The Rise of Anti-Catholicism
By Jayme Chandler
This year has been especially challenging for people of faith, as religious Americans have been barred from worshipping in our churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques. As a Catholic, attending Mass and receiving the Eucharist is an integral part of my faith. Unfortunately, shutdowns and closures due to COVID-19 have made this aspect of practicing my faith challenging and sometimes impossible. Despite the CDC stating: “Implementation should be guided by what is feasible, practical, and acceptable, and tailored to the needs and traditions of each community of faith” and noting that “millions of Americans embrace worship as an essential part of life,” restrictive and unconstitutional lockdown measures have seen the unprecedented closure of hundreds of thousands of places of worship.
This summer, watching millions of people gather in the streets to protest was a slap in the face to Christians and religious people alike, who were prohibited from safely and peacefully worshiping in church. While liquor stores, marijuana dispensaries, strip clubs, and abortion clinics remained open, Democratic Governors shut down religious services yet encouraged mass protests. While preventing the spread of COVID-19 is essential, the double standard regarding worship and protest left many people of faith with the impression that these closures bore an obvious political charge. However, this was just the beginning of the attacks Catholics have faced recently. While this year has raised obstacles for every person of faith, Catholics have faced distinct hurdles.
Devastatingly, Catholic schools across America have been prohibited from opening due to COVID-19 restrictions. The impact of these shutdowns are catastrophic— parents are burdened with navigating online schooling while over 140 Catholic schools have closed for good. New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, and Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez explained that Catholic schools “are presently facing their greatest financial crisis... because of economic loss and uncertainty, many families are confronting the wrenching decision to pull their children out of Catholic schools.” These closures are damaging to any family who wants an affordable, faith-based education for their children. Moreover, they are particularly harmful to lower-income families who send their children to Catholic schools to escape their low-performing public school district. The closure of Catholic schools significantly affects minority communities, as the Bishop Michael Barber of Oakland, California stated: “A Black or Latino child is 42% more likely to graduate from high school, and two-and-a-half times more likely to graduate from college if he or she attends a Catholic school.” Aside from the unconstitutional shutdowns of our schools and religious services, Catholics have been subjected to the firing squad of the far-Left.
Across the West, with secularization at an all-time high, there is increasing ostracization of religious people. Over the last few years, religious bigotry has escalated in Europe with the burning of Catholic churches and the terrifying return of rampant anti-Semitism. While America remains a deeply religious nation and continues to preserve its foundational principle of religious freedom, religious communities are not shielded from hate. As protests swept across the nation this summer, Catholic churches became targets of vandalism. From the burning of churches and historic missions, to smashing stained glass windows, to burning Bibles in the streets, to ripping down statues of saints, this summer saw a clear pattern of targeted attacks on Catholic iconography and places of worship. Following the vandalism of a century-old church in Connecticut, the Archdiocese of Hartford stated: “This follows an apparent trend of desecrating Catholic spaces throughout the nation. The underlying motive of these sacrilegious attacks is clear: to intimidate and instill fear in the hearts of those who worship Christ.” Upsetting as these attempts to silence our religious community might be, we must remember that “our cherished Catholic faith has survived for 2,000 years in the faces of many different oppressors, and it is not about to yield now.”
While many attribute this destruction to rogue anarchists, anti-Catholicism has, unfortunately, emerged as a mainstream view in the Democratic Party. Vice Presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, has a radically anti-Catholic record. Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich summed up her record perfectly: “She is openly anti-Catholic in confirming federal judges, wanting to prosecute the Little Sisters of the Poor, closing Catholic Hospitals that don’t join her union allies, and favoring taxpayer-paid abortions up until birth (in fact, she has twice voted against bills that would ensure that babies who lived through abortion procedures get medical care).” Senator Harris’ record reflects a growing trend of left-wing intolerance towards people of faith. Because Christians overwhelmingly support conservative values, they have become targets of the Leftist hate. Whether it’s Christians’ pro-life stance or the preservation of traditional gender roles, people of faith stand against radical left-wing philosophy. While the Left worships the doctrine of “wokism” and uses the government to legislate their progressive theology, Christians across this nation adhere to the word of God.
The growing trend of anti-Catholic bigotry came to a head last week when Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg passed away. When the President announced that he would fill the seat with another woman, rumors surrounding Amy Coney Barrett as the potential pick began to circulate. Amy Coney Barrett is a devout Catholic and faced targeted scrutiny during her Senate confirmation to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. During her Senate confirmation, she was inappropriately questioned about her Catholic faith, when Senator Feinstein stated: “I think in your case, professor, when you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you. And that’s of concern when you come to big issues that large numbers of people have fought for, for years in this country.” Barrett professionally assured that she would “never impose [her] own personal convictions upon the law.”
This isn’t the first instance that a Catholic has been unfairly questioned on their faith regarding their ability to legislate fairly, and it certainly won’t be the last. From President Kennedy to Justice Scalia, Catholics are continually singled-out and imprudently questioned for holding traditional views. Catholics can, in fact, have personal convictions and still objectively legislate the law— we can separate our faith from our occupation. Conservatives traditionally see the court as an institution for upholding the Constitution’s framework of checks and balances against the legislative and executive branches, not as a tool to enact legislation. Time and time again, from questions on DACA, to Roe v. Wade, to the ACA, we’ve seen Republican-appointed judges vote against the interests of Republican Presidencies on the basis of Constitutionality. Yet, the Left continues to spread anti-Catholic bigotry as a tool of fear-mongering the progressive base.
This bigotry and fear-mongering have unsurprisingly bled into the media, as Newsweek published a now-viral article condemning Amy Coney Barrett’s Catholic faith. In the article, the author proposes that Barrett “is affiliated with a type of Christian religious group that served as inspiration for Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale.” Barrett’s affiliation with the Catholic “People of Praise” organization was shamelessly attacked throughout the piece, spreading misinformation about the organization. Newsweek eventually issued a correction for the piece, stating: “The book’s author, Margaret Atwood, has never specifically mentioned the group as being the inspiration for her work,” but it didn’t stop Reuters and Refinery29 from running articles inspired by this deceptive clickbait. The shameless questioning of Barrett’s faith and the reckless disregard for her clear record of impartially is concerning for Catholics across this nation. Every day, Catholics objectively serve this country while remaining committed to their faith in their personal life.
The blatant bigotry towards Catholics should be a point of contention within the Democratic party. As S.E. Cupp stated: “When the left and members of the media attempt to otherize a conservative Catholic woman this way, it only affirms what Trump has been selling to his supporters for four years: that Democrats are out to get them, that feminism only defends ‘some’ women, that he is the only protector of American Christianity, and that the media is fake news.” The Democratic Party’s threat to stack the court and implement term limits only proves to President Trump’s supporters that he is, in fact, the steadfast bulwark upholding religious liberty and preserving the country’s Judeo-Christian values. Simultaneously, the Democratic Party has been swept away by a radical left-wing ideology that espouses intolerance and bigotry towards Christians. The choice couldn’t be more apparent for people of faith.
Catholics and every person of faith must remain vigilant. The attack of Judeo-Christian and American values is rising, and the popularization of neo-Marxism is concerning. Faith has become a target of the Left because religious Americans stand against the progressive takeover of America. People of faith worship God, not the government, as we don’t find salvation in the textbook of bureaucracy; rather, we find conviction in the Bible. This is a direct contradiction to the modern progressive movement as they cannot reconcile differences in beliefs and must thrust their progressive values on anyone who dares to oppose. As a Catholic, I respect every Americans’ beliefs and feel that it is not the government’s duty to legislate theology. Faith should serve as a moral counterbalance to government, separated, but just as valuable, serving as spiritual and moral guidance to Americans. America is not a religious theocracy, as people are free to worship whichever God or creed they please, so long as they don’t infringe on others’ rights. It is imperative that religious liberty remains a pillar of democracy. In order to assure that this liberty does not cease, we must fight against those who seek to condemn and persecute people on the basis of their faith.
via Pinterest
