Abortion Catholics Religious Right

Pro-Life Catholics Fit Better In The Democratic Party

Dan Schinzel, of Omaha, in a recent article from the Omaha World Herald, argues that Catholics who care about pro-life and justice issues would be much more appropriately involved in the Democratic Party than with the Republicans. The World Herald says “The writer … is a founding member of Catholic Democrats of Nebraska, which stresses links between Democratic Party ideals and Catholic social teachings.”

He talks about how Republicans have used abortion as “a wedge between practicing Catholics and the Democratic Party.”

By portraying the Republican Party as the “pro-life party,” conservatives have successfully recruited Catholics who strongly believe in protecting the unborn.

Unfortunately for the hopes of pro-life supporters of Republican electoral politics,

The political reality is that ending or even limiting abortion is not a priority for the Republican Party.

Republican strategists seem to believe that the polarizing effect of the abortion issue is a very potent political tool …. It could be argued that the last thing the Republican political machine wants is an end to abortion, for along with it would go the Catholic vote.

That might sound harsh, but the facts about abortion indicate that Catholics who vote Republican based on the single issue of abortion get nothing in return.

The number of U.S. abortions declined steadily under the Clinton administration, reaching a 24-year low as George W. Bush took office in 2001.

What has happened since is the source of much debate, with pro-life and pro-choice groups arguing over statistics provided by Glen Howard Stassen, the Alan Guttmacher Institute and the Centers for Disease Control.

But what is absolutely clear is that, unlike the Clinton administration, the Bush administration has simply taken the position that abortion is wrong without paying any attention to its root causes – poverty, unemployment, skyrocketing health-care costs and teen pregnancy, among others.

He talks about the intransigence and one-issue narrowness of some Democrats.

The Democratic Party has hurt itself by refusing to budge on the abortion issue. Liberal Democrats have managed to merge the pro-choice and women’s-rights issues, making any dissent on abortion appear to be an attack on gender equality. Such narrow-minded thinking has only helped Republicans siphon off pro-life Democrats.

If the current Catholic voting trend is to be reversed, the Democratic Party must revert to the “big tent” philosophy of the past that promoted inclusiveness and allowed for dissension among the ranks on issues such as abortion.

Then he refers to “Faithful Citizenship,” issued in 2003 by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which applies Catholic social teaching to major political, social and economic issues.

A consistent pro-life message resonates throughout the document. The bishops make clear the Catholic Church’s opposition to abortion, euthanasia and the death penalty. But they do not stop there.

“Faithful Citizenship” extends its pro-life position to a wide array of issues concerning human dignity:

  • supporting the right of workers to a just wage, decent working conditions and the right to organize without reprisal;
  • ensuring adequate and affordable health care for our most vulnerable populations;
  • eradicating hunger and poverty at home and abroad through government aid;
  • fixing the problems of the judicial system to reduce crime and violence;
  • eliminating discrimination through affirmative action;
  • and promoting peace in the Middle East and Africa through proactive diplomacy.

These positions are not radical ideas set forth by some “liberal” think tank. Rather, they are the fundamental teachings of the Catholic Church. The message of the bishops in “Faithful Citizenship” is entirely consonant with that of pro-life Democrats.

He concludes with a call to Catholics to become more consistent in their pro-life ethic and to come home to the Democratic Party. And “all Democrats” should be making it their business to welcome them.

the consistent ethic of life that should be the guiding principle in how a Catholic votes can be found only in the growing pro-life movement within the Democratic Party. It is then up to all Democrats to welcome Catholics home.

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4 Comments

  • using your logic,then the democrats have no intention or interest in ending descrimination against blacks, because that would end blacks support of the democratic party. how simplestic can you get!

  • “I’ve long believed that Catholics should retake the Democratic Party.” Well this is just silly. The broad Catholic “pro-life” agenda encompasses viewpoints that are anathema to right wingers. & before Ronald Reagan quieted them, the Protestant right was always yapping anti-papal crap about from the pulpits.

    Catholic politicians are powerful, prominent, & popular in the Democratic Party. If I were a Republican. I would worry about what Catholics might do in the GOP to end capital punishment, help the poor, provide health care for all.

  • The message of the bishops in “Faithful Citizenshipâ€? is also entirely consonant with that of pro-life Republicans.

    I’ve long believed that Catholics should retake the Democratic Party, vote out the pro-gay and pro-choice politicians (kerry, Kennedy, Clinton, et al) and together with the Christian Fundamentalists settle the abortion controversy once and for all.

    Democrats need to be careful about what they wish for, they just might get it in spades.