Chaldean Diocese video screengrab / Youtube
Editor’s note: this article’s headline and lede were updated on October 28 to more accurately reflect the tone of the bishop’s message.
CV NEWS FEED // The bishop of the St. Thomas Apostle Chaldean Catholic Diocese recently spoke out ahead of the Presidential election in a video message about where the two political parties stand on issues such as abortion and “sex change” interventions for children.
Noting that although he cannot tell people who to vote for and he is not supporting or rejecting a candidate, Bishop Francis Kalabat said in a video message that he can still speak about the truth.
Abortion is a critical issue to talk about in light of the upcoming election, he said, adding that between the Church and the two political parties, there has been efforts to dialogue about abortion.
The Democratic Party has refused to support limits on abortion even up to the ninth month, Bishop Kalabat said. He said the Democratic Party has not rejected partial-birth abortion, and most legislators in the party, as well as the party’s presidential candidates, have not supported the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which protects infants who survive abortions.
“That’s the Democratic Party’s position … Abortion is the hot ticket to the Democratic Party,” he said, noting that at the Democratic National Convention, where a Catholic cardinal opened with a prayer, free abortions were offered.
“Twenty-five children were murdered,” Bishop Kalabat said.
He explained that he chose the word “murder” because Pope Francis uses that word when he speaks about abortion.
The Church’s dialogue with the Republican Party remains ongoing and has shown that the Party is open to some limits on abortion, Bishop Kalabat said. He highlighted the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ statement that abortion is “the pre-eminent priority” to consider in the election, as it kills more than one million Americans a year.
The Bishop also recalled that in September, Pope Francis was asked during a press conference what advice he would give to Catholic voters in the United States, where one candidate is pro-abortion and the other is in favor of deporting millions of migrants.
“Both [candidates] are anti-life, either the one who throws out migrants or the one who kills babies. Both are against life,” Pope Francis said at the time, as CatholicVote previously reported.
Bishop Kalabat argued that the question posed to Pope Francis about the two candidates was “misleading” because he had been told that the people were “migrants,” not that they were “illegal immigrants.”
On the topic of the border, Bishop Kalabat quoted, “‘Can borders be controlled? Yes, each country has a right to control its borders — who enters and who leaves — and countries that are in danger of terrorism or the like, have more right to control them more.’ These words were said by Pope Francis [in] January in 2022.”
The Pope’s “words reflect the Church’s long-standing teaching, drawn from natural law, that the nation is an extension of the human family, and it has a right to protect its borders,” the Bishop said, noting the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches this.
The Bishop also said “[t]here has to be a compromise” regarding the border and immigration.
He also denounced how border instability harms migrant children.
The Bishop said more than “300,000 children are lost due to the instability of the border, most of [whom] have been used in sex slavery.”
Bishop Kalabat confirmed via email to CatholicVote that he was referring to a report published in August by the Department of Homeland Security’ Office of the Inspector General.
>> DHS warns of possible exploitation of thousands of immigrant children lost by ICE <<
In the video message, Bishop Kalabat lamented that thousands of the missing children are under 5 years old.
Moving to the third issue of concern, the Bishop said that “the fight for our children, along with abortion, is at the heart of this election.”
Reiterating Church teaching, Bishop Kalabat quoted the Vatican declaration “Dignitas Infinita,” which states that “any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception.”
He spoke about a report that came out earlier this month revealing that a number of children have been subjected to “transgender” surgeries or hormone interventions at hospitals across the nation within several recent years, including at Catholic hospitals.
The Bishop also warned that schools and even whole school districts have been involved in teenagers’ “transitioning” without their parents’ consent.
Bishop Kalabat pointed to instances in California, Chicago, and Michigan. According to a September 2022 press release from Republican then-Rep. Pamela Hornberger, Michigan’s Department of Education reportedly implemented a “training protocol [that] pushes gender fluidity to elementary school students and encourages teachers to facilitate the sexual transition of minors without parental consent.”
Bishop Kalabat said in the video that Vice President Kamala Harris is in support of “taxpayer-funded sex change operations for kids,” and candidate Donald Trump is not.
Bishop Kalabat urged those watching to vote.
“Please vote, and make a difference,” he said.
