Even before the official launch of Rebecca Long-Bailey’s campaign, Catholic and secular friends and fellow journalists had mentioned to me that they expected the smears against her to rely heavily on anti-Catholicism. Sexism and classism are easy, but also easy to see through. Attacking a politician’s religion is easier, especially when it remains a minority in the United Kingdom, with the Church of England the dominant branch of Christianity (and inexplicably with the Queen continuing to serve as the head of the church).

But in the past week, as Long-Bailey has risen in the polls, the attacks on her religion have ramped up. First, with the grossly unreliable gossip rag the Red Roar deliberately misframing her answers to questions from bishops in Salford. In her responses, Long-Bailey stated that she had no desire to change or extend abortion time limits and that any abortion law changes would only come about after public consultation. She spoke of how she believed it was wrong that women who seek out their own abortions outside of the medical system are criminalized, as they are often extremely vulnerable. She copied and pasted Labour policy on abortion and said she agreed with it, but expressed her personal agreement with the view expressed by the Disability Rights Commission, that permitting later-term abortions in cases of likely disability is worrying. Again, a personal view, but one shared by many, not just Catholics — especially disabled people and the parents of disabled children. As with euthanasia, there is an understandable unease with the idea of differentiating the value of particular lives.

The backlash against her deliberately misrepresented comments has been swift: she has been called a misogynist, weak-minded, and anti-women. But most pathetic, and worrying, is the distinct anti-Catholicism that comes with arguing that Long-Bailey is merely a puppet of the Pope who repeats whatever the Vatican tells her to.