Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign on Sept. 4 launched the Catholics for Trump coalition, which emphasizes the defense of religious liberty, traditional values, and the sanctity of human life as priorities of the Republican nominee’s agenda.

The coalition, which intends to rally Catholic support behind the former president, seeks to show a contrast between Trump and his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, on key issues that are important to Catholics.

According to the coalition’s mission statement, Catholics for Trump commits “to safeguarding the vital principles of religious liberty and the sanctity of life that President Donald J. Trump has ardently championed.”

“Under President Trump’s leadership, our nation witnessed unprecedented support for religious freedoms, with significant victories both domestically and globally,” the mission statement read. “President Trump restored protections for faith-based organizations and bolstered the rights of religious institutions against governmental overreach.”

The mission statement added that Trump “has stood unwaveringly in defense of traditional values and the sanctity of human life” and that the coalition “stands with President Trump to continue building a nation where the rights of every individual to practice their faith freely is protected.”

Matt Schlapp, the president of The American Conservative Union, and his wife, Mercedes Schlapp, who served in the Trump administration, said in a joint statement that Trump “will continue to defend our religious freedoms and our values enshrined in faith and family.”

“We have watched Kamala Harris attack President Trump’s Catholic judicial nominees who had to face her hostile and unfair questions when she was a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee,” the statement read. “She was especially bigoted to anyone associated with the Knights of Columbus. Harris also was complicit in the FBI’s fascist infiltration of Catholic parishes that say Latin Mass.”

Matt and Mercedes Schlapp, who are both Catholic, were also involved in the 2020 Catholics for Trump coalition.

During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump has been trying to appeal to Catholic and other Christian voters. In July, the former president accused Harris and the Democratic Party of being “after Catholics,” adding that “somebody doesn’t like Catholics in that administration.”

Trump nominated three of the six Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, which had prevented states from imposing restrictions on abortion for nearly 50 years. Following the Supreme Court’s decision, about two dozen states imposed restrictions on abortion.

Since then, Trump has moderated his stance on abortion, announcing that he opposes federal restrictions and supports states adopting their own rules. In contrast, Harris has campaigned on codifying the abortion standards previously held in Roe v. Wade, which would override pro-life laws in more than 20 states.

Last week, Trump announced he would vote against a proposed constitutional amendment in Florida that would enshrine a right to abortion in the state’s constitution. The former president had previously signaled support for the amendment.

And days after Trump posted on Truth Social Aug. 23 that his administration would be “great for women and their reproductive rights,” he said he would protect in vitro fertilization access, explaining in an Aug. 29 interview with NBC News that his administration would have the government or insurance companies cover the cost of the procedure, which is forbidden by Catholic Church teaching.

Harris has also launched a Catholics for Harris-Walz coalition to rally Catholic support behind her campaign. The campaign scheduled a virtual event for the coalition three weeks ago, but it was abruptly canceled.

Register staff added to this report.