{"id":4068,"date":"2006-03-15T13:21:33","date_gmt":"2006-03-15T13:21:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/viamedia\/2006\/03\/the-55.html"},"modified":"2006-03-15T13:21:33","modified_gmt":"2006-03-15T13:21:33","slug":"the-55","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2006\/03\/the-55.html","title":{"rendered":"The 55"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yes, it’s a couple of weeks old, but commentary is still coming in. On 2\/28, 55 Catholic Democratic members of the House issued an " Historic Catholic Statement of Principles<\/a>".<\/p>\n

One is already struck by the humility.<\/p>\n

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As Catholic Democrats in Congress, we are proud to be part of the living Catholic tradition — a tradition that promotes the common good, expresses a consistent moral framework for life and highlights the need to provide a collective safety net to those individuals in society who are most in<\/em> need. As legislators, in the U.S. House of Representatives, we work every day to advance respect for life and the dignity of every human being. We believe that government has moral purpose. <\/em><\/p>\n

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. 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. Each of these issues challenges our obligations as Catholics to community and helping those in need.<\/em><\/p>\n

We envision a world in which every child belongs to a loving family and agree with the Catholic Church about the value of human life and the undesirability of abortion\u2014we do not celebrate its practice. 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 healthcare and child care, as well as policies that encourage paternal and maternal responsibility.<\/em><\/p>\n

In all these issues, we seek the Church=s guidance and assistance but believe also in the primacy of conscience. In recognizing the Church’s role in providing moral leadership, we acknowledge and accept the tension that comes with being in disagreement with the Church in some areas.<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Note to future forumlaters of historically principled statements: It is not <\/em>a good idea to celebrate your  commitment to protecting the "most vulnerable" even as you proceed to dehumanize preborn life by discussing only "pregnancies" in the context of abortion and not, you know…people. Vulnerable people. Rather transparent and sad, in the end.<\/p>\n

Some bishops’ response, noted here before.<\/a><\/p>\n

Jody Bottum wonders about the timing<\/a><\/p>\n

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But still the question remains: Why the statement now? For someone like Rosa L. DeLauro\u2014or for such signers as Bart Stupak, Patrick J. Kennedy, Cynthia McKinney, and Nancy Pelosi\u2014what\u2019s the political gain of claiming Catholicism at a time when the American Church is still reeling from the scandals that broke in 2002?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

A general rule is that you should trust people to know their own best interests\u2014or, at least, trust professionals to understand their own professions better than outsiders do. No one gets elected to Congress by being a complete idiot\u2013about politics, at least. There is, I think, a glamour that attaches to Catholicism right now. A lot of mud, too, of course. But the intellectual force of Catholic analysis and vocabulary seems to have touched an awful lot of America\u2019s contemporary political debate, and the 55 signers of the \u201cStatement of Principles\u201d want in on it all.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Grant Gallicho can’t see it.<\/a><\/p>\n

Fr. Thomas Williams at NRO:<\/a><\/p>\n

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True, the statement acknowledges the \u201cundesirability\u201d of abortion, and the signers hasten to assure their constituencies that they do not \u201ccelebrate its practice.\u201d That they do not \u201ccelebrate\u201d the greatest social ill of our time may prove cold comfort to those who spend much of their free time actively campaigning for its abolition. And as regards its \u201cundesirability,\u201d this poorly chosen term will likely provoke only indignation. Hangnails are undesirable; under-seasoned salads are undesirable; lines at the cash register are undesirable. Abortion is repugnant and evil. Can you imagine a politician stepping forward and (with much hand-wringing) asserting that he finds rape \u201cundesirable\u201d and that he does not \u201ccelebrate\u201d its practice, but that he will not stop defending legislation that permits it? Such a politician would rightly be ridden out of town on a rail.<\/p>\n

I would like to make a counterproposal. Rather than asking Catholicism to embrace its antithesis, why not forge a true \u201cbig tent\u201d Democratic party where all are welcome, even those who are pro-life? Better yet, why not return to that noble strain of politics that prided itself on its defence of the most vulnerable members of society? Why not forego the precious support of abortion power-brokers and rediscover the roots of the Democratic party? No number of \u201chistoric\u201d statements could match the impact of a lived commitment to true social justice.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yes, it’s a couple of weeks old, but commentary is still coming in. On 2\/28, 55 Catholic Democratic members of the House issued an " Historic Catholic Statement of Principles". One is already struck by the humility. 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The Catholicism comes from her side. Amy grew up in a number of places - Indiana - Washington, DC - Lubbock Texas - Arlington, Virginia - DeKalb, Illinois - Lawrence, Kansas - and Knoxville, Tennessee, where the family settled in 1973. She attended Knoxville Catholic High School, then the University of Tennessee where she majored in history. She received an MA in Church History from Vanderbilt University, where she wrote a thesis on the changing role of women in 19th century American Protestantism, and the ways Scripture was used to justify those changes. She worked as as a teacher in Catholic high schools and a Parish Director of Religious Education and started writing for the diocesan press - the Florida Catholic - in 1988. Amy has written columns for Our Sunday Visitor and Catholic News Service at times over the past twenty years. Her articles have been published in venues ranging from Our Sunday Visitor to the New York Times to Commonweal. She has written 17 books. 18, if you included the as yet tragically unpublished novel. Amy has five children, ranging in age from 26 to 4 and was married to Michael Dubruiel, who died unexpectedly in February 2009. She lives in Birmingham, Alabama.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/author\/awelborn"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/180"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4068\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}