The Threat of Theocracy?
By John M. Swomley, Professor Emeritus of Social Ethics
St. Paul School of Theology
The greatest danger to democracy in any nation is theocracy. It can occur in any society where a powerful religious organization or combination of organizations is the decisive voice in a political or judicial system. In spite of our constitutional system of separation of church and state there is substantial evidence of theocratic influence and efforts to control in the United States today.
It is evident in a well-documented alliance of the Republican National Committee under George W. Bush`s leadership with the Cardinals and Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church, and the silence or collusion of some largely Protestant organizations. This conclusion is based largely on the remarkable investigative reporting by a progressive democratic Roman Catholic organization of the actions of Bush and the Catholic hierarchy of the United States in the Summer 2001 issue of Conscience, a journal of Catholics for a Free Choice.
On its cover page is a color picture of five red-clad, smiling Cardinals applauding a smiling George W. Bush in front of the newly dedicated Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington on March 21. The description under the picture is "TOGETHER AT LAST: CONSERVATIVE CATHOLICS AND THE GOP." The word "conservative" should be "right wing," as most dictionaries describe a conservative as one who wants to maintain the status quo or existing system of government. The programs advocated by the new alliance go instead in the direction of extreme or radical change.
The major players in the Republican decision to court influential Catholics were Deal Hudson, a former Baptist minister who converted to Catholicism and subsequently became the publisher of a right-wing Catholic magazine, Crisis; Karl Rove, Bush`s political advisor, and Richard John Neuhaus, a former Lutheran metamorphosed into a Roman Catholic zealot, who "reportedly tutored Bush in Catholic social teaching." And John Dilulio, "a conservative Catholic criminologist who would become the head of Bush`s faith-based effort."[1] Dilulio has since resigned.
In February 1999 the Republican National Committee formed a "Catholic Task Force" to work among Catholics to support Bush for President. Thomas Melady, a former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, was chairman. It also included Reagan`s Secretary of State, Alexander Haig; John Klink, an advisor to the Vatican`s United Nations mission; and Peter Flanigan, a trustee of the right-wing John Olin Foundation, among others.
The chair of the Republican National Committee was Jim Nicholson, a Roman Catholic later named to be the U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican. Brian Tierney, a prominent Philadelphia businessman (Tierney Communications) and advisor to Cardinal Bevilaqua, was on the Catholic Task Force formed to campaign for Bush. He was later largely responsible for putting together a list of three million Catholics for a direct-mail and phone political campaign.
How did Catholic leaders respond to the Republican effort to elect Bush? Archbishop Edward Egan of New York issued a pastoral letter to his flock urging them to vote for candidates "who share our commitment to the fundamental right of the unborn." And just before the election Bush visited Archbishop Bevilaqua, and the Philadelphia archdiocese provided to its 283 parishes 250,000 voter guides prepared by the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops.[2]
During his campaign for the Presidency, Bush met with various prominent Catholics such as Deal Hudson and Father Frank Pavone, head of "Priests for Life," which claims a membership of 13% of the U.S. Catholic priests (6,000 priests). The meeting with Pavone was especially significant, as Pavone represents the far right in anti-abortion action. He endorses clinic blockades and has associated with Operation Rescue leader Randall Terry, and Joseph Scheidler, convicted of violating federal racketeering laws. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia`s son Paul is a Roman Catholic priest and a member of Pavone`s Priests for Life. [3]
Only a few days after Bush took the oath of office as President, he had dinner with the new Archbishop of Washington, Theodore McCarrick; the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop James Hickey; and the President of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Joseph Fiorenza.
Again in January Bush met with 30 Catholic leaders, including Cardinals, wealthy layman Thomas Monaghan of Domino Pizza fame, and various Bishops as well as former Baptist Deal Hudson, to press his case for faith-based social services. At that meeting Bush connected his faith-based initiative to his decision to oppose abortion rights. He said, "Take the life issue, this requires a President and an administration leading our nation to understand the importance of life. This whole faith-based initiative really ties into a larger cultural issue that we`re working on . . . because when you`re talking about welcoming people of faith to help people who are disadvantaged and are unable to defend themselves, the logical step is also those babies."[4]
The Republican-Catholic alliance has continued unabated into Bush`s first year in office. He held a private meeting with Cardinal Law of Boston. Law subsequently said on April 18 that "to be more successful in transforming our culture in the United States it is absolutely essential that we be consistently and unambiguously pro-life."[5]
Bush also arranged his travels so as to meet with key Catholic Bishops: Rigali in St. Louis, Wuerl in PPittsburgh, and of course his meeting in Rome with the Pope in July.
After the election and Bush`s Supreme Court "victory," the New Jersey Catholic Bishops in a February letter to Catholic voters said, "We applaud that the majority of Catholic voters in our state cast their ballots for the major party candidate who publicly stated his support for a ban on abortions . . .opposed Medicaid-funded abortions, opposed the sale of the abortion pill RU-486, and voiced his support for parental notification/consent legislation and a ban on late term "partial birth abortions."[6]
One of President Bush`s early efforts to maintain a high profile among Catholics and the news media they watch and read was his speech on March 22, 2001, at the dedication of the $50 million Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington. In the July 23, 1997 issue of The Washington Times, it is described as "akin to a presidential museum for the Pope" and "part think-tank" to interpret the "Pope`s teachings" on issues "such as abortion." The Pope chose Washington rather than Rome or Jerusalem, presumably because he expects the U.S. to continue to be the world`s most influential nation.
Looking forward to the next elections was the announcement April 18 by the new Republican National Committee chairman, Jim Gilmore, that there would be a new National Catholic Leadership Forum to begin strategic planning for the next Congressional elections in 2002 and the Presidential election in 2004.[7]
This new National Catholic Leadership Forum met on April 25 with some 350 Catholics present. One of its duties is for key Catholics to participate in a weekly White House conference call on Catholic strategy.
In addition to these and other Republican-Catholic liaisons are Bush`s formal appointments to key Administration positions. An article in Conscience said, "Bush has named a slew of Catholics to highly visible roles within the White House and key agencies."
One particularly shocking appointment is that of a Vatican insider, Joseph Klink to head the State Department`s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration instead of Secretary of State Colin Powell`s choice of a career State Department official. Klink represents the Vatican`s diplomatic mission at the United Nations.
Klink, who holds dual Irish and American citizenship, represents the Vatican at United Nations conferences on social issues and has represented it on the executive board of UNICEF from 1998 to 1999. A New York Times account said, "His resume lists his current job as advisor to the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations." It is highly unusual for any government to let the Vatican determine this choice, but the Times account said the nomination of Klink "comes at a time when the White House is assiduously courting Roman Catholics, a group President Bush`s political advisors believe may be pivotal in the next election." Moreover, in addition to being employed by the Vatican, Klink`s resume "also says he is a member of the Republican National Committee`s Catholic Task Force."[8]
Right wing groups are expected to support Klink because he is "an advocate for the Vatican`s position against family planning and against the use of condoms for protection against HIV infection." He has also opposed "emergency contraceptive pills to some women in refugee camps." The Vatican even opposes emergency contraception for rape victims. It believes in requiring rape victims to accept the rapist`s semen and raise the rapist`s children. Vatican dogma always trumps a woman`s right to control her own body.
Klink is a Vatican loyalist, having been in 17 United Nations Conferences on issues dealing with women and social issues as a member of Vatican delegations. "In the crucial 1994 Cairo Conference" Klink "played an active role as the architect of Vatican strategies and issues" as the delegation`s floor manager.[9]
There has been little media questioning of the appropriateness of these dual roles. Catholics for a Free Choice has a strong position opposing Vatican membership in the U.N. since it does not qualify as a nation, and some opposition occurred when Reagan granted diplomatic recognition to the Vatican. Almost nothing has been said about Klink`s representing the Vatican and nothing has been said of his dual Irish-American citizenship, but it is easy to imagine what might happen if either of these Irish or Vatican loyalties were in conflict with existing U.S. population or immigration policies. In any event, it is inappropriate for a man with other loyalties to be appointed to a State Department policy position.
In addition to Klink, Bush has surrounded himself with other Catholics such as John Negroponte, Ambassador to the U.N.; Father Robert Sirica, his advisor on the Catholic vote; Anthony Principi, Veterans Affairs Secretary; Mel Martinez, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development; Tommy Thompson, Secretary of Health and Human Services; Peter Wehner, White House speech writer, among others.
Do these facts and figures show that the Republican Party has, for all practical purposes, become the Roman Catholic Party in the United States, faithfully pursuing the Catholic agenda? Not necessarily, for Conscience has also demonstrated that millions of Catholic laity, including members of Congress, do not accept the right-wing political agenda of the Vatican, the U.S. Bishops, and some of the laity on such issues as contraception, birth control, abortion, and school vouchers, among others. There are, in effect, a number of progressive Catholic organizations, including some organizations of nuns, as well as Catholics For a Free Choice, who do not accept the idea of a Catholic political party or political candidates who are subservient to Vatican leadership. They are well aware that the Vatican is controlled exclusively by a patriarchy led by the only absolute monarch left in the Western world, assisted by his appointed Curia and his secret order, Opus Dei.
[1] Conscience, Summer, 2001.
[2] Ibid.
[3] The Village Voice, May, 2001.
[4] Conscience.
[5] Origins, May 3, 2001-an official Catholic documentary service.
[6] Origins, March 15, 2001.
[7] Conscience, p. 9.
[8] New York Times, May 24, 2001.
[9] Ibid.
