JULY 2025
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
Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State
After decades of costly, ineffective, controversial, and often bizarre foreign aid efforts of dubious benefit to our nation’s interests, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has officially dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). All overseas assistance is now under direct State Department control and oversight. The move is part of a broader Trump administration effort to reduce the scope and ideological bent of U.S. foreign aid. Among the types of programs eliminated in the USAID move were grants supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts abroad, “transgender” initiatives, and “sex changes” overseas.
Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Seattle, Bishop Joseph J. Tyson of Yakima, Bishop Thomas A. Daly of Spokane
The bishops listed above, accompanied by a group of priests, appeared in federal court on July 14, asking a judge to block a Washington state law threatening priests with jail time and fines if they refuse to break the seal of Confession in certain cases. U.S. District Court Chief Judge David G. Estudillo granted a preliminary injunction, temporarily blocking enforcement of the confession‑reporting requirement. Kudos to the judge and thank you to the clergymen for their courage in speaking out against such an unjust law. The legal battle against this legislation, signed and defended by the state’s “Catholic” governor, continues.
St. Anthony Parish Robstown, Texas
We are called to forgive when a sinner repents and that’s exactly what the parishioners of St. Anthony Catholic Church in Robstown, Texas, did recently. A few days after vandalizing the church’s outdoor memorial to unborn children, a teenage boy returned to the parish, admitted what he had done, begged forgiveness, and asked that a priest hear his confession. Rather than press charges, parishioners who were on hand to repair the damage, chose to pray with him and offer guidance and support.
ZEROES
Governor Kelly Ayotte R-New Hampshire
Kelly Ayotte, the Catholic Republican governor of New Hampshire, vetoed a bill that would have cleared a path for concerned parents to keep inappropriate material out of the state’s public schools and libraries. Activist LGBT groups and the education establishment have sought to expose children to sexually explicit, gender-bending literature in recent years. That’s why it’s so disappointing to see a Catholic governor work against parents trying to protect children from such harmful content.
Stephen Colbert Host, The Late Show
Late-night talk show host, Stephen Colbert, mocked a proposal by President Trump to allow federal workers to have religious items at their desk or to discuss religious matters with co-workers. Colbert then had a groan-worthy sketch in which his co-worker professed his devotion to the Dark Lord of Moloch. No wonder CBS announced they were not renewing his show. Colbert calls himself Catholic but routinely attacks Church teachings, especially on sexuality. The Jesuit magazine America lamented the canceling of his show; they consider Colbert their favorite “subversive Catholic.”
Luke Moon Executive Director, The Philos Project
We understand that passions run high when it comes to the situation in Gaza, but the reaction of Luke Moon–executive director of an organization that exists to connect Christians with the Holy Land–went too far. In accusing Church leaders of being more confrontational about the accidental Israeli attack on Gaza’s Holy Family Church than about Islamic violence against Christians, Luke unfortunately veered into inaccuracies that cast undue shade on dedicated men of the Church such as Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
