Originally published at National Catholic Register
Is Sen. JD Vance telling the truth about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating pets?
If not, should a Catholic political candidate be corrected for spreading falsehoods? The Catholic bishops of Ohio have done just that, as has the Catholic Republican governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine.
Former president Donald Trump repeated the claim about Haitians killing and eating pets in his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. Vance, who represents Ohio in the Senate, repeatedly has made the same claim about his state.
The controversy illustrates a different concern about Catholic candidates for political office. For many generations, the usual question has been whether the policies of a particular Catholic candidate cohere with Catholic social teaching. For example, 40 years ago, Catholic vice-presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro of New York City was corrected by then-Archbishop John O’Connor regarding abortion. The 1984 campaign included an extended debate over Catholics and abortion, with Gov. Mario Cuomo of New York, also Catholic, rejecting O’Connor’s teaching in a landmark address at the University of Notre Dame.
Unlike that, the Springfield controversy is not so much about policy as how public arguments are being made.
Springfield has seen a very large influx of
