Former US attorney general
William Barr, 73, served as United States attorney general in the administrations of presidents George Bush and Donald Trump. In the late 1990s he was a “supreme board member” of the Knights of Columbus, but today he is just a member. For 21 years, Barr was also on the board of the DC-based Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. He served from 2014-17 on the board of the Catholic Information Center of the Archdiocese of Washington.
President and First Lady of the United States
Joseph Biden, 81, is the 46th president of the United States and the second Catholic president, after John F Kennedy, and also a Democrat of Irish heritage. He served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017. In 2016, Biden was awarded the Laetare Medal, considered the highest honour for American Catholics, by the University of Notre Dame. Jill Biden, 72, is an American educator and the first lady of the United States. They both often make donations to Catholic charities and attend Mass but have been consistently criticised by members of the clergy – and Catholic lay leaders – for a voting and political record that does not reflect Catholic values, such as their stance on abortion.
Biden’s election campaign was heavily supported by Planned Parenthood and he has called on Americans to make the overturning of Roe v Wade a political issue. Many feel that Joe Biden should not be receiving Communion because of this, though Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, has said he is welcome to receive Communion at churches in the archdiocese. Biden had a 90-minute audience with the Holy Father at the Vatican in October 2021. He also has a photo of Pope Francis in the White House Oval Office.
Former Speaker, US House of Representatives
John Boehner, 74, is a Catholic who grew up as one of 12 children. He is a former politician who served as the 53rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015. A Republican, he was the representative for Ohio’s 8th congressional district from 1991 to 2015. In 2016, Boehner was awarded the Laetare Medal by the University of Notre Dame. At the time of his retirement, he was widely thought to be the most pro-life speaker of the House of Representatives there has been, though clashes over Planned Parenthood funding ultimately led him to resign his position.
Former governor of Florida
John “Jeb” Bush, 70, and from Houston, is a former politician and businessman who previously served as the 43rd governor of Florida. He is part of the Bush political family, being the son of former President George HW Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush, as well as the younger brother of former President George W Bush. In 1995, Jeb Bush converted to Catholicism. He has since become a fourth-degree Knight of Columbus.
Ambassador
Joseph Cella is an American diplomat and political adviser who served simultaneously as the United States Ambassador to Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu from 2019 to 2021. A prominent Roman Catholic, Cella co-founded the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast and Catholic Vote.
US representative for Texas
Henry Cuellar, 68, is an attorney and politician who has served as the US representative for Texas’s 28th congressional district since 2005. He is considered to be one of the most conservative members of the Democratic Party. Cuellar has said that his Catholic faith guides him in his political career. In 2022, he won a competitive primary race, after a recount, to keep his congressional seat.
Governor of Florida
Ronald DeSantis, 45, is a practising Catholic and an attorney and politician who has served as the 46th governor of Florida since 2019. Before this, DeSantis represented Florida’s 6th district in the US House of Representatives for five years. DeSantis joined the US Navy in 2004 and was promoted to lieutenant before being deployed to Iraq in 2007.
On 24 May, 2023, DeSantis announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for US president of the United States. Although considered by many to be a serious rival to Trump, his poll ratings have slipped badly and the chances of two Catholics fighting it out for the White House now look slim. But both have troubled Catholic records.
While Biden supports abortion, DeSantis supports the death penalty being applied more often for heinous crimes. Two new pieces of legislation in Florida to make capital punishment easier have led to the Church expressing concern. Michael Sheedy, executive director of the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, said: “Weakening the current standards in law to make it easier to impose death is deeply concerning.” In recent years, 30 inmates on Florida’s death row have been exonerated for the capital crimes they had been accused of.
Former US ambassador to the Holy See
Miguel Díaz, 60, is a theologian and diplomat who served as the US ambassador to the Holy See from 2009 to 2012, following his nomination by President Barack Obama. He was the first Hispanic US ambassador accredited to the Holy See.
Currently, Díaz holds the John Courtney Murray, SJ, University Chair in Public Service at Loyola University Chicago. In addition to his academic pursuits, he is an accomplished author, having written several books, and serves as the co-editor of Disruptive Cartographers: Doing Theology Latinamente. Díaz is also a contributor to the “Theology en la Plaza” column for the National Catholic Reporter.
Díaz is a member of the Atlantic Council, part of the Ambassadors Circle at the National Democratic Institute, and holds positions on the board and as a senior fellow for religion and peacebuilding for the Alliance for Peacebuilding. Díaz earned his PhD in Systematic Theology from the University of Notre Dame.
US ambassador to the Holy See
Joseph Donnelly, 67, is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who served as a US senator from Indiana from 2013 to 2019. In October 2021, President Joe Biden announced he would nominate Donnelly to serve as the United States ambassador to the Holy See. He presented his letters of credence to Pope Francis on 11 April, 2022. Born in Massapequa, New York, Donnelly graduated from the University of Notre Dame. Donnelly met his wife, Jill, at Notre Dame. They married in 1979 and have two children.
Former president and CEO, Americans United for Life
Catherine Glenn Foster served as president and CEO of Americans United for Life from 2017 to 2023. An experienced keynote speaker, she has spoken throughout North America, Europe and Australia on legal and life-related issues, including debates and lectures at legal seminars on philosophy, political theory, history, constitutional jurisprudence and public policy analysis. She and her work appear extensively in national media and have received awards, including one for an article on human rights relating to embryo adoption.
Senator, North Dakota
John Hoeven, 66, is a banker and Republican politician who has served as the senior US senator from North Dakota since 2011 and as the 31st governor of North Dakota from 2000 to 2010. The 2022 election saw him comfortably re-elected as senator, though with a less significant margin than his previous campaigns.
Before being elected governor, Hoeven was a banker who undertook a number of executive roles at various banks. He is on the board of directors at First Western Bank & Trust, and with an estimated net worth of $45 million, he is one of the wealthiest US senators. As a Catholic, he takes both an anti-same-sex marriage and pro-life stance and votes accordingly.
US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate
John Kerry, 80 and from Massachusetts, is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who is the first United States pecial Presidential Envoy for Climate. In January 2024 it was announced that Kerry would step down from the role to focus on Joe Biden’s re-election campaign.
A member of Boston’s influential Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he served as the 68th US secretary of state from 2013-2017 under Barack Obama. Kerry came to public attention as a decorated naval officer and Vietnam veteran who had been awarded three Purple Heart medals but became an anti-war activist. He is said to have carried a rosary, a prayer book and a St Christopher medal when he campaigned.
At school he considered becoming a priest and that he “was very centred around the Mass and the church”. In his later years, he has adopted a pluralistic attitude towards religion, stating that he believes that the Torah, the Quran and the Bible all share a fundamental story.
Political activist and former ambassador
Alan Keyes, 73, is an American conservative political activist, author and former ambassador. He ran for president in 1996, 2000, and 2008, with the latter campaign stressing an opposition to abortion and to same-sex marriage. He has served on the board of advisers for the Catholic League, a non-profit Catholic advocacy group. Keyes is a traditional Catholic and a third-degree Knight of Columbus.
Former US Secretary of Defence
Leon Panetta, 85, served as the US Secretary of Defense under President Barack Obama from 2011 to 2013. His extensive career in public service includes roles as the director of the CIA and White House chief of staff, and he played a crucial role in overseeing the operation that led to the capture of Osama bin Laden in 2011. He served as the director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Bill Clinton and as a representative from California. Currently, Panetta is the chairman of the Panetta Institute of Public Policy. He is of Italian heritage. Panetta attended two Catholic grammar schools.
Former Speaker, US House of Representatives
Nancy Pelosi, 83, was the 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023. She is the only woman to hold the position. On stepping down, she described herself as “a devout Catholic” and said the prayer of St Francis. Such words, however, have angered more traditional Catholics who see her liberal stance on such issues as abortion as the worst sort of liberal ‘pick ’n’ mix’ Catholicism. She previously served as a US Representative from California since 1987.
Before her election to Congress, Pelosi chaired the California Democratic Party from 1983 to 1987. Although she often speaks about her faith, she has spent much of her political life in opposition to Church teachings on abortion and same-sex marriage. In 2022, her archbishop, Salvatore Cordileone, barred her from receiving communion in his San Francisco diocese over her support for abortion, yet a month later she received holy communion at a papal Mass at the Vatican.
Junior US senator, South Dakota
Michael Rounds, 69, is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior US senator from South Dakota since 2015. In 2014, Rounds was elected to the United States Senate, succeeding retiring Democrat Tim Johnson. As a Catholic, Rounds promotes a pro-life view and is also a member of Ss Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Pierre, South Dakota.
Junior US senator, Idaho
Jim Risch, aged 80, has been the junior US senator from Idaho since 2009. Prior to his role in the Senate, he served as the Lieutenant Governor of Idaho from 2003 to 2006 and again from 2007 to 2009. Additionally, Risch held the position of governor of Idaho from 2006 to 2007. Risch has regularly voted in accordance with Catholic values. He has been a consistent supporter of pro-life legislation, demonstrating his stance on issues related to abortion. Notably, he co-sponsored the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, advocating for regulations that would make it illegal for a minor to cross state lines for an abortion without proper notification.
Senior US senator, Florida
Marco Rubio, 52, has served as the senior United States senator from Florida since 2011. He was Speaker of the House for the Florida House of Representatives from 2006 to 2008. In 2016, Rubio unsuccessfully ran for the Republican presidential nomination. He attends Mass at Church of the Little Flower in Coral Gables, Florida, where he was married in 1988. His faith has influenced his political philosophy and congressional career. He is a staunch opponent of abortion and has said he disagrees with the 2015 Obergefell v Hodges Supreme Court decision which legalised same-sex marriage. In 2023, he was one of eight members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence who published a letter asking why the FBI mounted spying operations on traditionalist Catholic churchgoers.
Former Speaker, US House of Representatives
Paul Ryan, 53, served as the speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. He was the vice-presidential nominee in the 2012 presidential election, running alongside Mitt Romney. Ryan is a Catholic and attends St John Vianney Church in Janesville, Wisconsin. His faith has informed his political career and he has stated that he opposes abortion and same-sex marriage.
Former US senator, Pennsylvania
Rick Santorum, 65, served as a United States senator from Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007 and was the Senate’s third-ranking Republican from 2001 to 2007. He ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, finishing second behind Mitt Romney, and ran again in 2016. Santorum calls himself a “culture warrior” and a “true Christian conservative”.
He has supported pro-life legislation throughout his career and has opposed same-sex marriage. He has taken a particularly tough approach to pornography, which he has sought to ban.
US House Majority Leader
Steve Scalise, 57, has served as the House majority leader since 2023 and the US representative for Louisiana’s 1st congressional district since 2008. He has also served as the House majority whip from 2014 to 2019 and the House minority whip 2019 to 2023.
He comes from an Italian-Catholic background and his faith has been a driving factor in his political career. He staunchly opposes same-sex marriage. In 2017, Scalise was shot by a left-wing extremist during practice for the Republican team’s annual congressional baseball game. Scalise survived the shooting and has written about how the incident strengthened his faith.
Junior US senator, Alaska
Dan Sullivan, 59, has served as a Republican senator from Alaska since 2015. He previously served as Alaska’s attorney general. Senator Sullivan comes from a Catholic family and as such is generally pro-life, except in the cases of rape, incest or risk to the mother, and he supported the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Sullivan received his BA in economics from Harvard University and his JD and MSc in foreign service from Georgetown University. In 1993 he joined the US Marine Corps and is currently a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserves.
Former US senator
Pat Toomey, 62, has been a Republican senator who represented Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2023. Prior to his tenure in the Senate, he served as a member of the US House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005. Alongside his political career, Toomey has been involved in the financial services industry, served as the president of the Club for Growth, and owned and operated a small restaurant chain in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. He comes from a Catholic family and is staunchly pro-life.
Former First Lady
Melania Trump, 53, is a Slovenian-born former model who became the first Catholic to live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue since President John F Kennedy and his wife Jackie in the early 1960s. She was the first lady of the United States between 2017 and 2021.
Following her audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican in May 2017, her spokeswoman confirmed that that the First Lady is indeed Catholic. She placed flowers at the feet of a statue of the Virgin Mary and prayed at the Bambino Gesù Hospital during her visit. She also presented Pope Francis with rosary beads for the Pontiff to bless. She was raised in a Communist-supporting family in Slovenia and was not baptised as a child. She married Donald Trump, a life-long Presbyterian, in 2005 at an Episcopal church in Palm Beach, Florida. It is not clear where she attended church during Trump’s time in the White House.
This article first appeared in the February 2024 issue of the Catholic Herald magazine. To subscribe to our multiple-award-winning magazine and have it delivered to your door anywhere in the world, go here.
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