Which Senator is most Catholic?

As reported recently, the articles of the Catholicity "scorecard" presented by Dick Durbin pointed out that it was none other than John Kerry, with Ted Kennedy close behind...Here is what Deal Hudson has to say in yesterday's E-Newsletter (below).

The Most Catholic Senator?
CRISIS Magazine - e-Letter
June 3, 2004
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Dear Friend,

We knew it was coming.

Yesterday afternoon, I received a call from a friend in Congress who told me that Illinois Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) had just announced that Senator John Kerry was the "most Catholic" member of the Senate.

Stop laughing.

Senator Durbin released an analysis of the voting record of the 24 Catholic senators -- scoring them by their adherence to the political agenda of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). As I mentioned, John Kerry is ranked first, followed by Dick Durbin himself (way to go!).

Durbin is followed by Ted Kennedy. Yes, according to Dick Durbin's office, Ted Kennedy is the third most Catholic-voting member of the Senate.
Pat Leahy (D-VT) and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) round out the top 5.

(To give you some helpful perspective, the ardently Catholic Senator Rick Santorum is 20th... just four from the bottom.)

So, what do the top five best Catholics in the Senate have in common? Well, they're five of the most radically liberal, pro-abortion members of congress. In fact, with the exception of Leahy, all voted to OPPOSE the Partial-Birth Abortion ban. Not only that, but all five voted AGAINST the Brownback Human Cloning
Prohibition Act.

But if that's all true, how on earth can anyone claim these five are among the best Catholics on the Hill?

It was easy, actually. All Senator Durbin had to do was completely ignore the immense difference between votes on doctrinal issues and votes on prudential matters.

Let me explain...

In assembling his scorecard, Durbin looked at 24 issues (with a total of 48 votes) on which the USCCB took a position. If the given senator voted in agreement with the USCCB, he was given a point. In the end, the points were added up, and the senators ranked.

In other words, in Senator Durbin's moral universe everything is flat. His moral calculus becomes, well, elementary arithmetic really: Just take all the policy recommendations of the Bishop's Conference -- no matter how prudential or non-binding in nature -- look at the voting record of every senator on those recommendations, and Presto! you have your mathematical ranking.

This methodology becomes particularly outrageous when you notice that it makes a vote for the Collins Mercury Reduction Act (which limits the use of mercury fever thermometers) equal in weight and importance to a vote for the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban!

Likewise, a vote for the Dorgan Joint Resolution (which rejects "the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission with respect to broadcast media ownership") is equal to a vote to ban human cloning.

As a result, a senator who votes AGAINST the Partial-Birth Abortion ban but for the restriction on mercury thermometers will be given the same "Catholic" rank as the senator who votes to ban partial-birth abortion, but against the restriction on the thermometers.

And so, Senator John Kerry -- who voted against the Partial Birth Abortion Ban, against the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, against the Unborn Victims of Violence Act -- is now crowned the most Catholic member of the Senate!

Of course, as any sensible Catholic knows, these things are not remotely equal. Pro-life legislation touches on a doctrine of the Church, and all faithful Catholics are bound to adhere to it. The restriction on thermometers, on the other hand, is a mere prudential judgment of the USCCB; they believe it to be a matter of public health, but faithful Catholics are free to disagree.

By confounding prudential and doctrinal matters, Senator Durbin has made a desperate attempt to provide cover for all the pro-abortion "Catholics" in the Senate (both Democrats and Republicans).

The question now is whether or not the Bishops Conference will allow this mockery of Catholic social teaching to pass through the media without comment or clarification. Will it be up to individual bishops, once again, to deal with the propaganda of the pro-abortion "Catholic" crowd in Congress?

The USCCB actually has a unique opportunity to take a stand here...

Very soon, the conference will be issuing its questionnaire to the presidential candidates. You may recall that in the 2000 election, there was a dustup when the Catholic News Service allowed Al Gore to describe himself as "pro-life" without any editorial comment or correction. This year, the content of the Conference questionnaire will be vital in determining what the Conference considers important
to learn from the presidential candidates.

Will the questionnaire follow the Durbin model of a flat moral universe where issues like the level of the minimum wage count the same as a vote on the protection of innocent life? Or will the questionnaire be weighted to reveal the candidates' views on matters that actually bind the Catholic's conscience?

As soon as it's made public, I'll let you know.

Talk to you soon,
Deal

All emphasis is mine.