Gay rights activist Father James Martin has renewed his attacks on Catholic Vice President JD Vance, insisting Vance does not understand the purpose of religious freedom.
Father Martin takes issue with Vance’s complaint the United States is “sending taxpayer dollars all over the world to NGOs that undermine religious freedom,” in reference to extensive funding by the Biden State Department to NGOs that promote atheism abroad.
“How did we get to the point where America is sending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars all over the world to NGOs that are dedicated to spreading atheism all over the globe?” Vance asked.
“That is not what leadership on protecting the rights of the faithful looks like,” he added, “and it ends with this administration.”
Last November, the Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs (CFA) released a damning report revealing the State Department’s promotion of atheism abroad in the name of “religious freedom.”
The report cited “information the Department of State tried to keep hidden” showing that funding for religious freedom initiatives has been “diverted from religious minorities around the globe to support agnostics’ and atheists’ right to disbelieve.”
In response, Father Martin contends Vance has missed the point, since religious freedom is not primarily about defending the rights of believers but rather about sending taxpayer dollars to feed the world.
“Religious freedom is essential for the free practice of religion,” Martin concedes, “but for the Christian that practice requires caring for the poor, including the ‘stranger,’ here and abroad.”
“So we shouldn’t use ‘religious freedom’ as an excuse not to care for the ‘least’ of our brothers and sisters — including through NGOs that feed the poor and help the sick — as Jesus commands (Mt. 25). Otherwise, what’s religious freedom for?”
Ignoring Father Martin’s bizarre claim Jesus commanded the funding of NGOs, the priest seems oblivious to the actual work of the NGOs referenced by the Vice President, which do not feed the poor but actively work to advance atheism.
Official grant documents referenced by the CFA report, some of which were obtained by subpoena, made clear that atheists and humanists were the preferred recipients of the funding, noting: “Applicants will be required to provide information on their humanist activism [and] their past and current affiliation with non-religious groups.”
One such State Department grant was awarded in Nepal to Humanists International, an anti-Christian group whose CEO has stated that people should be ashamed to be associated with the Catholic Church and that his job is “to combat the Vatican policies and to push against them.”
In its U.S.-funded training program in Nepal, Humanists International promoted freedom of nonbelief while suggesting that freedom of belief does not include manifestations of faith such as Christian priests’ distribution of the Eucharist.
The program asserted that when a Christian adoption agency, acting on sincerely held religious convictions, denies services to same-sex couples, it violates human rights, a stance that contradicts U.S. policy.
Perhaps Father Martin will clarify why Jesus would be upset with removing funding from U.S, groups that actively attack his followers.
In an earlier attack, Martin accused J.D. Vance of not being a Good Samaritan after the Vice President explained the duty of governments to prioritize the common good of their own citizens before aiding the rest of the world, based on the ancient Christian principle of ordo amoris (the order of love).
