Political Hay
The New Saintliness
By George Neumayr
Published 4/21/2004 12:08:48 AM

"Conservatives Try To Exploit Catholic Democrats' Views," read a New York Times headline on A17 Tuesday. Minus the convoluted bias, the headline would read: Catholic Democrats Exploit Faith While Rejecting It.

But that story is of no interest to the Times. What concerns the Times is that as the ground of American politics shifts pro-abortion Catholic Democrats, who once could navigate it so easily à la Mario Cuomo, are beginning to lose their footing. This is "deeply troubling" to Catholics like Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee. "If I went to my local church in Virginia and was denied communion, I'd be very upset about that," McAuliffe said to the Times. "I doubt it will come to that. I think it would be a huge mistake for the Catholic Church."

The successors of the Apostles have been sternly warned not to inconvenience Terry McAuliffe's Sunday. And it looks like they won't, according to the Times. It reports that the American bishops will likely dodge the issue until after the election. The bishops have established a time-buying task force to study "how to deal with Catholic elected officials who vote against church doctrine," which is headed up by a labor-activist cardinal traditionally in the tank for the Dems, Theodore McCarrick. He has already signaled that he won't confront Kerry. "The McCarrick guidelines may not be ready until after the election," the Times reports....

It would be an appropriate finale to decades of calamitous Catholic leadership if the most anti-Catholic presidency in American history is occupied by a Catholic.

Read the entire artile.

-- Bill Nelson (bnelson45-nospam@hotmail.com), April 21, 2004

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-- Bill Nelson (bnelson45-nospam@hotmail.com), April 21, 2004.