While serving as a U.S. senator from California, Vice President Kamala Harris repeatedly scrutinized judicial nominees for being members of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization.
Harris, who is competing with former President Donald Trump to succeed President Joe Biden, directly addressed the Knights of Columbus membership of at least three judicial nominees during the 2018 Senate confirmation process.
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The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic fraternal organization, charitable organization and mutual benefit society that has more than 2 million members all over the world.
The judges — Paul Matey, Brian Buescher and Peter Phipps — were all Catholics appointed by President Trump. Despite aggressive questioning, all three were ultimately confirmed by the Senate.
And segment of “EWTN News in Depth” on October 11th analyzed Harris’ history of questioning judicial nominees.
“Did you know that the Knights of Columbus opposed a woman’s right to choose when you joined the organization?” Harris asked Matey.
“Do you believe that a fetus is entitled to any protection under the Constitution of the United States?” he then questioned.
In her questions to Buescher, Harris questioned: “Do you agree with (then-Supreme Knight Carl) Anderson that abortion is ‘the murder of innocents on a large scale’?”, among other questions.
Harris asked Phipps if he would “carry out (the Knights of Columbus) mission,” which includes defending “the right to life of every human being, from the moment of conception to natural death.”
One Republican lawmaker, Sen. Ben Sasse, mocked the line of questioning by asking Phipps during his confirmation hearing if he had “ever been involved in organizing a fish fry,” to which the nominee laughed and responded: “As a consumer, I have.”
Sasse presented a resolution in 2019 which states that disqualifying a candidate for federal office on the basis of their Catholic faith or membership in the Knights of Columbus violates the United States Constitution. The resolution was approved unanimously.
The resolution referred to the constitutional prohibition of imposing a “religious test” as a requirement for public office. in Article VI, Section 3.
“(These are) really inappropriate questions that have nothing to do with a person’s ability and their loyalty to this country and their prior service,” he said. Mary FioRitomiembro del Ethics and Public Policy Center, a “EWTN News In Depth”.
“I would just warn listeners to be very careful if they are told that Kamala Harris wants to be everyone’s president, she wants to be a unifier, because we haven’t seen her lead by example in that sense,” FioRito added.
The Archdiocese of San Francisco, where Harris worked as district attorney, provided “EWTN News In Depth” a statement saying that “no reasonable and informed person would disparage members of one of the world’s largest charities supporting widows, orphans and the less fortunate.”
The Harris campaign did not respond to a request for comment from EWTN News, but Catholics for Harris founder Christopher Hale said he can “confidently say that Vice President Harris deeply respects and admires our Catholic faith.” .
“While neither she nor former President Trump fully embrace all Catholic teaching, she proudly upholds the core components of our faith in her public service,” Hale stated.
Harris has taken a number of positions that deviate from Catholic teaching, including his support for a law to legalize abortion nationwide and repeal pro-life laws at the state level, his refusal to repudiate late-term abortion, and his support for regulating the speech of pro-life pregnancy centers.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.
Tyler Arnold
Tyler Arnold is a reporter for the National Catholic Register. He previously worked at The Center Square and has published in a variety of outlets, including The Associated Press, National Review, The American Conservative, and The Federalist.