Author Topic: Catholics in Trump's administration  (Read 6478 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

RickH

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 249
Catholics in Trump's administration
« on: December 20, 2024, 05:02:39 AM »
Well, looks like we are coming to the 'Image' of the Beast as Trump is filling his administration with not just Catholics, but some much more intense if not fervent Catholics changing the Republican Party.

"The Catholics in Trump's administration could take GOP in whole new direction
The president-elect has nominated at least a dozen Catholics to top positions.

Trump, who was raised as a Presbyterian but now considers himself non-denominational, has nominated at least a dozen Catholics to top positions in his administration, including his own vice president JD Vance, a Catholic convert, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his pick for Health and Human Services Secretary. Their faith could play a direct role in shaping public policy, from pro-union policies and new tariffs to expanding the child tax credit and more tightly regulating the food and drug industries and also help carve a new path forward for the Republican Party..

In interviews, several conservative practicing Catholic leaders said they see a close alignment between many of Trump's second-term policy priorities and a conservative read of Catholic social teaching, which goes far beyond abortion. It's also focused on promoting marriage and having children, giving parents wide discretion on everything from school content to health care and empowering non-governmental institutions like churches and nonprofit organizations for social support.

"No one's walking into the administration ready to mount a crusade or anything,' said Rachel Bovard, vice president of programs at the Conservative Partnership Institute, a Trump-aligned think tank. But 'there's a very specific sort of Catholic paradigm that you may begin to see.'

It comes after decades of influence of a more individualistic evangelical Protestantism on the Republican Party that, among other things, strongly embraced individual liberty and free market capitalism.

In his nearly decade of political prominence, Trump has already dramatically reshaped the GOP, and it's clear that the Republican Party's future likely wont be found in Ronald Reagan's three-legged stool of conservatism, which was fiscally conservative, socially conservative and hawkish.

Where Republicans have long been skeptical of government intervention, some in the party increasingly see the government as a tool to reshape social policy...." https://www.politico.com/news/2024/12/15/conservative-catholics-second-trump-administration-000917

"President-elect Donald Trump may be known for his close relationship with evangelical Christians, but it's Catholics who figure prominently on the list of picks he's made so far for high-profile positions in his administration.

A review by the Deseret News found that at least nine of the 24 people tapped so far to fill top advisory roles come from a Catholic background, including Vice President-elect JD Vance and Trump's nominee for secretary of state, Marco Rubio.

Catholic voters helped Trump secure a second term in the White House.

Multiple polls have shown that Trump gained Catholic support from 2020 to 2024, including in the swing state of North Carolina.

Exit polls from The Washington Post showed that Trump's share of the Catholic vote jumped nine percentage points from 2020 to 2024, from 47% to 56%, as the Deseret News previously reported.

Using its VoteCast survey, The Associated Press identified a smaller but still significant jump in support for Trump among Catholics and reported that Catholics were one of few religious voting blocs to make a notable shift toward either party in 2024...." https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...lates-to-the-2024-faith-vote/ar-AA1uggzV

RickH

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 249
Re: Catholics in Trump's administration
« Reply #1 on: December 20, 2024, 05:19:00 AM »
Here is more insight into Trump's Vice Presidential pick, JD Vance...

"Since his nomination as the Republican candidate for vice president, focus has intensified on J.D. Vance's religious beliefs and how they connect to his politics.

Vance is a convert to Catholicism and seems to have the same policy positions that many American Catholic conservatives hold: opposition to abortion, support for the traditional family, skepticism regarding liberal immigration policies and efforts to combat climate change, and advocacy of economic tariffs.

Some news reports have also referenced Vance?s apparent association with Catholic Integralism, although Vance himself has not addressed the issue publicly.

So, now might be a good time to ask: What is Catholic Integralism?

What is Catholic Integralism?
The basic position of Catholic Integralism is that there are two areas of human life: the spiritual and the temporal, or worldly. Catholic Integralists argue that the spiritual and temporal should be integrated ? with the spiritual being the dominant partner. This means that religious values, specifically Christian ones, should guide government policies.

Catholic Integralists disagree about how to achieve this integration between the spiritual and temporal. Some argue that Christians, particularly Catholics, should have advisory roles in government and lead by example. Other Catholic Integralists want a more comprehensive approach to organizing society along Christian principles.

Catholic Integralists share an opposition to liberalism. Generally, liberalism is understood as a political philosophy that supports limits on the government's authority and constitutional protections for the rights of individuals and minorities. But Catholic Integralists argue that liberalism is incapable of establishing deep forms of human community because it values individualism and liberty above all things.

The irony, from the Catholic Integralist perspective, is that liberalism is not really that liberal. Instead, liberalism demands and enforces adherence to a certain set of values, like tolerance and pluralism, that prevents creating a social order in which human beings can realize a larger, God-given meaning for their lives.

Catholic critiques
There are strong criticisms of Catholic Integralism coming from both within the Catholic church and beyond.

The Vatican II document, 'Dignitatis Humanae,' affirms that the state should protect religious liberty for all, not only Catholics. This is a position that some Catholic Integralists would find problematic.

Other critics have argued that Catholic Integralism is 'unreasonable' and unworkable because society needs to rely on the cooperation of individuals who inevitably have different ideas and values."... https://theconversation.com/what-is-catholic-integralism-234894


"Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance is one of the most overtly religious major politicians in America.

Vance has written extensively about his life in faith, both in a mega-selling memoir and in a long essay that describes how a drug-using teenager with anger problems, family problems, school problems, and doubts about God became an accomplished, successful family man excited about being a Catholic.

But nowadays, he?s also the most questioned of religious politicians, as pro-lifers ask if he?s still one of them.

Where did he come from in faith? And how did he get where he is now?

Vance, who comes from a long line of culturally Protestant Scots-Irish Americans from Appalachia, was baptized Catholic in August 2019.

Below are 13 items about his meandering journey to Rome and the aftermath, drawn largely from his 3-million-copy-selling 2016 memoir 'Hillbilly Elegy' and a 6,777-word essay he wrote about his conversion for the Easter 2020 issue of The Lamp, a Catholic magazine. .." https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/258347/13-things-to-know-about-jd-vance-s-catholic-journey

rahab

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 1936
Re: Catholics in Trump's administration
« Reply #2 on: December 20, 2024, 10:36:14 AM »
Vance is  second in line….if something happens  to the president, vance steps in and will take over

Right now however it seems like musk is more a vp than vance  :-\ :-[ ::) ??? :o

Richard Myers

  • Servant
  • Posts: 46310
  • Grace, more than a word, it is transforming power
    • The Remnant Online
Re: Catholics in Trump's administration
« Reply #3 on: February 08, 2025, 10:19:58 PM »
I think Vance is a sincere Christian. I was converted about the same age as he when converted. He did some studying before he chose to be a Catholic. He appreciated that it is an old church, and he liked the writings of some of their ancient authors. You can't blame him for turning away from what we see in the professing Protestant Churches, including ours. Why do we call Babylon Babylon. And what did he see when looking at us? Rebellion at the highest levels, women pastors, and  ADRA providing money to aid in the illegal movement of millions into America. Someone needs to educate him on the Bible and separation between church and state. And, he surely does not like his pope nor most of the wealthy Democrat Catholics in America. It seems that he ought to know about the millions who were tortured and killed by his old church. My guess he does not know much about that part of his church.  And, does he know about Jesuits?

I just copied a talk he gave at the International Religious Freedom Summit where he expressed his desire for religious freedom. I believe him to be sincere.

Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

rahab

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 1936
Re: Catholics in Trump's administration
« Reply #4 on: February 09, 2025, 03:18:27 PM »
Hoping that you are right Richard  :)

RickH

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 249
Re: Catholics in Trump's administration
« Reply #5 on: August 17, 2025, 05:07:42 AM »
Vance is  second in line….if something happens  to the president, vance steps in and will take over

Right now however it seems like musk is more a vp than vance  :-\ :-[ ::) ??? :o
Well, that didnt last long, it is pretty clear that Catholics are dominating this administration and you see the Supreme Court too and rising in the Senate and Congress, we know what comes next.

Richard Myers

  • Servant
  • Posts: 46310
  • Grace, more than a word, it is transforming power
    • The Remnant Online
Re: Catholics in Trump's administration
« Reply #6 on: August 22, 2025, 09:22:30 PM »
Amen, and it is not far away! Come Lord Jesus!!   He's waiting on us.   :(
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.