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The shift in Catholicism
by Julia Duin, national reporter
How things have changed in one year. Last year, when about 1,000 Catholics crammed into the Mayflower Hotel for their First Annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, the speaker was Sen. Rick Santorum, Pennsylvania Republican. All the talk was about the coming election and, in some of the table conversations, grumbling about why Mr. Santorum was supporting a pro-choice Republican, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, against a pro-life Democratic opponent.
At last Friday’s Second Annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, 1,600 people came, including President Bush, who owed much of last year’s victory to Roman Catholics. Catholics underwent a major shift in allegiance last fall. In 2000, 47 percent voted for Mr. Bush and 50 percent voted for Al Gore. In November, 52 percent went for the president and 47 percent voted for Sen. John Kerry.
And the keynote speaker at the breakfast was Colorado Archbishop Charles Chaput, who last year told The New York Times that a vote for Catholic politicians like Sen. Kerry who favor abortion is “cooperating in evil.” The archbishop’s 15-minute speech on Friday hammered home the point that Catholics must not compromise their beliefs.
“Christ’s relationship with each of us should be the driving force of our personal lives,” he said, “and for all of our public witness - including our political witness. Only Jesus Christ is Lord. The church belongs to him, not to us, but to him. And there’s no way — no way — that we should ever allow ourselves to be driven from the public square by those who want someone else, or something else to be Lord.”
It doesn’t get much clearer than that.
The fact that 13 members of Congress and a number of White House staff found it prudent to be there says something about the increasing political clout Catholics sense they have in this country.
The recent selection of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new Pope Benedict XVI gave the event an extra zing. Mr. Bush made prominent mention of his trip to Rome for Pope John Paul II’s funeral. The president even cracked a joke about the famously unreliable Catholic voter. While quoting 19th Century French statesman Alexis de Toqueville’s observation that Catholics are “the most faithful believers” in the land, he then paused dramatically. “And also,” said the president wryly to laughter and applause, “the most independent of citizens, as I’ve learned from meetings with Senator Santorum.”
His speech, as it turns out, was written by Tom McArdle, one of the newest White House speechwriters and the former communications director for the Catholic League. Apparently the White House press office staff is overwhelmingly Irish Catholic these days, so expect more speeches acknowledging this 25 percent of the American electorate.
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by Julia Duin, national reporter
How things have changed in one year. Last year, when about 1,000 Catholics crammed into the Mayflower Hotel for their First Annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, the speaker was Sen. Rick Santorum, Pennsylvania Republican. All the talk was about the coming election and, in some of the table conversations, grumbling about why Mr. Santorum was supporting a pro-choice Republican, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, against a pro-life Democratic opponent.
At last Friday’s Second Annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, 1,600 people came, including President Bush, who owed much of last year’s victory to Roman Catholics. Catholics underwent a major shift in allegiance last fall. In 2000, 47 percent voted for Mr. Bush and 50 percent voted for Al Gore. In November, 52 percent went for the president and 47 percent voted for Sen. John Kerry.
And the keynote speaker at the breakfast was Colorado Archbishop Charles Chaput, who last year told The New York Times that a vote for Catholic politicians like Sen. Kerry who favor abortion is “cooperating in evil.” The archbishop’s 15-minute speech on Friday hammered home the point that Catholics must not compromise their beliefs.
“Christ’s relationship with each of us should be the driving force of our personal lives,” he said, “and for all of our public witness - including our political witness. Only Jesus Christ is Lord. The church belongs to him, not to us, but to him. And there’s no way — no way — that we should ever allow ourselves to be driven from the public square by those who want someone else, or something else to be Lord.”
It doesn’t get much clearer than that.
The fact that 13 members of Congress and a number of White House staff found it prudent to be there says something about the increasing political clout Catholics sense they have in this country.
The recent selection of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new Pope Benedict XVI gave the event an extra zing. Mr. Bush made prominent mention of his trip to Rome for Pope John Paul II’s funeral. The president even cracked a joke about the famously unreliable Catholic voter. While quoting 19th Century French statesman Alexis de Toqueville’s observation that Catholics are “the most faithful believers” in the land, he then paused dramatically. “And also,” said the president wryly to laughter and applause, “the most independent of citizens, as I’ve learned from meetings with Senator Santorum.”
His speech, as it turns out, was written by Tom McArdle, one of the newest White House speechwriters and the former communications director for the Catholic League. Apparently the White House press office staff is overwhelmingly Irish Catholic these days, so expect more speeches acknowledging this 25 percent of the American electorate.
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