Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego, calling for disruption of Trump’s America, suggested during a conference in Modesto in mid-February that establishing a $15 minimum wage is part of “our work (as) co-creators with God.”

McElroy claimed that “the tradition of Catholic social teaching is unequivocally on the side of strong governmental and societal protections,” and also that free markets “must be structured by government to accomplish the common good.”

[But] a priest McElroy rebuked before Trump’s election, San Diego pastor Richard Perozich, who had pointed out the traditional five “non-negotiable” issues of Catholic teaching to his congregation as the November 8 national election approached, including abortion and euthanasia, made an interesting point following the Modesto conference.

In a February 21 email to the Wanderer, Perozich, a San Diego pastor at Immaculate Conception church in Old Town, suggested that McElroy’s rebuke of him before the election, which drew national attention, may have had an effect contrary to McElroy’s intention and had helped Trump win.

“When I made my election guidance statements, my target audience was the 300 families of Immaculate Conception (parish),” Perozich said. “Bishop McElroy’s insertion of his comments into the situation at Immaculate Conception with the San Diego press spread my parish conscience-guidance to Catholics and others nationwide, rather than containing it locally.

“His manner of speaking and rebuke which went nationwide in November may have contributed to the election of Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, rather than just to my parishioners in formation of their consciences as I intended. Now the response of that unintended consequence may be in play,” Perozich said.

See the entire text in the Feb. 26 story in the Wanderer.