Denver, Colo., Aug 26, 2008 / 23:19 pm
Barack Obama’s message of healing our cultural wounds and stressing all men’s duty to their brothers gives him a stronger appeal to Catholics than any recent Democratic nominee for President. But in the eyes of some conservative Catholics and pro-lifers, Obama’s extreme position on abortion makes him the most objectionable recent major party nominee.
As with John Kerry in 2004 and Al Gore in 2000, Obama has the firm backing of liberal Catholic Democratic politicians. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), a hero to the abortion lobby and homosexual activist groups, gave Obama a boost in the primary with his endorsement and his speech at the Pepsi Center Monday was the highlight of the convention’s first night. Every Catholic Democrat in the House and Senate, as well as every Catholic governor, has endorsed Obama, in keeping with party loyalty.
Catholic delegates to the Democratic National Committee, including those who pledged to Hillary Clinton, also are lining up behind Obama.
Surprising, however, are conservative pro-life Catholics who are backing Obama. The most notable of them is constitutional law expert Doug Kmiec, a professor at the Pepperdine University School of Law.
Kmiec, a pro-lifer and an alumnus of the Reagan administration, in March endorsed Obama over McCain.