Two well-known progressive Catholics are slated to speak at the Democratic National Convention this week despite concerns that the party has become anti-Catholic to its core.
LGBT promoter Father James Martin (pictured) — a Jesuit priest — will give the opening invocation this Thursday and Sister Simone Campbell, a social justice warrior and lobbyist, will speak at the convention as well.
A number or U.S. bishops as well as a Vatican cardinal have reproached Father Martin for his “scandalous” portrayal of homosexual relationships. The Jesuit priest famously showcased ‘Gay Jesus’ art from homoerotic painter Douglas Blanchard and has pushed the Catholic Church to extend its definition of family to include gay relationships.
Sister Campbell organized the 2012 “Nuns on the Bus” tour through her Network organization, which sought to promote social justice issues while downplaying the importance of abortion. “At times Nuns on the Bus can seem like Campbell’s personal act of retaliation against the Vatican for its virtual takeover of the nuns’ leadership conference and its rebuke of Network,” Time magazine declared in a profile of Sister Simone.
Father Martin told Fox News Monday that his kick-off of the DNC would serve as an invitation to “pray for a nation where the sanctity of all human life is respected and where all people — no matter what race, color, creed or orientation — are welcomed.”
The priest added that his brief prayer will mention the unborn and justified his appearance at the convention by noting that New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan gave the DNC invocation in 2012.
The Democrats’ official party platform explicitly endorses abortion rights around the globe, declaring that “safe abortion must be part of comprehensive maternal and women’s health care and included as part of America’s global health programming.”
Former Vice President Joe Biden self-identifies as Catholic but has promised — if elected — to oversee the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, which bans taxpayer funding for most abortions. He supports abortion-on-demand and sharply criticized the Supreme Court’s recent decision in favor of the Little Sisters of the Poor in their religious liberty battle.
Biden further aggravated his relations with Catholic voters by choosing Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) as his running mate.
As Breitbart News has reported, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has called out Sen. Harris as an “openly anti-Catholic bigot” while Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, warned that Biden’s running mate has a “Catholic problem.”
Harris’s anti-Catholicism was on full display in 2018, when she harassed U.S. District Court nominee Brian Buescher during his confirmation hearings over his embrace of Catholic teaching on abortion and gay marriage.