Left-Wing Nuns Signed, Circulated Petitions for Walker Recall

Left-Wing Nuns Signed, Circulated Petitions for Walker Recall

As the Catholic Church takes action to counter the left-wing drift of American nuns, Breitbart.com has learned that hundreds of nuns are involved in the left’s campaign to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R)–in favor of pro-choice Democratic challengers.

The nuns who have circulated and signed petitions include sisters from convents and other Catholic institutions across the state. 

Over 100 signatures, for example, all of female voters, as verified through iverifytherecall.com, list the same address as a Dominican institution in Sinsinawa, WI, in the southwestern portion of the state. Representatives of that organization could not be reached for comment. 

One Catholic official at a school with a large number of signatories stressed that Catholic organizations advocate for the poor and downtrodden, but do not take political positions, and that what their individual members do is up to them alone. 

Though many Catholic voters support Walker, and roughly 40% of Wisconsin Republican primary voters are Catholic, there is some Catholic opposition to Walker’s collective bargaining reforms among those partial to the “social justice” movement within the Catholic Church. Democrats are hoping to tap into that opposition.

Walker’s most likely Democratic challenger, former congressman and former Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett, is a practicing Catholic but has been criticized for opposing the ban on federal funding for abortion. Other Democratic candidates–Kathleen Falk, Doug LaFollette, and Kathleen Vinehout–appear to be pro-choice.

The Vatican’s recent effort to discipline the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), the largest organization of American nuns, stresses support for the nuns’ “social justice” efforts but concludes that the group is not supportive enough of Catholic teachings on abortion and sexuality.

Many nuns who participate in the Leadership Conference supported Obamacare in 2010, according to the New York Times, in opposition to many American bishops who opposed the legislation. The law has recently been used by the Obama administration to force Catholic institutions to provide their employees with insurance coverage for abortifacients and contraceptives, contrary to Church teachings–and to Obama’s promises.

Thus far, social issues have not played as large a role in the Wisconsin recall as have questions about union power in state government, but the support of some Catholic nuns for gubernatorial challengers whose policies directly contradict Church teachings has already begun to provoke debate and controversy.

Editor’s Note: an earlier version of this article stated erroneously that Gov. Scott Walker is Catholic. He is, in fact, a Baptist. The text has been corrected. I apologize for the error.

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