WASHINGTON (ABP) — In an apparent attempt to address a controversy that has swirled since the 2004 general election, a group of Catholic Democrats in the House of Representatives issued a document Feb. 28 explaining how they reconcile their faith with their politics.
The document, signed by 55 of the chamber's 72 Democratic Catholics, outlines how the signatories believe they should balance their roles as individual people of faith and as public servants representing people of all faiths.
“We are committed to making real the basic principles that are at the heart of Catholic social teaching: helping the poor and disadvantaged, protecting the most vulnerable among us, and ensuring that all Americans of every faith are given meaningful opportunities to share in the blessings of this great country,” it read. “That commitment is fulfilled in different ways by legislators but includes: reducing the rising rates of poverty, increasing access to education for all, pressing for increased access to health care, and taking seriously the decision to go to war.”
Both relatively liberal Catholics who support abortion rights, such as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and moderate, anti-abortion Democrats, such as Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), signed the document. It addressed abortion directly only by noting that all the signers agreed that it is a practice that should be reduced.
“We envision a world in which every child belongs to a loving family and [we] agree with the Catholic Church about the value of human life and the undesirability of abortion — we do not celebrate its practice,” the statement said. “Each of us is committed to reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies and creating an environment with policies that encourage pregnancies to be carried to term. We believe this includes promoting alternatives to abortion, such as adoption, and improving access to children's health care and child care, as well as policies that encourage paternal and maternal responsibility.”
The statement came as the 2006 House election cycle is heating up and as disputes still linger from the 2004 elections. That year, several Catholic bishops across the nation stirred controversy by declaring that Catholic politicians who support abortion rights, such as then-presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), were out of communion with the Catholic Church.
Representatives from the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops were unavailable for comment on this story. But a Catholic leader at a conservative Christian group told the Washington Post Catholic Democrats couldn't discount their beliefs on the legality of abortion as a non-essential issue and simultaneously point to their support of other Catholic social teachings.
“What is at the core of being Catholic is the life issue, and that's something the pope has never strayed from,” Tom McCluskey of the Family Research Council said. “While other issues are important — such as helping the poor, the death penalty, views on war — these are things that aren't tenets of the Catholic Church.”
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