{"id":273,"date":"2016-07-20T17:14:08","date_gmt":"2016-07-20T21:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/jacoblupfer\/?p=273"},"modified":"2016-07-20T17:14:08","modified_gmt":"2016-07-20T21:14:08","slug":"are-trump-and-pence-anti-catholic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jacoblupfer\/2016\/07\/are-trump-and-pence-anti-catholic\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Trump and Pence anti-Catholic?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Chris Hale, executive director of Catholic in Alliance for the Common Good has a provocative commentary entitled, \u201cTrump-Pence is the most anti-Catholic ticket in modern history.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear that winning the Catholic vote is a crucial part to becoming President of the United States.<\/p>\n

Donald Trump doesn\u2019t seem to get that.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Hale\u2019s strongest ammo against Donald Trump is the reality TV personality attacking Pope Francis in February for being too compassionate toward migrants.<\/p>\n

Trump needs the Catholic vote, and Hale argues that selecting Indiana Gov. Mike Pence hurts Trump in that regard. I don\u2019t think vice presidential nominees matter at all, but I\u2019ll entertain the popular (though incorrect) notion that they do for a moment. Pence is supposedly anti-Catholic because he caved on a religious freedom law that was important to social conservatives, including Catholic bishops. In addition, Pence opposed local Catholics aiding in refugee resettlement. Indianapolis Archbishop Joseph Tobin responded that helping fearful, desperate people fleeing terrorism and deprivation \u201cis an essential part of our identity as Catholic Christians, and we will continue this life-saving tradition.\u201d Pence evidently disagrees with His Most Reverend Excellency on that point.<\/p>\n

Hale is absolutely correct that Trump and Pence take positions that show considerable contempt for Catholic social teaching. So does Hillary Clinton and whoever she will choose as her running mate. I have argued elsewhere<\/a> that the Catholic Church can teach us a lot about polarized politics. It\u2019s true that both parties depart from Christian teaching<\/a> on certain policy domains.<\/p>\n

\"Image
Image credit: Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But I\u2019m uncomfortable with injecting the \u201canti-Catholic\u201d accusation into the 2016 conversation. I\u2019m willing to be persuaded by evidence, but I don\u2019t think the Republican Party is guilty of anti-Catholic rhetoric and signalling \u2013 certainly nothing on the level of what was said and intended by Republicans decrying \u201crum, Romanism, and rebellion\u201d in 1884.<\/p>\n

Even the 1960 election, which pitted Republican Vice President Richard Nixon against an Irish Catholic senator from Massachusetts, anti-Catholic rhetoric and sentiment were not only palpable, but also socially acceptable.<\/p>\n

Sure, Trump traded barbs with the pope, plenty of Republican politicians and conservative media figures have said intemperate, unkind things about the Holy Father. Trump\u2019s comments were mild compared to what I have read on sites like The Federalist<\/a> and First Things<\/a> and have heard from well-regarded Catholic commentators.<\/p>\n

As for Pence, himself a Catholic (maybe\/kind of\/with caveats), he is certainly out of sync with Catholic social teaching on issues not primarily concerned with human sexuality, but the anti-Catholic label doesn\u2019t make much sense.<\/p>\n

Overall, I give Chris Hale the benefit of the doubt. He seeks to engage and sustain an important conversation about Catholics and the 2016 presidential election in particular, and about their uneasy relationship with the two parties in general.<\/p>\n

For one thing, Hale is trying to emphasize that Trump\/Pence offends Catholic teaching more than other *GOP* tickets. Responses to his piece did not adequately account for his clear understanding that Democratic presidential nominees may not fare much better on this score.<\/p>\n

Hale has written previously about how Trump\u2019s campaign is at odds with Christianity<\/a>, and the present piece ends with an important takeaway:<\/p>\n

Christian power is derived from our ability to communicate and practice God\u2019s saving love in the invisible spheres of society. Saying \u201cMerry Christmas\u201d at the department store might win an empty-shell public-relations battle, but it does nothing to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If Donald Trump and Mike Pence and Hillary Clinton and her running mate want to fight for Christian values, then ensure this is a nation that fights for God\u2019s dreams of a place where the last are first, the poor are blessed, and enemies are loved.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Still, for all the very real problems with squaring the Trump\/Pence ticket with any religion\u2019s teaching, the anti-Catholic critique misses the mark.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m uncomfortable with injecting the “anti-Catholic” accusation into the 2016 conversation. I’m willing to be persuaded by evidence, but I don’t think the Republican Party is guilty of anti-Catholic rhetoric and signalling \u2013 certainly nothing on the level of what was said and intended by Republicans decrying “rum, Romanism, and rebellion” in 1884.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2779,"featured_media":274,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[138,110,139,8,137,140],"class_list":["post-273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faith2016","tag-anti-catholic","tag-catholic-church","tag-christopher-j-hale","tag-donald-trump","tag-mike-pence","tag-time"],"yoast_head":"\nAre Trump and Pence anti-Catholic?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I'm uncomfortable with injecting the "anti-Catholic" accusation into the 2016 conversation. 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