Catholic Wind in the White House

[Kountzer]

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A Catholic Wind in the White House

By Daniel Burke

Sunday, April 13, 2008; B02

Shortly after Pope Benedict XVI's election in 2005, President Bush met with a small circle of advisers in the Oval Office. As some mentioned their own religious backgrounds, the president remarked that he had read one of the new pontiff's books about faith and culture in Western Europe.

Save for one other soul, Bush was the only non-Catholic in the room. But his interest in the pope's writings was no surprise to those around him. As the White House prepares to welcome Benedict on Tuesday, many in Bush's inner circle expect the pontiff to find a kindred spirit in the president. Because if Bill Clinton can be called America's first black president, some say, then George W. Bush could well be the nation's first Catholic president.

This isn't as strange a notion as it sounds. Yes, there was John F. Kennedy. But where Kennedy sought to divorce his religion from his office, Bush has welcomed Roman Catholic doctrine and teachings into the White House and based many important domestic policy decisions on them.

"I don't think there's any question about it," says Rick Santorum, former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania and a devout Catholic, who was the first to give Bush the "Catholic president" label. "He's certainly much more Catholic than Kennedy."

Bush attends an Episcopal church in Washington and belongs to a Methodist church in Texas, and his political base is solidly evangelical. Yet this Protestant president has surrounded himself with Roman Catholic intellectuals, speechwriters, professors, priests, bishops and politicians. These Catholics -- and thus Catholic social teaching -- have for the past eight years been shaping Bush's speeches, policies and legacy to a degree perhaps unprecedented in U.S. history.

"I used to say that there are more Catholics on President Bush's speechwriting team than on any Notre Dame starting lineup in the past half-century," said former Bush scribe -- and Catholic -- William McGurn.

Bush has also placed Catholics in prominent roles in the federal government and relied on Catholic tradition to make a public case for everything from his faith-based initiative to antiabortion legislation. He has wedded Catholic intellectualism with evangelical political savvy to forge a powerful electoral coalition.

"There is an awareness in the White House that the rich Catholic intellectual tradition is a resource for making the links between Christian faith, religiously grounded moral judgments and public policy," says Richard John Neuhaus, a Catholic priest and editor of the journal First Things who has tutored Bush in the church's social doctrines for nearly a decade.

In the late 1950s, Kennedy's Catholicism was a political albatross, and he labored to distance himself from his church. Accepting the Democratic nomination in 1960, he declared his religion "not relevant."

Bush and his administration, by contrast, have had no such qualms about their Catholic connections. At times, they've even seemed to brandish them for political purposes. Even before he got to the White House, Bush and his political guru Karl Rove invited Catholic intellectuals to Texas to instruct the candidate on the church's social teachings. In January 2001, Bush's first public outing as president in the nation's capital was a dinner with Washington's then-archbishop, Theodore McCarrick. A few months later, Rove (an Episcopalian) asked former White House Catholic adviser Deal Hudson to find a priest to bless his West Wing office.

"There was a very self-conscious awareness that religious conservatives had brought Bush into the White House and that [the administration] wanted to do what they had been mandated to do," says Hudson.

To conservative Catholics, that meant holding the line on same-sex marriage, euthanasia and embryonic stem cell research, and working to limit abortion in the United States and abroad while nominating judges who would eventually outlaw it. To make the case, Bush has often borrowed Pope John Paul II's mantra of promoting a "culture of life." Many Catholics close to him believe that the approximately 300 judges he has seated on the federal bench -- most notably Catholics John Roberts and Samuel Alito on the Supreme Court -- may yet be his greatest legacy.

Bush also used Catholic doctrine and rhetoric to push his faith-based initiative, a movement to open federal funding to grass-roots religious groups that provide social services to their communities. Much of that initiative is based on the Catholic principle of "subsidiarity" -- the idea that local people are in the best position to solve local problems. "The president probably knows absolutely nothing about the Catholic catechism, but he's very familiar with the principle of subsidiarity," said H. James Towey, former director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives who is now the president of a Catholic college in southwestern Pennsylvania. "It's the sense that the government is not the savior and that problems like poverty have spiritual roots."

Nonetheless, Bush is not without his Catholic critics. Some contend that his faith-based rhetoric is just small-government conservatism dressed up in religious vestments, and that his economic policies, including tax cuts for the rich, have created a wealth gap that clearly upends the Catholic principle of solidarity with the poor.

John Carr, a top public policy director for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, calls the Bush administration's legacy a "tale of two policies."

"The best of the Bush administration can be seen in their work in development assistance on HIV/AIDS in Africa," says Carr. "In domestic policy, the conservatism trumps the compassion."

And other prominent Catholics charge the president with disregarding Rome's teachings on the Iraq war and torture. But even when he has taken actions that the Vatican opposes, such as invading Iraq, Bush has shown deference to church teachings. Before he sent U.S. troops into Baghdad to topple Saddam Hussein, he met with Catholic "theocons" to discuss just-war theory. White House adviser Leonard Leo, who heads Catholic outreach for the Republican National Committee, says that Bush "has engaged in dialogue with Catholics and shared perspectives with Catholics in a way I think is fairly unique in American politics."

Moreover, people close to Bush say that he has professed a not-so-secret admiration for the church's discipline and is personally attracted to the breadth and unity of its teachings. A New York priest who has befriended the president said that Bush respects the way Catholicism starts at the foundation -- with the notion that the papacy is willed by God and that the pope is Peter's successor. "I think what fascinates him about Catholicism is its historical plausibility," says this priest. "He does appreciate the systematic theology of the church, its intellectual cogency and stability." The priest also says that Bush "is not unaware of how evangelicalism -- by comparison with Catholicism -- may seem more limited both theologically and historically."

Former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson, another evangelical with an affinity for Catholic teaching, says that the key to understanding Bush's domestic policy is to view it through the lens of Rome. Others go a step further.

Paul Weyrich, an architect of the religious right, detects in Bush shades of former British prime minister Tony Blair, who converted to Catholicism last year. "I think he is a secret believer," Weyrich says of Bush. Similarly, John DiIulio, Bush's first director of faith-based initiatives, has called the president a "closet Catholic." And he was only half-kidding.

daniel.burke@religionnews.com

Daniel Burke is a national correspondent for Religion News Service.

[olger]

Ummhmm. Didn't Jeb Bush convert to Catholicism recently?

There is a scarlet & purple thread slowly winding around America.

[jasd]

Hmm, interesting article – for various reasons... That said, let me parse only the following for the moment.

>>To conservative Catholics, that meant holding the line on same-sex marriage, euthanasia and embryonic stem cell research, and working to limit abortion in the United States and abroad while nominating judges who would eventually outlaw it.<<

Hmmm, again. Inasmuch as the above parallels my own ethical bedrock strata, does that make me Catholic?

>>To make the case, Bush has often borrowed Pope John Paul II's mantra of promoting a "culture of life."<<

The above being so, methinks Dubya does well to borrow such mantras.

>>Many Catholics close to him believe that the approximately 300 judges he has seated on the federal bench -- most notably Catholics John Roberts and Samuel Alito on the Supreme Court -- may yet be his greatest legacy.<<

Additionally..., howsabout the presence of Thomas? Kennedy? Scalia? Oy! that’s five Catholics on the Court!

That, I agree, is kinda, like, overrepresentation. (yah think, any of them might be Dominican?)

>>...with Catholic "theocons" to discuss just-war theory.<<

Yikes! have I been out of the loop. Prior, McMedia reported that Dubya allowed himself to be led by the diktats of the ‘Neocons’ – acidly noted by pundits as a.k.a. Jews. Speaking of which,

[Jews, that is] reference – with shared pride and/or embarrassment – the ‘Jewish Mafia’ of the Clinton Admin.

"Don't worry about American pressure, we the Jewish people control America." –Ariel Sharon chastising Shimon Peres (ca 2001)

"The Israelis control the policy in the congress and the senate." -- Senator Fullbright, Chair of Senate Foreign Relations Committee: 10/07/1973 on CBS' "Face the Nation".

Dispensing with like quotes, the question obtains – why is the question of unnatural or disproportionate influence or representation -- percolating at this particular time?

It appears, by the tenor of the article’s presentation, and as may be rightly voiced in that odd quarter here or there, that ‘anti-Catholicism’ is the last accepted and/or chic prejudice in America.

[Bravus]

Well, given McCain's links with Hagee, relief from Catholic influence might be at hand.

[jasd]

"Links" or lack thereof. I've listened to Hagee on occasion - and found that he is not only generally way off base, but is way off base histrionically. That sort of wrong-headed theatre grates upon my sensitivities (what little remains) :-o

I don’t often agree with McCain but – upon this point of rejecting Hagee – I find myself agreeing. Funny sometimes,

how likemindedness makes for strange bedfellows. Given the way things may be working out in the opposition Party, I might even find myself voting for McCain, if I don’t write in jasd, rather.

[Dr. Shane]

Quote:

Bush attends an Episcopal church in Washington and belongs to a Methodist church in Texas

GW was raised in an Episcopal home. His parents are Episcopal. He is a Methodist. He emphatically embraces salvation by grace and I cannot imagine him embracing Catholicism as a religious faith.

There are a lot of Catholics involved in politics and a lot in the Republican party. I don't read too much into Bush having a lot of Catholics in his cabinet. Bush is very friendly to many religions. He doesn't know what we know. For the knowledge he has, I think he is living as God would have him.

[Jeannieb43]

I don't read too much into Bush having a lot of Catholics in his cabinet. Bush is very friendly to many religions. He doesn't know what we know. For the knowledge he has, I think he is living as God would have him.

For the knowledge he has, he certainly plays fast and loose with the truth. No denomination approves of that.

[jasd]

The following is submitted with a slant towards humor - rather than confrontation...

>>...he certainly plays fast and loose with the truth.<<

Given the constant cant that Dubya is so inarticulate as to actually bring to mind a simianesque yabba-dabba, yabba-dabba when speaking - one then, on the other hand,

wonders how anyone can apprehend even a semblance of "truth" as Dubya is purported to "play" - "fast", "loose", or otherwise

Isn't it that "playing fast and loose" implies a rather sophisticated command of the language.

I note: it is difficult to have it both ways...

[Kountzer]

Bush attends an Episcopal church in Washington and belongs to a Methodist church in Texas.

He doesn't know what we know.

That's just it. He doesn't know what we know. He doesn't realize that the RCC is and always has been about world domination, in the name of God. The bible states that, the spirit of prophecy in conjunction with the bible states that. If you read what catholic leaders are saying, they will tell you that. Read or listen to some of the stuff the Pope says in his speeches. Read between the lines. Read the book 'keys of this blood'. In it they come right out and say we need to set up a one world government with the RCC running things and calling the shots, and the USA providing the military and political backup.

Sounds farfetched to most people unless someone really understands prophecy.

The RCC is all about the church getting the state to carry out objectives of the church. That is the reason why there are so many catholics in the white house administration. It is not just a coincidence. It is definitely not about 'i'm a episcopalian and ur catholic, we believe differently, but we get along". The RCC has all those sunday keeping denominations in its back pocket.

~ Kountzer ~

[Woody]

The Catholic Church believes IT is the Remnant. We believe WE are.

The Catholic Church believes that all other churches are not real churches because only THEY are the TRUE chuch. The Pope just issued a statement stating this.

We on the other hand that all other churches are false churches.

In reality ... we have a lot in common with the Pope.

We just happen to believe that we are the chosen and not them.

The Pope believes that HE is God's represenative on Earth.

We believe that the church board is God's representative on Earth. (See Church Manual via EGW)

Amazing.

[John317]

You give a superficial viewpoint of both Roman Catholic and SDA beliefs, Redwood.

[Jeannieb43]

Prior, McMedia reported that Dubya allowed himself to be led by the diktats of the ‘Neocons’ – acidly noted by pundits as a.k.a. Jews. Speaking of which,

[Jews, that is] reference – with shared pride and/or embarrassment – the ‘Jewish Mafia’ of the Clinton Admin.

"Don't worry about American pressure, we the Jewish people control America." –Ariel Sharon chastising Shimon Peres (ca 2001)

"The Israelis control the policy in the congress and the senate." -- Senator Fullbright, Chair of Senate Foreign Relations Committee: 10/07/1973 on CBS' "Face the Nation".

I'd rather have Jewish people controlling our government policy than any other ethnic/religious group [besides Adventist Christians, of course]. The seventh-day Sabbath would thus be protected, as well as separation of church and state and a woman's right to control over her own body.

But... we do have Bible prophecy which warns us, such is not to be.

[Kountzer]

Superficial indeed.

[jasd]

>>I'd rather have Jewish people controlling our government policy than any other ethnic/religious group [besides Adventist Christians, of course].<<

That you might. However, I’d rather they not. That would be parasitic and malevolent. Further,

if, as recognized by our Supreme Court, America is a Xtian nation – it would naturally follow that Xtians provide the dominating influence, wouldn’t it?

>>The seventh-day Sabbath would thus be protected,<<

Actually, we are no longer protected by the US Constitution except by a de facto exercise...

Point of interest, perhaps: during prohibition Jews were exempted from its constraints on the grounds that alcoholic beverage was a principal part of their religious exercise. This exemption contributed to the rise of ‘the mob’ in general and in particular, the Jewish mob; which following in turn, corrupted American politic$ in our major cities – at the time. If American politics remain corrupted today because of those peculiar events – one can only surmise – as one sincerely hopes that America will not become a Bundestan.

Jewishness does not, on the face of it, prevent corruption – note, particularly: the historical Soviet Republics.

>>...as well as separation of church and state...<<

Of course, there is “separation of church and state” and, there is separation of church and state.

>>...and a woman's right to control over her own body.<<

Without expanding upon a treatise re “control over here own body” – at the least, am I permitted to say...? “Not on my nickle! where abortion is the issue.”

>>But... we do have Bible prophecy which warns us, such is not to be.<<

I take it that the above refers to dogma that Catholicism is the antichrist. Matter-of-fact, I agree in part - were the church infiltrated and "controlled" by its enemies – such as, by implication, those Biblically identified as actually being antichrist by definition.

[Woody]

Superficial indeed.

I agree. I usually don't write long posts. I will leave it up to you guys to fill in the blanks.

[Kountzer]

I meant shallow in the sense that what you stated lacked depth. It is also not accurate and untrue.

[jasd]

>>...the Remnant<<

Given, that I read Revelation with any understanding, there is but a "Remnant" remaining at all, of mankind - after the destruction following Gd's wrath; nevermind, the Remnant of this or that .org or combination thereof :-o