Catholic anti-abortion leaders scrutinize priest's decision to lead prayer at DNC

close

Video

Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum anchor special coverage of the Democrat National Convention

As America's future hangs in the balance, the Democrat Party nominates their pick for president. Fox News has expert analysis and insight.

A host of Catholic anti-abortion leaders are expressing concern about Fr. James Martin's decision to speak at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), because they argue the party has embraced political positions that are antithetical to Church teaching.

"The only reason for a Catholic priest to attend and speak at the DNC is to admonish them," said Abby Johnson, the former Planned Parenthood director who now leads a group supporting ex-abortion clinic workers.

"This is the political party who has removed God from their platform, celebrates homosexuality and promiscuity, and claps and cheers for abortion. The DNC and all they stand for is something that any Catholic should flee from, not speak in favor of. Unfortunately, for James Martin, celebrating values antithetical to Catholic belief is par for the course. His behavior is one of scandal, possibly leading Catholics away from the core teachings of the Church, those that value and love every human life."

CONSERVATIVE CATHOLICS CALL ON BIDEN TO BREAK 'DEAFENING SILENCE' ON ANTI-CATHOLIC VANDALISM, ARSON

Fr. Martin has come under fire in the Catholic community for the way he portrays Church teaching on homosexuality, and has made several statements that chided conservative Catholics. However, he's framed his approach as "building a bridge" through which "the Catholic Church and the LGBT community can enter into a relationship of respect, compassion, and sensitivity."

On Monday, Fr. Martin told Fox News his appearance at the DNC was an invitation for others to "pray for a nation where the sanctity of all human life is respected and where all people--no matter what race, color, creed or orientation--are welcomed." He said he didn't think his brief prayer, which will mention the unborn, would change anybody's mind but he would be glad if God used the event to "open a door for someone."

Neither party reflected Catholic teaching in several areas, Fr. Martin added. Besides Fr. Martin, Sr. Simone Campbell, who rallied nuns behind the Affordable Care Act, will also speak at this year's DNC. Campbell has pushed back on government policy outlawing abortion, reportedly telling Democracy Now that activists “focus on economic development for women and economic opportunity."

On Monday, she suggested that conservative Catholics were "reducing Catholic identity to a single issue."

As Fr. Martin noted, Cardinal Timothy Dolan similarly prayed at the Democratic National Convention in 2012. When asked whether he was concerned about creating scandal, or engaging in behavior that leads another to evil, Fr. Martin said: "Not really."

ANTI-ABORTION DEMS REQUEST PLATFORM CHANGE, PLAN PROTESTS AHEAD OF CONVENTION

"I would pray the same prayer at the Republican Convention if asked, and neither do they reflect Catholic teaching in several areas," he added, noting that his Jesuit superiors approved of his decision. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.

"I hope that Fr. Martin’s appearance reminds those watching that the vast majority of this nation do not support abortion through all [nine] months, for any reason at all and sometime with taxpayer funding," Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins told Fox News on Monday. Live Action President Lila Rose similarly said: "I hope he uses the opportunity to condemn the evil of killing of children in the womb, which the party supports totally."

The Democratic Party's platform contains the following statement: "We will support sexual and reproductive health and rights around the globe. In addition to expanding the availability of affordable family planning information and contraceptive supplies, we believe that safe abortion must be part of comprehensive maternal and women’s health care and included as part of America’s global health programming."

And while it's unlikely he'd receive an invitation, Fr. Frank Pavone told Fox News he wouldn't speak at the convention given potentially unintended impressions that voters might get about the church and abortion.

"I don't think that it's business as usual right now," Pavone said, noting that he didn't generally think clergy's services should be exclusive to either party. "I don't think that the non-partisan argument -- as valid as it is ... I don't think it works anymore, because now we have a party, in the Democrats, and a system, and a set of policies, and a worldview that are so aligned with things the church has always taught are evil, and [is] so harmful both to the church and to the nation that I don't think neutrality is justified anymore," he added.

Set for Thursday, Fr. Martin's prayer will come at a time when conservative Catholics have highlighted what they see as growing extremism in Democrats' positions on abortion and religious liberty. Specifically, several states have seen pushes to codify the landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade while leading politicians have demurred when confronted with the question of whether to provde lifesaving care for infants who survive abortions.

DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION SPEAKER SCHEDULE REVEALED: WHAT TO KNOW

The issue is especially pertinent given the presumptive Democratic nominee's Catholic faith and the controversy that has surrounded that in recent months. While former Vice President Joe Biden would be the second Catholic president in the United States, he would also be the first elected with an apparent mandate to undo the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding for most abortions. Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton also supported Hyde's repeal but lost in 2016.

Last year, Biden reversed his decades-long position on the historically bipartisan measure amid pressure from a slew of other Democratic presidential candidates. Under his leadership with former President Obama, the government forced a group of nuns to effectively provide contraception -- the use of which the Catholic Catechism claims is a grave sin.

Those issues appeared to prompt President Trump to claim Biden "hurt God," among other things. His stance on abortion also prompted a priest in South Carolina to deny him communion, a move that Fr. James Martin called a "bad idea."

Abortion itself -- described as "gravely contrary to moral law" -- is classified under violations of the Fifth Commandment against killing. Catholic clergy have repeatedly condemned both the act itself and abortion-rights political advocacy. Vatican officials have reportedly said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., should be denied the sacrament of Holy Communion and the last pope -- Pope Benedict XVI -- personally reminded her of the Church's stance on the issue during a private meeting.

TRUMP CALLS BIDEN 'TROJAN HORSE FOR SOCIALISM' IN FIERY SPEECH AHEAD OF DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION

Biden further complicated his appeal to Catholics when he teamed up with Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., his running mate whom The Catholic Association senior fellow Maureen Ferguson accused of "anti-Catholic bigotry."

"The Democrats know they have a Catholic-problem because the Biden-Harris ticket has demonstrated complete disregard for the lives of unborn children and an aggressive stance against religious liberty. Kamala Harris' history of anti-Catholic bigotry only adds insult to injury," she told Fox News. Harris and her colleague, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, previously came under fire for the way they questioned a judicial nominee's ties to the Knights of Columbus, which is anti-abortion, and has taken conservative positions on other social issues.

Harris led what some have described as an unlawful prosecution against David Daleiden, whose undercover videos famously prompted federal and state probes into Planned Parenthood.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The Biden campaign did not respond to a request for comment on this issue.

In 2019, Fr. Martin defended the Church's stance on abortion. "I cannot deny that I see the child in the womb, from the moment of his or her conception, as a creation of God, deserving of our respect, protection and love," he said. In that op-ed, he invited readers to view his words "more as a profession of faith than as a political argument."