Given his anti-Catholic record, it was not a surprise that Xavier Becerra’s nomination as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) ran into trouble. Unfortunately, he got help from a nun. Sister Carol Keehan, the former head of the Catholic Health Association of the United States, came to his defense.
NBCNews online picked up an op-ed by Keehan alleging that Becerra is a victim of anti-Catholicism. Though she deplored those who were “attacking his Catholicism,” she failed to offer a scintilla of evidence. The best she could do was to cite a remark by Senator Mitch McConnell last January noting that Becerra’s healthcare experience was limited to suing those “who dare to live out their religious convictions.”
McConnell’s observation was correct. The Senate Minority Leader was referring to Becerra’s role in crafting the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), a central part of which is the HHS mandate forcing the Little Sisters of the Poor to pay for abortion-inducing drugs in their healthcare plan. That is what he was referring to, and there is nothing bigoted about it.
Keehan adores Becerra so much that she says his character “is rooted in his Catholic upbringing and values.” Really?
• When Becerra voted as a congressman against a ban on partial-birth abortions—the child’s skull must first be crushed—was that an example of his “Catholic upbringing and values”?
• When Becerra voted against a ban on transporting minors seeking an abortion to states with relaxed abortion laws—a form of human trafficking—was that an example of his “Catholic upbringing and values”?
• When Becerra voted against a bill that would criminalize the killing of unborn babies during the commission of another crime, was that an example of his “Catholic upbringing and values”?
• When Becerra, acting as California Attorney General, sought to put crisis pregnancy centers out of business, was that an example of his “Catholic upbringing and values”?
• When Becerra brought felony charges against those who filmed Planned Parenthood officials trafficking in aborted baby parts, was that an example of his “Catholic upbringing and values”?
• When Becerra said that the conscience rights of Christian business owners who objected to paying for birth control in their healthcare plans need not be respected, was that an example of his “Catholic upbringing and values”?
• When Becerra relentlessly pursued the Little Sisters of the Poor, trying to force them to violate Catholic teachings, was that an example of his “Catholic upbringing and values”?
•When Becerra co-sponsored the Equality Act—the most radical assault on Christianity ever broached in the Congress—was that an example of his “Catholic upbringing and values”?
Becerra is no victim of anti-Catholicism. In fact, he is a master sponsor of it.
