CatholicVote is committed to holding self-professed Catholic leaders and institutions to Church teaching. That’s what our Catholic Accountability Project is all about.
You deserve to know exactly where our Catholics leaders stand – both the heroes who are standing up for the truth and the “zeroes” who cause grave scandal by their words and actions.
Every month, we will hold these Catholics accountable – and praise them when they deserve it.
But we also ask that you pray for all Catholics in the public square, heroes and zeroes alike.
HEROES
HERO 1: Arizona Governor Doug Ducey
Gov. Doug Ducey, R-AZ, was a double-hero this March, signing multiple laws protecting women and girls to conclude Women’s History Month. On March 30, he signed a 15-week abortion ban into law similar to Mississippi’s pro-life law which is currently before the Supreme Court in the case of Dobbs vs. Jackson. The Arizona law also makes it a felony for doctors to commit illegal abortions. Gov. Ducey also signed legislation regarding sex: one law that bars biological males from competing in girls’ sports, and another that prohibits “gender reassignment” surgeries for minors.
HERO 2: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-FL – braving the wrath of woke corporations, Hollywood, and the social media mob’s most vile fake news – signed into law the Parental Rights in Education bill, which bans classroom discussions about gender identity and sexual orientation with children below fourth grade. Gov. DeSantis stood firm for protecting children, for parental authority, and for the right to a public education that isn’t a vehicle for sexual grooming.
HERO 3: Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila, Denver
Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila of the Archdiocese of Denver testified against the extremist Colorado “Reproductive Health Equity Act.” The act would codify a “fundamental right” to abortion for every individual and goes out of its way to state that the unborn child has no “independent or derivative rights.” The archbishop was joined in his testimony by Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodriguez. We salute them both for their heroic words.
“But abortion… denies that basic right [to life]. It makes government god, and governments can change for good or for evil, depending on who is in charge. Abortion has become an idol which is tragic for it promotes evil rather than the common good and the truth of the dignity of human life.” ~Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila
ZEROES
ZERO 1: Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra
Secretary Becerra – who describes himself as a “committed Catholic” – is this month’s preeminent Zero. In the first week of March, he attacked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s effort to protect children from life-altering “sex-change” procedures, calling Abbott’s legal position “discriminatory and unconscionable.” On March 11, Becerra visited a New Hampshire Planned Parenthood facility and gave it $500,000 in federal tax dollars, in direct defiance of the state’s Executive Council vote to defund abortion giants of $1 million. Becerra capped off the month by celebrating “Trans Visibility Day,” tweeting: “We see you, we stand with you, and we will be there for you. For the first time in history, the transgender flag is flying in front of a federal agency.”
ZERO 2: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Speaker Pelosi, D-CA, has made much of her Catholic faith while promoting every possible anti-Catholic law and movement. In March, she took her hypocrisy to another level by joking about pro-life Catholics who she said would “like to throw me out.” She also described pro-life Americans as “people who don’t believe in governance” because they won’t accept Roe as settled law. “This really gets me burned up, in case you didn’t notice, because, again, I’m very Catholic – devout, practicing, all of that,” she said. Like Becerra, Pelosi crowned Women’s History Month with a tweet celebrating Trans Visibility Day: “Today and every day, we are proud to stand with the trans and non-binary community in the fight to ensure you are accepted just as you are.” The irony escaped her.
ZERO 3: Representative Tom Malinowski, D-NJ
Rep. Malinowski opened March with campaign stops in his home state, during one of which he let loose with an expletive-laced tirade against parents’ rights activists. He described parents who speak against indoctrination and sexual grooming at school board meetings as a “fringe movement” that is destroying America over “made-up cultural bullsh**.” He also attacked Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida’s parental rights bill, which protects small children from explicit sexual content. Breitbart reported that Rep. Malinowski has received $29,002 from teachers’ unions since his election to Congress.
SUBZERO
President Joe Biden
President Biden had already sunken to our subzero category in March as he used his office to enforce sweeping gender ideology measures (including allowing “X” as a gender on U.S. passports), nominated the worst Supreme Court candidate in recent memory, and brought NATO to the brink of World War III with his careless remarks. But on the final day of the month, the administration went even further, releasing a series of documents that endorse “gender-reassignment” surgeries and hormone treatments for minors. Among the permanent and life-altering acts that Biden’s HHS Department considers “appropriate” for minors are: “’Top’ surgery – to create male-typical chest shape or enhance breasts” and “’bottom’ surgery – surgery on genitals or reproductive organs, facial feminization or other procedures.”