Catholics warn of Kamala Harris’ record of ‘anti-Catholic bigotry’

Vice President Kamala Harris’ pro-abortion views and “anti-Catholic bigotry” are ringing warning bells for advocates of the faith, which has about 71 million members in the U.S.

No sooner had President Biden dropped out of the race Sunday than traditional Catholics sounded the alarm on what CatholicVote called Ms. Harris’ history of “anti-Catholic bigotry,” citing incidents that date to her days as California attorney general and U.S. senator.

With Mr. Biden’s exit, Ms. Harris emerged as the presumptive 2024 Democratic presidential nomination, teeing up a race against former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee.

“Since the day she stepped into public life, Kamala Harris has epitomized gross incompetence, corruption and shameless bigotry that have become the mark of hard-left politicians,” CatholicVote President Brian Burch said. “She has specifically targeted people of faith and pro-life citizens for their beliefs and defense of the most defenseless in our society.”

One memorable example: Her 2018 quizzing of federal judiciary nominee Brian Buescher about his membership in the Knights of Columbus, a men’s Catholic fraternal organization with 2 million members known for its pancake breakfasts and charitable work.

Ms. Harris, who at the time was a senator on the Judiciary Committee, asked Mr. Buescher if he knew that the group “opposed a woman’s right to choose” and if he had “ever, in any way, assisted with or contributed to advocacy against women’s reproductive rights.”

She and Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, who asked if he would quit the Knights if confirmed, were accused of imposing a religious litmus test on federal judicial nominees in violation of Article VI of the Constitution. Mr. Buescher was ultimately confirmed.

“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,” Mr. Burch said.

Last week, she declared at the NAACP National Convention that supporting abortion access “does not require anyone to abandon their faith or their beliefs,” a statement blasted as “outrageous” by Ed Whelan, distinguished senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

“Kamala Harris has no business using her government position to tell Americans how their faith should inform their views on legal protections for the unborn,” he told the Catholic News Agency.

Kenneth Craycraft, professor of moral theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and School of Theology, said Ms. Harris’ “anti-Catholic bigotry” has been on display for years.

“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,” Mr. Craycraft wrote on X.

Kamala Harris has a history of anti-Catholic bigotry.

— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) July 22, 2024

Examples of where Ms. Harris has clashed with conservative Catholics and Christians often — but not always — involve her support for unfettered abortion access. They include:

• As California attorney general, she backed a 2015 state law requiring pro-life pregnancy centers to offer abortion referrals. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the law on free-speech grounds;

She also authorized a 2015 raid on the home of pro-life activist David Daleiden over his hidden-camera probe into Planned Parenthood affiliates selling fetal tissue from abortions for research. Pro-life groups accused her of a conflict of interest based on her campaign support from Planned Parenthood;

• In the Senate, she sponsored the 2019 Do No Harm Act, which would have overridden religious objections to providing birth control in employer insurance plans and performing abortions and gender-transition procedures at Catholic hospitals;

• She cosponsored the 2017 Equality Act, which would ban discrimination based on gender identity, allowing biological males who identify as female to access girls’ and women’s facilities. The bill also exempts itself from the Religious Freedom Restoration Act;

• During her failed 2019 presidential campaign, she suggested that states should be required to obtain pre-clearance from the Justice Department before passing abortion restrictions.

Last year, Ms. Harris was mocked for her speech on abortion rights in which she said the Declaration of Independence guaranteed the right to “liberty and the pursuit of happiness” without mentioning life.

“Kamala Harris is a left-wing demagogue who is even more aggressive in promoting abortion, and even more extreme in her hostility to religious freedom rights, than Joe Biden,” said C.J. Doyle, Catholic Action League executive director.

The Washington Times reached out to the Harris campaign for comment.

Ms. Harris defended her record on religious freedom during the 2020 vice presidential debate after Vice President Mike Pence accused her of attacking judicial nominees over their beliefs.

“Joe Biden and I are both people of faith, and it’s insulting to suggest that we would knock anyone for their faith,” Ms. Harris said. “And, in fact, Joe, if elected, will be only the second practicing Catholic as President of the United States.”

Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, author of “Just Faith: Reclaiming Progressive Christianity,” praised her in a Monday op-ed for MSNBC, saying that she “embodies our nation’s founding ideal of religious freedom and models a Christian commitment to religious pluralism.”

In 2018 Kamala tried to use membership in the Knights of Columbus as disqualifying someone from serving as a judge.

There is no place for anti-Catholic bigotry in America. pic.twitter.com/BkLhZlxen4

— Jeremy Wayne Tate (@JeremyTate41) July 21, 2024

Conservative Catholics decried Mr. Biden’s veer to the left as president, but the Democrat had an ace in the hole: He’s a lifelong Catholic. Ms. Harris, a Baptist who attended Baptist and Hindu services growing up, has no such card.

Despite his well-known Catholic faith, Mr. Biden won just 52% of the Catholic vote in 2000, barely topping Mr. Trump, a non-Catholic who captured 47%, according to Edison Research exit polling.

Another wrinkle: Mr. Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, converted to Catholicism in 2019 and has been outspoken about his Catholic faith.

“Harris should be concerned about the impact CatholicVote’s galvanizing of Catholic voters — who boast a heavy presence in numerous key swing states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan — could have on her 2024 ambitions,” Mr. Burch said.