CDL Demands Apology from Former DFL Candidate for Anti-Catholic Rant
Candidate embraced by Dayton, Franken, and DFL leadership for his leadership on LGBT issues is now attacking Supreme Court Justice as ‘Papist’
The Catholic Defense League calls on 2012 candidate for State House Jeff Wilfahrt to apologize for his anti-Catholic rant on Left.mn, and for the prominent DFL politicians who recruited him, to denounce his anti-Catholic slurs.
Wilfahrt was recruited to run for State House of Representatives in 2012 with great fanfare. The DFL from Minnesota and around the country embraced Wilfahrt as a champion of LGBT rights, with Governor Dayton, Senator Franken, and Democrats around the country (Wilfahrt was embraced by the Mayor of Sacramento during the campaign, with a letter of official recognition for his efforts). The DFL and LGBT activists embraced him as a symbol for their cause.
Wilfahrt has revealed himself to not be a champion of civil rights for all, but an anti-Catholic bully who attacks those with whom he disagrees. In a vile blog post on Left.mn, Wilfahrt attacked Justice Antonin Scalia as a “papist” whose judicial opinions are rooted in his “papist upbringing.” A doctored picture accompanying his post depicts Scalia making an obscene gesture, declaring the “church is the state.”
‘Papist’ isn’t a description—it’s an insult. Making ad hominem attacks against anyone based upon their religion is unacceptable. Seeing such attacks come from somebody so universally embraced by the DFL establishment is troubling. We simply don’t believe that all DFLers think it’s acceptable to attack people for being Catholic and hope they distance themselves from Wilfahrt.
We are shocked that a candidate embraced by the Governor, a US Senator, Education Minnesota, and the DFL establishment would be so openly bigoted against people of faith.
Attacks on religious beliefs in politics are nothing new, of course, and they are vile no matter who makes the charges.
The Catholic justices on the court split in their decision—demonstrating that being Catholic is not a determining factor in court jurisprudence.
The Catholic Defense League of Minnesota is a group of lay Catholics devoted to defending the Church, Catholic teachings, and Catholics in the public square.