|
DNC Response: Democrats Are People of Faith
BY John Kelly
May 25-31, 2008 Issue |
Posted 5/21/08 at 4:24 PM
Mark Stricherz wrote in the April 6 issue that the soul of
the Democratic Party is still secular, which was news to millions of
faith-filled Democrats as well as those of us working at the Democratic
National Committee’s Faith in Action office.
Democrats have been and continue to be people of faith. Not
only do more than 80% of Democrats identify themselves as people of faith, but
the party is open and welcoming to people of all faith traditions.
The core values of the Democratic Party are in line with key
Catholic teachings — creating a society that meets the needs of the poor,
caring for the sick, supporting families, promoting peace and sustaining our
environment for the health and life of us all.
Stricherz’s attempt to reduce the values and concerns of
people of faith down to only a few issues is part of a dwindling movement to
use religion to divide voters. People of faith are consistently rejecting this
approach because we care about a broad set of issues.
The Democratic Party realizes that life does not end at
birth and must be supported and nurtured through a society built on the common
good. This is why the traditional voting bloc of Catholics and other people of
faith are returning in droves to the Democratic Party — a trend we saw in 2006
and expect to continue. The ethnic Catholics of the ’60s and previous
generations, referred to by Stricherz, were Democrats because they believed in
economic and social justice — and in the common good for all.
Those same concerns ring true today with people of faith. As
the gap between the super-rich and everyone else widens, Catholics are
concerned that today’s economy is benefiting the few while neglecting the many.
People are working harder, making less and seeing everything from gasoline to
the price of milk go up and up.
Catholics, like most Americans, feel deeply that America’s
economy should benefit everyone and all families should have a chance to
succeed.
The Corporal Works of Mercy teach us, among other things, to
feed the hungry and to visit and care for the sick, beliefs easily traced back
to Matthew 25. But our current health care system is broken, leaving millions
uninsured, which puts a tremendous financial pressure on Catholic hospitals.
Democrats are the champions of caring for the sick and are fighting for
health-care coverage for all Americans. This will not go unnoticed by Catholic
voters.
While the Republican Party supports a continuation of the
Bush doctrine of occupation and preemptive war, Catholics feel deeply that we
cannot stay in Iraq for another 100 years and need to find a responsible
transition out of Iraq. And Catholics are supporting Democratic approaches to
global citizenship based on diplomacy and believe, as many Americans do, that we
need to restore our moral authority in the world.
Democrats are leading the charge to protect our environment.
Catholics also recognize the importance of being good stewards of the earth.
And as our U.S. Catholic community celebrated Pope Benedict’s visit, the
Vatican continues to move forward on installing solar panels and going carbon
neutral — a clear sign of Catholic commitment to this issue.
Stricherz can lament that the Democratic Party has not gone
far enough and fast enough. He can downplay the efforts of Democrats to enact
policies to reduce the number of abortions and the party’s embrace of
candidates like Sen. Bob Casey Jr. He can pretend that people of faith do not
thrive outside the narrow-mindedness of the conservative culture war, ignoring
the fact that the Democratic Party is truly a big tent party respecting all
faith traditions.
But as the bishops remind us in their document on faithful
citizenship, no candidate or political party completely embodies our teachings,
and we are each called to take up the work to continue to transform our
political system and parties.
We know that Catholics and other people of faith are
returning home because it is the Democratic Party that is working on behalf of
the common good, and we will leave a light on for Mr. Stricherz.
John Kelly is the
Catholic Outreach Liaison for the Democratic National Committee.
Filed under
Advertisement
Advertisement
Make a Donation now!
Insightful. Informative. Uncompromisingly faithful. The National Catholic Register is more than a newspaper. It’s a cause. Your support for the Register funds important journalism that helps to build a Culture of Life in our nation, and throughout the world. Help us promote the Church’s New Evangelization by donating to the National Catholic Register right now.
Click here to donate
| 
.
