Tom Piatak

August 26, 2008

My friend Scott Richert has an excellent piece at his Catholicism blog at about.com on Joe Biden’s past as a pro-life Catholic and his present as a supporter of abortion.  Unquestioing fealty to abortion on demand is the price that the Democratic elite exacts of all those wanting national prominence in the party, and, sadly, Catholic Democratic politicians have been quite willing to pay that price.

But the Democrats pay a price as well.  Cardinal Egan just lit into “ardent” Catholic Nancy Pelosi over her ignorant discourse on Meet the Press on Catholic teaching on abortion, using blunt language of the type very seldom used by American bishops.  And the contrast between a politician’s professed devotion to Catholicism and that same politician’s open defiance of a teaching that even the most ill-informed know is central to Catholicism is grating, which was probably one of the reasons Catholic John Kerry lost the Catholic vote to Protestant George Bush is 2004.  If the Democratic Party actually allowed Catholic politicians to vote in accord with Catholic teaching, it is possible that some of the children and grandchildren of those who were an integral part of the New Deal Coalition might consider voting again for the party of Al Smith and John Kennedy.