Rep. Tom Emmer credits his parents’ example in fostering Catholic faith

Dec 30, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Republican Rep. Tom Emmer, U.S. House majority whip, said his Catholic faith was formed by his parents’ example at a young age and he encouraged Americans to reflect more on God in a culture filled with many distractions.

Emmer, of Minnesota, spoke to “EWTN News Nightly” about the faith of his parents, including his father’s daily Mass attendance and his mother’s decision to gift her husband a rosary on their wedding day.

“The example that they set, is, I believe, why I am who I am,” Emmer said.

“I’m the son of Tom and Patsy Emmer who literally met in the sixth and seventh grade at Our Lady of Grace Catholic grade school in Edina, Minnesota,” he said. “[They] were married for 60-some years; they literally lived around the corner from each other, and they never moved more than about two or three miles from where they originally grew up.”

Emmer attended a Catholic elementary school and high school. He said he sang in the church choir, saying he “was a soprano” as a child but can no longer reach the high notes.

“When I try to do ‘and the rockets’ red glare,’ I can only say it. My voice doesn’t go there anymore,” Emmer said.

The congressman also opened up about his sister Bridget’s death from breast cancer, saying it made him question God’s will. Yet, he said a conversation with her before her death helped bolster his faith and to stop being angry with God.

Emmer said some older women told his sister that she was too young to have cancer and that he initially told her: “I kind of agree with them.” He said she responded by saying: “Would I love to live forever? Absolutely. But I’m not going to, and people who talk like that have not gotten every second out of every minute out of every hour of every day. I have lived a good life; if God comes and calls me today, so be it.”

Emmer emphasized the importance of reflecting on God’s goodness in a world that has become filled with distractions.

“Too many people, in this age of social media and all the other stuff — the world gets going so fast that they don’t take a minute to sit down and check out what the good Lord has created,” Emmer said.

Legislative activity

According to a 2025 report from the Pew Research Center, about 28% of Congress is Catholic. More than half of Catholic lawmakers in both the House and the Senate are Democrats.

Emmer, the third-ranking House Republican, has consistently opposed abortion access during his 11 years in Congress, receiving an A+ rating from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. He also has been critical of what he calls “radical gender ideology.”

His stances have not aligned with Church teaching regarding his support for in vitro fertilization (IVF). When he ran for governor of Minnesota in 2010, Emmer opposed same-sex civil marriage. He later shifted his position and voted in favor of a law enacted in 2022 to require states to recognize same-sex civil marriages performed out of state. The Catholic Church does not recognize same-sex civil unions as marriage according to its doctrine and sacramental theology.

Emmer has generally supported President Donald Trump’s deportation efforts. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approved a “special message” in November opposing “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people.”

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/268733/rep-emmer