Jody Bottum on Joe Biden (and the predicament of the "pro-choice" Catholic Democrat)

Good article by Jody Bottum in Weekly Standard -- More Catholic Than the Pope: Joe Biden's and Nancy Pelosi's ill-fated ventures into theological disputation -- as Jody notes, "American politics has undergone a change in the last 4 years":

Here's a curious fact: Not once was the word abortion mentioned from the dais of the Democratic convention in 2004. That convention seemed, at times, about nothing except embryonic stem cell research, as speaker after speaker denounced the Luddite Republican opposition to all things scientific. But the Democrats at the time clearly did not see the defense of Roe v. Wade as a winning issue. ...

Then came the Democratic victories in the 2006 midterm elections and the collapse of public approval ratings for President Bush--followed by polls early in 2008 that suggested anyone from a blind monkey to Che Guevara, if he ran as a Democrat, would win the 2008 presidential election. Conservative positions were so unpopular, the left decided, that concessions (like the one that forced them to support the self-declared pro-life Democrat Bob Casey Jr. in the 2008 Pennsylvania Senate race) no longer needed to be made.

And so in 2008, the Democratic Party adopting a more emphatic platform ("The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right"). Likewise, Senator Obama has repeatedly proclaimed his "unyielding" support for "choice", and warning Americans -- in recent radio advertisements -- that “as president, John McCain will make abortion illegal."

As Jody observes, the Democratic Party's vocality on abortion has put Catholic Democrats like Biden and Pelosi in something of a bind: "So what's Joe Biden to do? What, for that matter, is any Catholic supporter of Obama to do? The ledge on which they are trying to stand is crumbling beneath their feet ... [they] were reduced to the idiocy of trying to argue theology on the Sunday morning shows" -- arguing for a morally-incomprehensible and scientifically-preposterous position against the Catholic Church.

The Democrats anticipated an election in which the national conversation would be dominated by material concerns -- economics, health care, foreign policy; in which the American people would dismiss what Senator Biden condescendingly refers to as "the wedge issues." Instead, they've resurrected the so-called "culture war" -- and Biden and Pelosi by their loud-yet-feeble excuses have managed to rally the Bishops, individually and collectively, against them.

Related

• Obama's Catholic Problem, by Gary Bauer. Human Events 9/19/08
  

"An Open Letter to Senator Joseph Biden"

Courtesy of the Knights of Columbus.

Willingness to "Impose Catholic Beliefs" Apparently Just a Matter of Priorities for Sen. Biden

Sen. Biden claims that higher taxes are not just a patriotic duty, but also his duty as a Catholic to impose:

Fired up in a room full of union members, Joe Biden angrily defended both his ticket’s tax plan and his own claim that tax hikes for the rich are patriotic, while urging fellow Democrats to stand their ground on what he said was a values debate.

Biden, speaking to members of the Laborers International Union of North America, began by saying that there is “no disagreement” between John McCain and Barack Obama on the need for tax cuts. The real issue, he said, is who gets them.

“Catholic social doctrine as I was taught it is, you take care of people who need the help the most,” [ED.: Apparently, they didn't teach you that this includes the unborn.] he said. “Now it’d be different if you could make the case to me that by giving this tax cut to the very wealthy, everybody else was going to be better off. We saw what happened the last eight years when we gave that tax cut.”

(emphasis and editorial commentary added)

So, let me get this straight. Sen. Biden, who has repeatedly stated his reluctance to "impose his Catholic beliefs" on others when it comes to protecting the unborn, appears to have no qualms about invoking his Catholic faith to justify his desire to confiscate other people's money to enrich the government coffers. Nice priorities you got there, Sen. Biden.

Never mind that Catholic social teaching says next to nothing about tax policy (as opposed to, say, stressing the duty of politicians to work to restrict abortion). And never mind that, if Sen. Biden believes so strongly in taking care of people who need help the most, then his giving ALMOST NOTHING to charity certainly is a strange way of showing it.

Courtesy of Zach Brissett at In Toon with the World

Biden Has Awaked the Sleeping Giant

Actually, I'm not sure that the bishops were every really asleep in the first place, but I've always enjoyed Admiral Yamamoto's quote.

My bishop's weekly e-pistle for last week informs me:

The Administrative Committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said the full body of U.S. bishops will discuss the practical and pastoral implications of political support for abortion during their annual assembly, Nov. 10-13, in Baltimore.

Pride famously goeth before a fall. If Biden and Pelosi could have managed to keep their mouths shut about their dissent on abortion during election season, they might have been able to avoid having the USCCB gather to re-address the issue of pro-abortion Catholic politicians. But they couldn't help themselves.

Biden's Wrecking Ball

Courtesy of Zach Brissett at In Toon with the World

To date, 14 U.S. Catholic Bishops have responded to Joe Biden's mangling of science and theology on Meet The Press

Over at American Papist, Thomas Peters is keeping a running count of the Bishops who have corrected Joe Biden on abortion -- 14 so far.

Likewise, Peters reports that The number of bishops who have responded to Speaker Nancy Pelosi's comments is currently at 26.

"McCain campaigner: Biden not abiding by Catholic teachings"

One News Now has this report, which includes an interview with yours truly.

You can also listen to the report by clicking the button next to the "hear report" caption off to the right.

Fidelis Launches CatholicVote.com

Here's a brief description of the website:

Fidelis announces the launch of a new website - CatholicVote.com – to educate and inspire Catholic voters this fall and beyond. The site includes a powerful video designed to encourage viewers to prioritize the issues of life, faith, and family. In addition to the video, the site contains resources on how to register to vote, research on candidate positions, documents from the Bishops and an invitation to join in prayer.

And here's the accompanying video, which is the centerpiece of this worthy project:

Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl and U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops correct Senator Biden's erroneous statements on science and theology

The fallout to comments made by Senator Biden during a September 7, 2008 Meet the Press interview continues:

Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl sent a letter to the priests of his diocese. While noting the respect due to public officials on policy issues, Archbishop Wuerl also highlighted the difference between science, the theories of St. Thomas Aquinas and faith. An excerpt:

When life begins is not a matter of faith, but a matter of science. The scientific research available to us today confirms that the joining of the human egg and sperm begins a new human life. There is overwhelming empirical evidence that once conceived, that life will continue through its many natural stages, from embryo to fetus to infant to child and on until death. Religious belief does not change this scientific fact.

However, faith and the natural moral law guide us in how we treat this human life. The Catholic Church has been unwavering in its teaching, as we are told in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception…Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law.” (paragraphs 2270-2271)

Cardinal Justin Rigali, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop William Lori, chairman of the bishops' Committee on Doctrine, also corrected Senator Biden on behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The statement is not yet up on the USCCB's website, but Catholic News Service has the full text.

Echoing prior statements, the USCCB begins by distinguishing the biological question ("when does life begin?") followed by the moral question:

Which living members of the human species should be seen as having fundamental human rights, such as a right not to be killed? The Catholic Church’s answer is: Everybody. No human being should be treated as lacking human rights, and we have no business dividing humanity into those who are valuable enough to warrant protection and those who are not. Even this is not solely a Catholic teaching, but a principle of natural law accessible to all people of good will. The framers of the Declaration of Independence pointed to the same basic truth by speaking of inalienable rights, bestowed on all members of the human race not by any human power, but by their Creator. Those who hold a narrower and more exclusionary view have the burden of explaining why we should divide humanity into the moral “haves” and “have-nots,” and why their particular choice of where to draw that line can be sustained in a pluralistic society. Such views pose a serious threat to the dignity and rights of other poor and vulnerable members of the human family who need and deserve our respect and protection.

According to the Associated Press, "a spokesman for Biden did not immediately respond Tuesday to requests for comment."

Sen. Biden Promotes Objectively Evil ESCR on Campaign Trail ...

... and stoops even lower by asking Gov. Palin “If you care about [the concerns of those raising special needs children], why don't you support [embryonic] stem cell research?”

And before someone comments about my adding the word "embryonic" in brackets to Sen. Biden's comments, that's the ONLY way his comments make any sense, since Gov. Palin - as do most pro-lifers - supports stem cell research deriving from other sources that do not require the destruction of human embryos.

Unfortunately, Sen. McCain does not appear to be among the pro-lifers who oppose ESCR. But then, he's not out there on the campaign trail actively promoting the destruction of unborn human life either.

UPDATE
Here's a fairly good assessment of what's wrong (from a political standpoint) with Sen. Biden's insipid comments:

... It’s worse than a crime, it’s a mistake. For one thing, in true Biden fashion, it’s clumsily phrased. Presumably he means embryonic stem-cell research, not stem-cell research generally; putting it the way he did leaves McCain open to remind centrists that he supports ESCR and Palin open to tout alternatives to the embryonic approach to take control of the issue. For another thing, even partisans as unhinged as Sullivan have felt obliged to praise her for her commitment to life in carrying Trig to term knowing his condition. It’s one of the strongest testaments to her character in her biography. All this does is push that fact back in front of voters. But beyond that, his question is simply stupid and easily answered: She doesn’t support ESCR because she believes in life at conception and isn’t willing to sacrifice it even to help her own son. Unlike Joe Biden, of course, who also claims to believe in life at conception and yet seems willing to sacrifice it at every opportunity.

Exit question: How happy do you think the infanticide candidate is to have this issue suddenly back on the table?

UPDATE #2
And, writing at National Review, Yuval Levin adds:

Where to begin? First of all, the example Palin sets in how she and her family have welcomed her Down syndrome child points in precisely the opposite direction from Biden’s call for the destruction of human embryos for research: it points toward a society that treats every human life as deserving of protection and regard. It is the very reason to oppose embryo-destructive research.

Second, while stem cell work, including embryonic stem cell research, can help in the study of human development in general, as a matter of basic science, the notion that it offers a path to the treatment of Down syndrome or other developmental disabilities is just not sound. The basic science (which at its edges could have some impact on the study of developmental disabilities) can be and has been pursued under the Bush administration’s stem cell policy, and even the most adamant advocates of the policies Biden has supported have not listed a cure for Down syndrome among the miracles they promise. Biden’s remark is indicative of the lack of seriousness with which some Democratic politicians treat the relevant science here: they don’t themselves think this is one avenue of cell biology that could offer important help in one range of potential biomedical advances but rather they see it as a kind of magic bullet and universal cure-all that allows them to be for curing all that ails the human race and accusing their opponents of being against it all, meanwhile paying no heed to ethical concerns.

Third, to the statement from Biden’s press secretary. I certainly think it would be nice if there were no daylight between McCain and Bush on stem cells, but in fact John McCain voted to overturn the president’s stem cell policy, just like Joe Biden did. Unlike Biden or Obama, though, he has been very eager to encourage new advances in cell biology that could well make the entire debate moot, by making available the benefits derived from embryonic stem cells but without the need for embryos, and so with no ethical concerns. McCain is well informed about these advances, and has suggested they could change the balance of moral goods involved in the stem cell debate. He wants a solution that could advance medical research without undermining our society’s commitment to human equality or dignity. Joe Biden seems just to want a political weapon, and seems not to know much about the subject.

The Obama campaign is now backing away from Biden’s insulting remark, and especially arguing that it has nothing to do with Sarah Palin (despite the obvious contextual evidence to the contrary). The Democrats have been hoping for a gaffe from a VP candidate, but this isn’t the gaffe, or the candidate, they had in mind.

(emphasis added)

Sen. Biden Misses Installation Mass of New Bishop of Wilmington; Bishop's Homily Includes Strong Pro-Life Statement

Thomas Peters of American Papist reports that Sen. Biden skipped town yesterday as the new Bishop of Wilmington, Fran Malooly, was being installed.

Unfortunately, that means Sen. Biden missed out on Bishop Malooly's homily, which included this:

... Mary’s mother, St. Anne, carried a very special life in her womb which serves as a vivid reminder that every life is special. We will continue to stress the constant teaching of the Church that each person must respect every life from conception to natural death. And we will continue to seek the intercession of Saint Thomas More for Statesmen, Politicians, Supreme Court Justices, Judges and Lawyers—that they may be courageous and effective in defending and promoting the sanctity of human life, the foundation of every human right, the foundation of our love for the poor.

Bishop Morlino and Archbishop Chaput correct Senator Biden on abortion

Jeff Miller reports that Bishop Morlino of Madison, WI spoke about Speaker Pelosi and Sen. Biden in a homily on Sunday. The bishop starts out with a disclaimer that he isn't talking about Democrats but about specific Catholics who are Democrats. He first offered a critique of Nancy Pelosi's remarks and then went on to address Senator Biden's appearance on Meet The Press on Sunday.(Jeff transcribes the Bishop's remarks from audio).

Today, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. and Auxiliary Bishop James D. Conley released a new letter to the Catholics of northern Colorado, titled “Public Servants and Moral Reasoning.” In the letter, they reaffirm the importance of informed moral reasoning when discerning public action, especially in regard to Catholics who serve their country on the national stage. Click here to read the full letter.

The letter concludes:

In his Meet the Press interview, Sen. Biden used a morally exhausted argument that American Catholics have been hearing for 40 years: i.e., that Catholics can't "impose" their religiously based views on the rest of the country. But resistance to abortion is a matter of human rights, not religious opinion. And the senator knows very well as a lawmaker that all law involves the imposition of some people's convictions on everyone else. That is the nature of the law. American Catholics have allowed themselves to be bullied into accepting the destruction of more than a million developing unborn children a year. Other people have imposed their "pro-choice" beliefs on American society without any remorse for decades.

If we claim to be Catholic, then American Catholics, including public officials who describe themselves as Catholic, need to act accordingly. We need to put an end to Roe and the industry of permissive abortion it enables. Otherwise all of us - from senators and members of Congress, to Catholic laypeople in the pews - fail not only as believers and disciples, but also as citizens.

Joe Biden channels Nancy Pelosi on Meet The Press -- another "teaching moment" for the Catholic Bishops?

Catholic Senator Joe Biden appeared on Meet The Press this morning. Revisiting the same topic he discussed with Nancy Pelosi, Tom Brokaw inquired Biden's view on the beginning of human life and the matter of abortion and what he would do if Obama sought his counsel on the subject:

SEN. BIDEN: I'd say, "Look, I know when it begins for me." It's a personal and private issue. For me, as a Roman Catholic, I'm prepared to accept the teachings of my church. But let me tell you. There are an awful lot of people of great confessional faiths--Protestants, Jews, Muslims and others--who have a different view. They believe in God as strongly as I do. They're intensely as religious as I am religious. They believe in their faith and they believe in human life, and they have differing views as to when life--I'm prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception. But that is my judgment. For me to impose that judgment on everyone else who is equally and maybe even more devout than I am seems to me is inappropriate in a pluralistic society. And I know you get the push back, "Well, what about fascism?" Everybody, you know, you going to say fascism's all right? Fascism isn't a matter of faith. No decent religious person thinks fascism is a good idea.

MR. BROKAW: But if you, you believe that life begins at conception, and you've also voted for abortion rights...

SEN. BIDEN: No, what a voted against curtailing the right, criminalizing abortion. I voted against telling everyone else in the country that they have to accept my religiously based view that it's a moment of conception. There is a debate in our church, as Cardinal Egan would acknowledge, that's existed. Back in "Summa Theologia," when Thomas Aquinas wrote "Summa Theologia," he said there was no--it didn't occur until quickening, 40 days after conception. How am I going out and tell you, if you or anyone else that you must insist upon my view that is based on a matter of faith? And that's the reason I haven't. But then again, I also don't support a lot of other things. I don't support public, public funding. I don't, because that flips the burden. That's then telling me I have to accept a different view. This is a matter between a person's God, however they believe in God, their doctor and themselves in what is always a--and what we're going to be spending our time doing is making sure that we reduce considerably the amount of abortions that take place by providing the care, the assistance and the encouragement for people to be able to carry to term and to raise their children.

Senator Biden can be commended for his opposition to public-funding for abortions (incidentally, a view which his Presidential running mate supports), but to characterize opposition to abortion as the "imposition of a religious judgement on everybone else" is absolutely false. As George Weigel noted in response to Senator Kerry's use of the same "reluctance to impose my religious opinion" defense in the 2004 election:

... suggesting that this is something analogous to the Catholic Church trying to force everyone in the United States to abstain from eating hot dogs on Fridays during Lent is simpy false. ... You don't even have to believe in God to engage [the pro-life position] because it's a position rooted in basic embryology and in basic logic, and anybody can engage that."

Once again, we are greeted with the curious spectacle of a defiant "pro-choice" Catholic politician appealing to 13th century comprehensions of human development (or rather fourth century BC, since Aquinas's views were based on Aristotle) -- in opposition to the Catholic Bishops' appeal to advancements in human embryology by modern science! While it may be a "matter of faith" for Biden, recognizing that human life begins at "conception" is surely no great obstacle for scientists -- nor American citizens in general.

* * *

Curiously, as Princeton professor Robert P. George noted on the role of religious authority in debates on public policy, it is pro-choice advocates who typically want to transform the question into a “metaphysical” or “religious” one:

It was Justice Harry Blackmun who claimed in his opinion for the Court legalizing abortion in Roe v. Wade (1973) that “at this point in man’s knowledge” the scientific evidence was inconclusive and therefore cold not determine the outcome of the case. And twenty years later, the influential pro-choice writer Ronald Dworkin went on record claiming that the question of abortion is inherently “religious.” (See Ronald Dworkin, Life’s Dominion (Alfred A. Knopf, 1993).) It is pro-choice advocates, such as Dworkin, who want to distinguish between when a human being comes into existence “in the biological sense” and when a human being comes into existence “in the moral sense.” It is they who want to distinguish a class of human beings “with rights” from pre-(or post-) conscious human beings who “don’t have rights.” And the reason for this, I submit, is that, short of defending abortion as “justifiable homicide,” the pro-choice position collapses if the issue is to be settled purely on the basis of scientific inquiry into the question of when a new member of homo sapiens comes into existence as a self-integrating organism whose unity, distinctiveness, and identity remain intact as it develops without substantial change from the point of its beginning through the various stages of its development and into adulthood.

As Catholics we believe in the sanctity of human life -- but this is not to say that the pro-life position can be seriously engaged by anybody.

In "Christian Conviction and Democratic Etiquette (First Things March 1994), Weigel explains:

How are we to make our case to those who do not share that prior religious commitment, or to those Christians whose churches do not provide clear moral counsel on this issue? And how do we do this in a political-cultural-legal climate in which individual autonomy has been virtually absolutized?

The answer is, we best make our case by insisting that our defense of the right to life of the unborn is a defense of civil rights and of a generous, hospitable American democracy. We best make our case by insisting that abortion-on-demand gravely damages the American democratic experiment by drastically constricting the community of the commonly protected. We best make our case by arguing that the private use of lethal violence against an innocent is an assault on the moral foundations of any just society. In short, we best make our case for maximum feasible legal protection of the unborn by deploying natural law arguments that translate our Christian moral convictions into a public idiom more powerful than the idiom of autonomy.

And to think that the Democrats were hoping the abortion debate would somehow "fade away" this election? -- Thank you, Senator Biden, for providing a clear illustration of why Catholics cannot be silent.

Related

• "Abortion poisions everything including reason", by Jeff Miller (Curt Jester).
  
• Ongoing coverage by Thomas Peters @ American Papist
  
• "Dumb and Dumber" Creative Minority Report
  

"Wedge Issues" and the "Common Good"

Gary Soulsman tackles Biden's religious views and pro-choice stance on abortion for the Wilmington News Journal (Biden's faith strong, but abortion stance draws fire 8/31/08). He cites a Nancy Dallaville of the department of religious studies at Fairfield University, who claims that Biden's record is "representative of the broad mainstream" of American Catholicism:

In her view, most find abortion to be a serious sin but are not sure they want to criminalize women who seek one.

"And there is an ambivalence about obedience and authority," she said. "If we're told how to vote, we turn off pretty quickly."

Because Biden's faith is so important to him and because bishops may continue to criticize him, Dallaville says, Biden could benefit by giving a major speech on his faith, as Obama did when he severed ties with Jeremiah Wright.

"Joe Biden has a rich story to tell and maybe that would put him out in front of the criticism," she said.

Truth to tell, I would like to see Senator Biden give a speech on his Catholic faith and practice.

Perhaps he'll revisit his Meet The Press appeal to "debates about life, you know, from, from “Summa Theologica,” Aquinas, and 40 days to quickening and right to, you know, you know, Pious [sic] IX, animated fetus doctrine and so on" -- a strategy recently adopted by Nancy Pelosi to disasterous effects. At the very least, it may provide another "teachable moment."

The article also features Chris Korzen of the self-proclaimed "non-partisan" Catholics United [shortened from "Catholics United for the Common Good"] -- who praises Biden's interest in "social justice" and -- in another by now familiar tactic -- dismisses Catholic concern over adherence to Church teaching on abortion as politically-divisive:

[Korzen] also says some bishops will use abortion as a wedge issue and will do it in an acrimonious way, which he regrets.

"As Catholics, we should be thinking about how we treat each other when we talk about our faith," said Korzen, co-author of the book "A Nation for All: How the Catholic Vision of the Common Good Can Save America from the Politics of Division."

He's also encouraged that Democrats have been talking about wanting to reduce the number of abortions and hopes Republicans will broaden their anti-abortion concerns to include issuses such as health care, jobs and global warming.

"Abortion is not the only thing we care about," he said.

Cardinal George of Chicago may be one such bishop preoccupied with so-called "wedge issues". This week he released a forceful statement on the matter of abortion specifically in relation to the much-touted Catholic concern for "the common good":

The Catholic Church, from its first days, condemned the aborting of unborn children as gravely sinful. Not only Scripture’s teaching about God’s protection of life in the womb (consider the prophets and the psalms and the Gospel stories about John the Baptist and Jesus himself in Mary’s womb) but also the first century catechism (the Didache or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) said: “You shall not slay the child by abortions. You shall not kill what is generated.” The teaching of the Church was clear in a Roman Empire that permitted abortion. This same teaching has been constantly reiterated in every place and time up to Vatican II, which condemned abortion as a “heinous crime.” This is true today and will be so tomorrow. Any other comments, by politicians, professors, pundits or the occasional priest, are erroneous and cannot be proposed in good faith.

This teaching has consequences for those charged with caring for the common good, those who hold public office. The unborn child, who is alive and is a member of the human family, cannot defend himself or herself. Good law defends the defenseless. Our present laws permit unborn children to be privately killed. Laws that place unborn children outside the protection of law destroy both the children killed and the common good, which is the controlling principle of Catholic social teaching. One cannot favor the legal status quo on abortion and also be working for the common good.

As Cardinal George reminds us, the Catholic Church does not endorse this or that political candidate. On the other hand, "she does teach the principles according to which Catholics should form their social consciences."

The News-Journal's article closes with a Delaware voter's praise of Senator Biden for his "consistent" adherence to his position on abortion. "She says his position is much the same today: He's personally opposed to abortion but supports a woman's right to choose." Consistently held, perhaps -- but intellectually and morally wanting.

Biden's Legacy: Voting with NARAL rather than the Church

Charlie Spiering has this report for National Catholic Register. Here's a taste, which includes a quote from yours truly:

Catholic Democratic activists believe that Biden’s faith will be an asset to the Obama campaign — particularly in Pennsylvania, his native state.

Chris Corzen of Catholics United stated, “Senator Biden’s selection as vice presidential candidate is a positive development for Americans who respect leaders who have strong religious, family and personal values.”

But Stephen Dillard, the founder of a new blog, Catholics Against Joe Biden, disagreed. “I think Obama’s selection of Biden may help him with cultural or cafeteria Catholics,” he said, “But I don’t see faithful Catholics voting for the most pro-abortion presidential ticket ever simply because Biden grew up as a Catholic.”

The Dissenter vs. The Apostate

It's no secret that pro-choice Catholics are tired of being told that they are dissenting from Church teaching by maintaining that abortion ought to be legal and freely available in society. (There is a difference, and one I think we should be conscious of, between claiming that it is currently not possible to make much progress in banning abortion at the moment, and claiming that abortion should be legal.)

It was resentment over this which caused Biden some time back to growl that he would "shove his rosary beads down their throat" the next time someone told him that his views on abortion constituted a repudiation of the teaching of his Church. Other times, this resentment causes politically liberal Catholics (even those who are firm adherants to the Church's teaching on unborn life)expresses itself in odder ways.

Case in point, we have Michael Sean Winters writing on the American Magazine blog about his concern than Governor Sarah Palin is an "apostate":

Gov. Sarah Palin was baptized in the Catholic Church but later joined a Pentecostal church as a teenager, the Wasilla Assembly of God. Her new church requires baptism by immersion, so at age 12, Palin and her mother and sisters were "re-baptized" in Beaver Lake, according to the Los Angeles Times. My colleague, Father Jim Martin, S.J., has already noted this fact in an earlier post entitled "Palin is an ex-Catholic."
...
In this pluralistic society of ours, we are free to join or un-join any church we wish. There are no guards at the airport or inquisitors in the courtrooms. No one is suggesting that Palin’s apostasy should prevent her from being elected to high office. But, while many Catholics may warm to Palin’s moral views, for example, her opposition to abortion, the cavalier way she evidently treats an act of severe sacramental and canonical significance should give pause to those who take their religion seriously.

No penalty attaches latae sententiae to apostasy as it does with some other severe acts. There will not be a canonical trial for Palin. And, unless she subsequently seeks to get married or buried in a Catholic Church, the issue will not be raised by any ecclesiastical authorities. Palin could show her respect for the Catholic Church and its canons by requesting a formal separation from the Church from her local bishop. This might not be good politics but it would be good for her soul.

For the rest of us, it is beyond hypocritical for certain conservative Catholics to denounce Joe Biden because he is Catholic and does not support making abortion illegal while applauding a self-described "hockey Mom" who is skating close to apostasy. The Church's sacramental traditions and beliefs are as worthy of respect and defense as our moral traditions and beliefs.

Okay, let's think about this a moment. Biden provesses to be a devout Catholic and to accept the teaching of the Church that human life is deserving of respect and protection from the moment of conception. However, he completely rejects the Catholic moral teaching that unborn human life should actually be protected. According to his stated beliefs, the unborn child is a human being possessed of all the rights and dignity of a person, and yet killing that person should be a matter of person choice freely available for any reason. His only concession to the beliefs about the human dignity of the unborn child that he supposedly holds is that he opposes federal funding of abortion (though Obama supports it and the Democratic party platform calls for it) because he considers that to be "taking sides".

Why, then, do Catholics criticize Biden? Because he opposes the Church's stated teaching that civil law should not protect abortion or enshrine it is a "right", because it is a violation of the human dignity and right to life of the unborn child. And because he claims to believe that the unborn child is a fully human person, with human rights, and yet supports laws that make the killing of that person a matter of choice. In other words, Catholics criticize Biden because he violates the teachings of his Church, and because he claims to hold beliefs which, if he is serious about them, amount to holding what he believes is murder should be legal.

Let us look now at Winters' complaint against Governor Palin. At some point between when she was baptised into the Catholic Church as an infant and when she was received into an Assembly of God church and "re-baptised" with her family at the age of 12, her parents clearly became convinced of the teachings of pentecostal Christianity and began forming their children in those beliefs rather than those of the Catholic Church. Palin has remained active in pentecostal Christianity ever since.

In the modern Catholic Church in the US, there are few (certainly no one that I know) who do not have friends and family members who fell away from the Church in the 60s and 70s, only to rediscover Christianity in the form of one of the various Evangelical forms of Protestantism. It is a great tragedy for the Church that this great falling-away has happened, but I think that most of us understand well that to a great extent it was the result of bad catechesis and cultural upheaval, not evil or intentional rejection of truth.

It is perhaps, in some dryly technical sense, accurate to speak of someone who was baptized Catholic but was catechized as a Protestant and remains an actively practicing Protestant as an "apostate" but anyone who understands the important of conscience in Catholic moral theology can hardly hold someone to blame for being a Protestant rather than a Catholic if she does so because she earnestly believes Protestantism to be true.

While at a human level, we can understand why Winters, who has seen progressive Catholic politicians whom he agrees with on issues other than abortion rightly blamed for their pro-choice stances, wants to get back at "the other side". But his argument that we should, as Catholics, object to Governor Palin's "apostasy" is weak in the extreme. The fact of the matter is, Senator Biden is living in contradiction to his own stated beliefs, while Governor Palin is living in harmony with hers.

Stephen Dillard interviewed on "The Heart of the Matter"

Catholic Radio International's Jeff Gardner (host of "The Heart of the Matter") sat down with Catholics Against Joe Biden's own co-director Stephen Dillard, to discuss the 2008 elections and the responsibilities of the Catholic voter. The second half of the show features a talk with Chris Korzen, head of the "nonpartisan" Catholics United who recently defended Biden's record as "consistant with human life." Both interviews were prerecorded.

Click here to listen to the show online.

Bishop Martino of Scranton: "No Catholic politician who supports the culture of death should approach Holy Communion"

The Scranton Times notes that the "scrappy kid" turned Senator could risk refusal of communion were he to visit his hometown:

Scranton native Sen. Joe Biden would likely feel at home any day of the week in Northeast Pennsylvania.

Well, any day except possibly Sunday.

The Most Rev. Joseph F. Martino, bishop of Scranton, has strongly supported refusal of Holy Communion for politicians who campaign for or vote in favor of abortion rights.

When asked whether the Democratic vice presidential candidate would be refused Communion should he tour the region, the diocese held firm to its past statements.

“I will not tolerate any politician who claims to be a faithful Catholic who is not genuinely pro-life,” Bishop Martino said in a pastoral letter Sept. 15, 2005, and reiterated this week.

“No Catholic politician who supports the culture of death should approach Holy Communion,” Bishop Martino said. “I will be truly vigilant on this point.”

Bishop Martino has also pointed to the need to privately meet with Catholic politicians and instruct them on the church’s teachings, prior to refusing them Communion.

While willing to reiterate these points, the bishop declined to comment specifically on Mr. Biden or any other politician.

Chris Korzen -- director of the "nonprofit, non-partisan organization Catholics United -- rushes to the Senator's defense:

[Korzen] said Mr. Biden’s leadership on issues like health care and economic justice “constitute a policy that’s consistent with human life.”

(Hat tip: Thomas Peters).