POPE REFUSES MEETING WITH TRUMP'S SECRETARY OF STATE

Trump's Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has a taxpayer financed stop at the Vatican according to the itinerary issued by his office (it does not mention any official business with the Italian government, solely a Vatican visit).  But he will not be meeting with Pope Francis, who has refused the meeting request from the Trump Administration.  

Instead, Pompeo was offered a meeting with lesser Vatican officials.  

According to reports, Pope Francis cited the looming United States presidential election as the reason to not meet with Mr.  Pompeo. But the Trump administration responded to the snub by calling the Vatican unsupportive of Trump on China issues. 

POPE FRANCIS PREACHES ON THE SIN OF TAX EVASION

Pope Francis: Tax evasion is part of a "structure of sin." The Pope also quoted this article: "It has become evident that those who do not pay taxes do not only commit a felony but also a crime: if there are not enough hospital beds and artificial respirators, it is also their fault."

Sources:

Pope Francis on Tax Dodgers: Reuters: Pope Says Tax Dodgers Sin

Pope Says tax evasion for the wealthy and for corporations as part of "structures of sin": https://www.americamagazine.org/.../pope-francis-vibrant...

Click here for a video with Pope Francis speaking on tax evasion: Rome Reports: Pope Francis on Tax Cuts for the Rich and Tax Havens

2015 BIDEN INTERVIEW BY AMERICA - THE JESUIT REVIEW

In this exclusive interview with Father Matt Malone, S.J., editor in chief of America, Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. discusses his thoughts on Pope Francis, as well as his Catholic faith, his upbringing, his public life and private sorrow, and his thinking about a possible presidential campaign. The interview was conducted on September 17, 2015 in Washington, D.C. Mr. Biden refers in the full interview, below, to Father Malone’s published account of the death of his brother in an automobile accident in 1984. That story is available from America’s archives at:

http://americamagazine.org/issue/521/... America's press release with significant quotes from the video is available at: http://microsites.americamagazine.org...

DOUG PAGITT REPORTS ON DECLINING SUPPORT FOR TRUMP AMONG CATHOLICS

Doug Pagitt Election 2020: Trump's support from Catholics and evangelicals is dropping. They fault his unkindness.

Many religious voters have woken up to the fact that Trump simply lacks basic Christian kindness, and they are looking for an off-ramp.

President Donald Trump's attacks on American service members are just the latest example of how mean-spirited the president can be. But his subsequent denial that he said the things he did demonstrates that he understands that disrespect and indecency can go too far, at least in an election year.

What Trump may not fully realize is that his general tendency to be unkind may have already cost him the election.

In 2016, many evangelical and Catholic voters seemed willing to look past his bombast and crudeness on the campaign trail to give him a chance, choosing him over his Democratic competitor, Hillary Clinton, by 65 percentage points and 7 percentage points, respectively. Since then, however, they have witnessed four years of unrelenting cruelty. And some now seem to feel that enough is enough.

....[In recent polling, across] all the virtues measured — kindness, generosity, humility, chastity, modesty, diligence and patience — on average, 50 percent of respondents rated Biden as more virtuous than Trump, and 39 percent rated Trump as more virtuous than Biden, with the largest gaps emerging around the virtues of humility and modesty (28 points and 22 points in Biden's favor, respectively). Across the seven sins — lust, sloth, greed, wrath, gluttony, envy and pride — on average, 51 percent of respondents rated Trump as more sinful than Biden, and 37 percent rated Biden as more sinful than Trump, with the largest gaps emerging around the sins of pride and anger (29 points and 26 points in Biden's favor, respectively).

...

Indeed, 44 percent of all respondents said Biden is kinder than Trump, while 30 percent said Trump is kinder. Among 2016 Trump voters, perceiving Trump as unkind was the single strongest predictor of swinging away from him, with 2016 Trump voters who viewed the president as "not at all" kind having about an 80 percent chance of saying they didn't intend to vote for him again in 2020.

....

Among Catholics we surveyed, the biggest turns in Biden's favor were in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

....

Many religious voters have woken up to the fact that Trump simply lacks basic Christian kindness, and they are looking for an off-ramp.

Read the whole story here:  Trump Support Drops Among Religious Voters

BIDEN PRAYS TO MARY FOR POLITICAL PRISIONERS' FREEDOM

 

ANOTHER CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIAN REPUBLICAN FOR JOE BIDEN

Click the above video to hear from Dan, a conservative Christian Republican who is voting for Joe Biden.

BIDEN LEADS TRUMP BY 12 POINTS AMONG CATHOLICS IN NEW POLL

The Hill reports...

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden holds a 12-point lead over President Trump among likely voters who identify as Catholic, according to a poll released Monday.

A EWTN News/RealClear Opinion poll found in a poll of 1,212 likely Catholic voters that 53 percent favor Biden, compared to 41 percent who prefer Trump. The poll was taken before the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The poll found that 50 percent of respondents voted for 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton while 45 percent voted for Trump, a sign that Biden has widened the gap among Catholic voters.

….

Among Hispanic Catholics, Biden has a commanding 63-31 lead.

The poll found that Catholics are overwhelmingly opposed to demonstrations that have devolved into defacing churches or toppling statues of prominent figures in the religion like Christopher Columbus, but respondents still trust Biden more than Trump on nearly every issue, with the exception of China trade policy.

The coronavirus pandemic also proved to be a troublesome issue for Trump among Catholic voters surveyed. Fifty-seven percent of respondents disapproved of Trump's handling of the crisis.

….

The president has seen his support among Catholics erode, however, over the course of his presidency, which has been marked by inflammatory statements about minorities and policies that restrict the admittance of refugees and immigrants.

Trump may have a tough time turning around his support among Catholics running against Biden, who is a practicing Catholic who has openly spoken about how his faith aided him through numerous personal tragedies.

"Joe Biden's faith is at the core of who he is; he's lived it with dignity his entire life, and it's been a source of strength and comfort in times of extreme hardship," Andrew Bates, a spokesman for the Biden campaign, said in a statement at the time.

Read the full story here:  The Hill

HOW JOE BIDEN'S FAITH SHAPES HIS POLITICS

 

From NPR - How Joe Biden's Faith Shapes His Politics

When Joe Biden seeks to inspire or comfort, he turns to his faith. He speeches are woven with references to God, biblical language or the pope.

On Monday, the Democratic presidential nominee spoke to the faith-based anti-poverty group the Poor People's Campaign, and described the United States under President Trump as a "nation in the wilderness."

"All of you remind me of how Scripture describes a calling born out of the wilderness," Biden told the virtual audience. "A calling to serve, not to be served. A calling toward justice, healing, hope — not hate. To speak the good news, and followed by some good deeds. It's not just enough to speak the good news, but good deeds."

Read more at the link.

https://www.npr.org/.../how-joe-bidens-faith-shapes-his...

MIDWESTERN & 'RUST BELT' CATHOLICS TURNING TOWARDS BIDEN

 

Erin Covey in today's edition of the National Journal writes:  

When President Trump tear-gassed peaceful protestors in front of the White House to take a photo in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Christian leaders had dramatically different responses. For Pittsburgh resident Kevin Hayes, who had organized Catholic groups for Clinton and Obama, it was the tipping point that pushed him to galvanize his community for Joe Biden.

“I actually wrote an email to about 600 people who had been the remnants of [Catholics for Obama and Catholics for Clinton], and said, ‘I just reached the point, I want to do everything I can to make President Trump a one-term president, and do you want to join me?’” Hayes said.

Almost all responded and said they were interested—a significantly larger response compared to 2016, when Hayes said about 250 were members of the Clinton group.

Since 1992, a majority of Catholics have voted for the winner of the popular vote—except for 2016, when exit polls indicated that a little more than half of Catholic voters picked President Trump. But with observing Catholic Joe Biden on the ballot this year, white Catholic support for Trump appears to be eroding in the Midwest. 

In Pennsylvania, a Marist poll this month found Biden leading Trump among white Catholics, 53-43 percent. And an Aug. 30-Sept. 3 Marquette poll had Biden leading Trump among Catholic voters in Wisconsin, 50-46 percent.

Hayes’s group, which now has about 800 members, reached out to the Biden campaign, which announced in July that it hired Josh Dickson as its faith outreach director. During the past month, the campaign launched Catholics for Biden, along with other faith-based coalitions, and named three dozen Catholic politicians and other lay leaders as cochairs. The Democratic National Convention also featured two ... Catholic leaders, the Rev. James Martin and Sister Simone Campbell.

“The Biden-Harris vision is something that is deeply rooted in the ideals of loving our neighbors as ourselves, of being our brothers’ and sisters’ keeper, caring for the poor and vulnerable,” Dickson told National Journal. “[It’s] really rooted in that ideal of imago dei, that everyone is created with inherent human dignity in the eyes of God.”

The Biden campaign has made explicit appeals to religious voters. On Monday, Biden spoke at a virtual event with the Poor People’s Campaign, a progressive faith-based activist group led by Rev. William Barber II.

“We are all created in the image of God, and everyone’s entitled to be treated with dignity and respect,” Biden said, going on to discuss the dignity of work, a major tenet of the Catholic Church’s social teaching.

“What's unique about it, and frankly, I think different than what we saw in past presidential campaigns, is that you have a candidate who understands the Catholic social teaching ethic of striving to put above all else that which achieves the common good,” Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Catholics for Biden cochair, told National Journal.

Boyle, an Irish Catholic who represents a large white Catholic population in his Philadelphia-based district, emphasized the American Catholic community’s political and ethnic diversity, quoting columnist E.J. Dionne Jr.’s line that “there is no Catholic vote.” But he did say he believed the language of Catholic social teaching, echoed by the Biden campaign, would resonate with Catholic voters.

....

On Thursday, John Carr, a former political adviser to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, endorsed Biden—a sign that cracks may be forming in the firmly antiabortion side of the Catholic electorate. Carr had not made political endorsements in any previous election.

read the entire article here:  National Journal

The Tablet: BIDEN EMPHASISES CATHOLIC FAITH

Biden received the Laetare Medal, the highest Catholic honor in the United States, from the University of Notre Dame in 2016.

The Tablet, the leading Catholic publication in England writes about Joe Biden and his faith.  It notes a recent exchange of words between President Trump and the Democratic candidate for president, Joe Biden, has highlighted Biden’s roots as a practicing Catholic. 

The Tablet further writes:  Joseph Biden, born in 1942, was educated in a series of Catholic schools and entered the US Senate at the age of 31, where he spent 36 years representing the state of Delaware. Barack Obama selected Biden as his running mate in the 2008 election, and the pair entered office in January 2009. Biden served eight years as Vice-President and was seen as one of the most prominent Catholics in the US during this period. 

Biden has referenced his Catholic faith explicitly during his campaign, with a recent video by the Democratic National Convention featuring a speech by Biden about his meeting with Pope Francis, his education by nuns, and the way Catholic values influence his worldview..... 

The presidential candidate describes himself as a “devout Catholic” and has been practicing – and active – Catholic for most of his life. He [carries] a set of rosary beads that belonged to his oldest son, Beau, with him in his pocket. Beau, a former attorney and army officer, died of brain cancer in 2015. His younger son, Hunter Biden, has served with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, a Catholic initiative that sends young people to work in low-income communities. Biden himself has spoken publicly about his faith in lectures, print and television interviews, referring especially to the role his spiritual life played in helping him heal from Beau’s death, and the car accident that took the life of his first wife and infant daughter in 1972. 

During the 2015 Papal visit to the United States, Biden was a key figure in organizing the visit, and Pope Francis’s speech to Congress. Biden received the Laetare Medal, the highest Catholic honor in the United States, from the University of Notre Dame in 2016. In statements, interviews and campaign literature, Biden has emphasised the importance of faith in his personal life, and in his sense of public service. After President Trump claimed that Biden was “against religion” and would “hurt God”, Biden said in a response that “faith has been the bedrock foundation of my life”. His Catholic spirituality has “provided me comfort in moments of loss and tragedy, it’s kept me grounded and humbled in times of triumph and joy”.

....

 If elected in November, Biden would follow John F Kennedy to become the second Catholic President in US history. His faith may well prove a significant boost to his election chances: White Catholics, a key element of Trump’s winning coalition in 2016, have been shifting to support Biden, according to opinion polls.

Former top U.S. Catholic official: There are ‘morally grave’ reasons to vote for Biden

John Carr, the former Director of the Department for Social Concerns of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has endorsed Joe Biden for President.  Mr. Carr has never before made a public presidential endorsement.  Carr said there are “morally grave” reasons Catholics should vote for Joe Biden for president rather than Donald Trump.

Writing in the Jesuit journal America, John Carr said, “I believe Mr. Trump’s character, lack of integrity and record on racism and Covid-19, among other matters, constitute ‘morally grave reasons’ to oppose his reelection and that Mr. Biden has the ‘character and integrity’ to lead our nation and is ‘more likely to pursue other authentic human goods,’ ” he wrote. “I will vote for Mr. Biden for what he can do to help us recover and heal, lift up those left behind, ensure healthcare for all and treat immigrants and refugees with respect.”

Carr is a strong opponent of abortion, has described Catholics as politically homeless because neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party completely reflects Catholic social teaching. Republicans were better on abortion, he said, while Democrats were better on social justice.

HOUSE PASSES PRO-LIFE BILL WITH ALL DEMOCRATS VOTING IN FAVOR

The House of Representatives voted yesterday to pass legislation protecting unborn life after the bill was brought up for a vote by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).  No Democrat voted against it while the Republican were divided between supporters and opponents of the unborn.

Joe Biden has announced his support for the legislation while Trump has not. 

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would require bosses to provide reasonable accommodations at work to pregnant women and their unborn children. The act is modeled on the 30-year-old Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires employers to work with disabled employees to find reasonable fixes at work so they can continue to do their jobs. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) sponsored the bill, along with Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), Chairman of the Education and Labor Committee.

Republican Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) took to the floor to oppose the bill.  She said the bill didn’t protect employers’ religious rights, though didn’t explain exactly how.  Perhaps employers have the religious right to consider their employee's unborn child to be nothing of value. 

Pregnant women have been told by their bosses, sometimes directly and other times clear but indirectly, that if they want to keep their job, they should get an abortion.  None the less, scores of Republicans who claim to be anti-abortion voted against the bill.  Thoughtful Catholics have every right to question their anti-abortion sincerity.  

The accommodations pregnant women require at work are fairly simple: a stool for a cashier to sit on while working the register, light-lifting duty for warehouse workers, a water bottle for a retail worker on the shop floor or a different-sized uniform for a pregnant police officer. Sometimes pregnant women just need a few more bathroom breaks or time to go to the doctor.  Other times, they need to be kept away from exposure to workplace chemicals that could cause an involuntary abortion.  However, without such accommodations, unborn babies are at risk of harm or death.  

The Democrats showed that women get fired or sent on unpaid leave for being with child. That means they’re left without income just when they really need a paycheck. The consequences can be devastating: Democrats mentioned a woman who wound up homeless when she was in her third trimester and others forced to apply for food stamps.

“When companies refuse to accommodate for pregnancy-related needs it doesn’t just hurt the person being discriminated against it hurts the entire family,” said Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) on the House floor Thursday.

Many women have little choice to keep working, putting their lives and their pregnancies at risk. A few years ago at a warehouse in Memphis, several women had miscarriages after they were denied lighter lifting duties.  

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden applauded the bill’s passage and urged the Senate to take it up. “While President Trump called pregnancy ‘an inconvenience’ for businesses, Vice President Biden believes that pregnant workers shouldn’t have to choose between their health and their work,” said Mariel Sáez, the women’s media director for the Biden campaign. “He strongly supports the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and included it in his agenda to build America back better for women. The bill’s protections for pregnant workers are commonsense and vital — especially in the face of this pandemic.”

The bill passed Thursday would also prohibit employers from firing women simply for asking for accommodations or not hiring a woman because she’s pregnant and might need some temporary fixes to work.

JOSEPH CARDINAL TOBIN, ARCHBISHOP OF NEWARK, COMMENTS ON THE UPCOMING ELECTION

 

"I think that a person in good conscience could vote for Mr. Biden. I, frankly, in my own way of thinking, have a more difficult time with the other option," Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Archbishop of Newark, said in response to a question about whether Catholics can vote for former Vice President Joe Biden.

"There are serious reasons not consider either party of being representative of the Catholic tradition," said the cardinal. "The problem is we have to vote. We should vote."

"It shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody, no political party represents fully the Catholic tradition, the Catholic moral tradition," Cardinal Tobin said.

Cardinal Tobin was speaking on a panel, "The Church and Catholic Voters in the 2020 Election," hosted by Boston College, Saint Anselm College, and Trinity College.  

Catholics for Biden National Call to Action - Thurs, 9/17, 8pm ET

Join us for a national Catholics for Biden Call to Action! We'll hear from several speakers and discuss concrete opportunities to get involved with our Catholic outreach. RSVP here and use this Zoom info to join:

Please click the link below to be invited to the webinar:

Catholics for Joe Biden National Meeting

FORCED STERILIZATION OF WOMEN UNDER THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

Immigrant women in a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Georgia are being subjected to horrific conditions and treatment, including “jarring medical neglect” and a high rate of hysterectomies among women, according to a whistleblower complaint filed by several legal advocacy groups on behalf of Dawn Wooten, a nurse who works there.

Immigrants who spoke out against these conditions were regularly pushed into solitary confinement, the complaint said. Wooten says she was demoted and reprimanded when she spoke out about these practices.

Wooten’s account was bolstered by interviews with another current member of Irwin’s medical staff – who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation – and four people currently or recently detained there. 

According to the new complaint, Wooten reported an alarmingly high rate of hysterectomies – a surgery in which part or all of the uterus is removed – being performed on Spanish-speaking immigrants, many of whom did not appear to understand why they had undergone the procedure.

She said an off-site doctor supposedly performed the surgeries on women who complained of heavy menstrual cycles, but that many women seemed to not understand what had happened. In many cases nurses obtained consent from patients by “simply googling Spanish”, the complaint alleges.

“Everybody he sees has a hysterectomy – just about everybody,” Wooten said. “That’s his specialty, he’s the uterus collector. Everybody’s uterus cannot be that bad.”

The complaint also alleges health and safety violations related to the procedures. One woman said she was not properly anesthetized during a procedure and overheard the doctor say he had mistakenly removed the wrong ovary, rendering her unable to have children. Another went in to have a cyst drained and ultimately got a hysterectomy instead, the complaint said.

A Biden win could shut WASP men out of the heights of government

 

A Biden win could shut white Protestant men out of the heights of government

Biden would be only the second Catholic president. But a blue wave in the Senate could also mean a line of succession filled for the first time with women, African Americans, Catholics, and Jews.

George Condon of National Journal makes an interesting observation.  He notes that for Joe Biden, it is a natural, almost reflexive, thing to make the sign of the cross.  But this seemingly simple act, however, represents a much bigger deal, as Biden could become in just seven weeks only the second Catholic elected president.  However, if Biden wins—and has coattails long enough to flip the Senate to Democratic control—there will not be a single Protestant male atop any branch of the government. The president will be Catholic; the vice president, an African American Protestant woman; the Speaker, a Catholic woman; the Senate majority leader, a Jewish man. The line of succession to the presidency below Biden will be Vice President Kamala Harris, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Senate President pro tem, who would be Catholic Patrick Leahy. Next would be the secretary of State, possibly Susan Rice, a Black woman.

This really suggests how much our nation has changed.  John F. Kennedy had to defend himself against the most vile types of bigotry because of his Catholicism.  Women and racial minorities have struggled to win acceptance.  Only two Catholics (Kennedy as President and Biden himself as Vice President) and two racial minorities (Obama as President and Charles Curtis elected as Vice President in 1928) have served in the top two offices since the founding of our nation.  

FOUR CATHOLIC GROUPS WORKING AGAINST TRUMP'S RE ELECTION

Despite President Donald Trump's dishonest claim that if elected, Joe Biden will "hurt the Bible," Catholics are organizing for the 2020 election in new and unprecedented ways.

Research just out this month from the National Congregations Study shows, in the words of University of Notre Dame's Kraig Beyerlein and Mark Chaves at Duke University, "surging political activism among religious progressives in what appears to be a direct response to Trump administration policies."

Throughout the four-night Democratic National Convention last month, Joe Biden's Catholic faith was highlighted by almost every major speaker. In fact, one of the most quoted lines of the convention was when host Julia Louis-Dreyfus joked that "Biden goes to church so regularly that he doesn't even need tear gas and a bunch of federalized troops to get there" — a dig at Trump's use of tear gas to clear out peaceful protestors and parish clergy for a photo op in front of St. John's Episcopal Church.

While most of the Catholic groups or Catholic-led organizations backing former Vice President Biden (or actively opposing the reelection of Trump) have neither the financial resources nor the infrastructure of their counterparts on the religious right, many are framing this election in the same explicitly religious language as Biden as a struggle for the soul of the nation.

The most active groups include:  

Catholics for Biden

National Faith Engagement Director Biden for President: Josh Dickson

Type of organization: official campaign committee 

Catholics for Biden is the official campaign outreach of the Biden-Harris campaign, one of the many groups under the umbrella operation of "Believers for Biden," which was launched in July and is led by Josh Dickson, a former Republican.

The event held its official launch on September 3 as promoted on this blog through a virtual hour-long kick-off that included remarks from Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, Sr. Simone Campbell, retired Catholic University of America professor Stephen Schneck and an opening prayer from former Colorado State Sen. Polly Baca, among others.

Schneck, in endorsing Biden, told attendees that Donald Trump is the least pro-life president in history, citing the president's policies of separating migrant parents from their children at the border, efforts to slash food stamp funding and his decision to restart federal executions.

"This is not a pro-life president," he said, adding that "I'm also here because there's another life we must consider after these four harrowing years, and that's the life of our nation."

The event, which was watched by 1,100 live viewers, also included testimonials from a number individuals who had worked in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps or were Jesuit educated, which was unsurprising given Biden's own close ties with the Jesuits. The organizers said that in the coming weeks there would be more Catholics for Biden issue discussions and prayer sessions meant to encourage Catholic voter turnout.

Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice

Founded: 1971

Executive Director: Sr. Simone Campbell

HQ: Washington, D.C.

Types of organization: 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4)

Annual Revenue: $1,250,148 (as of 2018)

Mission: "To provide non-profit religious based political education which promotes social Justice for all." 

Originally founded as "The Network" — a national organization of religious sisters who voted to set up operations in the nation's capital to push for federal legislation on issues such as environmental protection, poverty relief and opposition to the Vietnam War — Network was a critical force behind the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010.

Network's executive director, Sr. Simone Campbell, authored a letter in support of the act that was signed by much of the leadership of women religious in the United States, and President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden thanked her for helping gain Catholic support of the legislation. Given their national spotlight, in 2012 Network launched the recurring Nuns on the Bus tour where religious sisters traveled the country promoting immigration reform, anti-poverty initiatives and voter engagement. In 2014, they were joined by Biden in Iowa for the launch of their national tour.

Network is divided into two separate entities: Network Lobby and Network Advocates, the former dedicated to advocacy and lobbying, and the latter focused primarily on non-profit educational outreach. In past elections, Network has avoided endorsing particular candidates, but this year they have mounted a campaign specifically targeting Trump for not being consistent with Catholic values. The organization has announced a $75,000 digital ad buy in swing states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Florida to target Catholic voters and encourage them to become "Pope Francis Voters," with messaging that being pro-life encompasses more than opposing abortion. This includes $25,000 in Spanish-language advertising.

Due to the global pandemic, this year Network will host a virtual Nuns on the Bus tour from mid-September to mid-October with the theme "Who We Elect Matters." In August, Campbell offered the opening prayer on the final night of the Democratic National Convention. She also spoke at the launch of Catholics for Biden, telling attendees, "we Catholics have got to make sure we get it right this time," adding that Catholics must become "multi-issue voters" and not focus singularly on abortion.

Catholic Democrats

Founded: 2004

President: Steven Krueger

HQ: Boston, Massachusetts

Mission: "To advance the rich Catholic Social Justice Tradition in the public square and within the Democratic Party to help form a more just society and peaceful world, and to responsibly protect God's creation and advance our understanding of an 'integral ecology.' The organization represents a Catholic voice within the Democratic Party and a Democratic voice within the Catholic Church."

Founded during the 2004 presidential contest when Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry's Catholic faith was the subject of much discussion and scrutiny, Catholic Democrats was originally formed under the banner of "Catholics for Kerry." The organization would later help mobilize "Catholics for Obama" in 2008 and 2012 and, according to Krueger, today claims more 50,000 supporters.

For the 2020 election, Catholic Democrats has launched media campaigns in three swing states where Catholics make up a sizable portion of the electorate: Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Most recently, in response to Trump's comments in August that, if elected, Biden would "hurt God," Catholic Democrats launched an online petition of support for Biden.

"While some of us may personally know the vice president, most of us do not. However, we all believe that over the course of his life, Joe Biden has learned to 'walk humbly with [his] God,' " the petition states. "He devoutly practices his Catholic faith in the quiet manner that was imbued in him by his Irish Catholic family and the sisters and priests who helped form who he is today."

Vote Common Good 

Founded: 2018

Executive Director: Doug Pagit

HQ: Edina, Minnesota

Type of organization: 501(c)(4) 

Mission: "Vote Common Good is inspiring, energizing, and mobilizing people of faith to make the common good their voting criteria and to pursue faith, hope, & love for a change on election day 2020 and prevent the re-election of Donald Trump."

Rather than convincing individuals to switch their party affiliation, Vote Common Good is working to convince voters to put faith above party, which they believe will lead to a rejection of Trump.

At the beginning of 2020, the organization kicked off the year with a "Faith, Hope, & Love for a Change on Election Day National Bus Tour," scheduled to visit all 50 states but specifically targeting swing states through 90-minute (now socially distanced) rallies — characterized as part campaign rally, part party, part revival — aimed to encourage voter turnout. Other initiatives include a "Pray for a Change in the President" campaign with weekly meetings on Fridays to "pray that the Oval Office is turned over to a candidate who walks in Faith, Hope, and Love."

While the organization is ecumenical and its executive director Doug Pagit is a Christian minister, its Catholic outreach is led by Patrick Carolan, the former executive director of the Franciscan Action Network and the Global Catholic Climate Covenant. In August, Vote Common Good announced a partnership with the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump Republican led group, with a joint focus on targeting white Catholics and white evangelicals who voted for Trump in 2016. 

TRUMP OVERTURES TO VOTERS OF FAITH FALLING FLAT - CHRISTIANS MOVE TOWARDS BIDEN

Change in Catholic Vote: 2016 Exit and Current 2020 Polling

  

The newspaper Politico makes some interesting points in a recent article.  Among their observation is that the Trump campaign has engaged in a number of actions the campaign feels are directed to religious voters, but so far, these action appear to be falling flat.

Months after worries first exploded inside the Trump campaign over his eroding support among white evangelicals and Catholics, some of the president’s top religious allies are now in a panic — concerned that Joe Biden’s attentiveness to Christian voters  is having a profound impact where the President can least afford it, they report. 

One prominent evangelical Protestant leader close to the White House said Joe Biden’s policy positions on abortion and religious freedom, which would normally spoil how some religious voters view the Democratic presidential nominee, have been overshadowed by the contrast between the former vice president’s palpable faith and Trump’s transactional view of religion. 

Other put it more simply.  Few people believe that Donald Trump has any moral qualms about abortion.  While conservative political activists might come to terms with a totally transactional deal with Trump on abortion, the pro-life rank and file are not so craven. 

Polling is backing up what many are seeing -- Christians are moving away from Trump, both Catholics and Protestants.  

An online survey, which was conducted by a team of academic pollsters from the University of Southern California, Duke University, University of Maryland College Park and University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, predicts an 11 percentage point swing toward Biden among evangelicals and Catholics who backed Trump in 2016, based on input from both demographics across five major 2020 battleground states: Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Other polls have captured similar gains in Biden’s religious support, including an August survey by Fox News that showed the former vice president at 28 percent support among white evangelicals — up 12 percentage points from 2016 exit polls for the Democratic nominee.

“The cumulative effect of the convention and the way that faith has been woven into Biden’s messaging speaks to the kinds of numbers we’re now seeing,” said Michael Wear, who directed faith outreach for President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign.

According to the study, evangelical voters are split over which presidential candidate is more virtuous, while Catholic voters selected Biden over Trump by a 21-point margin. The largest gaps in voter perceptions of Biden and Trump emerged when respondents were asked to weigh each candidate against commonly recognized Christian virtues, including generosity, diligence, chastity, kindness, patience, modesty and humility. Only 22 percent of respondents gave the president a higher rating on his displays of humility and modesty versus Biden’s, while the pollsters cited Trump’s perceived lack of kindness — 44 percent of respondents said Biden is more kind than Trump, while 30 percent said Trump is kinder — as the leading cause of defections among Catholics and evangelicals who supported him in 2016.

“While it was baked in back in 2016 that Donald Trump was bombastic and crude, he always hinted that he would be presidential when he needed to be presidential,” said Doug Pagitt, a Minnesota-based pastor and an executive director of Vote Common Good, adding that some 2016 religious Trump voters have since “woken up to the fact that [Trump] has not changed one bit.”

More on the poll here:  Christians Moving from Trump tp Biden

The Trump campaign sees it differently. In its view, most religious voters are less concerned with a candidate’s religiosity or virtuosity than they are with the impact of proposed policies. Biden, campaign officials claim, has adopted unreasonable positions on the issues that matter most to Catholics and evangelicals, including judicial appointments, religious freedom and abortion.

“I don’t think it’s going to work for Biden to say, ‘Don’t look at my policies, just look at the fact that I carry a rosary in my pocket,” said former GOP Rep. Tim Huelskamp, a member of the president’s Catholics for Trump advisory board.

Trump went even further last month when he questioned the depth of Biden’s faith and accused his opponent of being “against God.” During an Aug. 6 appearance in Ohio, the president told his supporters Biden wants to “hurt the Bible [and] hurt God.”

But in addition to considering Biden more devout and religious, many Christian voters are siding with Biden on results.  The Trump Administration has had little impact on abortion rates while the Affordable Care Act enacted by the Obama-Biden administration has resulted in one million fewer abortions.  That is a big number for pro-life voters to ignore and certainly is more meaningful not only of any single action of the Trump Administration, but all of their allegedly pro-life actions totaled.  

Biden's Statement on the Feast Day of La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre (Our Lady of Charity)

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 8, 2020

Statement by Vice President Joe Biden on Feast Day of La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre

On this feast day of la Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, Jill and I pray that the love and compassion “Cachita” inspires will fill the hearts of believers around the world.

Like so many, our faith serves as the bedrock of our life — humbling and grounding us in fortunate moments, and providing comfort and purpose in the darkest of times. This challenging moment for our nation and the world is an especially stark reminder of how vitally important it is for everyone to be able to live and practice their faith freely. That’s why I will always stand strong in defense of religious freedom around the world.

Today, Jill and I join all those who pray and pay devotion to the Patroness of the Cuban people. We stand with those who seek a future in which the Cuban people are free to determine their own destiny. And we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to fight for human rights, freedom, and democracy on the island.

###

Note Bene: Vice President Biden issued this on the feast day of Our Lady of Charity. This blogger apologies for not posting earlier. We have been very busy with important news about our candidate!

PRIEST WHO ATTACKED BIDEN IN DEEP TROUBLE WITH BISHOP

 

Diocese of La Crosse condemns priest's attack on Democrats, promises 'fraternal correction'

OLIVIA HERKEN of the La Crosse Tribune reports:

In the aftermath of a video featuring a La Crosse Catholic priest denouncing Democrats, calling them “Godless” and imposters who will go to hell, members of the church are speaking out on the message and calling for civil discourse, including the Diocese of La Crosse.

“His generalization and condemnation of entire groups of people is completely inappropriate and not in keeping with our values or the life of virtue,” the Diocese said in a statement released Wednesday.

On Aug. 30, a far-right media outlet published a video featuring Father James Altman of the St. James the Less Catholic parish in La Crosse, who gave a nearly 10-minute speech denouncing all Democrats who consider themselves practicing Catholics.

“Here’s a memo to clueless baptized Catholics out there: You cannot be Catholic and be a Democrat. Period,” Altman said in the video.

“Their party platform absolutely is against everything the Catholic church teaches. So just quit pretending that you’re Catholic and vote Democrat. Repent of your support of that party and its platform, or face the fires of hell,” he added.

In the video, Altman also called climate change a hoax, and called Planned Parenthood “the most racist organization on the face of this planet,” saying it was founded to “wipe out Black babies,” among other common right-wing messaging.

The Tribune could not reach Altman for comment.

The Diocese said it would work with the priest privately on the issue, calling the message angry, judgmental and scandalous, and would only consider stronger penalties if the issue persisted.

“Most people expect a decisive move from me, one way or another. Many suggest immediate penalties that will utterly silence him; others call for complete and unwavering support of his views,” the statement from the Diocese said. “Canonical penalties are not far away if my attempts at fraternal correction do not work.”

The entire article is here:  LaX Priest in Big Trouble

Theologians, activists, former bishops staff urge Catholic voters to oppose Trump

from Religion News Service, September 8, 2020, by Jack Jenkins:

A group of Catholic theologians, activists and nuns has signed an open letter to Catholic voters urging them to oppose President Donald Trump, who they argue “flouts core values at the heart of Catholic social teaching.”

More than 150 Catholics, including former staffers at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, signed the letter, which was organized by Faith in Public Life Action, a faith-based liberal advocacy group.

“While neither political party or candidate reflects the fullness of Catholic teaching on every issue,” the letter said, “President Trump’s character, policy decisions and cruelty toward anyone who challenges him demonstrates a fundamental contempt for what it means to be a Christian.”

Citing the president’s appearance at St. John’s Episcopal Church near the White House during the George Floyd protests, the letter said: “The same president who used a Bible as a political prop for a photo opportunity in front of a church defiles the Gospel in his words and policies. A consistent pattern of racism, sexism and nativism defines this presidency.”

The letter comes as the two presidential campaigns rapidly escalate their fight for Catholic voters ahead of the November election. Speakers for this year’s Democratic National Convention repeatedly touted Joe Biden’s Catholic faith, and independent liberal faith groups have launched efforts to dissuade Catholics from voting for Trump. Biden’s campaign also recently unveiled a new Catholics for Biden initiative.

...

The Faith in Public Life Action letter rejected claims that Trump is “pro-life,” arguing that “there is nothing pro-life about spreading disinformation about COVID-19, sending refugees and asylum-seekers back to certain death, reinstituting the federal death penalty, policies that worsen climate change, and exploiting racism for political advantage.” It quotes Pope Francis in saying that “the lives of the poor, the lives of migrants, are ‘equally sacred’ as life in the womb.”

...

...[The list] includes a number of scholars who work at Catholic schools, such as Patricia McGuire, president of Trinity Washington University; Jeannine Hill Fletcher, a theology professor at Fordham University; Gerald J. Beyer, associate professor of Christian ethics at Villanova University; and J. Matthew Ashley, associate professor of systematic theology at the University of Notre Dame.

Francis Xavier Doyle, former associate general secretary of the U.S. Catholic bishops organization, also signed the letter, as did Dolores Leckey, former executive director and secretariat for family, laity, women and youth at the USCCB, and Frank Monahan, former director of the bishops’ office of government liaison.

SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY: PRAY FOR THE DEAD

Joe Biden visits Catholic parish cemetery to pray for his deceased family members

As Catholics, we know the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. It is an important part of our faith. Even those outside our faith often note the respect we Catholics pay to the deceased. The Trump campaign is now in a five alarm damage control mode over The Atlantic magazine's report that Trump told aides after scrapping a visit to Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018 to honor the dead service members, "Why should I go to that cemetery? It's filled with losers." According to The Atlantic, Trump also called our servicemembers "suckers" at some point during the same trip.

Given this situation, it seems the worst time to attack Joe Biden for respecting the dead. Yet that is exactly what the Trump campaign did last Sunday.

Joe Biden, after attending Sunday Mass in his parish church, then took time to do what many pious Catholics do. He stopped by the adjoining churchyard to pay his respects and say a prayer at the graves of his son Beau, his daughter and his first wife.

Francis Brennan, a high ranking Trump campaign official, mocked Joe Biden for visiting the graveyard where his son, daughter and first wife are buried. He tweeted that Biden was "meandering along" after Mass instead of campaigning, as he should be.

The Trump campaign did not disavow the criticism, nor answer a question about why the attack remains on Brennan's feed.

Frankly, every Catholic should see this as absolutely shameful.

THE BISHOPS' LABOR DAY STATEMENT

 Most Reverend Paul S. Coakley

Archbishop of Oklahoma City

Chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

September 7, 2020

"Behold, I make all things new" (Rev. 21:5)

Rebuilding a Dignified Post-COVID World

 This Labor Day is a somber one. The COVID-19 pandemic goes on. Economic circumstances for so many families are stressful or even dire. Anxiety is high. Millions are out of work and wondering how they will pay the bills. And for workers deemed “essential” who continue to work outside the home, there is the heightened danger of exposure to the virus. Yet, as Pope Francis points out in a set of beautiful and challenging reflections on the pandemic, “In this wasteland, the Lord is committed to the regeneration of beauty and rebirth of hope:

‘Behold, I am doing something new: right now it is sprouting, don’t you see it?’ (Is 43:19). God never abandons his people, he is always close to them, especially when pain becomes more present.”

 As God declares to John in Revelation: “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev. 21:5). God knows the challenges we face and the loss and grief we feel. The question to us is this: will we pray for and willingly participate in God’s work healing the hurt, loss, and injustice that this pandemic has caused and exposed? Will we offer all we can to the Lord to “make all things new?”

As public reports show, the virus has spread widely among essential workers such as meat packers, agricultural workers, healthcare providers, janitors, transit workers, emergency responders, and others. As a result, low wage workers, migrant workers, and workers of color, have borne a disproportionate share of the costs of the pandemic. Before the pandemic, a significant number of Americans were trapped in low wage jobs, with insecurity around food, housing, and health care, and with little opportunity for savings or advancing in their career. Those same workers have been hit particularly hard, and, it is devastating to say, many have paid with their life. As one New York subway worker put it, “We are not essential. We are sacrificial.”

These words, and the reality behind them, should haunt us. As Pope Francis pointed out at the beginning of his pontificate, “today we also have to say ‘thou shalt not’ to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills.”

 What was wrong before the pandemic has been accelerated now. What may have been hidden to some is now revealed. Against this backdrop, the murder of George Floyd was like lighting a match in a gas-filled room. Pope Francis writes of the pandemic:

We are all frail, all equal, all precious. May we be profoundly shaken by what is happening all around us: the time has come to eliminate inequalities, to heal the injustice that is undermining the health of the entire human family!

The Holy Father is now using his weekly general audience as an occasion for catechesis on Church teaching on inequalities that have been aggravated by the pandemic.

The dignity of the human person, made in the image and likeness of God, is not at the center of our society in the way it should be. In some workplaces, this has meant an emphasis on profits over safety. 

That is unjust.

Consumerism and individualism fuel pressures on employers and policy makers that lead to these outcomes.

The good news is that injustice does not need to have the last word. The Lord came to free us from sin, including the sins by which we diminish workers and ourselves. “This is the favorable time of the Lord, who is asking us not to conform or content ourselves, let alone justify ourselves with substitutive or palliative logic, which prevents us from sustaining the impact and serious consequences of what we are living.”

 Beginning with our own decisions, we might ask when we buy goods from stores or online: do we know where they came from?

Do we know whether the people who made them were treated with dignity and respect? Was the workplace made safe during the pandemic, and did workers receive a just wage? If not, what can we do to remedy this?

Our government also plays an indispensable role. Policy makers must address the outstanding needs that people have around nutrition, housing, health care, jobs and income support, as I and my brother bishops have written repeatedly.

 People are hurting, and some of the relief measures of previous legislation are expiring.

Congress and the White House should reach a deal that prioritizes protecting the poor and vulnerable.

A sign of great hope springing up at the roots is the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), which celebrates its 50th Anniversary this year. Founded to do more than meet emergency needs, CCHD supports low-income-led efforts to address poverty, create good jobs and be a force for transformation in families and communities. Over its history, CCHD has distributed over 8,000 grants worth more than 400 million dollars to help create grassroots change. Pope Francis has made the work of the popular movements that CCHD supports a key theme in his pontificate. In April, he again wrote to the leaders of these groups in light of the pandemic, noting how extraordinarily important these movements are at this very moment.

 Unions and workers’ associations have a central role to play as well.

In response to COVID-19, CCHD’s community organizations have quickly amplified their efforts to address its devastating impacts. As one example, workers in meat processing plants are faced with dangerous working conditions as companies fail to provide basic protections from COVID-19 or do not make sufficient workplace modifications to reduce risk of exposure to the virus. The CCHD-supported Rural Community Workers Alliance has helped organize workers in rural Missouri, pressuring employers to take these concerns seriously and advancing the dignity of workers. These groups, as well as labor unions and other worker associations, make an invaluable contribution to the safety and wellbeing of workers.

In order to protect the dignity of work and the rights of workers, we are each called to practice solidarity with those in harm’s way. In addition, we can offer charitable assistance to all those who have become unemployed during this time by donating to local food banks and Catholic Charities agencies. Catholic Charities helped 13 million people last year, and the demand has increased 30-50% so far during the pandemic and is anticipated to increase. Catholic hospitals are also strained as doctors, nurses, and staff have also been working relentlessly, and have in many instances done so at a loss of significant resources.

Pope Francis is fond of citing the 1964 dogmatic constitution, Lumen Gentium, which reminded us that “no one can save themselves alone.” This is true in this life and the next. The fruits of individualism are clear in the disparities brought to light by this crisis. Through our work of solidarity, let us be a counter-witness to individualism. “Let us not think only of our interests, our vested interests. Let us welcome this time of trial as an opportunity to prepare for our collective future, a future for all without discarding anyone.” Let us pray for the grace to participate in God’s work in healing what is so deeply wounded in our society. Let our response to the Psalm at Mass this Labor Day echo in deed and truth: “Lead me in your justice, Lord” (Ps 5:9)

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CANCELS CATHOLIC MASSES AT NAVAL BASES

I guess since Trump thinks our servicemembers are "losers" and "suckers". why spend tax dollars to allow them to attend Mass?

From various news sources including 'Stars and Stripes" and the "San Diego Union-Tribune":

Catholic Masses at San Diego-area Navy bases have ended in what is being called a cost-cutting move by the Trump Administration.  The federal government has declined to renew its contracts with  Catholic priests, and there are not enough Catholic chaplains on active duty to fill the void.

Protestant services on bases, which are led by active duty chaplains, will continue,  said Brian O'Rourke, a government spokesman.

The changes to the Navy's religious ministries  are part of a national realignment announced  on Aug. 20. It is unclear how many priests this will affect.

In the message announcing the change, Vice Adm. Yancey Lindsey, the commander of Naval Installations Command, said:  

"We have a responsibility to use our limited resources wisely in meeting the needs of our personnel.  Therefore, we will reduce redundancies and capture efficiencies by realigning resources,"  noting that religious services will be cut at bases where those services are readily available in the surrounding community outside the base.

To Rev.  Jose Pimentel, a priest who has led services at Naval Base Coronado and Naval Air Station North Island for eight years, the loss of his parish isn't just a personal loss – it's a loss of the 1st Amendment rights of service members on bases.

"One issue is discrimination (and) another is the violation of your right to practice your religion," he said when reached by phone Friday.

Pimentel was notified Aug. 19 that the Trump Administration will not exercise the final two years of his contract, citing "funding constraints." His last day is Sept. 30.

While the Navy has an active duty component of clergy – the Chaplain Corps – the number of Catholic priests among them is small, reflecting a worldwide shortage of Catholic priests. To make up for that shortage, the service contracted with priests to lead Catholic services on U.S. bases.  The federal government is cancelling those contracts.  

O'Rourke acknowledges in his statement that the change predominately affects Roman Catholics.

"We know change can be difficult for our existing on-base congregations, but ask for understanding, patience and support from those faithful civilians and retirees who, in their heart of hearts, want what is best for our uniformed service members and their families," O'Rourke said. "Military chaplains are working closely with local parishes to assist the faithful in finding new congregations."

Members of the Coronado and North Island parish say the community they have formed around the base chapel can't be replicated elsewhere.

"It's a Navy chapel – a community thing," said Anne-Marie Miley, a retired Navy pilot who said she has volunteered at the chapel for 11 years. "We get to meet up with other retirees and active duty personnel. The church out in town has a large congregation; it's much more personal to go on base."

Richard Haas, a retired Navy Captain who said he has attended chapel at Coronado for 30 years, agreed.

"It's part of being in the military – the camaraderie," Haas said. "To me it's synonymous, you all have a common thread – you served in the military."

Catholics on active duty also have needs many civilian priests can't accommodate, Pimentel said. Sacraments such as Holy Communion, confirmation and marriages can be challenging for service members and their families when balancing deployment schedules.

"It's hard to quantify what I do," Pimentel said, saying he's done everything from performing weddings and baptisms to counseling families of service members who died by suicide.

"I'm a 25-year veteran of the Navy and Air Force, so I can provide a certain level of support they wouldn't get from the civilian side," he said.

Parishioners questioned the fairness of Catholic services being canceled while Protestant services will continue. "I don't understand; the Chaplain Corps has gone to great lengths to be inclusive," Haas said. "Why deny Catholic members the right to hold their worship services? For a service member on (Coronado) or North Island to go out in town to find a priest — it doesn't work that way."

Bill Bartkus, a retired Navy senior chief, has been attending Mass at North Island for 40 years. He said the loss of Catholic services is discriminatory.

"It is unfair," he said. "I'm very sad that I can't go to Mass anymore on the military base where I've been going 40 years. I'd like to stay in my own military community. We know each other."