Issues: Manipulating Christianity for Political Gain http://www.catholicdemocrats.org/issues/manipulatingchristianity/ en Copyright 2007 Sun, 15 Apr 2007 17:44:38 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Manipulating Christianity for Political Gain -Matthew 7:1-3 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. -Philippians 2:1-4 For useful views and commentary on issues related to Catholics in public life, see these webpages in America, the Jesuit weekly news magazine: Articles on Catholic politicians in the United States Commentary on American political life Facts regarding the Bush Campaign's approach to manipulating Christianity for political gain: 1. Even as the Bush Campaign began a massive effort to register voters at Catholic churches after masses across the country, their chief advisor for Catholic outreach resigned from the Campaign on August 18 because of a personal indiscretion with a student when he was a philosophy professor at Fordham University. Summarized here. 2. Every Catholic should grieve the grave dishonor brought on our faith by one who claims that Christ has "changed my heart," and then did so much to throw the world into a state of violence and turmoil. 3. By his prolific use of Christian language, this Christian-in-Chief more closely identified his Administration's policies with his supposed religious beliefs than any previous President. Like a rude driver who prominently displays his college's name on the back window of the car, Mr. Bush has done more to stain the Christian message than any major leader of the last century. 4. People around the world now equate Christianity with pre-emptive war, with public vengeance in the form of a haphazardly-implemented death penalty, with widening of the gap between the wealthy and the rest, and with the despoilment of the environment for personal profit. 5. Mr. Bush tacitly endorsed anti-Catholic bigotry by speaking at Bob Jones University prior to the South Carolina Primary in 2000. One measure of the philosophy of BJU are the published remarks of Bob Jones on the death of Pope Paul VI, whom he called "the archpriest of Satan, a deceiver and an anti-Christ, (who) has, like Judas, gone to his own place." Mr. Bush offered no public apologies for his actions. 6. Meeting with the Pope on June 4, 2004, Mr. Bush asked a top Vatican official to compel American bishops to speak out more about political issues, including same-sex marriage and abortion, according to an article in the National Catholic Reporter. 7. "The campaign, and the Republican National Committee, has hired denominationally specific "outreach" organizers. They have targeted Catholics in key battleground states," according to Joe Feuerherd writing in the National Catholic Reporter (7/28/04). 8. Mr. Feuerherd had reported a week earlier, "The Republican National Committee (RNC) is urging Bush-supporting Catholics to provide parish directories and membership lists to the GOP. Martin J. Gillespie, Director of Catholic Outreach at the RNC, made the request earlier this year. "We ... want to work with you to identify active Catholic voters throughout the country. In this respect, we need your help in requesting parish directory and membership lists of Catholic groups and associations," wrote Gillespie. "Access to these directories is critical as it allows us to identify and contact those Catholics who are likely to be supportive of President Bush's compassionate conservative agenda. Please forward any directories you are able to collect to my attention," wrote Gillespie. 9. He added that Mr. Gillespie had written, "At the March for Life ... and the adjoining Conservative Political Action Conference, we enlisted an estimated one thousand new [Catholic] Team Leaders." ...Republicans are particularly interested in targeting Catholics who use collection envelopes to make their Sunday contributions, said a source familiar with the campaign's thinking. ...Meanwhile, the Republican Party is seeking "Catholic Field Coordinators," according to a June e-mail from the RNC's Martin Gillespie. "Each Catholic field coordinator will be responsible for implementing our plan of organizing a vibrant and efficient network of Catholics in each target state," wrote Gillespie. The job pays $2500 a month, "with up to $500 per month allotted for expenses." Those field coordinators presumably played a role in organizing the "RNC Catholic Outreach national surrogate tour" where prominent conservative Catholics (Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, Congressman Patrick Toomey of Pennsylvania, and former baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn among them) recently rallied the faithful to the Bush cause. 10. Mr. Feuerherd, in the NCR (7/21/04), made reference to a letter from GOP National Chairman Ed Gillespie, which read, "Dear Fellow Catholic, President Bush had significant success in winning Catholic support in 2000, and Republicans across America were able to build on that success in 2002. The Republican trend among Catholics was reflected even more strongly among church-going Catholics. Catholics across America have responded to President Bush's leadership and his efforts to build a more compassionate America and ensure that human life is protected. The Republican National Committee's Catholic Team Leader Outreach aims to build on these historic successes, and is working with the Catholic community to ensure that priorities important to Catholics become a reality, including the President's faith-based initiative and his efforts to build a more compassionate America by helping people in need through continued job creation. The hard work and advice of Catholics around the nation will continue to be essential in advancing these important policy initiatives, and there's no better way to get involved than through the RNC's Catholic Outreach. Please join our effort today by becoming a Catholic Team Leader!" 11. Widely-reported was the role played by Dr. Deal Hudson, a Bush apologist and rightist religious commentator, in persuading the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to fire one of their employees because he had organized an online discussion group supporting Senator Kerry. Dr. Hudson wrote in his electronic newsletter in February:
A case in point is Ono Ekeh, the administrator of the "Catholic Democrats" internet newsgroup. You see, when he's not working to get pro-abortion Democrat John Kerry elected president, he can be found at his other job: program coordinator for the Secretariat for African-American Catholics at the USCCB. As you probably know, the USCCB itself takes a strong pro-life stance, saying that "the well-informed Christian conscience does not permit one to vote for a political policy or an individual law which contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals," especially in regards to abortion. So, how can an employee of the conference go directly against this clear mandate and publicly support a politician who has said repeatedly that he will approve only pro-abortion judges for the Supreme Court? ... Predictably, Ekeh goes to great (sometimes downright comical) lengths to justify support for a politician who blatantly rejects the Church's teaching on life issues. Ekeh explains that, instead of opposing abortion, Kerry will target poverty and thus help eliminate the dire financial circumstances that often drive women to abortion. In this way, Ekeh claims, "John Kerry's vision for America is a pro-life vision that will ultimately reduce the frequency of and need for abortions." I wonder if John Kerry knows that his vision is "pro-life." After all, in my last e-letter I quoted Kerry saying that he wants to EXPAND abortion and make it MORE available, not eliminate poverty to reduce abortion rates. The "vision" Ekeh describes seems to be one he's invented himself. ... Look, it's one thing for a Catholic to be a pro-life Democrat -- that in itself is a perfectly legitimate position and consistent with our Catholic Faith. However, it's completely unacceptable to follow Ekeh and trade away our pro-life responsibilities. As Kerry advances down the presidential campaign trail, and as other Catholics equivocate on his blatantly pro-abortion record, it will become more and more vital for the bishops to speak out. And for the members of the conference itself, the issue is getting a bit close to home.
Moral scorecard: 1. This blatant organization of a religious community for the political gain of a particular candidate is guaranteed to polarize Catholics across the country if not widely denounced, particularly because of the anti-Catholic policies of the Administration on virtually every issue (except for the personal pocketbooks of the most affluent Catholics). 2. The use of charitable donor lists for raising political funds is a gross violation of the 501(c)3 status of the Church, potentially jeopardizing our Church's tax-exemption. 3. Mr. Bush's personal deference to the Pope while refusing to meet with Catholic religious leaders or heed their advice prior to the run-up to the invasion of Iraq should serve as a note of caution to all Catholics that Mr. Bush's central priority is his own political wellbeing. 4. The intimidation of Senator Kerry's Catholic supporters as somehow un-Catholic represents the worst abuse of our faith community, with self-annointed purist Catholics seeking to castigate others that don't share their precise beliefs. This is particularly true when the object of the affection of these aggressive rightists is the most pro-death president in recent U.S. history. Links: Bush boasts about his support for embryonic stem cell research, while vetoing new legislation Bishops again seduced into attending Republican political event honoring President Bush RNC Chair declares free enterprise and militarism to be Catholic values Bush Treasury Dept Vendetta: IRS chases California church for moral stance on the war in Iraq Politicking in Catholic churches divides Catholics ]]> http://www.catholicdemocrats.org/issues/manipulatingchristianity/2007/04/manipulating_christianity_for.html http://www.catholicdemocrats.org/issues/manipulatingchristianity/2007/04/manipulating_christianity_for.html Sun, 15 Apr 2007 17:44:38 -0500