Posted on 08/18/2004 11:47:32 AM PDT by Alfred Hitchcock
August 18, 2004, 10:00 a.m. The Price of Politics Getting ahead of a potential distraction.
By Deal W. Hudson
In late 1998, Crisis magazine, which I have the honor to publish, ran a series of articles on "the Catholic vote" which unexpectedly led to my involvement in politics. The articles caught the attention of the nascent Bush presidential campaign and I was asked, and agreed, to be part of the team advising on their outreach to Catholic voters.
Our basic advice, as reflected in our articles, was to target Mass-attending Catholic voters, not the larger group of self-identified Catholics, because Mass attendance is the best indication of a commitment to kind of values taught by the Church and represented by then candidate Governor George W. Bush.
This strategy, meshing perfectly with the theme of "compassionate conservatism," paid off and the candidate's message connected with Catholic voters: Governor Bush received ten percent more of the Catholic vote than Senator Dole had in 1996.
Happily, President Bush has kept faith with those Catholics who supported him because of his commitment to life and other family issues.
The campaign of 2004 presents a significantly different environment than 2000.
Once Senator Kerry became the Democratic-party nominee the spotlight was suddenly shining brightly again on the Catholic voter. And the controversies began to mount: abortion and Communion, marriage and annulment, the role of the clergy and bishops. At times the Kerry campaign seemed intent on conducting a Catholic-vote strategy that was, in effect, an anti-Catholic campaign with Kerry trying to play the role of persecuted schismatic.
This reinforced my belief that the election of Kerry, an aggressively pro-abortion, secularized Catholic who openly calls attention to his dissent on important Church teachings, would be a disaster for the Church. Indeed, Kerry proudly proclaims his faith would not help guide his public policy — that, in fact, it would be wrong to do so. If his beliefs do not guide his public policy, what would?
How is the Church to react to this? From the beginning I argued that Church leaders should not allow Kerry to use Church institutions for his campaign; parishes, schools, hospitals, etc., should be off limits to Kerry or anyone who wants to use the platform of the Catholic Church to undermine its authority and attack its teachings.
Then I learned that the moderator of the "Catholics-for-Kerry" website was actually a full-time employee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. I pointed this out in our Crisis e-letter; Bill Buckley followed with his syndicated column, and within a few days the Kerry campaigner left his job at the Conference.
The next day I received a call from a liberal Catholic publication requesting a comment. In response to the reporter's question I told him that I thought the Conference had done the right thing.
Within a few days the same reporter asked for an interview, he insisted it need be right away, and I complied. He interviewed me for about an hour; a photographer took pictures, while my son played video games around my feet. None of the questions was personal; the questioning was all political, all about my support for President Bush.
No story appeared. Then people began telling me that this reporter was calling former employees and acquaintances and asking them for information about my personal life. Apparently this reporter was not content with a fair debate of the merits of substantive issues, where, of course, there could be honest disagreement. His target was now going to be my life, my past, and apparently any mistakes that he could uncover to embarrass me.
Like many people, I have done things in my life that I regret.
I have spoken and written about my past mistakes — including in my book about my conversion to the Church — and the role that they played in my conversion and the grace and the forgiveness I have found only through the Catholic Church.
Weeks passed and the same reporter then called me asking for another interview saying his story had taken a "surprising turn." In reply, my office e-mailed him asking for the questions he wanted me to answer.
The questions arrived and were all targeted at my personal life — not my political beliefs. They dealt in scattershot fashion with a range of topics: questions about past annulments for my marriages before my conversion to the Catholic Church, other Catholic organizations I have been involved with, and allegations from over a decade ago involving a female student at the college where I then taught. At the time, I dealt with this in an upright manner and the matter was satisfactorily resolved long ago. It was now being dug up, I believe, for political reasons — in an attempt to undermine the causes I have fought for: the defense of Church teachings on life, the priesthood, the authority of the pope, and the need for faithful Catholic participation in politics.
I've been married seventeen years, my daughter is fifteen, my adopted son from Romania is seven, and my wife and I are happily married. When we entered the political fray in the 2000 campaign we knew the risk of political involvement but considered the issues worth the potential cost. We still do.
No one regrets my past mistakes more than I do.
I thought it important to present these facts at this time — as I have done in the past — because I need to protect the people I love and the causes I believe in. In matters of this nature, exaggeration, half-truths, and rumor often tend to overtake the truth — and I wanted truth to get a head start.
In addition, while I remain fervently committed to supporting President Bush's reelection, I think it best that I no longer play a role as an adviser in this year's campaign. While I have no intention of being dissuaded by personal attacks, I will not allow low-brow tactics to distract from the critically important issues in this election.
I hope all of this will not discourage anyone engaged in these debates over religion, the culture of life, and the future of our nation. This election is too important for any of us to allow that to happen.
— Deal W. Hudson is publisher of Crisis magazine.
To us, yes.
Why do you Catholics refuse to pray to Jesus?
Wow, your posts are evidence that some people really don't mind parading their ignorance and/or malice in public. I suppose it could be even worse if you actually were deluded enough to take yourself seriously.
People in Heaven are more alive than you or me as they have been freed from the bonds of physical existence and reside in the presence of the Almighty Father.
Catholics pray to Jesus (what a shocker!)
But, to use your methods,
Why do you Protestants think Mary was a sinner, and that bringing the Word of God made flesh into the world was no big deal?
LOL!!! Now, why did I expect that response? Oh, yeah. Just like John Kerry, you people can't answer a simple question. No, you go on the attack and then call me malicious.
But seriously, why don't you people leave Mary and Christopher and all those other people alone? Let them enjoy their time in Heaven. They've done their time on earth. Just pray to Jesus. He died for the opportunity.
Catholics DON'T think Mary was a sinner????
Gee, I wish I had gotten in there first with my answer.
I was trying to keep this civil.
Anyway,
"To us, yes."
That's not what the scriptures say.
"Why do you Catholics refuse to pray to Jesus?"
We don't.
http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Strasse/5816/orat.html
In a Rosary, Jesus is mentioned over sixty times.
In addition to praying to Jesus, and to the Father and the Holy Spirit, we also ask Angels and Saints to pray for us.
Rather, I should be asking why you protestants spurn so many of God's Graces.
I've never met a Catholic who could answer my questions civilly, so why should you be any different?
I can already predict how this thread is going to end. One of you is going to say something along the lines of, "Don't bother with him. He's just jealous because he's not one of us."
Something along those lines. As if Catholicism is some sort of country club.
Because, maybe you're familiar with reaping and sowing.
Just like John Kerry, you people can't answer a simple question.
Your simple question was intentionally provocative, or sublimely ignorant. Given the general theme of your posts on this thread, I'm thinking you that yeah, you are being malicious. Do you actually believe that Catholics refuse to pray to Jesus? Come on. If you want to throw out bait, ya don't have to be indignant if someone takes it.
Don't bother with him. He's just jealous he's not one of us.
I think it's your approach.
"I've never met a Catholic who could answer my questions civilly, so why should you be any different?"
I'm doing it so far, am I not?
"Something along those lines. As if Catholicism is some sort of country club."
I was born in Beaumont, and raised Elmer Gantry holy-roller in Oklahoma. Then I went agnostic, and only came to the Catholic Church in my late 40s. If it's a country club, I must be a gate-crasher.
Of course not, since the earliest days of the Church, when the world was blessed with so many Catholics capable of reason, logic and common sense that continues to elude so many, we have known that something pure cannot come from something impure; that if the Son of God were going to become flesh and enter the world through a woman, he would have prepared a perfect woman without taint of sin for this very purpose.
I find it more hard to follow the Protestant mentality that someone who Scripture calls, favored above all others, full of grace, blessed above all women, whose soul magnifies the Lord, who all generations would call blessed -- was just as sinful as you or me. I fail to see the logic in such an opinion.
It's a shame that Hudson was pushed to leave his work in the Campaign. What he is trying to do now is what's important.
I guess to people like 'Hudson', "Catholic" beliefs are necessary to follow unless candidate has an R next to his name. If a depraved abortionist is named schwarzenegger, Guliani, etc, then they are heros.
These people are sick. Principle, morality and truth far transcends this political garbage.
Not to mention Bush's contempt for limited constitutional govt; his obvious love for socialistic big-brother programs, funding UNESCO and its rabid, hateful anti-Christian agendas, increasing the NEA funding, open borders, etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc
Catholic beliefs ought to be followed on their own merits, much less on the merits of our Founder and Savior.
Since there can be no such thing as a pro-abortion Catholic, there are no genuinely Catholic major party candidates for president in this year's race, but a God-fearing Methodist such as Dubya comes an awful lot closer than an apostate Lurch to being genuinely Catholic.
You seem to be promoting Chris Cannon to a much highe stature than his office or tenure would seem to justify. One is left to assume that Dubya, Cannon and Spector are insufficiently racist, xenophobic or border obsessive for your tastes.
Personally, I look forward to Spector being replaced in the next primary (2010) by a pro-life Republican. The time has come. He did come in handy demolishing Anita Hill to get Clarence Thomas on the SCOTUS.
Giuliani is a pro-abort and a great number of other bad things but, if you deny his heroism on and after 9/11, we part company.
Since you suggest that you are a lover of "limited constitutional" government, perhaps you can tell us where the "except Mexicans" clause is. Was it enacted AFTER the Fourteenth Amendment? Read the Fourteenth Amendment references to "persons" and get back to us.
One smarr probrem, Grass-smokah. Jesus wah resurrected. Was Mary?
Checkmate.
You need to take that up with Mary's Son. He was the one who said all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. And besides that, Mary was a created being and would therefore be unable to field the bazillions of prayers that would come her way from around the world. Only God in the form of The Father, Son and Holy Ghost is omnipresent and omniscient and is therefore able to hear and respond to millions of prayers every second of every day,24 hours a day, 365 days a year, except for leap years.
Leave her alone. Let her enjoy her time in Heaven. Maybe she wants to spend some time in her garden or just have a picnic in a beautiful meadow.
When Jesus's disciples asked him how they should pray, He told them to start out their prayers with, "Our father who art in Heaven." He didn't tell them to start them out with, "Hail Mary, full of grace..."
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