Trudy Busch Valentine is one very lost sheep.

It’s tempting to throw stones, figuratively speaking, at elected officials and candidates—like Trudy Busch Valentine —who dare call themselves Catholic while advancing the morally bankrupt Democrat agenda. They are legion in the current U.S. Congress, where 14 Senate Democrats and 77 House Democrats, including Madame Speaker Pelosi, espouse their Catholic faith along with Commander-In-Chief Biden.

Very soon Missouri’s radically left Trudy Busch Valentine hopes to join their ranks in the U.S. Senate. She—and all Catholic Democrat politicians—urgently need to be countered with Catholic Truth and our fervent prayers for their eternal souls. Please read and share this TODAY with every Missouri Catholic voter you know.

Anheuser-Busch heiress, political newcomer, former nurse and Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine is running against Republican Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt in the upcoming November U.S. Senate race. Both candidates are avowed Catholics, but only Schmitt has earned the endorsement of Missouri Right to Life for his prolife stance. (A third candidate, John Wood, is also running as an Independent but has a very low chance of winning and could actually help Busch Valentine by pulling votes away from Schmitt.)

[Editor’s Note: John Wood dropped his bid for the U.S. Senate on August 23, three days after this commentary was posted.]

If one reads only this page of Mrs. Busch Valentine’s campaign website, one might be led to believe the Democrat candidate, too, is demonstrably prolife. She grew up in a large Catholic family, gave birth to six children, worked at the Salvation Army Residence for Children, and cared for vulnerable and homeless youth. She earned her degree in nursing from St. Louis University and credits her Catholic education for the woman she has become: Trudy’s faith and Jesuit education instilled in her the core values that she lives by to this day: “The pursuit of truth for the greater glory of God and for the service of humanity.” In 2007 Trudy earned a Master of Arts in Pastoral studies from the Aquinas Institute of Theology.

Mrs. Valentine’s Jesuit-instilled values appear to pose zero conflict with her anti-Catholic campaign promises to codify Roe v. Wade into federal law and support measures to federally protect the right to an abortion; ensure access to gender affirming care for transgender children; and protect marriage equality, “because love is love.”  Naturally, she will “champion full funding for organizations like Planned Parenthood that provide compassionate, quality care for LGBTQ patients.” These things are explicitly stated in her stance on the issues.

We have come to expect as much, in varying degrees, from all Democrat politicians today. Show me just one Catholic Democrat elected official who has demonstrated otherwise! Even the feeble efforts of so-called “prolife” Democrats to defend life are fruitless on their side of the aisle. If they truly seek to protect life from the womb to the tomb, they should know it cannot be done within today’s Democrat party.

So why should we concern ourselves with Trudy Busch Valentine here in Missouri, where abortion is banned and Republicans are the majority? Two reasons.

#1: Charity

She is our fellow Catholic and is lost in darkness. With true compassion for her eternal soul, we can help her find the way back to the Light of Christ through our fervent prayers for her conversion. And while we’re at it, let’s pray for all Catholic elected officials and candidates, in every political party and at every level of government, who support anti-Catholic policies and laws.

Of course, it is ultimately the shepherd’s job to return wayward sheep to the fold, but let us not hold our breath waiting for a Missouri bishop to go after Mrs. Valentine. Indeed, Bishop W. Shawn McKnight would find himself in quite the conundrum, as a banquet and event facility bearing the Valentine family name is situated within his Diocese of Jefferson City, on the campus of the Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows in Starkenburg. Untold numbers of visitors who find their way to Starkenburg might easily deduce that Mrs. Valentine, with her immoral views, is in good standing with the Church.

In charity, let’s also pray for Bishop McKnight and all Missouri bishops.

#2: Truth

These are confusing times. Our pope does and says ambiguous and scandalous things. Our bishops and priests, for the most part, refuse to call him out. The Catholic Church as an institution has become The Jerry Springer Show, with seemingly daily episodes flaunting corrupt, immoral, offensive and otherwise inappropriate behaviors. In the absence of an unyielding Church hierarchy countering this chaos with unchangeable and divinely revealed Truth, Catholics like Mrs. Valentine are scandalizing the faithful and misleading others into believing Church teaching can be reshaped to accommodate virtually anything done under the pretense of “social justice” as defined by the world, not the Church. This counterfeit Catholicism must be called out and never tolerated.

Because of her public display of apostasy, its influence on Missouri Catholics, and its potential impact on the entire nation if she is elected to the U.S. Senate, Trudy Busch Valentine should be formally excommunicated if she persists—just as Nancy Pelosi was excommunicated by Archbishop Cordileone. Again, the chances of that happening in Missouri are slim to none. Even if she were banned, most priests including Pope Francis would blithely ignore it, as we recently saw in the case of Madame Speaker receiving Holy Communion at the Vatican and in Washington, DC.

[Editor’s Note: Some refute the claim that Nancy Pelosi was excommunicated, arguing that she has merely been banned from the Sacrament of Holy Communion. If excommunication is reserved for one who persists in mortal sin after having been counseled by one’s bishop, it certainly seems fitting for Mrs. Pelosi, who was put on notice by Archbishop Cordileone well in advance of being denied the Eucharist, yet has not ceased using her public office to support the grave sin of abortion.]

It’s really up to you and me.

Here’s our “to do” list:

• Spread the word—share this article with people in your parish and link to it on social media. Encourage everyone to vote on November 8 for the Missouri Right to Life-endorsed candidate in this and all races.

• Write a respectful letter to Mrs. Valentine (and cc: Archbishop Rozanski).  Explain why her political views do not reflect her Catholic faith and quote the Catechism as reference. Remind her of the harmful influence she has on uninformed voters who might see her actions as acceptable by the Catholic Church. Encourage her to publicly recant her errors. Let her know you are praying for her.  (See addresses here)                

• Write a respectful letter to Archbishop Rozanski. Inform him of Mrs. Valentine’s radically anti-Catholic campaign promises. Remind him of his responsibility for the souls of Mrs. Valentine and everyone in his flock who is confused or scandalized by her pro-abortion, pro-LGBTQ statements. Respectfully petition him to counsel Mrs. Valentine and, if she continues in her errors, to excommunicate her. Assure him of your prayers for him and Mrs. Valentine. (See address here) 

• Write respectful letters to the other Missouri Bishops. Inform them of Mrs. Valentine’s radically anti-Catholic campaign promises. Remind them of their responsibility for the souls of Mrs. Valentine and everyone in their flock who is confused or scandalized by her pro-abortion, pro-LGBTQ statements. Respectfully request they alert Catholics in their diocese that Mrs. Valentine’s views are anti-Catholic and, therefore, harmful to the common good of society. Assure them of your prayers for them and Mrs. Valentine. (See addresses here)