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Unholy Alliance: Supressing Catholic Teachings in Subservience to Republican Ascendance in America
Abstract
The Catholic vote has long been one of the most accurate indices of broader
electoral behavior in America. Catholic involvement in the 2004 presidential
contest far exceeded customary levels in virtually all manners—clergy involvement,
voter registration, get-out-the vote activity, and lay activism. Methodist
George W. Bush lost the Catholic vote in 2000 to Baptist Al Gore but—
largely by stressing the emotional issues of abortion and homosexuality—he
won it comfortably in 2004 against Catholic John Kerry. Some observers have
argued that this turnaround actually accounted for Bush’s re-election. This
article explores the nature and character of Catholic involvement in American
politics during the 2004 election and in other recent contests. It argues that
Catholic involvement in politics has largely been hijacked by a small but
committed group of lay and clerical activists who represent the rightist fringe
of the political and economic spectrum, not the views of a majority of
American Catholics. Further, through a detailed analysis of church teachings,
the essay outlines how traditional Catholic doctrine on war, poverty, economics,
social concerns—and the totality of that teaching—has been suppressed
by right-wing Catholic extremists in order to tie the faith, and its
considerable numbers and resources, to the fortunes of the modern-day
Republican Party. This has occurred not just through the efforts of a highlyorganized,
deeply devoted, amply funded, and well-connected radical
minority, but also through the negligence, torpor, and timidity of the bulk of
America’s Catholic hierarchy.
electoral behavior in America. Catholic involvement in the 2004 presidential
contest far exceeded customary levels in virtually all manners—clergy involvement,
voter registration, get-out-the vote activity, and lay activism. Methodist
George W. Bush lost the Catholic vote in 2000 to Baptist Al Gore but—
largely by stressing the emotional issues of abortion and homosexuality—he
won it comfortably in 2004 against Catholic John Kerry. Some observers have
argued that this turnaround actually accounted for Bush’s re-election. This
article explores the nature and character of Catholic involvement in American
politics during the 2004 election and in other recent contests. It argues that
Catholic involvement in politics has largely been hijacked by a small but
committed group of lay and clerical activists who represent the rightist fringe
of the political and economic spectrum, not the views of a majority of
American Catholics. Further, through a detailed analysis of church teachings,
the essay outlines how traditional Catholic doctrine on war, poverty, economics,
social concerns—and the totality of that teaching—has been suppressed
by right-wing Catholic extremists in order to tie the faith, and its
considerable numbers and resources, to the fortunes of the modern-day
Republican Party. This has occurred not just through the efforts of a highlyorganized,
deeply devoted, amply funded, and well-connected radical
minority, but also through the negligence, torpor, and timidity of the bulk of
America’s Catholic hierarchy.