'Catholic problem' dogs Obama and Democrats

Abortion foe may speak at convention

WASHINGTON: Sixteen years ago, the Democratic Party refused to allow Robert Casey, then the governor of Pennsylvania, to speak at its national convention because his anti-abortion views, stemming from his Roman Catholic faith, clashed with the party platform and powerful constituencies. Many Roman Catholics, once a reliable Democratic voting bloc, never forgot what they considered a slight.

This year, the party is considering giving a speaking slot at the convention to Casey's son, Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, who, like his late father, is a Roman Catholic who opposes abortion rights. The likely shift reflects concern among Democrats that they need to do more to win back the allegiance of Roman Catholic voters, who broke decisively for President George W. Bush in 2004 and could be crucial to the outcome in a number of battleground states this year.

The problem is all the more compelling for the Democrats because Senator Barack Obama, their likely nominee, lost the Catholic vote badly to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton - like Obama a supporter of abortion rights - during the primaries in states like New Hampshire, Missouri and Ohio. In Pennsylvania, Catholic voters preferred Clinton to Obama by a 40-point margin.

The Obama campaign is being close-mouthed about its convention plans and would not confirm whether Casey would be given a prime-time speaking slot. Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said that the call was Obama's but that a prominent speaking role for Casey would assist his efforts to woo Roman Catholic voters. "I certainly would like to see it happen," Dean said.

Casey, who endorsed Obama early and campaigned extensively for him in Pennsylvania, said there was no formal offer yet from Obama or the party. He said, however, "I think we'll get something worked out."

Casey's appearance would be an important signal to Catholics, especially those who follow church teachings and oppose abortion. Obama could also use his choice of a vice-presidential running mate to reassure Roman Catholics. Among those that his campaign is vetting is Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia, a Roman Catholic whose faith has been part of his political identity. At least three other Catholics have also been mentioned as possible running mates: Senator Joseph Biden Jr. of Delaware, Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas.

While abortion is central to the political crosscurrents around Catholics, and Sebelius has vetoed a number of bills that would restrict abortion rights in Kansas, part of Obama's strategy is to emphasize that there are other issues and values on which they can base their votes.

It would be a way to address the perception that Obama has a "Catholic problem." Douglas Kmiec, a conservative Catholic legal scholar at Pepperdine Law School, in Malibu, California, said that while the formal teachings of the American Catholic bishops put primacy on the sanctity of life, including fetuses and embryos, doctrine allows for voting on other grounds, including the war in Iraq, which the Vatican opposed from the start.

Kmiec, a Republican who served in the Justice Department during the administration of Ronald Reagan, said he was supporting Obama because his platform met the standard of justice and concern for the poor that the church has always defended. His stance is not popular with many in the church, and earlier this year Kmiec was denied communion by a priest at a gathering of Catholic businesspeople.

Kmiec urged Obama to invite Casey to speak, as an answer to those who believe they cannot in good conscience vote for someone who supports abortion rights.

"Giving Bob Casey Jr. a role at the convention says all that in fewer words," Kmiec said in an e-mail message. "Indeed, it makes tangible the most important message the Democrats could possibly hope to convey to Catholics since the senator's dad was wrongfully denied the platform in 1992 and maybe since Robert F. Kennedy: Welcome home."

Kmiec's and Casey's view that abortion need not be the overriding issue puts them in conflict with millions of lay Catholics and many leading Catholic clerics, including Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, the site of the Democratic national convention.

Chaput, who stops short of telling his flock how to vote but says that moral issues should guide public actions, has called abortion a "foundational issue." He has said that a vote for a candidate who supports abortion rights or stem-cell research, like Obama or Senator John Kerry in 2004, is a sin that must be confessed before receiving communion. Obama's Republican rival, Senator John McCain, an opponent of abortion rights, met this week in Denver with Chaput, highlighting the divisions between the two presidential candidates on the issue.

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