaller, and he and his wife might feel more comfortable.

Anyway, he got me thinking, about the pandemic and our response to it. Not long ago I read a Real Clear Science article addressing the pandemic guidelines in the United States. Among their conclusions was this comment, focused particularly on Catholic churches in the U.S.: "For Catholic churches following these guidelines, no outbreaks of COVID-19 have been linked to church attendance." They also discovered no evidence of viral transmission even when tracing systems picked up examples of asymptomatic people who were infected, but didn't know it, and attended Mass. In other words, attending Mass at Catholic churches where appropriate measures have been taken, is probably the safest public activity in which one can engage.

The larger and more troubling issue, however, is the attempt by government officials to decide what kind of worship is permitted in their city or state. Any attempt by government to control religious worship, especially when the church involved takes special precautions to protect their congregations, is a direct violation of the United States Constitution. But apart from this, such actions also disregard basic human rights. 

In a recent interview, Fr. Thomas White, O.P., Director of the Thomistic Institute at the Angelicum in Rome, stated that we cannot separate a person's right to believe from his right to take part in public worship. He argued, correctly I believe, that public officials are attempting "to designate theologically what the Church's internal self-understanding should be with regards to worship, and that's an unsustainable approach with engagement to the Church." In other words, no secular government should decide how we worship. Fr. White goes on to stress that the state must not infringe on the most fundamental human rights; for example, the rights to marry, to work, or to worship. He calls such infringement, "an act of spiritual totalitarianism."

Too many bishops seem to have allowed city and state authorities to call the shots when it comes to worship. It would be nice for the faithful if they would say, "We are taking proper and reasonable precautions, but the decision to do so is reserved to the Church and will not be ceded to the state." No mayor or governor may control the Church's celebration of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. We are a Eucharistic Church and must find ways to ensure the faithful can receive the graces the Holy Spirit extends to us through the sacraments. How did St. Paul put it? "Do not quench the Spirit."

My concern is that the fears that keep people from attending Mass will remain and alter their long-term concept of Mass attendance. Our faith is centered on the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist and the community worship of the Triune God. This simply does not happen with online Masses. Given the attitudes of state authorities, the legal precedents being set, and the acquiescence of the people and too many in the Church, I worry that the future Church in America may more closely resemble the underground Churches that struggle to survive in the world's totalitarian states.

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)

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.