I think the language in this AFP article claiming that the new pope "intervened in the 2004 US election campaign" is pretty disingenuous. When then Cardinal Ratzinger ordered bishops to deny communion to abortion rights supporters he wasn't attempting to affect anything as mundane as the presidential election -- he was addressing a religious issue that was highlighted by the publicity of the political climate. The cardinal didn't change the Catholic Church's position on abortion, he merely pointed out that the existing position should be applied in a certain way within that particular extremely public context. There's nothing out of place about a religious leader teaching others about how his religion applies to practical, real-life situations. As I wrote in my earlier post: politics should stay out of religion, but religion has every right to get involved in politics.
Get your Tim Geithner TAX CHEAT! stamps!
1 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Politics and Theology 3.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.mwilliams.info/mt5/tb-confess.cgi/2873
» Bear Flag Roundup Part 4 from Calblog
L is for Land of the Free Left Coast Conservative tells us just what he thinks of those fine Senators. Check out Chris at Legal XXX on the effect of Barbara Boxer's opposition. How to choose between all the great... Read More
1 Comments
Leave a comment
The comment login system is acting strange. If you get an error message saying you aren't logged in when you are, just reload the comment page and try again. I'm trying to track this bug down, but it's not easy.
I don't generally think of John Kerry when I think of a Catholic politician who is pro-abortion and euthanasia but Ted Kennedy and Mario Cuomo. Obviously some people think of John Kerry, and it was more likely that his name came up associated with that when he was running for President. That doesn't mean that it was how Ratzinger viewed it.
The letter that Cardinal Ratzinger wrote was applicable towards many Catholic politicians, including some Republicans like Rudolph Giuliani. It thus can be read in a partisan way but only by hacks who view the whole world through a partisan lens.