Connecticut Catholic Corner: Southern Poverty Law Center & Catholic groups

Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Southern Poverty Law Center & Catholic groups

This morning I was reminded by Church Militant about the Southern Poverty Law Center putting Catholic groups on their "hate list" (after the recent FBI leak).

In today's "Vortex" entitled "Long Time Coming", Mr. Voris spoke of the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton & Podesta after losing to Trump how the left came after Catholic groups:

Quote: "The government can't censor you, but those First Amendment protections only protect you from the government, not private corporations. So the canceling began in earnest. It was in this time frame that we, here at Church Militant, began drawing attention from national media outlets and were labeled extremists, alt-right, White nationalists, etc.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, a radical extremist hate group if there ever was one (but operated by the Left), put Church Militant on its hate group list. As a result, as well as the general anti-Catholic animus present in the dominant culture, our hosting providers and other digital services began canceling us. These attacks by the Marxists necessitated us creating our own digital ecosystem independent of Big Tech — and yes, that cost us a small fortune.
The combination of that designation as a hate group plus the canceling and the lying, fake news reports about us is what got us into that FBI dossier where we are discussed on Page 4. Even in the Church, lies and propaganda were launched against our work on behalf of the Faith by multiple leftist bishops and their cowardly cooperators in the Catholic establishment.
The leviathan of modernism and Marxism has and is taking dead aim at us here at Church Militant, which is why we are asking you to join us and make your support (for what we do here) known. We have launched our dollar-a-day campaign, asking you to help us stay the leading Catholic force in attacking all this."

I recalled many years ago Michael Matt doing a video telling everyone that The Remnant had made the SPLC's hate group list. I had never heard of the SPLC until Mr. Matt mentioned them and the list.

According to SPLC's website, they listed The Remnant as a "Radical Traditional Catholicism Hate Group" beginning in 2006.

Some of the other "Radical Traditional Catholicism Hate Groups" to make that list back in 2006 were Catholic Family News, and the Fatima Crusader.

I'm reading the SPLC website and shaking my head because while SPLC put groups like The Remnant and Catholic Family News and the Fatima Crusader in their "Radical Traditional Catholicism" hate group, the SPLC states:

"Radical traditionalists are not the same as Catholics who call themselves “traditionalists” — people who prefer the old Latin Mass to the mass now typically said in vernacular languages — although the radicals, as well, like their liturgy in Latin. They also embrace extremely conservative social ideals with respect to women."

These people are just hate-filled lunatics.

The criteria SPLC uses to declare anyone a "hate group" seems to be anyone who disagrees with them on any given subject.

What I didn't know was that Church Militant was not put on the SPLC "hate group" list for being a "Radical Traditional Catholicism Hate Group" like The Remnant, but rather CM got on the list in 2018 for being "Anti-LGBTQ".

No mention of "radical" Catholicism with CM at all in the years listed on SPLC. I was surprised by that-not that I think CM is "radical" (I don't think The Remnant and the others are radical either), but surprised that SPLC didn't seem to notice CM as a Catholic Media outlet defending the Faith. CM was going by the Catholic Church's teachings on homosexuality. They weren't giving an opinion, but rather quoting from the Catholic Catechism and Saints on the subject.

Mr. Voris had stated in his Vortex Show today that:

"It was in this time frame that we, here at Church Militant, began drawing attention from national media outlets and were labeled extremists, alt-right, White nationalists, etc."

I suppose Church Militant made SPLC list as "extremists" for simply believing and holding to the Catholic Faith on the single subject of homosexuality. They did not make the SPLC list for being "Radical Traditional Catholics" or for being "alt-right" or "white nationalists", but for being "Anti-LGBTQ" in 2018, years after the 2016 election. That said, there are likely other groups or media outlets that have listed CM as "alt-right" or "white nationalists". I'm only looking at SPLC specifically because of the FBI leak and because Mr. Voris mentioned them.

SPLC 2016 Anti-LGBTQ hate groups Map

SPLC 2016 "Radical Tradition Catholicism" hate groups Map

SPLC 2017 Anti-LGBTQ hate groups Map

SPLC 2018 Anti-LGBTQ hate groups Map

At this point I asked myself what did Church Militant do between 2016 & 2018 to get on SPLC's "Anti-LGBTQ Hate Groups" list?

Took less than 5 minutes to find (certainly could be wrong) what I think...or I should say, WHO got Church Militant on SPLC's list.

Father James Martin.

Honestly, can anyone be surprised?

Back in 2017 Fr. James Martin published his book "Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter Into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity" which Church Militant tore into all over social media (See HERE).

The year 2018 was one news report after another about Fr. James Martin speaking at parishes around the United States. Catholic laity protested and Martin was disinvited from some events (see HERE). A war broke out on social media over actual Catholic teaching on homosexuality and what Martin was promoting.

Church Militant didn't let Martin get away with warping Catholic teaching on homosexuality, and they were loud about it (see HERE).

There are dozens upon dozens of Church Militant articles, reports and Vortex episodes on Fr. James Martin and other "homosexual approving" clergy. This is, in my opinion, the trigger that got the Southern Poverty Law Center to add Church Militant to their 2018 Anti-LGBTQ hate group list.

Keep fighting the good fight Catholics, by getting on these asinine bogus lists for holding to Catholic teachings you're getting noticed by the other side. Could save souls. Keep up the good work.