CNA Staff, Aug 12, 2020 / 03:30 pm (CNA).- Catholics and pro-life organizations offered a range of reactions to the selection of Sen. Kamala Harris as former vice president Joe Biden’s running mate for the 2020 election.
Biden announced his selection on Aug. 11, triggering a wave of reactions among political and Catholic commentators
Fordham University professor Charles Camosy, who left the Democratic Party earlier this year over the party’s stance on abortion, called Harris a “deeply flawed” choice for VP.
“It is very good that a Black woman has been nominated for VP. And I can understand a desire to choose the lesser of two evils,” said Camosy on Twitter Wednesday.
“But for Catholics in favor of prenatal justice, and of government defending these children from terrible violence, we must say that Harris is a deeply flawed candidate. Unreserved praise of her VP candidacy is, in effect, yet another example of erasure of the prenatal child,” Camosy said.
Democrats for Life of America also criticized Harris’s selection, saying in a statement that she “does not provide pro-life Democrats with any assurances and will, in fact, further alienate 21 million Democratic voters who have been left out of the party for quite some time.”
Harris’ position on abortion, said Democrats for Life of America, is “far out of line with the majority of Democrats and Americans on this sensitive issue,” and encouraged Biden and Harris to reach out to pro-life Democrats and adjust the party’s platform stances on abortion.
Michael Sean Winters, a writer for the National Catholic Reporter and the author of “Left At the Altar: How Democrats Lost The Catholics And How Catholics Can Save The Democrats,” also expressed his reservations about Harris.
“[Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth] Warren was the person I wanted Biden to choose,” said Winters on Wednesday.
“After the racial tensions the nation experienced this summer, putting a Black woman on the ticket is to be commended,” Winters said, but called the selection of Harris a “setback for progressives.”
Winters was also critical of Harris’ 2018 questioning of a judicial nominee over his membership of the Knights of Columbus, calling her treatment of Brian C. Buescher “embarrassing in both its ignorance and its bigotry.”
At the time CNA broke the story, America Magazine published and editorial saying Harris’s questions to the prospective judge had shown “a surprising ignorance of the Knights’ many religious, charitable and civic activities beyond their direct political advocacy, not to mention a complete disregard for their history in opposing virulent anti-Catholicism in the nation’s past.”
“Whatever difficulties I have with the leadership at the K of C, they do not excuse her dismissiveness towards a religion held by millions of fellow citizens, including her new running mate,” said Winters Wednesday, following the announcement of Harris joining the ticket.
National Review writer Alexandra DeSanctis made a similar observation, saying Harris’s time on the Senate judiciary committee had shown “reprehensible anti-Catholic bigotry, and there’s no reason to believe her views have changed.”
Several commentators from across the political divide also noted Harris’s noted support for unlimited access to abortion.
Brian Burch, the president of CatholicVote, described Harris as “staunchly pro-abortion and anti-religious liberty,” and said that she “favors radical abortion policies including late-term abortion paid for by taxpayers, as well as forcing Catholic religious orders like the Little Sisters of the Poor to provide abortion drugs in their healthcare plans.”
On Twitter, CatholicVote called Harris a “devout anti-Catholic.”
Bishop Thomas Tobin of the Diocese of Providence said on Twitter that, in effect, Biden’s selection of Harris pointed to an absence of Catholic values by the Democratic candidate.
“Biden-Harris. First time in awhile [sic] that the Democratic ticket hasn’t had a Catholic on it. Sad.” tweeted Tobin on Tuesday. Biden, a Catholic who was on the Democratic ticket in 2008 and 2012, has come under sustained criticism from many Catholic leaders for his increasing support for abortion and for his having officiated at a same-sex wedding.
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CNA Staff, May 9, 2025 / 17:58 pm (CNA).
Before he was pope, he was a math major at a Catholic liberal arts university in Pennsylvania.Pope Leo XIV is the 267th head of the Catholic Church. He’s … […]
Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota. / Credit: “EWTN News Nightly”/Screenshot
Washington D.C., Jun 17, 2025 / 17:56 pm (CNA).
During the first hearing of President Donald Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission, Bishop Robert Barro… […]
The exterior of the new St. Isidore’s Catholic Student Center at Kansas State University. / Credit: Jacob Bentzinger
CNA Staff, Oct 2, 2023 / 17:15 pm (CNA).
There’s a quote from Jerome Tang, head coach of the Kansas State University (KSU) basketball team, that Father Gale Hammerschmidt likes.
“I didn’t come to rebuild. I came to elevate,” Tang said after taking the team’s helm last year. (His team bowed out of the NCAA Tournament last spring after making it to the Elite Eight.)
Hammerschmidt, chaplain at St. Isidore’s Catholic Student Center at Kansas State, said he thinks “elevation” is an appropriate word for what the Catholic community he leads is doing right now. On Jan. 28, the local bishop dedicated the Catholic center’s brand-new, $20 million church — a project more than two decades in the making.
But now that the new church is open, the real work of bringing the Catholic faith to students on campus can continue. The grand new church presents an opportunity to “elevate everything we do here at St. Isidore’s,” Hammerschmidt told CNA.
“We know that the work is just now beginning. And if we’re going to create a beautiful space, we want to be able to do beautiful things in the space. And nothing is more beautiful than a soul encountering the living God,” the priest told CNA.
Hammerschmidt, a Kansas native and 1995 Kansas State alum, was ordained to the priesthood in 2012 and was assigned to St. Isidore’s in 2017. The Catholic center sits just across the street from the Kansas State campus, which is itself the lifeblood of the small city of Manhattan. There had been discussions about the need for a new church building for several years before he arrived.
“I already knew that there was a need to build a new church. This is something that had been talked about for probably 20 years, honestly, even since right around the time that I was graduating from college,” Hammerschmidt told CNA.
Father Gale Hammerschmidt. Credit: Jacob Bentzinger
Part of the reason was that the population served by St. Isidore’s had outgrown the old space, which sat about 400 and was regularly filled to bursting on Sundays with overflow seating in the student center library.
Grace Gorges, a K-State student studying graphic design, got involved with the Catholic community at the college as soon as she arrived at KSU. From the get-go, “the Masses were always crowded, always overflowing,” she said, adding that the fallout from COVID made things even worse when parts of the sanctuary had to be roped off for distancing purposes.
The campaign to raise money for a new church was dubbed “Home Away from Home.” About $5 million had already been raised before Hammerschmidt’s arrival, and the campaign ultimately raised nearly $20 million for the project, he said. Some 1,500 individual donors contributed to the campaign.
Nebraska-based lead architect Kevin Clark came to Manhattan in 2017 and began asking the community what they wanted their new church to look like. Countless students requested a beautiful interior, “traditional-looking in nature,” the priest said.
“We want this to look like a church that has been standing forever and will stand forever,” he recalled students telling him.
“We wanted to make sure that it was an epic-looking building” with an interior that would raise hearts and minds “to the beauties of heaven,” he said.
The congregation kneels during the dedication Mass for the new St. Isidore’s Catholic Student Center at Kansas State University. Credit: Jacob Bentzinger
Given her involvement in the community and her interest in beauty and design, Hammerschmidt asked Gorges to serve on the building committee, which meant she would have a say in the church’s aesthetic. Gorges said she was invited to help design the church’s tile flooring. She researched churches online for inspiration and also drew from her personal experience of visiting numerous beautiful sacred spaces on a trip to Italy.
Ridge Pinkston, a fifth-year senior when CNA spoke with him, studying medieval history, was also chosen to be on the building committee. He told CNA that the committee — which included Hammerschmidt, diocesan board member Doug Hinkin, and others — was given almost complete control over the look of the new church.
He said the committee had numerous meetings with the architect to figure out the look of everything in the new church — they spent an entire two-hour meeting designing the look of the altar, for example. He said the building committee “represented the body of owners” to the architect and designers, similar to how when a family builds a house, the architects and contractors consult them on how they want it to look. He said it was a “huge privilege” and a great learning process to be a part of the committee as a student.
Despite his interest in medieval architecture, the churches that Pinkston primarily drew inspiration from were mainly stateside; most are located in the Archdiocese of Denver. They included the medieval revival-style chapel at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary and the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and Holy Ghost Catholic Church, both in downtown Denver.
Ultimately, the architects and designers of St. Isidore’s produced a neo-Gothic interior with pointed arches that dropped many a jaw when it was unveiled. The interior also features numerous instances of vine imagery — an image of Jesus himself, but also a subtle nod to the college’s agricultural heritage. Evergreene Architectural Arts, a renowned design studio in New York, provided the decoration, Hammerschmidt said.
Not everything in the interior is entirely new, however. Hammerschmidt said at the request of students, stained-glass windows depicting the seven patron saints of the seven original colleges at Kansas State (the university was originally Methodist-founded) were saved and incorporated into the new church. Among those saints are the church’s namesake, St. Isidore — an 11th-century Spaniard and patron saint of agricultural workers — as well as the namesake of the student center, St. Robert Bellarmine. A much-loved crucifix that hung over the tabernacle in the old church was also used again in the new church.
The crucifix in the new St. Isidore’s Catholic Student Center. Credit: Jacob Bentzinger
Gorges said she loves the triumphal arch over the altar in the finished church, which draws one’s eyes toward the focal point of the crucifix, and onward to heaven. A beautiful church, she said, is “not the end-all-be-all by any means. But if it’s at all possible, beauty matters. And we should be trying to live that in our daily lives.”
Pinkston said his favorite design element in the new church, apart from the ceiling of the apse, is the new altar itself, which he said really strikes him as being designed in a way that calls to mind a place where sacrifices are made.
“Rightfully, that should be one of the most beautiful features,” he said of the altar.
The designers also took care to design the exterior of the church to match the native limestone buildings of Kansas State, in an effort to make the church an integral part of the campus it serves.
Bishop Gerald Vincke of Salina, Kansas, dedicated the diocese’s newest church on Jan. 28. The 14,000-square-foot structure can accommodate about 700 for Sunday Masses.
Bishop Gerald Vincke of Salina, Kansas, sprinkles holy water during the dedication of the new St. Isidore’s Catholic Student Center on Jan. 28, 2023. Credit: Jacob Bentzinger
Hammerschmidt said daily Masses at St. Isidore’s were already attracting nearly 200 students on a regular basis. A key part of the Catholic center’s success, he said, is the presence of missionaries from the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS). FOCUS maintains a presence on college campuses with the goal of winning people to the Catholic faith through authentic friendships and forming others to go out and do the same through Bible studies, small groups, and retreats.
“We also work closely with the high schools in the state of Kansas, especially the Catholic high schools. And we have many strong Catholic high schools in our area. And so we just have students who, the first day they show up in Manhattan, they already know about us,” Hammerschmidt said.
In addition, he said, the Catholic center is in cooperation with the local Diocese of Salina and the nearby Diocese of Wichita, whereby Wichita — which has been blessed in recent years with large vocation numbers — sends a priest to serve as Hammerschmidt’s associate. Large numbers of students come to KSU from Wichita — Gorges among them — who get involved with the Catholic center thanks to strong word of mouth.
“It’s good for them to have one of their own priests looking after them … I think it’s working phenomenally well.”
Stained-glass windows in the new St. Isidore’s Catholic Student Center. Credit: Jacob Bentzinger
Working at St. Isidore’s, Pinkston said he has gotten to know “the regulars” that came to the church before the rebuild, but now with the new church, he said he sees many more people coming in to pray whom he has never seen before. He also said it was inspirational for him to see a friend — a man who is joining the Catholic Church this Easter — weeping openly when he first saw the new church’s interior.
“That was really the first time I’d ever seen him express emotion … That’s definitely a huge blessing to be able to see that happening,” he said.
Hammerschmidt was almost overwhelmed by the support of the many students, alumni, and others who made the new church possible. Months on from the chapel’s opening, the 9:09 p.m. daily Mass is always well attended, with about 300 students attending regularly. As of September, St. Isidore’s has 40 student-led Bible studies with around 400 Bible study participants.
“The outpouring of joy and gratitude has been incredible. The number of people who we will just see walking through the church from out of town is unbelievable,” Hammerschmidt said.
“And then beyond that, we had so many more hundreds of people praying for the project, and we just have been supported unbelievably well.”
Hammerschmidt said he wants the students and community of Kansas State to take ownership of the magnificent new church and to use it for their spiritual benefit.
“We want to let everybody in Manhattan and on K-State’s campus know that we built this church for them,” he said.
“If they just need a place of encounter with God to just come in to be seated, to be immersed in the beauty and the silence and to just let God speak. That’s our hope. For the Catholics, for the non-Catholics, for the students, for nonstudents, just for anyone who needs a place to encounter the living God, this would be the place for them.”
Light from the stained glass in the new St. Isidore’s Catholic Student Center. Jacob Bentzinger
Setting aside her extreme pro-abortion views, it can be easily argued that the primary reason for the choice of Sen. Harris as Biden’s running mate is that she is (although she certainly doesn’t look like it) African-American.
Isn’t that a bit racist?
And long ago Biden made it clear that his V.P. running mate would be a woman, so it can be equally easily argued that the primary reason for choosing her is her gender.
“Deeply flawed” (but still deserving of your vote) may be a reasonable description of Donald Trump. What the Democrats have to offer is simply beyond the pale. They combine the politics of Stalin with unprecedented moral debauchery and perversity. No Catholic or sane person has any excuse for not doing everything legally possible to prevent them from winning elections. That would rule out voting for the “Solidarity Party” candidates who have no chance of and do not merit victory. Why does Dr. Camosy think that nominating a Black woman as opposed to a white (do I get points for having my capitalization right?) man necessarily a good thing? He also implies that Biden-Harris is the lesser of two evils. Exactly what is the basis for that statement? Of course, it is the usual Seamless Garment baloney. There is nothing quite like the responsible and respectable Catholic commentators with their measured and nuanced remarks. These fools should not be looked to for any guidance.
Since his views were thought worthy of mention in this article, it should be noted that Michael Sean Winters has expressed publicly his eager anticipation of the day when Catholic conservatives are brought to the guillotine. Not to worry, MSW, Kamala will do as much Lizzy would to hasten the moment if she is given the opportunity.
Being a belated RINO I must plead innocent to the depth of immorality in the Democrat Party that the many naysayers here have trashed Harris with. What little I know about Biden and Harris may be summed up in a few sentences of contrast…
Harris’ lack of Catholic dogma could be one of two things… If confronted with the fact that she might have aborted one of her two wonderful children for convenience or would she protect them in the womb? After all “black lives matter”. Or, she could be “ignorant” of Roe or the Hyde Amendment. Given her brilliance, I am inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt.
Her amazing family history and her vast experience in the law and national legislation places both she and Biden in a unique position to govern at this dark moment in our nation’s need.
We have been Republicans all our lives. After the magnanimous failures of the Trump tenure in broad daylight, we are at sea in rough waters. Immorality, deception, attacks on individuals and treason are most disturbing. Add to that the mind boggling silence and complicity of the congress is not only ear piercing it is ear shattering. Notice I use the word treason. The definition: “Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years”. Trump since his meeting with Putin in Helsinki where he favored our mortal enemy, and who wages a ciberwar today against us, while trashing the warning of his intelligence experts places Trump a criminal traitor. He continues ’til this day to favor Putin with his adamant obsession that Russia “did not invade out 2016 elections” when the facts are abundantly in broad daylight.
21st-century Progressivism regresses into the 19th-century Know-Nothings.
The bumper sticker for Bidden-Harris: “B[iden-harri]S”.
It seems odd that Kamala Harris is referred to over and over again as a Black woman and not an Asian woman. It’s erasing her mother.
As with Barack Obama. His mother (and her parents who raised him) were pushed aside.
Sleepy Joe and Karen Harris. What a lovely couple.
Setting aside her extreme pro-abortion views, it can be easily argued that the primary reason for the choice of Sen. Harris as Biden’s running mate is that she is (although she certainly doesn’t look like it) African-American.
Isn’t that a bit racist?
And long ago Biden made it clear that his V.P. running mate would be a woman, so it can be equally easily argued that the primary reason for choosing her is her gender.
Isn’t that a bit sexist?
Signed,
Confused
“Deeply flawed” (but still deserving of your vote) may be a reasonable description of Donald Trump. What the Democrats have to offer is simply beyond the pale. They combine the politics of Stalin with unprecedented moral debauchery and perversity. No Catholic or sane person has any excuse for not doing everything legally possible to prevent them from winning elections. That would rule out voting for the “Solidarity Party” candidates who have no chance of and do not merit victory. Why does Dr. Camosy think that nominating a Black woman as opposed to a white (do I get points for having my capitalization right?) man necessarily a good thing? He also implies that Biden-Harris is the lesser of two evils. Exactly what is the basis for that statement? Of course, it is the usual Seamless Garment baloney. There is nothing quite like the responsible and respectable Catholic commentators with their measured and nuanced remarks. These fools should not be looked to for any guidance.
Since his views were thought worthy of mention in this article, it should be noted that Michael Sean Winters has expressed publicly his eager anticipation of the day when Catholic conservatives are brought to the guillotine. Not to worry, MSW, Kamala will do as much Lizzy would to hasten the moment if she is given the opportunity.
Being a belated RINO I must plead innocent to the depth of immorality in the Democrat Party that the many naysayers here have trashed Harris with. What little I know about Biden and Harris may be summed up in a few sentences of contrast…
Harris’ lack of Catholic dogma could be one of two things… If confronted with the fact that she might have aborted one of her two wonderful children for convenience or would she protect them in the womb? After all “black lives matter”. Or, she could be “ignorant” of Roe or the Hyde Amendment. Given her brilliance, I am inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt.
Her amazing family history and her vast experience in the law and national legislation places both she and Biden in a unique position to govern at this dark moment in our nation’s need.
We have been Republicans all our lives. After the magnanimous failures of the Trump tenure in broad daylight, we are at sea in rough waters. Immorality, deception, attacks on individuals and treason are most disturbing. Add to that the mind boggling silence and complicity of the congress is not only ear piercing it is ear shattering. Notice I use the word treason. The definition: “Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years”. Trump since his meeting with Putin in Helsinki where he favored our mortal enemy, and who wages a ciberwar today against us, while trashing the warning of his intelligence experts places Trump a criminal traitor. He continues ’til this day to favor Putin with his adamant obsession that Russia “did not invade out 2016 elections” when the facts are abundantly in broad daylight.
God save the union
Or, she could be “ignorant” of Roe or the Hyde Amendment. Given her brilliance, I am inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt.
She’s a 55-year-old woman who has been working the public realm since 1990 or so. She has a 100% NARAL rating. She has a plan to protect “Roe v. Wade” from “anti-choice lawmakers”. I say we just take her at her record and word.