A Catholic priest in the Virgin Islands reportedly encouraged parishioners last weekend to support President Donald Trump because he is pro-life.
The Virgin Island Consortium reports parishioners said the Rev. Eduardo Ortiz Santiago of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Mafolie handed out a letter highlighting Trump’s accomplishments during Saturday and Sunday services.
The letter, “Catholic Voters Have Many Reasons to Support President Trump,” displayed a Sept. 23 article by Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, according to the report.
“As we enter the last 50 days before Election Day, we are seeing more and more awareness and enthusiasm for the long and record-breaking list of accomplishments of the Trump Administration, and how those accomplishments deserve the gratitude of all Catholics,” Pavone wrote.
He praised Trump for making protections for unborn babies a priority during his first four years in office.
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“Catholics, because we speak for the unborn, are grateful for the President’s efforts to protect unborn children, the most defenseless and innocent among us,” Pavone continued.
Here’s more from the report:
[The letter] credits Mr. Trump with advances in affordable health care, prayer in schools, coronavirus response, immigration, energy independence, ending ISIS and continuing anti-terrorism efforts, maintaining law and order, and standing up against socialism. The documentary also condemns mainstream media while praising Fox News Channel and the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN).
The Virgin Islands is a United States territory. Its citizens do not vote in the presidential election. Nonetheless, the report noted that some parishioners were angry about the letter.
Trump has taken numerous actions to protect unborn babies, both on a national and global scale. He defunded Planned Parenthood through his Mexico City and Title X policies and introduced new restrictions to stop taxpayer dollars from funding research using aborted baby body parts. Trump stopped giving American tax dollars to United Nations Population Fund because it pushes abortions on other countries and has worked with China for decades to implement its forced abortion population control policies.
Additionally, the Trump administration has been fighting to protect pro-life medical workers from employment discrimination. Last year, it became involved in a Vermont nurse’s case after she said her employer, the University of Vermont Medical Center, tricked her into participating in an abortion against her will. The Trump administration also created a new rule to better enforce conscience protections and punish medical groups that discriminate against pro-life medical workers.
The Catholic Church does not endorse political candidates, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops tells priests not to publicly endorse or oppose candidates or parties. However, the organization and many of its members are urging voters to research the candidates’ positions and make ending abortion a “preeminent priority” at the voting booth in November.
“The threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority because it directly attacks life itself, because it takes place within the sanctuary of the family, and because of the number of lives destroyed,” the USCCB voter’s guide states.
A growing chorus of Catholic leaders has been urging voters to make the right to life for unborn babies a top priority in the upcoming election. In a similar message this month, Cleveland Catholic Bishop Edward Malesic urged Christians to vote to oppose the “intrinsic evil of abortion” because it destroys the most fundamental of all human rights.
On Oct. 1, Nebraska Bishop Joseph G. Hanefeldt also wrote a strong message urging Christians to “get on our knees and pray for God’s mercy to save our souls, guilty of the tragic disregard for his sovereignty and the sanctity of human life, made in his image and likeness!”
