While most of the prime-time speakers at the Republican National Convention focused on key issues like protecting America from terrorism, an important subplot this week was the Republicans’ efforts to solidify support of faithful Catholics whose primary concerns in this election are the protection of life and marriage.
The “Catholic” vote is arguably the most important voting bloc to both presidential campaigns, and it’s a constituency that the Republican National Committee (RNC) actively courted in New York.
The pinnacle of Catholic-oriented events at the Convention was the RNC’s Catholic Outreach Rally held Thursday at the Westin Hotel in Times Square. The rally’s focus was to encourage Catholic delegates and political activists in attendance to return home to continue efforts to register new voters and to implement strategies to identify and turn out local parishioners on election day.
The rally featured an impressive group of committed Catholic clergy, elected officials, administration personnel, and politicos who spoke to a packed ballroom. The emcee was Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), a long-time pro-life stalwart, and the invocation was given by His Excellency Rene H. Gracida, Bishop Emeritus of Corpus Christi, Texas. Father Frank Pavone, head of Priests for Life, gave the benediction, and Martin Gillespie, who is director of the RNC’s Catholic outreach efforts, provided welcoming remarks. The keynote was Catholic RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie.
Other scheduled speakers included Jim Towey, Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives; Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), Congressman Mark Green (R-WI); Governor Mike Johanns (R-NE); Congressman Steve Chabot (R-OH); Congresswoman Melissa Hart (R-PA); Congressman Mark Kennedy (R-MN); Matt Schlapp, White House political director; and Virginia State Senator Ken Cuccinelli.
While the presenters had differing styles and backgrounds, one message was universal: devout Catholics not only have the right to participate in the public square, but their faith demands it.
In a letter distributed to participants, Chairman Gillespie noted that we “are blessed to have received such strong support for the president’s commitment to traditional values, moral clarity and unflinching principle. But more needs to be done!” He added that the “hard work of Catholics around the nation will be essential to our success in November, and there’s no better way to get involved than through the RNC’s Catholic Outreach.”
State Senator Cuccinelli, a pro-life, pro-family Republican from a moderate northern Virginia district, pointed out that he won his close races because of the “Church people” who he organized through an incredibly effective parish-by-parish grassroots effort. He said that “Church people” was not his term but his first opponent’s, who bitterly complained that Cuccinelli’s strength lay in the fact that he had “all those Church people,” supporting him.
Cuccinelli also noted that the presidential race for Catholics boils down to two issues: life and protecting traditional marriage, and it's critical that we get our “Church people” to vote. Cuccinelli added that Senator John Kerry’s position that life begins at conception despite still voting in favor of abortion is “monstrous” because he is basically admitting that while an unborn child is human, he supports the taking of that life.
Bishop Gracida, before giving the closing benediction, recounted the story of the Arian heresy that nearly ripped the Church apart in the 4th century. It was a widespread heresy, he pointed out, that denied the divinity of Jesus Christ and was ultimately beaten back by an unrelenting pope and a strong bishop, St. Athanasius, who could not have done it without the unwavering support of the faithful.
Bishop Gracida drew a parallel between the Arian heresy and the current era, when we are facing a similar heresy, although instead of denying Christ’s divinity, we are denying man’s humanity because we don’t respect human life. He said we again have a strong pope in John Paul II and an unwavering cardinal in Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, both of whom have written unequivocally about the need to protect human life. He warned that it will once again require an extraordinary effort from the laity to defeat this heresy, and added that many bishops and priests do not have the fortitude to confront the errors of our time so it’s up to the people to light a fire under them.
In addition to remarks by the speakers, the RNC also distributed an extensive and detailed report, John Kerry: Catholic Issues Overview. Despite his professed Catholicism, according to the well-researched document based on actual votes and newspaper articles, Kerry doesn’t appear to support any issue of significance to the Magisterium.
As the report points out, his pro-abortion record is atrocious, having received a 0% rating from the National Right to Life Committee in the last three terms of Congress and a 7% rating for the 105th Congress. In addition, he joined three other Massachusetts Federal office-holders in 1995 who publicly stated said they would ignore Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae, which warned legislators of their moral accountability if they support abortion.
Kerry has also called on the Catholic Church not to be a barrier to birth control world-wide according to a 1994 Boston Globe article, and in 2003 he called for support of “population control efforts around the world” at the NARAL Pro-Choice America dinner.
In terms of the critically important issue of judicial nominees, Kerry has said that he will only support nominees who pledge to uphold Roe v. Wade. A 2003 Boston Globe article stated, “The potential retirement of Supreme Court justices makes the 2004 presidential election especially important for women, Senator John F. Kerry told a group of female Democrats yesterday, and he pledges that if elected president he would nominate to the high court only supporters of abortion rights under its Roe v. Wade decision.” He has also vowed to filibuster any pro-life Supreme Court nominee.
Regarding euthanasia, Kerry strikes a similar stance to his untenable abortion position. He said in 1999 that he “personally opposes” euthanasia, but “medical professionals” should “work with patients to make decisions” about drugs, according to the Boston Globe. In terms of human cloning, in 1998 he voted against stopping debate on the Human Cloning Prohibition Act, signaling his opposition to the measure, and also said last January in the Chronicle of Higher Education that he supports so-called “therapeutic” cloning.
In terms of traditional marriage, not surprisingly it’s difficult to pin Kerry down. He missed the Federal Marriage Amendment cloture vote in July, and was only one of 14 senators to vote against the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Last November in the wake of the horrendous Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s decision mandating “homosexual marriage,” Kerry said he opposed gay marriage according to a Kerry press release, but at the same time called on the Massachusetts Legislature to “ensure equal protection for gay couples.”
In terms of other issues of importance to Catholics, Kerry has voted repeatedly against marriage penalty relief, expanding child tax credits, and expanding adoption tax credits. He has also opposed school choice and said specifically last November in Iowa that as president, he would veto “vouchers or voucher-like programs.”
Given his record on issues that are foundational to devout Catholics, it’s not surprising he believes that religion should not be raised as a political strategy, which he said on CNBC’s Capital Report. After reviewing Kerry’s record on Catholic issues, it’s also not surprising that the Republicans are counting on Catholics who regularly attend Mass to deliver the election to President Bush.
With both conventions now over and Labor Day upon us, the campaign for president enters the home stretch and will probably be one of the ugliest in history. The homilist at the Sunday Mass preceding the Convention said that this particular presidential campaign is so nasty because it’s not about taxes or health-care; it is a spiritual battle — a notion that Catholic Republicans who gathered in New York this week instinctively understand. It is a battle that will ultimately determine whether America shares the same fate as Sodom and Gomorrah or whether she listens to Jonah’s warning and repents like Nineveh.
St. Thomas More, pray for us.
© Copyright 2004 Catholic Exchange
Craig Richardson is the founder of the recently launched Catholic Action Network, an organization committed to calling Catholics to authentic and faithful citizenship particularly on issues of life and family.
