When Obama’s Catholic supporters attacked Catholic League president Bill Donohue for his criticism of their candidate, they did not mention Obama’s support for infanticide. The question will inevitably arise for the distinguished group of Catholics supporting Obama as to how they can defend his preference for infanticide in cases where a child survives a botched … Read more
Why does the mainstream media insist on describing any Catholic — no matter his or her level of faith — as "devout"? Is it a simple confusion, or is something more troubling going on? Everybody loves a riddle. See if you can guess what ties these people together based on the MSM coverage: Brought up … Read more
Pop culture, schools, and the media all tell you that artificial birth control is a wonderful development of modernity. Explaining why they’re wrong and the official Church teaching is correct can be a painful matter. The teaching itself is a difficult one, but if you support contraception, I invite you to rethink your position. Some … Read more
Last Friday, the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama released the names on its Catholic National Advisory Council. The list contains three governors, six senators, and 16 House members, for a total of 25 elected officials. Twenty-two of the 25 are solidly pro-abortion politicians. Five senators and 13 House members have earned 100 percent pro-abortion … Read more
We in the pro-life community have been fed up for a long time with public servants who can’t seem to tell the difference between serving the public and killing the public. They want to mask the violence of abortion with the smooth language of “choice,” and they don’t want to lift a finger to extend the … Read more
One week after Pope Benedict XVI touches down in the United States, the Pennsylvania primary will be held. All indications are the media would much prefer to concentrate on the latter; they certainly feel more at home covering a subject they know something about. Nonetheless, they will have to give Hillary and Barack a back seat, … Read more
► Note: This column has been corrected, 7:30pm, Thursday, April 3, 2008. See letter following this column. Lately there’s been much talk about the endorsements for Sen. Barack Obama made by two Catholic leaders: Republican pro-life jurist Doug Kmiec and Democratic pro-life Senator Bob Casey Jr.of Pennsylvania. But these endorsements are just the tip of … Read more
I am writing this unsolicited memo to help the Obama campaign understand the Catholic vote. It has been the practice of Democratic presidential candidates, including former Vice President Al Gore and Sen. John Kerry, to enlist the help of well-known Catholic dissenters as advisers to their campaigns (no need to name names). As a result, … Read more
One of the strangest charges tossed about in American politics in recent years has been the assertion that those on the “religious right” (i.e., conservative Christians, mostly Evangelical Protestants, who are active in politics) are “theocrats.” These folks, so the accusation runs, wish to transform the United States from a democracy into a theocracy. When … Read more
In early January I wrote a column arguing that Barack Obama “will not win the Catholic vote.” Although Obama has won eleven primaries in a row, his “Catholic problem” is emerging in voting patterns and early media skirmishes. Catholic-vote expert Steve Wagner predicted two months ago that Clinton would beat Obama among Catholics. Clinton’s advantage, … Read more
“We didn’t invite Hillary Clinton, she asked to come. So we had no choice but to say ‘yes’ to hosting the campaign rally.” That’s what a Catholic college official allegedly told the distraught mother of two students who called the college last week to complain. The mother then called me to ask what she could … Read more
Last year, Georgia Right to Life introduced a Human Life Amendment (HR 536) in the state legislature that would amend the Georgia constitution to define the human person and protect unborn life from the threat of abortion. Hearings were held last week by the Georgia Judiciary Committee in the midst of swirling controversy over the … Read more
After he addressed the cheering crowd and television cameras, Bobby Kennedy was told that there had been a change in plans. Originally, he was supposed to wade through the crowd and walk to another room below, where he would speak on closed-circuit television. But Fred Dutton, his de facto campaign chairman, thought that the packed … Read more
In a “Window” from last week, I addressed Catholic law professor Doug Kmiec, who had written an article in Slate titled “Reaganites for Obama?” In that piece, Kmiec made an argument encapsulated in the following sentence:”Beyond life issues, an audaciously hope-filled Democrat like Obama is a Catholic natural.” I criticized him for exemplifying the kind … Read more
Pro-life activist John Jakubczyk writes about Barack Obama, “He is an attractive, articulate voice for secular liberalism.” Yes, the message is secular liberalism, but the voice is that of a preacher. Senator Obama sounds more like a minister than the real minister in the race, Gov. Mike Huckabee. When you listen to the phrasing and … Read more
The Monday before last, Canada’s National Post published a speech by abortion doctor Garson Romalis on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of R. vs. Morgentaler. Before I get to the disturbing details, let me offer a little background for the non-Canadian reader. Dr. Henry Morgentaler, of the infamous case, is a Polish-born Holocaust survivor … Read more
On Super Tuesday, exit polling on the Catholic vote was done in only 10 of the 22 GOP primary states. Senator John McCain won the Catholic vote in 8 out of 10 of those states. Gov. Mitt Romney won Catholics in Massachusetts and Georgia, while Gov. Mike Huckabee continued to attract little significant Catholic support. … Read more
Can the recent United Nation’s call for a world moratorium on the death penalty be used to end abortion as well? It may not be as unlikely as it sounds. Hot-button pro-life and pro-family issues have the power to define politicians and their campaigns. Yet the campaign debates on pro-life matters have centered largely on … Read more
The mission of the Global Fund is to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis around the world. Since 2004, this Swiss organization has received over $3 billion, one third of its entire budget, from the United States. A study just released by the Gerard Health Foundation provides evidence that Global Fund grants are supporting abortion providers … Read more
I am a Catholic living in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, and I chose not to attend the March for Life. That will probably seem odd to many fellow Catholics who share my staunch pro-life views. It shouldn’t. The fact is, the pro-life movement has overlooked a crucial point in the effort to end abortion: … Read more