Democratic Unity with Catholic Church Is an Illusion

Cal Thomas | Syndicated Columnist | Published: Aug 26, 2008

Democratic Unity with Catholic Church Is an Illusion


August 27, 2008

The carefully crafted religious unity that Democrats have been trying to establish for the past couple of years threatens to come undone here in Denver. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Denver, Charles Chaput, said vice presidential candidate Joseph Biden should avoid taking communion as a result of his pro-choice stand on abortion.

The archbishop led a candlelight march Monday night outside a local Planned Parenthood clinic. He called Biden’s support of abortion rights “seriously wrong.” He added, “I certainly presume his goodwill and integrity and I presume that his integrity will lead him to refrain from presenting himself for communion if he supports a false ‘right’ to abortion.” John Kerry didn’t when another archbishop said much the same of him in 2004. He simply found a more liberal Catholic church to administer communion to him.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi was on “Meet the Press” Sunday. She said she is a serious Catholic, but that the church has only taken its pro-life stand for the last fifty years and that during the previous two thousand years there were differences of opinion in the hierarchy. This won’t play well among Catholic and evangelical voters whom Democrats are trying to get.


Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.

Democratic Unity with Catholic Church Is an Illusion