Deal, you raise an interesting point about Catholics and the war. It could indeed be a wild card. But here's the thing: in 2004, Catholics supported the Iraq war (along with the rest of the public) despite opposition from the Vatican. If the Vatican didn't seem to influence Catholics views on the war, why would it matter now?
By the way, the Church's opposition to the war in 2004 cause you to oppose the war?
Steve
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Andrew Greeley wrote years ago, "In America, even the Catholics are Protestant." If they won't pay attention to the opinion of the Vatican on matters that are suppposed to be spiritual, they are certainly not going to even give it lip service on matters political.
Steve,
Have really enjoyed the recent interchange between you and Deal Hudson. Hudson has been a major player on the American Catholic scene and Crisis magazine always has interesting stuff.
Charles Cosimano: that was a great quote you provided by the priest-sociologist Fr. Andrew Greeley. Have always enjoyed Greeley's wit even when I have disagreed with his opinions.
One small quibble, however. Of course, the Church opposed the US entry into Iraq in 2003 -- and especially the pre-emptive nature of it. I think most Catholics (even the ones who supported the Administration along with most Americans back then) would have been disappointed if the Church hadn't opposed the war. After all, no one can expect the Vicar of Christ to support war, right?
Not every Catholic American supported US entry into Iraq (Patrick Buchanan was a strong dissenter at the time, for example) and others soured on it soon after the Americans reached Baghdad and ousted Saddam's regime.
It's not clear, however, if the Church would support a precipitous withdrawal NOW or a timed withdrawal that announces to the terrorists troop pullouts, etc. My sense is that the Church feels that as wrong-headed as the American entry into the Iraq was, it is our clear obligation to "clean up this mess" that has been created. As you know, the ancient Chaldean Catholic community in Iraq has been more than halved since 2003 and is on the verge of elimination. The Church is anxious, too, about the protection of religious liberties for Christians in Iraq and throughout the Middle East.
This helps to explain why the Holy Father did not publicly admonish the administration during his recent apostolic journey to the US: the Church's position on the war is more nuanced than the prevailing media narrative suggests.
Steven Waldman: keep up the great job not only with this blog but with your management of beliefnet.com. It's an extraordinary resource.
I'v got an answer even simpler than Andrew Greeley's.
With Catholics and evangelicals alike, politics trumps faith every time.
Politics is local.
The Catholic church is universal.
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