Wikileaks, John Podesta, Hillary Clinton and Pope Paul V by John Snyder
When Blessed Pope Paul VI in 1972 affirmed his sense that “the smoke of Satan has entered the” Catholic Church, he may not have foreseen that alleged Catholic John Podesta, chairman of the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, would work actively to subvert Catholic Church doctrine and moral authority.
Yet, that’s exactly what’s happening. The recently released WikiLeaks email messages make that clear.
This development, when considered along with Clinton’s well known anti-Catholic policy positions, makes it incumbent upon individual Catholic bishops and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to inform Catholic faithful they cannot in good conscience vote for Hillary Clinton for president.
In a recent WikiLeaks drop of hacked emails, Podesta indicated he and his associates created two organizations, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and Catholics United. Their purpose: to plant within the Catholic Church here in the United States the “seeds of revolution.”
The groups lobby Catholics and Church officials to change Catholic Church doctrine on such matters as its opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage. They are funded by multi-billionaire George Soros “for the express purpose of staging a revolt within the Catholic Church,” according to Bill Donahue of the Catholic League.
One of Podesta’s associates, Clinton campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri, like Podesta an alleged Catholic, wrote mockingly of the Catholic faith as “severely backwards.”
This WikiLeaks information comes as no great surprise to observers aware of Hillary Clinton’s promotion of abortion, mandatory taxpayer funding of abortion, euthanasia, and same-sex marriage.
Clinton is on record several times for her support and promotion of abortion. Life News noted recently that as president she would try to “make Christians change their religious views to support abortion.”
On April 23, 2015, Hillary, keynoting the Women in the World Summit, said, “Far too many women are denied access to reproductive health and safe childbirth, and laws don’t count for much, if they’re not enforced. Rights have to exist in practice – not just on paper. Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will. And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed.”
As Donohue commented at the time, “Hillary has a problem with the Catholic Church’s teachings on abortion – they must be changed.”
A President Hillary Clinton would try to force the Catholic Church to accept and endorse morally unacceptable behavior. She would use the power of the presidency to persecute loyal Catholics and the institutional Catholic Church.
Catholics and others voting for Donald Trump could oppose effectively the election of Clinton to the presidency, and the dire consequences to faith, morality and conscience such an election would portend.
American Values Action recently released a video showing Clinton stating, “the unborn person doesn’t have constitutional rights,” and “the only people that I would ever appoint to the Supreme Court are people who believe that Roe v. Wade is settled law.”
Hillary reiterated her adamant support for Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case preventing individual States from prohibiting abortion, at the close of her nationally televised debate with Trump on October 9. At the time, she also affirmed her support for same-sex marriage.
Trump, on the other hand, stated his Supreme Court appointees would be in the mold of the late Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, a traditional Catholic. A right to lifer, Trump adheres to the Republican national platform opposing same-sex marriage.
Trump can thank Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila for affirming recently that “Catholics in good conscience cannot support candidates who will advance abortion.”
Archbishop Aquila stated, “Catholic voters must make themselves aware of where the parties stand on these essential issues. The right to life is the most important and fundamental right, since life is necessary for any of the other rights to matter. There are some issues that can legitimately be debated by Christians, such as which policies are the most effective in caring for the poor, but the direct killing of innocent human life must be opposed at all times by every follower of Jesus Christ. There are no legitimate exceptions to this teaching.”
Catholics appreciate Archbishop Aquila’s elucidation of Catholic teaching on not voting for politicians who support abortion. We regret pusillanimous Catholic prelates drag their feet on this matter. They have a moral obligation to do what the Archbishop has done, to inform Catholic faithful of the truth during this crucial presidential election. It’s time for them individually as well as collectively through USCCB to get cracking.
As spiritual shepherds, bishops and priests have an obligation to protect the faithful from the “smoke of Satan” to which Blessed Pope Paul VI referred.
Holy Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we most humbly pray, and do you, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the Divine Power cast into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
John M. Snyder, called “the dean of Washington gun lobbyists” by the Washington Post and New York Times, for 50 years has defended American gun rights as an NRA editor, director of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and Second Amendment Foundation, and founder/director ofwww.GunRightsPolicies.org. He is founder/manager of Telum Associates, LL.C, founder/chairman of the St. Gabriel Possenti Society, Inc., and serves on the boards of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and the American Federation of Police & Concerned Citizens. Author of the book Gun Saint, he received his AB and MA from Georgetown University. Mr. Snyder is a contributor to SFPPR News & Analysis.