{"id":857,"date":"2009-03-31T04:56:00","date_gmt":"2009-03-31T04:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2009\/03\/welcome-newt.html"},"modified":"2009-03-31T04:56:00","modified_gmt":"2009-03-31T04:56:00","slug":"welcome-newt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/03\/welcome-newt.html","title":{"rendered":"Welcome, Newt"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was much buzz<\/a> a few weeks ago when it was revealed that Newt Gingrich was going to join the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n

Last weekend, he reportedly<\/a> made it official.<\/p>\n

Since then, news has been scarce. But this tidbit popped up in the local press<\/a>: <\/p>\n

<\/a>Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) converted to Catholicism on Sunday and celebrated his new faith with some close friends at the hot spot Caf\u00e9 Milano.<\/p>\n

Gingrich, who had been a Baptist, attended Sunday evening Mass at St. Joseph\u2019s Catholic Church on Capitol Hill and was confirmed into the Catholic Church that evening during a separate service.<\/p>\n

Gingrich\u2019s wife, Calista, is Catholic.<\/p>\n

Former Rep. Vin Weber (R-Minn.), now a lobbyist at Clark & Weinstock, and his wife attended the Sunday service.<\/p>\n

Weber told ITK that the Gingrich party \u201cfor his Catholic friends\u201d was \u201cvery, very nice.\u201d Weber cracked that it was different from any other event he has attended with Gingrich because \u201cit was the only event with Newt where he didn\u2019t give a speech.\u201d<\/p>\n

The possible 2012 White House hopeful had no comment on becoming a Catholic. Rick Tyler, Gingrich\u2019s spokesman, said, \u201cHe\u2019s not commenting on it. That\u2019s not to say that he won\u2019t comment on it, but he isn\u2019t right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gingrich\u2019s Wikipedia page already posts his religion as Roman Catholic.<\/p>\n

Writer Michael Novak and Cardinal McCarrick, the retired cardinal of Washington, were in attendance at Caf\u00e9 Milano.<\/p>\n

Becoming Catholic isn\u2019t simple.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s harder than becoming a Lutheran or a Methodist,\u201d said Weber. \u201cYou go through several months of preparation \u2014 it\u2019s not like joining a country club.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) was at the restaurant dining with three men. He didn\u2019t appear to be there to celebrate with Gingrich.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Meanwhile, one commentator<\/a> puts the conversion in another context: <\/p>\n

On Sunday, March 29, Gingrich converted to Catholicism, the faith of his third wife, Calista Bisek. Though the ceremony was announced without fanfare, leading Catholic conservatives like Deal Hudson are brimming with excitement. Hudson was the most important Catholic political adviser to President Bush and Karl Rove, founder of the seminal Catholic journal, Crisis magazine, and self-described \u201ctheocon.\u201d He contends that Gingrich\u2019s conversion represents more than a concession to his wife; it signals a dramatic break from the past, both personally and politically.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a Catholic point of view,\u201d Hudson told me, \u201cNewt\u2019s sins no longer exist\u2014they\u2019ve been absolved. He\u2019s made a fresh start in life. So Newt will continue to sin and confess but there aren\u2019t going to be a lot of Catholics who will hold that against him. They understand why being a Catholic makes a difference.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There was much buzz a few weeks ago when it was revealed that Newt Gingrich was going to join the Catholic Church. Last weekend, he reportedly made it official. Since then, news has been scarce. But this tidbit popped up in the local press: Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) converted to Catholicism on Sunday and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-converts","category-politics-and-politicians"],"yoast_head":"\nWelcome, Newt - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/03\/welcome-newt.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Welcome, Newt - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There was much buzz a few weeks ago when it was revealed that Newt Gingrich was going to join the Catholic Church. 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