In other things Vatican, the third encyclical of the B16 reign is said to be ready. According to Italian wire reports, the five-part text -- a social reflection on the 40th anniversary of Paul VI's Popolorum progressio -- should be released "shortly after Easter." The 1968 letter on globalization and the development of peoples marks its milestone on 26 March, this year's Easter Wednesday. Listed among the new document's "consistent themes": "poverty, globalization, peace, disarmament, war between the rich and the poor, nuclear war and the environment." Much of the text is said to draw upon the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, released in 2004 under the patronage John Paul II, and a revision of the document is foreseen following the new encyclical's release. In one innovation, alongside the traditional Western languages of a major text's pub-date release, the coming encyclical will also be translated into Arabic and Chinese in time for its debut. Its title is, of present, unknown.

"He outwardly put his faith on his sleeve," Eisner said. "It was his way of governing our country. Prior to that (faith) was something to downplay. Kennedy downplayed he was Catholic. Now we see them going to church. It's a part of their personality." Last year, Catholic Democrats, a Boston-based organization, launched a chapter in California. Bill Roth of San Jose said he is working to build a broad-based organization of California Roman Catholics who will represent Catholic policy perspectives within the state Democratic Party. Roth said the group will not endorse anyone prior to the parties' nominees for president being chosen. "Frankly, all the candidates are acceptable," he said. In 2004, the organization was called "Catholics for Kerry," when John Kerry ran for president on the Democratic ticket. According to Roth, Catholics have specific sets of values that align with the Democratic Party. Both the Catholic Democrats and the Democratic Party list worker's rights, human rights, the use of force and the notion of a just war as important issues. Roth asserts that the role of the church is to teach on these matters but not get directly involved. "People of faith absolutely need to get involved," Roth said. "We have seen the damage done by Republicans over the last eight years. As Catholics, we believe it's through faith and good works that you get salvation. It's not enough to pray — we have to act."

"My goal to to show Catholics that the Democratic Party most strongly aligns with their values. The US Bishops paper, Faithful Citizenship, is a powerful document which underscores the necessity of the Faithful getting involved in the political process to advocate for topics important to us," said Roth.