There was a time in the 1970s when Catholic politicians could get away with thumbing their political noses at the Church. There seemed to be few ramifications until New York's John Cardinal O'Connor put a stop to it. He was later joined by other prelates who were not only trying to help Catholic politicians understand the seriousness of their positions, but educating Catholic voters as well. In my book, The Tide Is Turning Toward Catholicism, I detail how the rising voices of Catholic bishops have forced some politicians to change their campaign styles, if not their message.
In the 1970s, many Catholic politicians, who now support abortion, raised their voices to vehemently oppose the 1973 Roe v Wade decision, Senator Edward Kennedy being chief among them. However, as the 1970s wore on and the 1980s dawned, more and more Catholic politicians were embracing abortion, something that has been opposed by the Church since its earliest days. In 1984, Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro, a Catholic who was pro-choice on the abortion issue, was nominated by former Vice President Walter "Fritz" Mondale to be his presidential running mate.
This was all too much for Cardinal John O'Connor. He not only rebuked her stance but those of other Catholics who supported abortion, most noticeably his state's Governor Mario Cuomo. The stance by Cardinal O'Connor angered many liberal Catholics, but gave hope to the pro-life community that the issue of life was being taken seriously by the Church. Indeed, the Catholic Church was the only Christian Church to have always been against abortion. It wasn't until the late 1970s that the more conservative-oriented churches like the Southern Baptist Church took a stand for life. Dr. R Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary said, "The early Evangelical response to the abortion issue was woefully inadequate."
The issue continued to percolate through the 1990s in various locations across the nation. However, there hadn't been another Catholic on the ticket until Senator John Kerry won the Democratic Party's nomination in 2004. Senator Kerry had to change his campaign appearances because he was not allowed to receive the Eucharist in several Catholic dioceses, by order of the local bishop. While this angered some, it did appear to be working as it became apparent that the pro-life issue was important to many people, not just Catholics. In many locations Catholics were not voting for a candidate strictly because they weren't pro-life. Many political observers said that the bishops who supported these measures seemed to have tapped into something because it was making a difference and support for abortion was going down, not up. The best example of this is the recent polling data that shows that young people under 30 are more pro-life than their parents' and grandparents' generations.
The 2008 presidential race saw another prominent Catholic politician take a tumble from front-runner status with the abortion issue a contributing factor. The political hero of 9-11, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, was in the lead in the Republican race for months. However, as the primaries neared, much was made over his liberal social agenda including his pro-abortion stance. On the campaign trail, discussion and writing turned to whether he would be given the sacraments and what his standing was with the Church. Though it may have been poor planning in concentrating on the later primaries in bigger states that indeed caused him to drop out, his pro-abortion views and the controversy they caused, especially in the more conservative GOP, certainly helped end his race after a poor showing in the Florida primary.
These political developments weren't happening in a vacuum. Modern advances in medicine helped many to understand that an unborn child was not just a mass of tissue, but a living human being looking forward to life outside the womb. Three- and four-dimensional ultra sounds were capturing the unborn and several television programs actually showed twins who appeared to be playing together in the womb. All of this gave more weight to the Church's teachings that abortion is wrong. This teaching has been around since the earliest days of the Church when local churches implored women to give them their unwanted newborns.
Some politicians around the world and in the United States took sharp issue with the Church for putting so much emphasis on abortion. Some liberals were upset that the Church didn't threaten Catholic politicians who supported the death penalty with the same ban on the Eucharist that some bishops were implementing on pro-abortion elected officials. However, while the Church during the last 30 years has spoken out against the death penalty, it has not been on the same level as abortion. Presumably those being executed are guilty of heinous crimes while the unborn are guilty of nothing.
Many well meaning Catholics might have thought that denying the sacraments to those who don't uphold the key teachings of the Church would backfire. However, just the opposite has happened. In dioceses where bishops have taken strict measures, interest in vocations and participation by the laity has increased. Perhaps it helps reinforce a belief that the Church is serious about what she teaches. In history, whenever the Church was regarded as being serious about her mission, there has been a flowering and growth of Catholicism. In the past, whenever the Church denied the sacraments to a person or a group, it made a powerful impact on the community as a whole.
It really isn't rocket science; we see it across the spectrum of athletics, the arts, business and parenting. When leaders take their missions seriously, they are treated as such; when they look weak and unsure of themselves, everyone suffers. Thankfully many in the Church seem to be embracing the growing orthodoxy and the issue of life which is such a vital issue among those embracing the 2,000 year old tradition of the Church's teaching authority. Indeed, the tide is turning.
