Catholics and Obama
April 22, 2008
Cathleen Kaveny in Dot.Commonweal
Pope Benedict XVI has gone home after a spectacularly successful visit to the United States, but we American Catholics are still making news. Today is the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania, and the “Catholic vote” is widely perceived to be important in determining this outcome. The numbers suggest that Senator Clinton is doing well in this demographic block in Pennsylvania. But this doesn’t begin to answer the question who will best be able to appeal to Catholics in the general election in November.
I am a member of Senator Obama’s National Catholic Advisory Council. And as I watch tonight’s returns, I will keep three things in mind:
1. The Catholic vote is not monolithic As EJ Dionne has noted, “Despite a certain convergence of views among Catholics‹a concern for social justice, a collective dedication to the value of the family. Catholics haven’t voted as a bloc since the early 1960s, when they solidly backed America’s one and only Catholic president, John F. Kennedy, and his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson. Catholics’ loyalties are unpredictable and in flux.”
2. Getting to know Senator Obama. Senator Clinton is already well-known to voters. But as voters have come to know Senator Obama, he has been slowly but steadily gaining ground among Catholics, as they come to see who he is and what he stands for. Many Catholics are responding to his vision of the common good and his values on issues such as ending the unjust war in Iraq, providing decent jobs, ensuring affordable healthcare for all, and working for comprehensive immigration reform. Many have also been inspired by his life choices, especially his decision early on to work as a community organizer with parishes in the South Side of Chicago.
3. Hope is Contagious. For Pope Benedict, hope is quintessentially a theological virtue, along with faith and charity. But hope also has a place in the worldly realm, where it is quintessentially the virtue of the young, who communicate it to their elders almost as a gift. What impresses me is the commitment of younger Catholics to Senator Obama’s candidacy. The younger members of Catholics for Obama United have recently launched a Facebook site, which has already surpassed in two weeks the number of members Senator McCain was able to sign up in two months.
He is clearly giving them hope. He is giving me hope too.
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6 comments:
Abortion will continue as long as Catholics tolerate and vote for Pro-Abortion candidates which Obama is.
It seems to have continued under Bush and Republicans as well.
Hi again Katherine. This is Hieromonk Gregory. Just wanted to get out of the other blog. I am curious: are you aware of Obama's pro choice and beyond stance, and how do you reconcile what appears to be a very sincere Traditional Catholic Faith with where he stands?
Dear Reverend Father,
I am aware and I find it regretable and the least appealing part of his candidacy.
Kate
GREGORY ASKED: "...how do you reconcile what appears to be a very sincere Traditional Catholic Faith with where he stands?"
RUSTLER ANSWERS: Notice, she cannot answer that question directly. She knows what she is doing is a sin, but continues in face of that. She wouldn't be voting for him if he wasn't pro-choice/abortion.
She defends his "right" to be an abortionist.
Don't you Katherine?
"What impresses me is the commitment of younger Catholics to Senator Obama’s candidacy."
If you actually believed the Catholic faith you would be saddened greatly to see the extent of which liberalism has crept into the Church and seduced even the young. But no you're a lying, sneaky, despicable creature slithering around in your own feces.
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