Posted on 08/13/2020 5:39:15 PM PDT by ebb tide
Denver Newsroom, Aug 13, 2020 / 02:43 pm MT (CNA).-
An official at the U.S. bishops’ conference said Thursday that the selection of Senator Kamala Harris as Joe Biden’s presidential running mate is good news that will offer policies favorable to marginalized people.
“I was so elated. We, the community, need good news, and this was just wonderful,” Donna Toliver Grimes, associate director of African American affairs in the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church, told Catholic News Service, the official news service of the U.S. bishops’ conference, on Wednesday.
Grimes told CNS that Harris “wasn’t my top candidate in the primaries, and she wasn’t my top pick for vice president,” adding “she’s really deserving and brings a lot to the table.”
Mentioning her belief that Biden and Harris will offer “policy that is favorable to people on the margins,” Grimes said she expects Biden “would put good people in his Cabinet, who would not damage the agencies, or ignore the mission.”
Grimes, who was identified in the report by her USCCB position, also mentioned to CNS her hope that, if elected, Biden would address health care reform and voting-rights issues.
A spokesperson for the U.S. bishops’ conference told CNA Aug. 13 that “The Conference is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization that does not endorse or oppose specific candidates for office. Comments by individual Conference employees are not necessarily a reflection of the Conference’s official position.”
Grimes did not mention the issues on which Biden and Harris have clashed with U.S. bishops, among them conscience protections in healthcare policy, same-sex marriage, and, most frequently, abortion. Biden and Harris have pledged to restore currently restricted federal funding for abortion. Harris has previously pledged to use federal law to restrict state laws regulating or limiting abortion.
Pope Francis has called abortion “inhuman eugenics,” urged its eradication, and said that the unborn are among those marginalized on the “existential peripheries,” for whom the Church must have special care.
Nor did Grimes mention Harris’ 2018 questioning of a judicial nominee over his membership of the Knights of Columbus. In questions about the impartiality of nominee Brian Buescher, Harris asked if Buescher was aware that the Knights of Columbus “opposed a woman’s right to choose” and were against “marriage equality” when he joined.
The senator’s remarks were subsequently criticized as anti-Catholic and one U.S. bishop, Archbishop Charles Chaput, characterized them as “bigoted.”
Both Biden and President Donald Trump have been criticized by the U.S. bishops’ conference, with Trump frequently facing criticism for his immigration policies, use of the federal death penalty, and cuts to social safety nets.
Last year, USCCB spokeswoman Judy Keane left the bishops’ conference after media reports said that she had tweeted in support of President Trump or in opposition to Democrats.
Among Keane’s tweets was one that criticized Harris. Responding to a news story saying that Harris, then running for president, promised to raise teacher salaries, Keane wrote “She’ll be promising all kinds of things to get elected. Then she’ll raise taxes so hard-working Americans have to pay for it all. No thanks.”
After Keane’s tweets first emerged into the spotlight, the spokeswoman was placed on leave, and shortly thereafter left the bishops’ conference. The conference has not said whether she was fired or left voluntarily.
USCCB communications director James Rogers told the Washington Post at the time that “The bishops, not staff, set the conference’s federal policy positions.”
“We should be mindful not to create confusion as to where the bishops might be on any particular federal policy issue. The conference is nonpartisan and does not endorse political candidates. We take this very seriously.”
CNA asked the conference to provide its employee guidelines on political speech, but the conference has not yet done so.
Among Keane’s tweets was one that criticized Harris. Responding to a news story saying that Harris, then running for president, promised to raise teacher salaries, Keane wrote “She’ll be promising all kinds of things to get elected. Then she’ll raise taxes so hard-working Americans have to pay for it all. No thanks.”
After Keane’s tweets first emerged into the spotlight, the spokeswoman was placed on leave, and shortly thereafter left the bishops’ conference. The conference has not said whether she was fired or left voluntarily.
Will the francisbishops place Grimes on leave as they did the Trump-supporter, Judy Keane?
Ping
Is Biden permitted to receive communion yet?? How about Harris??
Is Biden permitted to receive communion yet?? How about Harris??
Man, we are doomed!
Eh? I thought most Hos preferred to do their heels up on a bed. Never done it on a table, but I can't imagine it would be very comfortable.
Yes, he seems to have permisson everywhere except for a lone parish in South Carolina and maybe a few others.
Do I detect a mephitic odor coming from the general direction of the USCCB?
Learned a new word: “mephitic.”
Thanks
No, the Church is doomed - and they know it. My diocese in NJ just closed 17 schools this year; they’re in liquidation mode.
Kamala Harris failed to prosecute priest sex abuses despite victims pleas
May she rest forever in Hell of her choice.
I believe it is time to dismantle the USCCB.
“African American affairs in the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church”
I don’t remember the apostle Paul writing about this.
Why does USCCB need a Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church? Ridiculous, isn’t it?
Harris is a many times proven Anti-Catholic bigot of the FIRST ORDER. She is an Indian American Klanswoman— afa Catholics are concerned. She is one piece of shite lying conniving crazy hate filled gutter whore.
Administrative Committee
Committee on Budget and Finance
Audit Subcommittee
Committee on Priorities and Plans
Executive Committee
Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance
Committee on Catholic Education
Subcommittee on Certification for Ecclesial Ministry and Service
Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations
Committee on Communications
Subcommittee on the Catholic Communication Campaign
Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church
Subcommittee on African American Affairs
Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs
Subcommittee on Hispanic Affairs
Subcommittee on Native American Affairs
Subcommittee on Pastoral Care of Migrants, Refugees, and Travelers
Committee on Divine Worship
Subcommittee on Divine Worship in Spanish
Committee on Doctrine
Subcommittee on the Translation of Scripture Text
Subcommittee on Health Care Issues
Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs
Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis
Subcommittee on the Catechism
Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development
Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development
Committee on International Justice and Peace
Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth
Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage
Committee on Migration
Committee on National Collections
Subcommittee on the Church in Central and Eastern Europe
Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America
Subcommittee on Catholic Home Missions
Subcommittee on the Church in Africa
Committee on Pro-Life Activities
Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People
Committee for Religious Liberty
Task Force on the Spanish Language Bible
Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism
God so loved the world he didn’t send a committee.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.