‘Catholics for Harris-Walz’ virtual event abruptly canceled

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 15, 2024 / 18:53 pm

A virtual campaign event focused on organizing Catholic support for Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign was canceled at the last minute Thursday but may be rescheduled for a later date.

The event, dubbed “Catholics for Harris-Walz National Organizing Call” was originally scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 15, from 8 to 9 p.m. but was canceled earlier that morning. A website advertising the event called “Catholics4Kamala” also went offline on Thursday. Visitors to the site are met with a message that the website is undergoing maintenance.

John White, who serves on the leadership committee for one of the event organizers — Catholics Vote Common Good — told CNA that he believes the event will be rescheduled for some time after the Democratic National Convention, which takes place from Aug. 19 through Aug. 22.

Catholic comedian Stephen Colbert, the host of “The Late Show” on CBS, was originally listed as one of the speakers for the event. CNA reached out to a media contact for the show but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Organizers cited a scheduling conflict as the reason for not holding the event on Thursday, but did not provide further details on that scheduling conflict. CNA reached out to a person in the Harris campaign who is focused on Catholic outreach but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

The event was organized by a coalition of advocacy groups, including Catholic Democrats and Catholics Vote Common Good. The former is a nonprofit that represents “a Catholic voice within the Democratic Party,” according to its website, and the latter is part of the broader Vote Common Good nonprofit, which encourages various faith groups to support progressive candidates.

Harris has supported positions that are contrary to Catholic teaching, which includes supporting abortion, restricting pro-life pregnancy centers, and supporting elements of gender ideology. As a senator, Harris also scrutinized judicial nominees for being members of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization. 

A similar virtual event called “Christians for Kamala” was held earlier this week.

This article was updated on Aug. 16, 2024.