June 2023
HEROES
Archbishop Jose Gomez, Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and Bishop Strickland, Diocese of Tyler, TX
These two shepherds bravely took a stand against the Los Angeles Dodgers’ scandalous honoring of an anti-Catholic hate group, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
Archbishop Jose Gomez invited Catholics in LA to attend a Mass offered for the end of bigotry and for increased respect for religion in the country. The Mass was offered on the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the same day the Dodgers had picked to award the offensive “drag nuns” group on the team’s annual “Pride Night.”
Bishop Joseph Strickland also rallied to the defense of the faith against sacrilege, leading a Eucharistic Procession around Dodgers Stadium that same day. The procession was held as part of a prayer rally in reparation for offenses against Christ and His Church.
Congressman Chris Smith, R-NJ
New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith wins hero status for warning lawmakers about the plan to reauthorize an AIDS relief program to promote abortions and gender ideology abroad.
The House is looking to use the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to allow organizations to use program grants for abortions. As a previous supporter of PEPFAR, Smith had written the bill for its 2018 reauthorization, but now he says President Biden is deliberately using it to prop up abortions.
Smith’s office researched extensive grant data and found that 24% of PEPFAR’s international partners were pro-abortion and had expended $1.34 billion in program funding.
Smith told POLITICO that, “Except for South Africa, the African countries are pro-life and they don’t want money coming in in huge amounts buying all kinds of personnel and then become a lobby force for abortion.”
Paula Scanlan, Athlete Activist
If women don’t deserve protection in society, then what does that mean [for] us as a society? If we can’t acknowledge that women are different and women deserve respect, then that’s not a society that anyone really needs to live in.
Paula Scanlan, a former Penn swimmer and teammate of William (now known as “Lia”) Thomas, was featured anonymously in Matt Walsh’s hit 2022 documentary, “What is a Woman?” Now, she’s showing her face and devoting her life to speaking out in defense of women and women’s sports.
In an exclusive LOOPcast interview this month, Scanlan recounted her experiences of being forced to compete against and share a locker room with Thomas and what led her to take the huge personal risk and go public with her story.
“This is not ‘anti-trans,’” she says. “This is not anti-this or the other thing. This is pro-woman.”
ZEROES
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred
Though a self-professed Catholic, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred lost a major opportunity to stand for his faith. Instead, Manfred openly supported the LA Dodgers’ decision to award the anti-Catholic drag group, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, calling the invitation “appropriate.”
Manfred never clarified why he thought it was appropriate to celebrate a group of cross-dressing men who profanely mock women religious and the sacraments. In an interview with Time magazine, Manfred addressed the controversy with a series of non-answers, saying he trusted the Dodgers’ judgment as a “well-run organization.”
Manfred served on the board of a Catholic all-girls middle and high school in the New York City suburb of Rye, the School of the Holy Child.
Governor Joe Lombardo, R-NV
Nevada was recently declared a “safe haven” for abortion in a decision that was signed into law by the state’s self-proclaimed pro-life Republican Governor, Joe Lombardo.
In a statement, Lombardo’s spokesperson, Elizabeth Ray, said that the governor “made a campaign commitment to ensure that Nevada would not participate in prosecuting those seeking legal medical care in the state. Today, Governor Lombardo kept that commitment.”
Lombardo also considers himself a Catholic, and campaigned on the promise that he would “always govern as a pro-life governor.” The new law, however, prevents authorities from pursuing criminal charges against out-of-state women seeking abortions in Nevada.
Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-OR
Oregon’s freshman Republican Representative, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, turned out to be a huge sellout for the pro-abortion lobby after blocking a bill to prohibit federal taxpayer funding of abortion.
Chavez-DeRemer had initially pledged in her campaign that she would stand against “extreme” abortion laws, including those supporting tax-payer funded abortions, and said she would also support enacting a “heartbeat bill.”
The representative justified her complete betrayal of her pledge by claiming that “the Dobbs decision made clear that it’s an issue that should be decided at the state level, and Oregonians recently rejected efforts to limit taxpayer-funded abortion overwhelmingly.”
Consequently, CatholicVote has revoked its former support for Chavez-DeRemer and has pledged to support any authentic candidate who runs against her.
SUBZEROES
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, D-CT, and Co-Signers
On the one-year anniversary of the Dobbs decision, pro-abortion and self-proclaimed Catholic Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, D-CT, penned a “renewed statement of principles” defending the so-called “right” to abortion.
DeLauro, who is 80 years old and was first elected to Congress in 1990, tweeted the joint statement on Monday. In her tweet, she identified herself as a “Catholic—baptized, raised, and confirmed.”
“The fundamental tenets of my faith compel me to defend a women’s right to access abortion [sic],” she stated.
About 30 self-professed Catholic Democrats also signed her statement, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA.
