Harris CONDEMNED for ‘Anti-Catholic Bigotry’
Several religious organizations have criticized Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris for her well-known history of “anti-Catholic bigotry.”
“Kamala Harris has a history of anti-Catholic bigotry,” wrote CatholicVote President Brian Burch on X, and “believes that all faithful Catholics should be disqualified from serving as federal judges.”
In 2018, while serving as a congresswoman on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Harris gained notoriety for questioning U.S. District Court nominee Brian C. Buescher about his involvement in the Catholic charitable group Knights of Columbus, raising the possibility that this participation would preclude him from serving as a judge.
When Buescher joined the Knights of Columbus, Harris questioned him about whether he was aware that the organization held “extreme positions” on marriage and life, such as opposition to “a woman’s right to choose” and “marriage equality,” two views that are emblematic of both the Knights and the Catholic Church.
Considering that the viewpoints being examined are reflections of essential Catholic beliefs rather than “extreme positions,” many at the time observed that the questions had the uncanny smell of an unconstitutional religious litmus test.
At the time, Kathleen Blomquist, a representative for the Knights of Columbus, criticized Harris’ questioning for their apparent anti-Catholic bias.
“Our country’s sad history of anti-Catholic bigotry contributed to the founding of the Knights of Columbus, and we are proud of the many Catholics who overcame this hurdle to contribute so greatly to our country,” Blomquist said.
“We were extremely disappointed to see that one’s commitment to Catholic principles through membership in the Knights of Columbus — a charitable organization that adheres to and promotes Catholic teachings — would be viewed as a disqualifier from public service in this day and age,” she added.
Kamala Harris “would be the greatest threat to the free exercise of religion than any president in American history, with no close rival,” according to Kenneth Craycraft, a professor of moral theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary.
“Kamala Harris has not hidden her intention to institute policies against the Catholic Church, and against individuals, organizations, and institutions whose beliefs, positions, and policies are consistent with the moral theology of the Church,” Craycraft wrote.
Bill Donohue, the president of the Catholic League, on the other hand, detailed Harris’s continuous series of acts that specifically targeted Catholics and religious believers, particularly about abortion and LGBTQ+ concerns.
Donohue claimed that one of Harris’s most heinous actions was co-sponsoring “the most anti-religious liberty bill ever introduced, the Equality Act.”
A bill that would “prohibit a health care practitioner from failing to exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion,” he said, was another bill she voted against. “Not only has Harris characterized Catholic Church teachings as ‘extreme’ and disqualifying for the federal judiciary, but she has also helped lead an administration that sought to weaponize the government against their political opponents.”