DNC to include Catholics James Martin, Simone Campbell
After a noticeable absence of Catholic speakers or performers at the Interfaith Welcome Service Aug. 16, many wondered if the Church would be represented at all over the course of the Democratic National Convention (DNC).
Now, with the announcement of two controversial speakers from the Catholic Church on Thursday, the conversation has shifted to whether Catholics should participate if given the opportunity.
The Democratic Interfaith Council said that it organized the event Aug. 16 in order to “celebrate our nation’s collective strength, diversity, and humanity and prepare to unite around Joe Biden’s vision for a kinder and stronger country.” The service featured religious speakers and musical performers and advertised itself as “representing the unique backgrounds and communities that together will help Joe Biden restore the soul of America.”
Read: Kamala Harris leans on faith traditions to reach voters for Democrats
Speakers included: Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, the spiritual leader of a non-denominational LGBTQ synagogue in Manhattan; Rex Lee Jim, former vice president of the Navajo Nation, poet and medicine man; Imam Noman Hussain, a scholar of Islamic Studies; Bishop Samuel Green of the African Methodist Episcopal Church; and even Greg Epstein, a secular humanist chaplain at Harvard.
Epstein is a “humanist rabbi” and atheist. He is the author of the best-selling book, “Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe.”
“Thank you, @TheDemocrats, for including me—and more importantly, for including a humanist voice—in today's @DNC #DemConvention Interfaith Welcome Service,” Epstein tweeted. “An honor to be in dialogue even very briefly with a beautifully diverse group of leaders. Next time let's do this in person.”
Missing from the welcome service was any form of Catholic representation, despite Biden’s Catholic identity. Then two Catholic speakers confirmed they would address the convention on Thursday.
Simone Campbell, a member of the Sisters of Social Service and founder of the Nuns on a Bus social justice movement, confirmed Sunday that she had accepted an invitation to speak at the DNC on Aug. 19.
“I'm honored to have been invited to speak during the #DemConvention this year,” she said in a tweet. “I hope you tune in on Thursday night to watch my heartfelt prayer for our nation at this difficult time.”
Then Fr. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and LGBTQ activist, said he had been invited to the DNC on the same night to lead a prayer for the nation.
“I was honored to accept the invitation to pray at the Democratic convention,” Martin wrote. “I will be praying for a respect for the sanctity of all human life and for a nation in which all are welcome.”
He added, “If the Republicans invite me, I'll pray the same prayer.”
The compatibility of the Democratic Party and Catholic doctrine has been at the center of debate in Church circles since presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden entered the race last year.
Biden, a baptized Catholic, has emphasized his faith throughout his campaign, but faced considerable backlash from clerical and lay commentators for his support of unrestrained access to abortion, same-sex marriage and healthcare policies that would force religious employers to provide birth control.
The duo’s recent acceptance to speak at the DNC and the lack of more mainstream and doctrinally stringent Catholics invited has brought the online uproar to a climax.
James Martin says he will affirm pro-life teaching at DNC
Martin has been a vocal and effective media personality for more than a decade, pushing for broader acceptance in the Catholic Church of non-heterosexual lifestyles, transgenderism and LGBTQ communities.
Martin defended Biden last year when the former vice president was denied communion at a public Mass. Martin made a public statement discouraging the practice.
“Denying Communion to politicians, Democrat or Republican, is a bad idea,” he wrote. “If you deny the sacrament to those who support abortion, then you must also deny it to those who support the death penalty.”
Fr. Frank Pavone, a Catholic priest scrutinized for publicly praying at Trump campaign rallies, said praise for Martin’s attendance at the DNC showed hypocrisy.
“Well, now, look at this, a priest praying at the #DemocratParty convention! And people have a problem with me leading prayers for Catholics for Trump and #Prolife Voices for Trump?!” Pavone wrote. “I will continue to lead prayers for the Trump Campaign. Watch #Democrat hypocrites complain!”
Martin also faced backlash from conservatives of all faiths, who accused the Jesuit of overlooking the Democrats’ policies on abortion, a key tenant of Catholic teaching on human life.
After Martin said he would pray for the sanctity of all human life, conservative commentator Ben Shapiro shot back, “Well, *almost* all human life… The Democratic Party platform literally calls for federal taxpayer funding of abortion.”
Martin responded, affirming that he would, indeed, be leading a prayer for all human life. When pressed by laity if he would mention abortion by name and unborn babies as human beings in need of protection, he said he would.
Simone Campbell defends Kamala Harris against anti-Catholic accusation
Campbell made her name as a traveling advocate of social justice. Foregoing the traditional religious habit, Campbell has toured the country in pantsuits and street clothes advocating for everything from progressive housing policies to criminal justice reform.
Campbell is also known for her reluctance to criminalize abortion, calling it an unwise decision. This stance has made her the target for criticism, due to the Church’s firm stance against any form of abortion.
The religious sister has been a long-time friend of Biden since working with the Obama administration to raise support for the Affordable Care Act. She has repeatedly affirmed the former vice president’s faith and has been vocal in her hope for his election.
This friendship seems to have extended to Biden’s newly-announced running-mate, Kamala Harris, who has for years been the target of skepticism and mistrust from Catholics.
In a column Aug. 17, Campbell dismissed accusations of Harris being “anti-Catholic,” despite Harris’s history of criticizing Catholic doctrine, saying that the former attorney general “would be a great Vice President.”
“This politically motivated ‘anti-Catholic’ attack on Sen. Harris stems from 2018, when she voiced her disagreement with some of the political positions of the Knights of Columbus,” Campbell wrote. “Some doubts expressed about Senator Harris also come from folks I respect, but I think they would have different opinions if they had worked with her as we have.”
In 2018, Harris insinuated that Brian Beusher, nominee for a position as a Nebraska district judge, should be disqualified from consideration due to his Catholic faith. Specifically, she attacked his membership in the Knights of Columbus (KOC), one of the oldest fraternal lay orders in the U.S, writing:
“In 2016, Carl Anderson, leader of the Knights of Columbus, described abortion as ‘a legal regime that has resulted in more than 40 million deaths.’ Mr. Anderson went on to say that ‘abortion is the killing of the innocent on a massive scale.’ Were you aware that the Knights of Columbus opposed a woman’s right to choose when you joined the organization?”
Harris was followed by fellow Democrat Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, who asked if Beusher would “end [his] membership with this organization to avoid any appearance of bias.”
Catholic clergy and laity claimed that the interrogation over his membership in the KOC, a mainstream and wide-spread fraternal order, was a thinly-veiled attack on basic tenants of Catholicism.
“Sen. Kamala Harris is the right person to be Joe Biden's vice presidential nominee because she is ready to govern, and as a progressive woman of color, she meets this moment perfectly,” Campbell said.
Timothy Nerozzi is a reporter and editor from northeastern Pennsylvania. He covers religious issues with a focus on the Catholic Church and Japanese society and culture. He’s also a breaking news editor at The Daily Caller.