The President And The Pope

I saw this last night and was planning on commenting first thing this morning. But alas, it got pushed back. But after I read Josh’s take, I knew I had to say something. Here are the details.

In his recent trip to Rome, President Bush asked a top Vatican official to push American bishops to speak out more about political issues, including same-sex marriage, according to a report in the National Catholic Reporter, an independent newspaper.
In a column posted Friday evening on the paper’s Web site, John L. Allen Jr., its correspondent in Rome and the dean of Vatican journalists, wrote that Mr. Bush had made the request in a June 4 meeting with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state. Citing an unnamed Vatican official, Mr. Allen wrote: “Bush said, ‘Not all the American bishops are with me’ on the cultural issues. The implication was that he hoped the Vatican would nudge them toward more explicit activism.”
Mr. Allen wrote that others in the meeting confirmed that the president had pledged aggressive efforts “on the cultural front, especially the battle against gay marriage, and asked for the Vatican’s help in encouraging the U.S. bishops to be more outspoken.” Cardinal Sodano did not respond, Mr. Allen reported, citing the same unnamed people.

Hey, I’m Catholic and this bugs the crap out of me. What business does the Church have influencing US politics, especially in light of a certain scandal? And the fact that a born-again Protestant is using the Catholic Church’s beliefs for his own political good makes my head hurt. Josh’s take?

Presidents regularly meet with Popes. Certainly they talk about matters both political and moral, perhaps even theological. But is it the president’s place to press the pope to sow religious divisions among American Catholics, a majority of whom seem uncomfortable with the efforts of some in the hierarchy to discipline pro-Choice Catholic politicians? And all that aside is it proper for the president to enlist the Vatican as an arm of his political campaign? The articles noted above make it pretty clear these requests were made for electoral political purposes.
Remember the words … “Not all the American bishops are with me”

Yeah, make sure you Remember in November.