Washington, DC (Lepanto Institute) — The Lepanto Institute and Complicit Clergy published a new report this morning, analyzing political campaign contributions made by employees of several Catholic charitable organizations. A dataset of 47,000 public records obtained by the Federal Election Commission shows political contributions from employees of seven different Catholic groups, including Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Charities, and Covenant House, overwhelmingly going to Democrat politicians and political action committees.
Despite a recent survey by the Pew Research Center showing that 52% of registered voting Catholics identify as Republican while 44% identify as Democrat, the data in the Lepanto report shows that 83% of all employee contributions from the nation’s largest Catholic charitable organizations went to Democrat campaigns and causes.
“For ten years, we’ve been reporting the pro-abortion, pro-contraception, pro-LGBT activism of many of these ‘charitable’ organizations,” said Michael Hichborn, president of the Lepanto Institute. “It’s now clear why this keeps happening. As the saying goes, personnel is policy.”
The report, indicating political contribution records spanning 2019-2024, shows that 100% of employee contributions from Jesuit Refugee Service went to Democrats. Catholic Relief Services was very close to that with 99%. The only organization favoring Republicans is the Knights of Columbus with 90% of employee political contributions going to GOP candidates and PACs.
“The most upsetting discoveries our analysts made in the production of this report were the financial donations made to abortion and homosexual lobbying groups,” Hichborn added. “And some of those contributions were even made by priests.”
The report, which includes interactive data tables, is available here.
* * * * * * * * * * *
The Lepanto Institute for the Restoration of All Things in Christ is a research and education organization dedicated to the defense of the Catholic Church against assaults from without as well as from within. Founded in 2014, the Lepanto Institute has exposed several instances of Catholic or Catholic-affiliated organizations being directly involved in events or other matters directly contrary to Church teaching. www.LepantoIn.org
