From Catholic News Service

Panel discusses faith and public policy

By Christine Williams - Catholic News Service

BOSTON (CNS) -- Catholics debated the role faith should play in the life and work of Catholic politicians during a panel discussion held at Boston College's Silvio O. Conte Forum Feb. 27.

In front of an audience of 6,000, the four panelists discussed issues ranging from abortion to the tax on capital gains.

The event, titled "Catholic Politicians in the United States: Their Faith and Public Policy," was sponsored by the Jesuit university's Church in the 21st Century Center.

Moderated by Tim Russert, managing editor and moderator of NBC's "Meet the Press," the panel included: Democratic strategist James Carville; Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne; Edward Gillespie, former Republican National Committee chairman; and former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan, who is a contributing editor to The Wall Street Journal.

All are Catholics who say their Catholicism plays a major role in shaping who they are, though Carville calls himself a moral relativist.

"Let's cut to the meat of the coconut," Carville said, responding to Russert's questioning whether a politician can be a Catholic and a Democrat. "We're talking about abortion."

Carville claimed that most Catholics in the United States support abortion in all cases.

"The position of the church outstanding is that abortion should be illegal in all cases with the exception of the life of the mother, and maybe 10 percent of Catholics in the United States agree with it," he said. "Apparently well over half of the faithful believe that you can be a good Catholic and have a different opinion on abortion."

According to a survey released last August by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 43 percent of white Catholics said abortion should either be banned or only legal in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. About 31 percent said abortion should be generally available, but another 23 percent said abortion should be more limited, for example, by requiring parental consent for minors.

Carville said a Catholic seeking political office would fare better as a Democrat since many church teachings, especially those about helping the poor, are more in line with that party.

Some want to portray the Democratic Party as the party of the "little guy," said Noonan. "There is no guy who is littler than someone who might be aborted tomorrow."

"Since abortion has been legal in the United States, we've had roughly 40 million abortions. That's presumably 40 million people who would be here if they hadn't been aborted. That's a heck of a lot of people," she added. "This isn't just an issue you can get around and dance around. It's real. The Catholic Church is against abortion for real and serious reasons."

Gillespie countered Carville's claim that Catholics should feel more at home in the Democratic Party, noting he was a Democrat and changed parties in 1984, "like so many ethnic, Catholic Democrats did at that time."

"There was a sense of greater comfort that if you believed strongly in the right to life, if you believed strongly that marriage is the union between one man and one woman ... that is a more welcome view in the Republican Party," he said.

The Republican Party allows its members to voice their religious views more freely, while Democrats are less tolerant of an opposing point of view, he added.

"Someone who is pro-abortion rights is allowed to speak at the Republican convention. You can't find anyone who is pro-life who was allowed to speak at the Democratic convention," he said.

"I don't think that abortion is the only thing that differentiates the Catholic position. I think that's a myth we have been perpetuating this evening," he continued.

Dionne said the U.S. bishops put too much focus on the issue of abortion.

Catholics are divided on political issues with 40 percent voting consistently for Republicans and 40 percent consistently for Democrats, he said, with 20 percent of them being a key swing vote.

"I think the church's job in politics is to make all of us feel guilty about something," he said. "One of the troublesome things in the last election for a lot of Catholics of my sort is that the church did not seem to be an equal opportunity guilt-producer."

Instead of addressing Democrats on life issues and Republicans on helping the poor, some of the bishops threatened to deny Communion to Catholic politicians who support keeping abortion legal, he said, and did not discuss social justice, war and peace or the death penalty.

Carville said the church is out of touch with the American people and what Jesus taught. The Bible teaches people to love one another, not condemn others, he said.

"There's a world that these guys in the Vatican are living in, and there's a world that these people are living in," he said. "Sometimes they're more interested in following some legalistic thing than understanding what the world is."

He called the church's positions against condom use and artificial birth control "ridiculous."

Gillespie countered Carville by saying that the church does not condemn people.

He said that just because many Catholics disagree with the church's hierarchy on issues does not mean the Catholic Church will change its understanding of Jesus' teachings because of public opinion or poll numbers, he added.

Noonan said she felt the church needs to do more to instruct the faithful.

"The church itself is defensive, nervous and silent," she said. "I think the church should do more to explain its way, what its thinking is and its moral reasoning."

Contributing to this story was Jeffrey A. LaBroad.

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