Brian Buescher, who was nominated by then-President Donald Trump to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, Approval Hearing During a speech before the Senate Judiciary Committee on November 28, 2018, then-Senator Kamala Harris did not ask Trump any questions.
But a week later, she filed Written Questions She wanted him to answer. (Related article: James Carter and Jim Ellis: Trump needs Catholic voters to win)
Some of them focused directly on Buescher's religious faith, namely the Roman Catholic Church.
“Since 1993, you have been a member of the Knights of Columbus, an all-male organization made up primarily of Catholic men,” Harris said. These written questions“In 2016, Carl Anderson, a leader of the Knights of Columbus, described abortion as 'a legal institution that has led to the deaths of more than 40 million people.' Anderson went on to say that 'abortion is the wholesale murder of innocent people.'”
“When you joined the Knights of Columbus, were you aware that the order was opposed to a woman's right to choose?” Harris asked.
“Do you agree with Mr. Anderson that abortion is 'the mass murder of innocent people?'” she asked.
“Do you agree with Mr Anderson that legal abortion in the United States has 'resulted in more than 40 million deaths'?” she asked.
Of course, the Knights of Columbus are not the only Catholic organization that opposes the deliberate killing of innocent unborn children; all Catholic organizations are opposed.
“Human life must be absolutely respected and protected from the moment of conception.” Catholic Catechism“From the moment of existence, human beings must be recognized as having the rights of personality, including the inalienable right to life of every innocent being.”
“Since the first century, the Church has recognized that all abortions are morally evil,” Catechism“This teaching has not changed and will never change.”
“Formal cooperation in abortion is a grave crime,” the Catechism states. “The Church imposes the penalty of canonical excommunication on this crime against human life.”
In 1995, Pope John Paul II Encyclical About this immutable principle.
“The full truth of the moral gravity of abortion becomes clear once one recognizes that it is an act of murder, especially when one considers the specific factors involved.” John Paul wrote“What has been removed is a human being at the very beginning of life. A more completely innocent human being is hard to imagine. It is completely inconceivable that this human being could be an aggressor, much less an unjust aggressor!”
But Harris did not vote to confirm as a federal judge someone affiliated with a Catholic organization that upholds Catholic teachings about the sanctity of human life.
On July 24, 2019, the Senate considered Bucher's nomination and confirmed him with the support of 51 Republicans. Forty Democrats voted against him. Harris One of the nine senators Those who didn't vote at all.
She has also received significant, and deserved, criticism for attacking the judge because of his membership in a Catholic institution.
The Washington Times Published an article On December 30, 2018, Senator Lindsey Graham Sent “In the eyes of the Democratic Party, your religious affiliation or beliefs should not make you ineligible to be a judge,” Graham said of Harris' comments. “The Knights of Columbus are a Catholic charity that has sincere beliefs about marriage and abortion.”
National Review reexamined Harris' attack on the Knights of Columbus. Published Articles This was after Joe Biden selected Harris as his running mate on August 11, 2020.
“Someone might want to remind Joe Biden, who picked progressive California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate, that his vice president-elect doesn't think Catholics are qualified to serve on our courts,” says Alexandra DeSanctis. Written For that publication.
American Enterprise Institute The report was released It shows the results of national exit polls for 13 presidential elections from 1972 to 2020. In 12 of the 13 elections, the candidate who won the Catholic vote also won the election. The only exception was in 2000, when Democratic candidate Al Gore won 49% of the Catholic vote and Republican candidate George W. Bush won 47%.
In 2016, Trump won the election among Catholic voters, beating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 52% to 45%. In 2020, Biden won the election among Catholic voters, beating Trump 52% ​​to 47%.
Neither of Major political parties Candidates This election year, we must take the right position on abortion: that every unborn child has a right to life that deserves legal protection from the moment of conception.
How will Catholic voters respond?
Terence P. Jeffery is investigative editor for the Daily Caller News Foundation. To learn more about Terence P. Jeffery or to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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