July 2023
CatholicVote is committed to holding self-professed Catholic leaders and institutions to the standards of Church teaching. That’s what our Catholic Accountability Project is all about.
You deserve to know exactly where our Catholic 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.
We ask that you pray for all Catholics in the public square, heroes and zeroes alike.
HEROES
Jim Caviezel, Eduardo Verastegui, and the ‘Sound of Freedom’ Team
The $14-million-budget independent film on the horrific reality of child sex trafficking stunned the cinema world when it broke over $100 million in sales at the box office. Catholic filmmakers and actors Jim Caviezel and Eduardo Verastegui created Sound of Freedom. It is based on the true story of Tim Ballard, a Homeland Security agent who left his job to rescue children from traffickers.
The film was distributed by Angel Studios, which also produces the popular ongoing series on the life of Christ, The Chosen. Angel Studios Vice President of Global Distribution Jared Geesey told The Washington Examiner that Sound of Freedom “is the opposite of the top down system developed by Hollywood gatekeepers. We are empowering people to be part of choosing, funding, and sharing stories that amplify light and impact culture.”
To Jim, Eduardo, and all the other heroes who dedicated the last five years of their lives to this project… ad multos annos!
Bishop Robert Barron, Diocese of Winona-Rochester
Bishop Robert Barron took a stand for the Church’s evangelical mission when he issued a bold response to Portuguese Bishop Americo Aguiar’s shocking statement that World Youth Day would not focus on evangelizing youth.
As chief coordinator of the 2023 World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, Aguiar told the press “We don’t want to convert the young people to Christ or to the Catholic Church or anything like that at all.”
Barron responded directly with an article titled “World Youth Day and Converting Everyone to Christ.”
“St. Paul himself said, ‘Woe to me if I do not evangelize’; and Pope St. Paul VI declared that the Church is nothing but a mission to spread the Gospel,” Barron wrote. “This is precisely why every institution, every activity, every program of the Church is dedicated, finally, to announcing Jesus.”
“I’m scheduled to give five presentations at World Youth Day in Lisbon,” he concluded, “And I would like to assure Bishop Aguiar that every single one of them is designed to evangelize.”
Congressman Andrew Harris, R-MD
Rep. Andrew Harris roasted the FDA’s deliberate negligence in lowering regulations for chemical abortions at a recent Rules Committee meeting.
Harris highlighted how the FDA requires randomized trials to determine drug safety, but these were waived so that the chemical abortion drug mifepristone could be rushed to market. On top of that, the FDA also bypassed the required ultrasound and face-to-face consultation with a physician before inducing a chemical abortion.
“Science doesn’t change from administration to administration,” Harris emphasized. “Medicine doesn’t change from administration to administration. This policy changed from administration to administration.”
ZEROES
Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-PA
Pennsylvania Democrat Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon recently claimed that protecting children from “gender transitions” is a violation of parental rights. Scanlon also accused Republicans of “fearmongering” for bringing up data that shows the real harm inflicted on children by puberty blockers and hormone therapy. At a House hearing on gender transitions for children, Scanlon said,
When our Republican colleagues allege that gender-affirming care raises particular dangers or due process issues, that is fearmongering at its worst. Picking on already vulnerable kids in order to stir up chaos that they hope to ride to success at the ballot box.
Scanlon has stated before that she came from an Irish Catholic family. In May she complained that Republican lawmakers were “inflaming grievances” by raising concerns about pregnancy resource centers that were attacked by abortion supporters.
Senator Bob Casey, Jr., D-PA
Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, Jr. has earned his second appearance on the “Zeroes” roster. He boasts a long track record of being fickle on life issues before finally settling decisively on the pro-abortion side. Though a self-professed Catholic, Casey has not only upheld abortion as a woman’s “right,” but is now supporting taxpayer funding for an LGBTQ organization that organizes “youth drag shows.”
In Congressional budget negotiations, Casey requested the Senate earmark $1 million for the William Way Foundation, claiming it provides “life-giving support.” Besides hosting a “youth drag show” that included minor “performers” as young as eight years old, the foundation has engaged in other far-left activism such as promoting a communist-led protest against the conservative group Moms For Liberty at their annual Philadelphia summit.
Casey is a far cry from his father, a former pro-life Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, who was denied a speech at the 1992 Democratic National Convention for his views on the sanctity of life.
Dr. Tamara Kay, University of Notre Dame
News broke in July that Notre Dame professor Tamara Kay had filed a defamation lawsuit against the school’s student paper for its reporting on her vocal support of abortion at the Catholic university.
The publication, The Irish Rover, had simply stated that the sociology and global affairs professor promoted abortion pills for students through social media posts, signs hung on her office door, and a presentation during a Notre Dame-sponsored lecture.
The Rover’s student editor-in-chief, Joseph DuReuil, explained in an exclusive LOOPCast interview that he only reported the public information that Kay had herself volunteered during an interview.
Kay initially denied that the interview occurred, despite DuReuil having a recording. She persists in claiming that the students have falsely accused her.
