Catholics Cannot Vote For Trump

Led by “Nuns On The Bus” Sister Simone Campbell, Catholic Advocacy Group Breaks Silence As A Matter Of Faith

Faith 2020
4 min readAug 10, 2020
Sr. Simone Campbell leads Network Lobby

In another first of its kind faith endorsement, Sister Simone Campbell and Network Lobby breaks silence and endorses Joe Biden for President.

In its almost 50 year history, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice has never advised its members who to vote for or against. We have always encouraged members to get involved in politics, spoken about the issues, compared candidates, and equipped our members with resources to choose elected officials who support the common good. And we will continue to do that, but this year’s election is different. Catholics cannot be true to their faith and vote for Donald Trump in November.

Citing Catholic social teaching and doctrine, and an abiding patriotism rooted in faith, Sr. Simone remarked:

“Catholics cannot be true to their faith and vote for Donald Trump in November. Every day, I see the cracks in our nation’s foundational values growing wider. President Trump is doing everything in his power to divide us, while our economy and health care systems collapse under the weight of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a spiritual crisis, and our faith and patriotism compel us to speak and to act.”

Joe Biden is running to be only the second Catholic elected President of the United States. Biden was denied communion at a South Carolina parish last October and was attacked by President Trump with a disgraceful charge that Biden would “hurt God.” This past weekend, Biden attended church in Rehoboth Beach, DE.

The former Vice President responded to Trump’s attack by saying:

“Like so many people, my faith has been the bedrock foundation of my life: it’s provided me comfort in moments of loss and tragedy, it’s kept me grounded and humbled in times of triumph and joy. And in this moment of darkness for our country — of pain, of division, and of sickness for so many Americans — my faith has been a guiding light for me and a constant reminder of the fundamental dignity and humanity that God has bestowed upon all of us.”

America Magazine reports that Trump’s support amongst white and Latino Catholic voters is in decline. And a recent Eternal World Television and Real Clear Politics poll shows that Catholic voters are siding with Biden. Trump was recently on EWTN to talk about God and faith but veered into strange remarks about gun rights.

In 2016, white Catholic voters overwhelmingly chose Donald Trump over his rival Hillary Clinton. In 2020, it seems that Trump has an increasingly “Catholic” problem when it comes to his re-election efforts.

You can read Network Lobby and Sr. Simone’s full statement here:

Catholic Lobby: Catholics Cannot Vote for Donald Trump
Sr. Simone: “In this time of crisis we are called to speak clearly: Catholics cannot support another presidential term for Donald Trump and be true to their faith.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In its almost 50 year history, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice has never advised its members who to vote for or against. We have always encouraged members to get involved in politics, spoken about the issues, compared candidates, and equipped our members with resources to choose elected officials who support the common good. And we will continue to do that, but this year’s election is different. Catholics cannot be true to their faith and vote for Donald Trump in November.

Pope Francis and Catholic teaching are clear about the sacred issues that voters must bring with them into the voting booth. Catholics are called to defend, promote, and protect the sacredness of human life in every way. To do that, we must support candidates who will protect people in poverty, the elderly, and migrants and reject racism. To be true to this holy call, we cannot be single issue voters. Faithful Catholics are multi-issue voters. Prayerful consideration of the candidates for President makes it clear: Catholics cannot vote for Donald Trump.

NETWORK Lobby has a lot planned for the next 85 days, including bringing people together for the virtual Nuns on the Bus tour, publishing a multi-issue candidate comparison scorecard, and launching a new Pope Francis Voter website. The faithful way forward is to elect new leadership for our nation’s highest office. Catholics must show the country that they do not support this President and his policies of hate and division.

Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice said:

“Catholics cannot be true to their faith and vote for Donald Trump in November. Every day, I see the cracks in our nation’s foundational values growing wider. President Trump is doing everything in his power to divide us, while our economy and health care systems collapse under the weight of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a spiritual crisis, and our faith and patriotism compel us to speak and to act.

“Pope Francis has been clear about the sacred issues that Catholics and all people of good will are called to prioritize. These include protecting people in poverty, the elderly, and migrants and rejecting racism. Donald Trump does not share these values or act on these principles. In a word, President Trump promotes racism. This evil cannot be ignored. Once again I hear Pope Francis’s words: “We cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life.” Dismantling racism in our country must be a foundational part of any pro-life agenda. President Trump’s attitudes and policies are contradictory to this holy effort.

“In this time of crisis we are called to speak clearly: Catholics cannot support another presidential term for Donald Trump and be true to their faith.”

Faith 2020 is a group of friends and neighbors choosing hope over fear this November to defeat Donald Trump. Learn more at faith2020.org

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Faith 2020

We are people of faith choosing hope over fear this November mobilizing to defeat Donald Trump.