Catholicism and American Politics

[From the September 23rd issue of COMMONWEAL.  The author, David O’Brien, is Loyola Professor of Roman Catholic Studies at the College of the Holy Cross.  He specializes in the history of American Catholicism.]

Public Catholicism

THE CHURCH, JUDGE ROBERTS & THE COMMON GOOD

David O’Brien    

Catholics are everywhere. John Roberts is likely to become the first Catholic Chief Justice of the Supreme Court since the Civil War, bringing the Court’s denominational lineup to four Catholics, two Protestants, two Jews, and a vacancy. The president’s team to win endorsement of the Roberts nomination is headed by Ed Gillespie, Catholic-vote hunter for the GOP in the last election, and enthusiastic Senate backers include a self-identified pillar of Catholic orthodoxy, Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. When the fight gets going, we will see daily comments by Democratic Senators Kerry and Kennedy, Leahy, Biden, and Durbin, Catholics all. A few years ago a candidate’s religion would most likely not have come up in the confirmation process. Now we wonder what form “Catholic questions” will take.

Last year, in debate about the confirmation of a conservative Catholic for the Court of Appeals, Republican Senators accused Richard Durbin (Ill.) and Patrick Leahy (Vt.) of being anti-Catholic when they questioned the nominee’s views on abortion. When Durbin in an early interview asked Roberts a question about their shared faith, another firestorm broke out. The intensity arises from the last election cycle, when the Vatican and some media-savvy bishops made the question of abortion a “litmus test” for Catholics in public life. Some bishops even threatened to withhold Communion from Catholic politicians who did not toe the line. A few even made that threat against presidential nominee John Kerry, fueling the unprecedented efforts of Republican strategists and conservative Catholic activists to win the votes of faithful Catholics. In November a crucial 5 percent of Catholic voters moved into the GOP column. Excited by their success, Karl Rove and his Catholic collaborators can hardly wait for a prochoice challenge to their impressive prolife nominee, John Roberts.

If some bishops don’t like this, they have no one to blame but themselves. While the church speaks out regularly on many important issues, it is unequivocal opposition to abortion that Rome and its favorite American bishops have chosen to define American Catholic political integrity, and no one in authority has challenged them.

[To read on, click here.]
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