{"id":9758,"date":"2011-12-30T17:47:44","date_gmt":"2011-12-30T23:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?p=9758"},"modified":"2016-09-30T17:34:59","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T21:34:59","slug":"catholics-in-iowa-not-sitting-on-the-sidelines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2011\/12\/catholics-in-iowa-not-sitting-on-the-sidelines\/","title":{"rendered":"Catholics in Iowa “not sitting on the sidelines”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The National Catholic Reporter <\/a><\/strong>goes looking for Catholic reaction to what is happening in Iowa these days:<\/p>\n

Religion has had an extraordinary presence in the buildup to the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3, but Catholics have been distinguished by their silence.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s part of the Catholic culture,\u201d said Deacon Dan McGuire, parish administrator at Assumption Parish in Granger, Iowa. \u201cWe get involved in politics. That\u2019s obvious. But as a former excluded minority \u2026 we keep faith in our private community. We don\u2019t vocalize it in public.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Des Moines Register<\/em>, the largest and most influential newspaper in the state, has been filled with articles, guest editorials and letters to the editor from the candidates, evangelical pastors and laypersons about the importance of faith in caucus choices. And candidates have been appearing at scores of Protestant churches around the state, eagerly proclaiming their Christianity and dedication to \u201ctraditional values.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the two Catholic candidates, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, have made few references to their religion and there have been few, if any, public statements from probable Catholic GOP caucus attendees, let alone the Democratic opposition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have not seen candidates challenged by Catholics,\u201d said Kathie Obradovich, a Register<\/em> political columnist who is a Catholic and whose spouse, Jim, is a deacon. That\u2019s in contrast to \u201clots of evangelical Christian organizations \u2026 that raise money and get involved in politics.\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026Tom Quiner of Des Moines owns a marketing firm with his wife, Karen, and in his spare time writes musicals. He\u2019s just finished one called \u201cThe Pope of the People: The John Paul II Musical.\u201d He supports Gingrich, and says Catholics \u201care not sitting on the sidelines.\u201d They are \u201cenergized by life issues, especially the traditional marriage issue and the contraception issue,\u201d adding that he believes Catholics have \u201ca sense that their conscience protection is at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quiner said he believes Gingrich\u2019s conversion to Catholicism \u201cresonates with a lot of Catholics\u201d despite Gingrich\u2019s three marriages. That conversion was obviously not a political move, he says, because it has never been a political advantage to be a Catholic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe respect him for it because it was done out of conviction,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have a sense that he has matured, that he\u2019s a different person, is a grandfather and is more \u2018other\u2019-oriented.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Quiner and many evangelicals and Catholics, abortion is \u201cthe No. 1 issue.\u201d As for other church teachings that touch on politics, he says that \u201cas a conservative, there are certain issues on which I\u2019ll take issue with the church.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kim Lehman of Johnston, a GOP national committeewoman for Iowa, is a Santorum supporter. She says it\u2019s true that Catholics may not be identifying themselves as such, but she has lots of Catholic friends who are involved with caucus candidates. She said she believes Catholics and others should vote according to \u201cwhat\u2019s important to God,\u201d and believes abortion trumps all other issues. \u201cIt\u2019s intrinsically evil to advance abortion,\u201d she said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read the rest. <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Meantime, Catholic Vote<\/a> <\/strong>reports that Romney is campaigning in Catholic country, where he did well four years ago.\u00a0 Check out this map.<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The National Catholic Reporter goes looking for Catholic reaction to what is happening in Iowa these days: Religion has had an extraordinary presence in the buildup to the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3, but Catholics have been distinguished by their silence. \u201cIt\u2019s part of the Catholic culture,\u201d said Deacon Dan McGuire, parish administrator at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nCatholics in Iowa "not sitting on the sidelines"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The National Catholic Reporter goes looking for Catholic reaction to what is happening in Iowa these days: Religion has had an extraordinary presence in\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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