Posted on 03/20/2016 9:51:20 AM PDT by John W
(RNS) More than 50 conservative Catholic activists and political leaders have come out in support of Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz in an effort to shore up Catholic backing for Cruz as an alternative to Donald Trump.
Among them is a priest from South Carolina who may be skirting the edges of his own church’s policies against clerics becoming involved in politics.
Trump is currently leading the three-man GOP field and has drawn strong primary support from Catholic voters despite his controversial rhetoric and past stands on key issues like abortion rights, which he once supported.
The Catholics endorsing Cruz, led by Princeton professor Robert George and former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, cited Cruz’s opposition to abortion and gay marriage and his advocacy of religious freedom as the reasons for their support.
“No one has been stronger than Ted in standing up for religious liberty and other fundamental constitutional freedoms,” said George in a statement posted Friday (March 18) on Cruz’s website. “He will foster a culture, from the top down, that honors the Constitution – the one thing that, despite our differences, binds us all together as Americans.”
While Trump was not mentioned by name in the endorsement, George and some of the other signers have also been leading the charge against the New York real estate magnate.
Several of them were among dozens of Catholics who signed an appeal earlier this month in National Review that said while they understood Trump’s appeal for some Catholics, he was “manifestly unfit to be president of the United States.”
That was before Sen. Marco Rubio, who many Catholic conservatives were backing, dropped out of the race following a drubbing by Trump in his home state of Florida.
Cruz, a senator from Texas, is the son of the Cuban immigrants but he is a Southern Baptist, not a Roman Catholic. His father, Rafael Cruz, was born Catholic but became a born again Christian in the 1970s and is known for his fiery preaching.
One of the Cruz endorsements comes from Monsignor Ed Lofton, pastor at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Summerville, S.C.
“I am very pleased to give my personal endorsement to Ted Cruz for President of the United States,” Lofton said in the statement.
“The Church must not be silent as the nation chooses the leaders who will shape its future. I am personally working for the election of Ted Cruz, and I urge fellow Catholics to join me in giving Ted Cruz our support and our votes.”
But Deacon Greg Kandra, a blogger at the Catholic news site Aleteia, wrote that he was “a little surprised to see such a vocal and enthusiastic endorsement of a candidate by a Catholic priest.”
Kandra noted that the Catholic Church has strict guidelines against clerics holding office or taking “an active part in political parties.”
He also pointed to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops policies stating that church organizations and their representatives should “not endorse or oppose candidates, political parties, or groups of candidates, or take any action that reasonably could be construed as endorsement or opposition.”
Other signatories of the Cruz endorsement include Brian Brown, head of the National Organization for Marriage, Ryan Anderson of the Heritage Foundation, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
(David Gibson is a national reporter for RNS)
Surprises me the number of oldtimers posting such.
“”Cruz is a lying creep”
What deep and intellectual political analysis. Typical though.”
Then you haven’t been paying much attention to my majority “epics” of speech, and don’t read my comments much, do you. Cruz is easily summed up, he’s a lying creep. I won’t waste more of my “comments” breath casting pearls before your swine.
“Now, how exactly would new parishioners who are illiterates — BTW, that is the correct spelling — increase the church collections? I don’t think such people would be making much money.”
I was just leaving Napa. CA where I own commercial real estate, and in so doing I passed by the local Catholic Church, as Mass was concluding. Beautiful, modern church with almost 100% Hispanic parishioners. So if they aren’t ponying up in the collection plate, just who is paying to maintain that edifice? My bet is that poor Mexican farm workers, put a bigger percentage of their incomes into their church than do the wealthy. And why not? This church is their protector from the laws of our government. And It’s a disgrace that should land a few archbishops in the slammer!
Why should any Catholic vote for a guy who compares going to Holy Communion as eating a cracker as well as ridicule confession ? Have as many wives as Henry de VIII, boast about his maritial infidelitys,and even jokingly suggest insest. Worst of all show any comprenension as to that the current strategy ammounts to a war on traditional values fostered by Christians. Because they oppose the Godless movement. A tradition that stands in opposition to the Godless (remember their 2012 convention) democrat (in name only but in reality socialist) party
Thousands including many Catholics thought they were responding via Trump in effect telling the pope to go to hell . But it was intended and used, as a left handed Trump endorsement. which the media not Trump engineered and Trump after learning the facts should have apologized and condemed this, instead used it..
Pope Francis responded to accusation loaded questions by a Reuters news agency reporter and did not believe those accusations. So the pope never mentioned Trumps name . Here in abstract; replied using the term One, to generalize his example and began with; If actually one said and continued with : One does, one did, one believes :It was meant to be a generalized position applied to anyone when answering the questions that were presented to him .Yet the US media turned this statement vy Pope Francis : Those that only focus on building walls and not bridges are not Christian. into: Those who build walls not bridges like Trump are not Christian. Turning a generalized position into a personal attack by no less the pope If they voted that way because of that reason They were mislead by machinations of the media not rejection of actions voters thought were made by the pope.
MSM ignored the constititionalist Cruz who says illegals are out and are to never return position but knowingly used the bombastic Trump who has a round trip ticket position about amnesty and silence from Trump about any border wall fence funding discussion going on during the GWB administration. Where the democrats killed the funding. Perhaps he was too busy managing his Trump U. Fleecing trusting souls who are now engaged in suing him for misrepresentation.
THIS PRIMARY DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE GIVE TED CRUZ YOUR VOTE
THE ONLY CANDIDATE COURAGIOUS ENOUGH TO BATTLE AGAINST WHAT AMMOUNTS TO A WAR ON RELIGION ...
The leftist medias anti religious agenda is now busy minimizing the Cruz candidacy claiming Cruz can not win by emphasizing Christian values in: Marriage, planned parenthood, abortion and the citing of positions on these subjects taken by Trump. Urge Ted to stay the course and defeat this blowhard . We want back to the days of the constitution and the government out of our bedrooms, kitchens, gas tanks, back yards, as well as our religions. Who will pick justices that keep it that way .
During a Face the Nation interview, Sen. Ted Cruz declared he would not accept the Scalia vacancy. That is not a job I am interested in. Cruz added, The job I am interested in is appointing 3, 4, 5 Supreme Court justices, defending the constitution. Ted Ctuz vowed that as president he would reverse the damages one by Barack Obama to the constitution.;
Based on how Ted Cruz has compromised his conservative values for a seat at the establishment table, I'm convinced the only thing he is going to do as president, is answer to the establishment and the crony capitalists, like Goldman-Sachs, who helped put him there.
CGato
What really sealed it for me was when Businessman deal maker Trump who also owns Goldman Sachs stock
http://www.freerepublic.com/focua/f-news/3386879/posts
While promoting a misrepresentarion of an opponents (Cruz) previous campaign paid up loan as sinister and suspicious ,from the same source he, Trump, has investments in but also has a substantial sized unpaid loan from.
Here Trump seals a deal with the GOPES (government over the people elite state-ists) also known as country club republicans, and gets their endorsements from the establishment in the Crony Corn King lobby and even advocates expanded mandated Ethanol. Because he thinks dumping this government mandated junk inro your gas tank will help him carry IOWA . Which also begs the question of Just how heavily invested is he in Ethanol ?
Apparently those prefering a candidate who marches away from key conservative principles including tax supports and more government mandates, and subsides ,especially for a products like enthanol which is a boon doggle, means nothing to them.
Well it does to me....and it should to them.
What really sealed it for me was when Businessman deal maker Trump who also owns Goldman Sachs stock
http://www.freerepublic.com/focua/f-news/3386879/posts
While promoting a misrepresentarion of an opponents (Cruz) previous campaign paid up loan as sinister and suspicious ,from the same source he, Trump, has investments in but also has a substantial sized unpaid loan from.
Here Trump seals a deal with the GOPES (government over the people elite state-ists) also known as country club republicans, and gets their endorsements from the establishment in the Crony Corn King lobby and even advocates expanded mandated Ethanol. Because he thinks dumping this government mandated junk inro your gas tank will help him carry IOWA . Which also begs the question of Just how heavily invested is he in Ethanol ?
Apparently those prefering a candidate who marches away from key conservative principles including tax supports and more government mandates, and subsides ,especially for a products like enthanol which is a boon doggle, means nothing to them.
Well it does to me....and it should to them.
“Why should any Catholic vote for a guy who compares going to Holy Communion as eating a cracker as well as ridicule confession ? Have as many wives as Henry de VIII, boast about his maritial infidelitys,and even jokingly suggest insest. Worst of all show any comprenension as to that the current strategy ammounts to a war on traditional values fostered by Christians. Because they oppose the Godless movement. A tradition that stands in opposition to the Godless (remember their 2012 convention) democrat (in name only but in reality socialist) party”
Do you not know what today is or what this week is, it is HOLY WEEK and if I am CORRECT, did not JESUS GAVE HIS VERY LIFE UP ON THE CROSS FOR ALL OF US SINNERS, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz as much as for you?
While Donald has breath in him, he has chance to repent and come to faith in Jesus.
Do not forget we are NOT electing a PASTOR, but a PRESIDENT.
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres16/contrib.php?cycle=2016&id=N00033085&type=f
And for comparison from the 2008 presidential election, let's take a look and who helped usher in Barack 0bama, yes, Goldman-Sachs was one of his major donors:
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638
It's right there as a fact, right there in black and white. The crony capitalists, like Goldman-Sachs, that own our government own these politicians as well. These politicians will do as their crony capitalist owners tell them. It's what so many of us are so tired of and Ted Cruz is proving more and more, he is one of them.
Oh and it's quite a difference owning stock from a corporation, than being owned by them as a politician. I know Trump isn't perfect, really no one is but he is a true outsider, outside of the Washington DC mess we all despise so much. He is also not a career politician but so many here treat him as such.
Blowing up the Washington DC establishment can do wonders for our country as Donald Trump has promised. I don't see that in Ted Cruz as he is proving more and more to be an insider, you just can't trust him.
CGato
While Donald has breath in him, he has chance to repent and come to faith in Jesus....biggirl
Trump does not believe he has done anything to repent for and empahsised that to a group of Prespyterians when he made that cracker statement. Oh and planned parenthood does a lot of good and should get federal funds .
If I had no core values concerning abortion, sexual behavior and marriage I would promote the meme about any opponent like Cruz running for pastor not president which of course ignores the assult on Christian values which stands opposed to the assult on them by progressives which is what is going on and what you support.
“If I had no core values concerning abortion, sexual behavior and marriage I would promote the meme about any opponent like Cruz running for pastor not president which of course ignores the assult on Christian values which stands opposed to the assult on them by progressives which is what is going on and what you support.”
To CORRECT you, I DO NOT and I REPEAT DO SUPPORT any of the “progressives” that you claim I support which is just NOT TRUE.
Rather let’s pray for the CONVERSION of ALL to Christ.
As a Christian believer, I do forgive you. Have a good and blessed Easter.
50........... wow ...........hahahahahahahahahaha
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Not surprising that CONSERVATIVE Catholics support Ted Cruz!
I’m a CONSERVATIVE Catholic, who supported Duncan Hunter, Rick Santorum and now Sen. Cruz!
Ted Cruz and Kachich will be on Bret Bair soon. Hope they discuss religious FREEDOM!
I’m a conservative Catholic and I support Trump.
No it is not. I am a conservative Catholic and I am a Trump supporter. I know a lot of Catholics that are conservative. Cruz would be my second choice, if he is the nominee I’ll vote for him. I’m NOT like the Trump haters that say they would rather see our country completely destroyed and vote for Hillary and have 8 more years of Obama or just stay home than to vote for Trump.
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