There are an estimated 64 million people in the United States who were raised in the Roman Catholic Church. More than 12 million non-Hispanic Catholics attend Mass at least once a week. The Catholic vote is huge.
The voices of Catholic voters have the power to control the outcome of national elections. In eight of the past nine presidential elections, the winner of the Catholic vote won the White House.
Millions of Catholic Americans — and many evangelical Protestants as well — have a litmus test which a presidential candidate must pass before that candidate can win their votes. First and foremost in these voters’ minds is the candidate’s view on abortion. For millions of Catholic voters the most important political goal over the last 30 years has been to assemble enough votes on the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Barack Obama does not pass this litmus test. And, for now, John McCain does. The question is, How can Barack Obama still marshal a case that convinces Catholic voters to support his candidacy?
This issue is of critical importance in the state of Pennsylvania, where nearly one third of all voters are Catholic. In Ohio, more than 20 percent of the electorate is Catholic. In Michigan, 23 percent of all voters are Catholics.
Obama has one big strength with Catholic voters. This is that his views embody the church’s central teachings on peace and social justice. John McCain’s militaristic approach to foreign policy is in total opposition to church teachings. Like Obama, the Catholic Church is dedicated to peace and nonviolent solutions to the world’s problems. Both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have spoken out against the war in Iraq.
Obama’s views on alleviating poverty closely align with church teachings on helping the poor. The church is deeply concerned about dealing with human suffering in this country and around the world. Recently, Pope Benedict XVI offered his advice to world leaders gathered at the United Nations General Assembly: "I would like to invite them again to take up and implement with courage the measures needed to wipe out extreme poverty, hunger, ignorance and the scourge of pandemics, which especially affect the most vulnerable." This platform closely mirrors Obama’s message of hope and change for those who are in distress or have been held back.
Obama’s strong dedication to family values are in line with those of the church. In contrast, John McCain’s history of adultery, his hot temper, and abusive and foul language are not behavior that is condoned by the Catholic Church.
In appealing to Catholic voters Obama needs to show that his message of change, equality, and social justice mirrors those values held by the church.
Undoubtedly, when appealing to Catholic voters the issue of abortion cannot be ignored. Obama must concede the obvious that, yes, many Catholics disagree with him on the abortion issue. But Obama can diffuse this position by pointing out the political realities of the abortion issue in America today.
The argument goes as follows:
If John McCain is elected and adds one or two justices to the Supreme Court, Roe v. Wade will probably be overturned. But this would do very little to end or even limit abortion in the United States. The Roe v. Wade case afforded women a federal constitutional right to choose abortion. States, therefore, could not prohibit it. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, then 50 separate battles would be waged in state legislatures across the nation on the abortion issue. Utah, Idaho, and a handful of other states might indeed ban all abortion procedures but in the vast majority of states, abortion would remain legal.
Therefore, for Catholics concerned about social justice, it may not be prudent to have a litmus test on abortion for presidential candidates. It is far more important to examine a candidate’s entire agenda to see which of the candidates more embodies the church’s teachings on aid for the poor, empathy for one’s fellow man, war and peace, equality, banning torture, and supporting social justice.
Obama can make the case to Catholics that he comes out ahead of McCain on all these issues.
Joe Biden, a practicing Roman Catholic, is an important messenger to Catholics for the Democratic ticket.