USCCB official 'elated' over Harris, Biden's pro-choice VP pick

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Grimes did not mention the issues on which Biden and Harris have clashed with U.S. bishops, among them conscience protections in healthcare policy, same-sex marriage, and, most frequently, abortion. Biden and Harris have pledged to restore currently restricted federal funding for abortion. Harris has previously pledged to use federal law to restrict state laws regulating or limiting abortion.

Pope Francis has called abortion “inhuman eugenics,” urged its eradication, and said that the unborn are among those marginalized on the “existential peripheries,” for whom the Church must have special care.

Nor did Grimes mention Harris’ 2018 questioning of a judicial nominee over his membership of the Knights of Columbus. In questions about the impartiality of nominee Brian Buescher, Harris asked if Buescher was aware that the Knights of Columbus “opposed a woman’s right to choose” and were against “marriage equality” when he joined.

Last year, USCCB spokeswoman Judy Keane left the bishops’ conference after media reports said that she had tweeted in support of President Trump or in opposition to Democrats.

Among Keane’s tweets was one that criticized Harris. Responding to a news story saying that Harris, then running for president, promised to raise teacher salaries, Keane wrote “She’ll be promising all kinds of things to get elected. Then she’ll raise taxes so hard-working Americans have to pay for it all. No thanks.”

After Keane’s tweets first emerged into the spotlight, the spokeswoman was placed on leave, and shortly thereafter left the bishops’ conference. The conference has not said whether she was fired or left voluntarily.

So they effectively fired their official spokeswoman last year for coming out with support for Trump. How much do you want to bet they don’t touch this lady?
 
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  1. There’s more than a bit of a difference between the “official spokesperson” and the “associate director of African American affairs in the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church”.
  2. The Editor’s Note on the original story reads as follows: “Catholic News Service interviewed Donna Grimes as one of several Black Catholics for her reaction. Grimes was not asked to speak on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, nor did she say she was speaking on behalf of the conference.”
 
Judy Keane, the “official spokesperson”, was also tweeting on her personal account in her personal capacity. She was not tweeting for Trump on behalf of the USCCB or on their official account. So it’s pretty much the same thing as Donna Grimes giving an interview.

It may be possible that the USCCB has a social media or communications policy for its employees, in which case it should be equally enforced on all employees.
It may also be possible that there are specific contract provisions that we’re not privy to in a particular employee’s hiring contract governing their communications behavior.

But on the surface, it looks like Judy and Donna did the exact same thing here, just for different sides, and of course they are also different races.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Judy Keane, the “official spokesperson”, was also tweeting on her personal account in her personal capacity. She was not tweeting for Trump on behalf of the USCCB or on their official account. So it’s pretty much the same thing as Donna Grimes giving an interview.
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The difference is that the “official spokesperson” doesn’t really have a “personal capacity”. Obviously she’s entitled to her views and to think what she wants but when those personal views are expressed in a public forum then she the risk is that the USCCB is characterised by her views especially when the account in question included her job title, even if it did state that opinions were her own. If anything, it’s unprofessional behaviour from a PR professional.
 
InThePew said:
The difference is that the “official spokesperson” doesn’t really have a “personal capacity”. Obviously she’s entitled to her views and to think what she wants but when those personal views are expressed in a public forum then she the risk is that the USCCB is characterised by her views especially when the account in question included her job title, even if it did state that opinions were her own. If anything, it’s unprofessional behaviour from a PR professional.
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Donna Grimes was equally unprofessional, IMHO, and CNA was also unprofessional in publishing her remarks and making USCCB look bad. I think there needs to be a rule that if you’re on staff with USCCB you don’t speak publicly about your politics, and if you do so, you’re fired. Regardless of what race or ethnicity you are or who you support or what your position is with the USCCB organization.

Of course, they’ll let Donna get away with it and say, “Oh she was just speaking in her personal capacity.”


It’s a blatant double standard, but it’s also about what I’d expect. There are many companies and organizations that would act the exact same way.

Fortunately, the political leanings and bias of the USCCB do not influence my decision to stay in the Church or not, but stuff like this is irksome and I can see how it would irk others as well.
StudentMI said:
Clear case of a double standard.
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Yep.
 
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😳 🥺 😱

:baby:t4: < new LIFE ! -a better choice for a “USCCB official” to be “elated” about.
 
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