Imagine the following scenario; you're an esteemed, devout Catholic businessman, and staunch Rebublican, who is, as any good catholic should be, against abortion. You are a guest speaker for a group of other devout Catholic businessman-whose priest has just denied you communion-for reasons concerning abortion.
Having trouble? Seem too crazy a scenario to imagine? Ask one Douglas Kmiec, a veteran of Ronald Reagan's business department.
It seems that this poor fellow was denied communion because he has, to some surprise, supported Barack Obama in the 2008 election. I have a great deal of respect for Catholics who publicly support Democrats...announcing that kind of support must be similar to coming out of the closet in terms of potential persucution.
Apparently the priest, who Kmiec has graciously refused to name to prevent personal attacks, decided that supporting Barack Obama is, and I quote, "a grave moral evil," simply and, apparently solely because he is pro-choice.
I have no problem with Catholicism as a belief, but I find this reprehensible. To deny a person communion, (which, if I understand Catholic doctrine properly, is an extremely grave punishment that endagers the concerned soul's future in heaven) because the candidate he supports disagrees with the church on a single issue is absurd. Remember, Kmiec is against abortion himself.
To be fair, this incident is not a result of official papal policy per se, but it is nonetheless a textbook example of the kind of polarized, arrogant, all-out war politics that are strangling our political system. It displays a kind of all-or-nothing mentality that isn't just detrimental to democracy, but crippling. You simply can't universally condemn a candidate because of his stance on a single issue, and you definately shouldn't, through religious strong-arm tactics, try to convince others to do so as well. Choosing a politician should be about rationally balancing their opinions and qualities on a wide range of criteria. Thinking like this priest is precisely what has lead to the political no-man's land that has caused absolute inertia in our hallowed halls of government.
The upside of this debacle is that it has given Kmiec an opening to defend himself, and he has done so admirably. Here I'm referencing E.J. Dionne Jr.'s column on the Commentary page of the Tuesday Advocate. Kmiec, like me, questions the effectiveness of attempting to change the way our nation views issues such as abortion is through combative legislation; in our current climate, trying to pass a meaningful bill on either side of this issue is out of the question, and attempts for a political solution only clog up the plumbing of democracy.
Stay strong, Mr. Kmiec. Don't let the mean priest scare you.
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