The Catholic Vote Blog
Site last published: 01/06/10
2008
The Seattle Times: Priest, Bishop Split on Obama
November 30,2008
The Rev. Joseph Illo, pastor of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Modesto, Calif., has told parishioners in a homily and follow-up letter that if they voted for Barack Obama, they should consider going to confession because of the president-elect's abortion-rights position. Read More...
RH Reality Check: Catholics Vote Conscience Over Bishops' Objections
November 13,2008
Leading Voices Access to Abortion Contraception Election 2008 Maternal Health Barack Obama Catholic Church Catholic voters Catholics for Choice pro-choice Catholics .
Read More...
Read More...
Wall Street Journal: Democrats Gain With Religious Voters
November 06,2008
A concerted effort since 2004 helped Barack Obama and the Democrats make significant inroads with religious voters. Read More...
Chicago Tribune: Obama Picks up Religious Votes
November 06,2008
With his Christian faith playing a key part in his personal life and campaign, President-elect Barack Obama emerged victorious by winning the Catholic vote and making slight gains among white evangelicals. Read More...
Catholic News Service: Catholic Voters Mirror General Electorate in Support for Obama
November 06,2008
Catholics pretty much voted the way the rest of the country did Nov. 4, even backing Democratic Sen. Barack Obama a little more strongly than the electorate overall, according to exit polls. Read More...
The Hill’s Congress Blog: The Catholic Vote and Priorities for the Next President
November 06,2008
Once again, Catholic voters showed that as goes the Catholic vote, so goes the election. Initial results show that 54% of the Catholic vote went to President-elect Barack Obama Read More...
New York Times: Catholics and Choice (in the Voting Booth)
November 06,2008
Anyone constructing a list of the big losers on Tuesday would probably include the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops. Will that fact be candidly addressed when the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops meets next week in Baltimore? Read More...
Wall Street Journal: How Obama Lured Millions of Religious Voters
November 05,2008
Though the economy clearly was the defining issue of the election, Barack Obama forged a new coalition by luring millions of religious voters who had avoided Democrats in recent years.
Read More...
Read More...
Dallas Morning News: The Rev. Thomas Reese analyzes the Catholic vote - most didn't follow the anti-abortion line
November 04,2008
Catholic voters ignored the instructions of a group of vocal bishops and delivered 54% of their vote for Barack Obama as president of the United States. These bishops, led by Archbishops Charles Chaput and Raymond Burke, argued that abortion was the most important issue in the election and that no other issues outweighed it. As a result, they argued, Catholics could not vote for a pro-choice candidate. Read More...
LA Times: The End of the Catholic Vote: Obama's Lead Among Catholic Voters May Signal a Profound Shift
October 28,2008
It's an article of faith in U.S. politics that, when it comes to the popular vote at least, Catholics determine the winners in our presidential contests.
In fact, with the notable exception of George W. Bush eight years ago, no candidate in recent memory has entered the White House without securing a majority of the votes cast by Catholics, who now make up more than a fourth of the U.S. population.
Read More...
Religion Dispatches: Catholic Voters No Longer Beholden to Bishops and Abortion
October 27,2008
Abortion used to be the litmus test of Catholic orthodoxy. Now the measure is far broader,more catholic (small "c"). How it happened, how it will play in the 2008 election, and what it means for the future of the Catholic community are all in question. Read More...
Washington Post: A Catholic Shift to Obama?
October 21,2008
It has become commonplace in American politics: Certain Roman Catholic bishops declare that the faithful should cast their ballots on the basis of a limited number of "nonnegotiable issues," notably opposition to abortion. Conservative Catholics cheer, more liberal Catholics howl. And that is usually the end of the story. Read More...
Bergen Record: Abortion issue divides Catholic voters
October 21,2008
Sitting before a packed church hall in Glen Rock, a panel of four Catholics faced the inevitable question: "Does this mean — above all other issues — we are obligated by Catholic conscience to choose a candidate that is pro-life and reject the pro-choice candidate?" Read More...
Washington Post: Among Catholics, Political Rifts Over Abortion Have Grown
October 19,2008
JENKINTOWN, Pa. -- Mary Anne Burke's voice was full of emotion as she left her 31st message of the night, this one for a parishioner of the Church of Immaculate Conception. Read More...
San Francisco Chronicle: Castro Catholic church walks fine line on Prop. 8
October 18,2008
It seemed San Francisco's Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church had found the perfect balance between the teachings of the church and gay and lesbian parishioners - at least until Proposition 8, the state initiative to ban same-sex marriage, made the ballot. Read More...
Huffington Post: “Catholics Shouldn't Trust McCain's Abortion Rhetoric”
October 17,2008
For many Catholics, one of the key moments in the presidential debates came Wednesday, when moderator Bob Schieffer asked the candidates whether they would choose judicial nominees based on their views about overturning Roe v. Wade. Catholic voters who plan to vote for John McCain because of his opposition to abortion need to take a serious look at how he responded to this question. Read More...
Los Angeles Times: A Catholic choice
October 17,2008
Barack Obama has held himself out as a bridge builder across even divisive issues. No topic fits that description more than abortion. Read More...
Religion News Service: Lay Catholics push back on abortion and politics
October 16,2008
When Carl Anderson publicly rebuked Sen. Joe Biden last month for opposing the Catholic Church's stance on abortion, Anderson said he was speaking "on behalf of the 1.28 million" Knights of Columbus in the U.S. Read More...
USNews.com (Blog): An Obama Vote Is No Sin for Catholics, Even With His Abortion Views
October 15,2008
Four years ago, as an obscure columnist for a great western newspaper, I got into an argument with the Roman Catholic clergy over abortion. Read More...
The Ledger (Florida): Ultimate Swing Voters: Abortion Not Only Factor for Catholics
October 11,2008
For the past 30 years or so, Catholics have been seen as the ultimate swing voters because they are not closely identified with either political party. In 1992, they supported Bill Clinton. In 2004, they were considered the key to George W. Bush's victory over the Catholic John Kerry. Read More...
Washington Post: Survey Shows Obama Leading Among Catholics
October 09,2008
A group of progressive pollsters and activists Wednesday released a new survey about religion and the election that suggests the culture wars may be on the wane. Read More...
National Catholic Reporter: Young Catholics more progressive than older ones, poll finds
October 08,2008
Young Catholics are more progressive than older Catholics across a range of issues and on a number of topics are more progressive than their peers in other religious groups, according to a newly released by the group Faith in Public Life. Read More...
National Catholic Reporter: Lay voices reshaping conversation on abortion
October 07,2008
The every-four-year national skirmish among Catholics over abortion politics is as predictable as a politician’s smile. But this year a few “game changers,” in the phrase of the season, have altered the conversation within the Catholic community and for the wider culture. Read More...
York Daily Record: Voters weigh 'life' issues: Democrats vie for the Catholic swing bloc.
October 06,2008
Oct. 6--The priests at Leroy Hanson's parish asked those in the pews to vote their "Catholic conscience" in the presidential election next month. Read More...
New York Times: A Fight Among Catholics Over Which Party Best Reflects Church Teachings
October 05,2008
As the Roman Catholic Church observes its annual “respect life” Sunday in this heated presidential election season, the unusually pitched competition for Catholic voters is setting off a round of skirmishes over how to apply the church’s teachings not only on abortion but also on the war in Iraq, immigration and racism. Read More...
Christian Science Monitor: Churchgoing Catholics returning to GOP fold
September 19,2008
Observant Catholics are returning to the Republican fold now that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has joined the GOP ticket - a shift that looks to be more enduring than a postconvention bounce. If the trend sticks, it will mark a partial setback for Democrats and the Obama campaign, who have vied vigorously for the pivotal votes of Roman Catholics. Read More...
Religion News Service: McCain, Obama to attend Catholic dinner in New York
September 18,2008
WASHINGTON Presidential nominees Barack Obama and John McCain will both attend a high-profile political dinner hosted by the Archdiocese of New York next month. Read More...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Catholic Vote Key: Both Sides Want It, Democratic Effort May Be Better Set Up
September 14,2008
Sen. Sam Brownback made his way up the long, curving drive of Seton Hill College last week for the third stop on a day that started in Ohio and would end in Washington, D.C. Read More...
Washington Times: The Catholic vote
September 12,2008
The 47 million Catholics in America consist of the largest single faith group in the nation. Moreover, 41 percent are independents and Catholics are one-quarter of all registered voters. It is no wonder that both candidates are paying special attention to them. Read More...
Dallas Morning News: The religious swing vote Can Palin connect with Democratic-leaning Catholics and Latino Protestants?
September 09,2008
Sarah Palin has put the Republican ticket in play, giving it the energy John McCain lacked for the fall campaign. He needed a "wow" pick, and she gives him wow. Read More...
Chicago Tribune: How Catholics can oppose abortion, back Obama
September 09,2008
The Roman Catholic Church in Chicago, and indeed the world, is blessed by the thoughtful teaching of Cardinal Francis George. It gives me special joy to say that years ago his mother and my grandmother were over-the-fence neighbors in St. Pascal's Parish. Truth be told, I heard more than once in my childhood, "Why can't you be like the 'saintly Francis George'?" But let's not go there. Read More...
Associated Press: McCain campaign courts critical Catholic vote
September 05,2008
Shortly after a priest's opening prayer and a screening of a short film on John McCain's faith, Sen. Sam Brownback stepped to the microphone and didn't waste words.
This article originally appeared in the Associated Press. Read More...
This article originally appeared in the Associated Press. Read More...
Religion News Service: McCain to make full-throttle push for Catholic vote
September 02,2008
ST. PAUL, Minn. At 67 million strong and packed into must-win states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida, U.S. Catholics are the ultimate electoral prize for any candidate seeking the White House. Read More...
Slate.com: Pro-Choices-Plural
August 27,2008
For pro-life Democrats, Hillary Clinton's was not the only "unity" speech last night. When pro-life Sen. Bob Casey Jr. mounted the podium that had been denied to his father in 1992, the Democrats were, in effect, putting out the welcome mat for the many Catholics who agree with the Democrats on most other issues but who have felt ignored, or worse, by the party's pro-choice stridency of recent years. Read More...
USNews.com: Can Biden Help Obama Win Catholic Voters?
August 26,2008
HIGHLIGHT: They could be a key swing vote, but there has never been a Catholic vice president Read More...
The Hill's Congress Blog: To Win the ‘Catholic Vote’: Focus on Bread and Butter Issues
August 24,2008
Every election cycle, conservative Catholics such as Deal Hudson and Robert Novak seek to perpetuate the myth of the so-called monolithic “Catholic vote” claiming that this will be the election that Catholics swing heavily to one side. In reality, Catholic voters have been the classic swing vote in American presidential politics, changing from support for the Democratic candidate to the Republican and back again. Read More...
New York Times: Obama's View on Abortion May Divide Catholics
August 07,2008
WASHINGTON — Sixteen years ago, the Democratic Party refused to allow Robert P. Casey Sr., 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’s platform and powerful constituencies. Many Catholics, once a reliable Democratic voting bloc, never forgot what they considered a slight. Read More...
Times of Trenton: U.S. bishops: Vote your conscience Catholics urged to weigh stands on all issues
July 30,2008
LAWRENCE - If you think you know how the Catholic Church in the United States wants its members to vote in the presidential election this year, think again. Read More...
Time: How America Decides
July 14,2008
Catholic Voters in 2008. With the economy and Iraq topping voter concerns, abortion has receded into the political background. That puts Catholics up for grabs--and Obama is winning some converts. Read More...
Washington Times: Belief Blog: How Catholics think, act
June 30,2008
This got overlooked last week in the release of the latest Pew Forum statistics on the religious makeup of Americans in the Pew Forum Religious Landscape Survey, Part II, which can be found here. Read More...
UPI: Poll: Obama nips McCain among Catholics
June 26,2008
PRINCETON, N.J., June 26 (UPI) -- Catholics and Hispanics identifying themselves as Catholics favor Sen. Barack Obama over Sen. John McCain in the U.S. presidential race, a poll indicates. Read More...
Catholic News Service: The incredible shrinking field of Catholic presidential candidates
January 18,2008
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Whatever happened to the crowd of Catholics vying for the presidential nomination in 2008? Read More...