Journal News (New York): Cardinal takes hard line
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Journal News (New York): Cardinal takes hard line against Giuliani
May 20,2005
By: Gary
Stern, Glenn Blain
Cardinal William Keeler of Baltimore has lashed out at a Catholic college for honoring Rudy Giuliani, a major stand by a veteran church leader against Catholic politicians who advocate abortion rights and a possible sign of trouble for Giuliani's political future.
Loyola College in Maryland, a Jesuit school, plans to give Giuliani an honorary doctorate at commencement exercises today. The former New York City mayor also will give the commencement address, possibly with hundreds of protesters outside.
Keeler, a respected archbishop who is widely considered a moderate among Catholic leaders, wrote in a letter Tuesday to Loyola's interim president telling him that no representative of the Archdiocese of Baltimore would participate "in any event honoring former Mayor Giuliani."
"I am confident that, by now, you understand many of the consequences that spring from an invitation having been extended to former Mayor Giuliani," Keeler wrote.
Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, which insists on orthodoxy from Catholic colleges and has been critical of colleges that honor politicians who advocate abortion rights, said Keeler's statement was a blow to Catholic politicians who try to sidestep abortion and other central issues.
"Cardinal Keeler is well respected among his fellow bishops, and the Archdiocese of Baltimore is the first American diocese, the seat of the church," Reilly said. "The fact that he has chosen to be so public and forthright will hopefully resonate with bishops in other dioceses. The fact that Giuliani is a Republican, is popular, was involved with 9/11, doesn't change the fact that he is publicly opposed to fundamental Catholic teachings."
Giuliani also is a supporter of gay rights, the other highly divisive issue in the current culture war.
A Loyola spokesman could not be reached for comment. Interim President David C. Haddad, in a statement, described Giuliani as a courageous leader in the days after Sept. 11. "Many of our undergraduate students are from the New York and Washington areas and were personally affected, and all of our students were touched by those events," he said.
Robert George, director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, and an orthodox commentator on Catholic issues, said he suspected Keeler acted after consultation with fellow bishops.
"This probably means that the Catholic hierarchy is signaling that its attitude toward politicians who favor legal abortion is nonpartisan," George said. "There were questions in people's minds when the bishops spoke out against John Kerry, whether they were helping the Republican Party."
He said it's also possible that bishops are being influenced by Pope Benedict XVI, who wrote often as a cardinal about the need for Catholics to believe fundamental things if they are to belong to the Catholic communion. Earlier this month, Archbishop Harry Flynn of St. Paul-Minneapolis said his diocese would deny Communion to people wearing rainbow-colored sashes to show support for gay Catholics. He said they were protesting church teachings.
"The idea is, there are certain things you have to believe to be part of the Communion," George said.
Giuliani, a national hero for his leadership after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in Manhattan, is considered a possible candidate for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008. His spokeswoman said only that he was looking forward to addressing a class that started college days after the attacks.
"We're focused on this as a graduation," spokeswoman Sunny Mindel said yesterday. "It is a graduation."
Still, it seems clear to observers that Giuliani cannot afford to be associated with the liberal side of the culture war if he is to have any chance of winning the Republican nomination.
Republican strategist Dick Dresner, who worked on California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign, said Keeler's criticism would be a harbinger of things to come for Giuliani. "Red state" Republicans who are far more conservative on social issues than Giuliani would bring more criticism than Catholics, he said.
"You can't win the Republican nomination if you are pro-choice, plain and simple," said Dresner, who is based in Mount Kisco. "It's almost like an entry fee. ... It simply can't be done."
Christopher Malone, an assistant professor of politics at Pace University, said there is no clear strategy for a politician who supports abortion rights to appeal to the Republican base.
"He is in a box," Malone said of Giuliani. "He either has to move away from his former positions, or bring the party back to the center."
Giuliani has felt largely at home in the Archdiocese of New York, where he faced little criticism from church leaders when he was mayor. He regularly attended the Al Smith Dinner, the archdiocese's annual, big-name fundraiser, as has Gov. George Pataki, another Catholic Republican who favors abortion rights.
Also, St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers, which are operated by the Diocese of Brooklyn and the Sisters of Charity, last year named the Rudolph W. Giuliani Trauma Center at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan. The decision was attacked by some abortion opponents.
As the abortion debate was heating up before last year's presidential election, several conservative Catholic bishops said they would deny Communion to politicians who support abortion rights. But most big-city archbishops, including Keeler, said they would keep politics separate from Communion.
Last June, the U.S. Bishops Conference declared that politicians who support abortion rights were "cooperating with evil" and should not be honored by Catholic institutions.
New York Cardinal Edward Egan skirted possible controversy by inviting neither John Kerry, who supports abortion rights, nor President Bush, who opposes abortion, to the annual Al Smith Dinner last October.
Mary Segers, a political science professor at Rutgers University who studies Catholic involvement in public affairs, said Keeler's stand against Giuliani may mean that bishops are taking a more aggressive stance under Benedict XVI. The Vatican's ouster of the Rev. Thomas Reese as editor of America, a Jesuit magazine, sent a clear message to enforce orthodoxy, she said.
"They may be picking this up from the new pope, to be more active in intervening," she said. "If I were a non-Catholic Republican or Democrat, I would hesitate to nominate a pro-choice Catholic for office, if this is the hurdle they'll have to jump."
Reach Gary Stern at gstern@thejournalnews.com or 914-694-3513.
Keeler's letter
The following is the complete text of Cardinal William Keeler's May 18 letter to David Haddad, interim president of Loyola College.
Dear Doctor Haddad,
It has just come to my attention that graduation day at Loyola College in Maryland will be held on Friday, May 20.
This letter is written in confirmation of an earlier exchange of correspondence in which you state the reasons for inviting former Mayor Rudy Giuliani to receive recognition at Loyola's graduation.
May I state that there will be no representative of the Archdiocese participating in any event honoring former Mayor Giuliani.
I am confident that, by now, you understand many of the consequences that spring from an invitation having been extended to former Mayor Giuliani to receive an honorary degree at Loyola.
May the Lord make of this event a teaching moment for many.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Cardinal William H. Keeler
Archbishop of Baltimore
Cardinal William Keeler of Baltimore has lashed out at a Catholic college for honoring Rudy Giuliani, a major stand by a veteran church leader against Catholic politicians who advocate abortion rights and a possible sign of trouble for Giuliani's political future.
Loyola College in Maryland, a Jesuit school, plans to give Giuliani an honorary doctorate at commencement exercises today. The former New York City mayor also will give the commencement address, possibly with hundreds of protesters outside.
Keeler, a respected archbishop who is widely considered a moderate among Catholic leaders, wrote in a letter Tuesday to Loyola's interim president telling him that no representative of the Archdiocese of Baltimore would participate "in any event honoring former Mayor Giuliani."
"I am confident that, by now, you understand many of the consequences that spring from an invitation having been extended to former Mayor Giuliani," Keeler wrote.
Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, which insists on orthodoxy from Catholic colleges and has been critical of colleges that honor politicians who advocate abortion rights, said Keeler's statement was a blow to Catholic politicians who try to sidestep abortion and other central issues.
"Cardinal Keeler is well respected among his fellow bishops, and the Archdiocese of Baltimore is the first American diocese, the seat of the church," Reilly said. "The fact that he has chosen to be so public and forthright will hopefully resonate with bishops in other dioceses. The fact that Giuliani is a Republican, is popular, was involved with 9/11, doesn't change the fact that he is publicly opposed to fundamental Catholic teachings."
Giuliani also is a supporter of gay rights, the other highly divisive issue in the current culture war.
A Loyola spokesman could not be reached for comment. Interim President David C. Haddad, in a statement, described Giuliani as a courageous leader in the days after Sept. 11. "Many of our undergraduate students are from the New York and Washington areas and were personally affected, and all of our students were touched by those events," he said.
Robert George, director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, and an orthodox commentator on Catholic issues, said he suspected Keeler acted after consultation with fellow bishops.
"This probably means that the Catholic hierarchy is signaling that its attitude toward politicians who favor legal abortion is nonpartisan," George said. "There were questions in people's minds when the bishops spoke out against John Kerry, whether they were helping the Republican Party."
He said it's also possible that bishops are being influenced by Pope Benedict XVI, who wrote often as a cardinal about the need for Catholics to believe fundamental things if they are to belong to the Catholic communion. Earlier this month, Archbishop Harry Flynn of St. Paul-Minneapolis said his diocese would deny Communion to people wearing rainbow-colored sashes to show support for gay Catholics. He said they were protesting church teachings.
"The idea is, there are certain things you have to believe to be part of the Communion," George said.
Giuliani, a national hero for his leadership after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in Manhattan, is considered a possible candidate for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008. His spokeswoman said only that he was looking forward to addressing a class that started college days after the attacks.
"We're focused on this as a graduation," spokeswoman Sunny Mindel said yesterday. "It is a graduation."
Still, it seems clear to observers that Giuliani cannot afford to be associated with the liberal side of the culture war if he is to have any chance of winning the Republican nomination.
Republican strategist Dick Dresner, who worked on California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign, said Keeler's criticism would be a harbinger of things to come for Giuliani. "Red state" Republicans who are far more conservative on social issues than Giuliani would bring more criticism than Catholics, he said.
"You can't win the Republican nomination if you are pro-choice, plain and simple," said Dresner, who is based in Mount Kisco. "It's almost like an entry fee. ... It simply can't be done."
Christopher Malone, an assistant professor of politics at Pace University, said there is no clear strategy for a politician who supports abortion rights to appeal to the Republican base.
"He is in a box," Malone said of Giuliani. "He either has to move away from his former positions, or bring the party back to the center."
Giuliani has felt largely at home in the Archdiocese of New York, where he faced little criticism from church leaders when he was mayor. He regularly attended the Al Smith Dinner, the archdiocese's annual, big-name fundraiser, as has Gov. George Pataki, another Catholic Republican who favors abortion rights.
Also, St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers, which are operated by the Diocese of Brooklyn and the Sisters of Charity, last year named the Rudolph W. Giuliani Trauma Center at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan. The decision was attacked by some abortion opponents.
As the abortion debate was heating up before last year's presidential election, several conservative Catholic bishops said they would deny Communion to politicians who support abortion rights. But most big-city archbishops, including Keeler, said they would keep politics separate from Communion.
Last June, the U.S. Bishops Conference declared that politicians who support abortion rights were "cooperating with evil" and should not be honored by Catholic institutions.
New York Cardinal Edward Egan skirted possible controversy by inviting neither John Kerry, who supports abortion rights, nor President Bush, who opposes abortion, to the annual Al Smith Dinner last October.
Mary Segers, a political science professor at Rutgers University who studies Catholic involvement in public affairs, said Keeler's stand against Giuliani may mean that bishops are taking a more aggressive stance under Benedict XVI. The Vatican's ouster of the Rev. Thomas Reese as editor of America, a Jesuit magazine, sent a clear message to enforce orthodoxy, she said.
"They may be picking this up from the new pope, to be more active in intervening," she said. "If I were a non-Catholic Republican or Democrat, I would hesitate to nominate a pro-choice Catholic for office, if this is the hurdle they'll have to jump."
Reach Gary Stern at gstern@thejournalnews.com or 914-694-3513.
Keeler's letter
The following is the complete text of Cardinal William Keeler's May 18 letter to David Haddad, interim president of Loyola College.
Dear Doctor Haddad,
It has just come to my attention that graduation day at Loyola College in Maryland will be held on Friday, May 20.
This letter is written in confirmation of an earlier exchange of correspondence in which you state the reasons for inviting former Mayor Rudy Giuliani to receive recognition at Loyola's graduation.
May I state that there will be no representative of the Archdiocese participating in any event honoring former Mayor Giuliani.
I am confident that, by now, you understand many of the consequences that spring from an invitation having been extended to former Mayor Giuliani to receive an honorary degree at Loyola.
May the Lord make of this event a teaching moment for many.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Cardinal William H. Keeler
Archbishop of Baltimore