EWTN News examines Kamala Harris’ scrutiny of Knights of Columbus members

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 17, 2024 / 06:00 am

While serving as a United States 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 referenced the Knights of Columbus membership of at least three judicial nominees during the Senate confirmation process in 2018.

The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic fraternal organization, charity, and mutual benefit society that has more than 2 million members worldwide.

The judges — Paul Matey, Brian Buescher, and Peter Phipps — were all Catholics appointed by President Trump. In spite of aggressive questioning, all three were ultimately confirmed by the Senate.

An Oct. 11 “EWTN News in Depth” segment broke down Harris’ history of questioning judicial nominees.

“Were you aware 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 U.S. Constitution?” Harris followed up in another question.

In her questions to Buescher, Harris asked: “Do you agree with [then Supreme Knight Carl] Anderson that abortion is ‘the killing of the innocent on a massive scale?’” among other questions.

Harris pointedly asked Phipps whether 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 whether he has “ever been involved in the organization of a fish fry?” to which the nominee laughed and responded: “As a consumer, I have.”

Sasse introduced a resolution in 2019 that states that disqualifying a nominee for federal office on the basis of his Catholic belief or membership in the Knights of Columbus violates the United States Constitution. The resolution passed by unanimous consent.

The resolution was referencing the constitutional prohibition of imposing a “religious test” as a qualification 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 previous service,” Mary FioRito, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told “EWTN News In Depth.”

“I just would caution listeners to be very careful if you’re told that Kamala Harris wants to be the president for everyone, she wants to be a uniter, because we have not seen her lead by example in that regard,” FioRito added.

The Archdiocese of San Francisco, where Harris worked as a district attorney, provided “EWTN News In Depth” with a statement that said “any reasonable and informed person would not disparage members of one of the world’s largest charitable organizations that supports widows, orphans, and the less fortunate.” 

The Harris campaign did not respond to a request by EWTN News for comment, 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 embraces all of Catholic teaching, she proudly defends core components of our faith in her public service,” Hale stated.

Harris has taken a number of positions that deviate from Catholic teaching, which includes her support for a law to legalize abortion nationwide and overturn state-level pro-life laws, her refusal to disavow late-term abortion, and her support for regulating the speech of pro-life pregnancy centers.