Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
Citizens United, Capuchins, and Corporate Speech
Citizens United, Capuchins, and Corporate Speech
Jul 8, 2025 4:00 AM

When es to political contributions it seems those who lean left-of-center cannot petition, which – in large part – explains the hue and cry from the left since the U.S. Supreme Court Citizens United ruling. It’s all well and fine when unions, for example, or certain Hollywood hotshots flip a few million to the progressive cause or candidate du jour, but when a corporation wishes to defend the interests of its employees, shareholders munities it’s the basis for handwringing, rending of garments and a flurry of public pronouncements that SCOTUS got it Just. So. Wrong.

Into this environment has been introduced a certain element that to less discerning eyes is of a spiritual nature – but is nothing more than progressive ideology cloaked in chasubles and habits – in the form of clergy, nuns and various religious submitting proxy shareholder resolutions. A case in point would be the recent announcement that a lobbying-disclosure resolution filed by the Province of St. Joseph of the Capuchin Order (members in good standing of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, naturally) directed at Alliant Techsystems passed on July 31.

In a press statement, Fr. Michael Crosby, ICCR board director and lead filer of the resolution, noted:

Our province of Capuchin Franciscans has been very concerned for over a decade with some of the businesses of Alliant Tech, particularly land mines, as this is a weapon that continues to kill and maim innocent people around the world. This concern is only exacerbated when pany moves into guns and then lobbies heavily to thwart legislation that would regulate their use….

As ATK [Alliant] shareholders we have maintained that we have a right to know how lobbying funds are being deployed to determine whether these activities are in alignment with pany’s stated mission and values. Today, our fellow shareholders made it clear that they are in agreement.

In other words, Fr. Crosby was able to convince 65 percent of shareholder voters to support lobbying disclosure by Alliant, which spent nearly $3 million on lobbying efforts between 2011 and 2012. Alliant additionally has been a member of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which has spent $1.6 million in lobbying efforts since 2011. Much of the latter’s lobbying focuses on opposition to legislation demanding additional background checks, magazine limits and bans on assault weapons.

All of this begs the question, if this information was readily available from Senate reports, why then was Crosby gunning for more transparency? His original resolution reads in part:

As stockholders, we encourage transparency and accountability in the use of staff time and corporate funds to influence legislation and regulation both directly and indirectly. We believe such disclosure is in stockholders’ best interests.Absent a system of pany assets could be used for objectives contrary to ATK’s long-term interests.

ATK spent approximately $2.66 million in 2010 and 2011 on direct federal lobbying activities (Senate reports). These figures do not include lobbying expenditures to influence legislation in states. ATK is listed as a member of the Aerospace Industries Association and the Perchlorate Study Group. In 2011 and 2012, the Aerospace Industries Association spent more than $4.2 million on lobbying. ATK does not disclose its trade association memberships, payments or the portions used for lobbying on its website.

Oh the ignominy!

Should readers need a bit more exegesis on Fr. Crosby’s assault on Alliant’s free speech rights granted by Citizens United, here goes: the good Capuchins of Crosby’s order and the religious gathered under the aegis of ICCR aren’t huge fans of the Second Amendment. In fact, they’d like to roll it back as far as conceivably possible. The means to such ends rests on attempts to shame publically Alliant for its lobbying efforts on behalf of pany, its employees and its shareholders. Don’t believe me? Here’s Sr. Susan Mika of theSocially Responsible Investment Coalition:

ICCR members have been filing resolutions with defense contractors and weapons manufacturers practically since the organization’s inception in the ‘70s. We’ve seen too many recent episodes of violence involving guns to placent both in terms of national policy and corporate responsibility. We remain invested in panies in the hopes of transforming their practices, including their aggressive lobbying against stricter gun-control legislation.

Look, you don’t need to be a card-carrying NRA or NSSF member, Second Amendment patriot or gun nut to see through the gossamer-thin, bait-and-switch of Fr. Crosby’s proxy resolution. All that boilerplate about land mines and transparency? Fuhgeddaboudit. It’s all about shutting down opposing public policy voices to clear the path for more gun control, and having nothing to do with issues of faith.

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Samuel Gregg: Truth, Lies, and Euros
It is very easy to forget what is happening in other parts of the world especially when we are in the midst of our own financial crisis in the United States. Considering the economic challenges we are faced with, this may be a mistake as we can learn from other’s problems. Europe is experiencing economic woes that continue to worsen. In the American Spectator, Samuel Gregg explains: As Europe’s financial crisis worsens, it’s increasingly apparent that the economic woes of...
Orsini on “Principled Conservatism”
Long-time Acton Institute friend and Markets and Morality contributor Jean-Francois Orsini has a new book out. In Fight the Left (yes, it has a polemical edge!), Orsini argues that there are essentially two approaches to the world: liberalism and conservatism. His use of liberalism is decidedly contemporary (i.e., modern, not classical liberalism). His conservatism is sympathetic to the free market but, more importantly, it is “first principled,” meaning that he lays out the foundation on which conservatism must be based....
What’s the new “+1” button on Acton PowerBlog posts all about?
You may have noticed a new addition to the PowerBlog; the new +1 button joins the existing Facebook and Twitter buttons at the top of posts. +1 is a new initiative from Google that brings forth more relevant search results influenced by user feedback. Here is a snippet from the official Google launch: +1 is as simple on the rest of the web as it is on Google search. With a single click you can mend that raincoat, news article...
Jim Wallis: From Sandalista to Champion of Big Government
Essential reading on Jim Wallis by long-time observer Mark Tooley of the Institute on Religion & Democracy: How does Wallis—the old Students for a Democratic Society agitator who touted the Vietcong in the 1970s and the Sandinistas in the 1980s, who denounced welfare reform in the 1990s as a betrayal of the poor, and whose funding by George Soros was exposed last year—enlist Catholic bishops and mainstream evangelicals in his endless political campaigns? “We’re frankly challenging leadership on both sides...
The Paper Pope
I have said it many times in the past, but now I have confirmation: According to the editors of the New York Times, the Pope is not permitted to make moral judgments because only the Editorial Board of the New York Times (all genuflect here) is permitted to pontificate: “Ms. Abramson, 57, said that as a born-and-raised New Yorker, she considered being named editor of The Times to be like “ascending to Valhalla.” “In my house growing up, The Times...
Rev. Sirico on the Catholic Charities Controversy in Illinois
A dispute has arisen in Illinois between Catholic Charities and the state government. As the National Catholic Register explains it, “Catholic Charities branches of three Illinois dioceses have filed a lawsuit against the state of Illinois in order to continue operating according to Catholic principles — by providing foster care and adoption services only to married couples or non-cohabitating singles.” In an interview, with the newspaper, Rev. Robert A. Sirico defends Catholic Charities in light of the principle of subsidiarity...
Rev. Sirico: Kevorkian’s ‘Terminal TV’
Writing in the Detroit Free Press, reporters Joe Swickard and Pat Anstett describe the life and June 3 passing of Jack Kevorkian. Long before he made a name for himself as a “assisted suicide advocate,” Kevorkian was known to the nurses at Pontiac General Hospital in Michigan as “Dr. Death” for his bizarre experiments. Death came naturally to the man who’d vowed he’d starve himself rather than submit to the state’s authority behind bars. “It’s not a matter of starving...
My Visit to The Barnabas Group
I recently had a unique opportunity to speak about unity in Christ’s mission. I was asked to present an address to The Barnabas Group (TBG) in San Diego (May 9) and Costa Mesa (May 10). The Costa Mesa site is in Orange County for those who do not know Southern California. My title for both meetings was: “The Unity Factor: One Lord, One Church, One Mission.” The Barnabas Group is one of the more unique missions and ministries I’ve encountered....
Rev. Sirico: Not Whether to Help the Poor, But How
The budget proposed by House Republicans has lead to a heated debate; one key facet being whether funding should be cut for programs that benefit the poor and vulnerable. Critics claim the House Republicans’ proposed budget violates Catholic social teaching (click here to read the critics’ open letter to Speaker Boehner). Rev. Robert A. Sirico’s first response to Boehner’s critics appeared in NRO. In this mentary Rev. Sirico expands upon his first response and articulates how Catholics can disagree on...
Jordan Ballor: Let Detroit’s farms flourish
Detroit has has been plagued by the economic downturn more than most cities, and has struggled to recover. However, sometimes gloomy economic conditions breed innovation. That is the focus of Jordan Ballor’s “Let Detroit’s farms flourish” which appeared in the Detroit News. Ballor explains that residents are putting vacant lots to use by urban farming: These areas of growth, in the form of munity programs and individual plots, represent a significant avenue for the revitalization of the city. The benefits...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved