Special to The Hoya Friday, September 22, 2006
Scholars and Catholic leaders from across the nation congregated at Catholic University Wednesday for a two-day conference on the current condition of the Church in the United States. The conference, “The Catholic Church in America: 2006 focused on the position of the Church in the political arena and the issues it currently faces in American society. The conference featured keynote speaker Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington, and included four panels covering the trends of American Catholicism, parish life, current policies of the Church and the Church’s presence in politics. E.J. Dionne, professor of government and public policy at Georgetown, spoke about the need for Americans to fight partisan politics in a final address at the conference. “A party spirit is taking control of us inside our Church,” Dionne said. He added that it is normal for Catholics to debate on politics because there is no clear Catholic doctrine that covers every election issue. Dionne said he believed that the diversity of Catholic institutions in the United States, such as Georgetown, which he said has a large number of Jewish and Muslim students, is good for both the country and the Church. He said that the Church will only become more influential in the public sphere in the future. “We Catholics have a vital role to play in politics,” he said. “We should play it with confidence but also with humility.” Luis E. Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and a presenter in the final panel on the Church’s role in American politics, stressed the importance of the Church’s public presence, claiming that religion has replaced political ideology as the primary force in international affairs. The Catholic Church is playing an increasingly important role as the primary Christian authority on issues such as abortion and immigration because Protestant denominations have no clear leaders, he said, but he fears that the Church’s public presence in the United States has been underscored by the recent controversy surrounding Pope Benedict XVI. Lugo said Benedict’s approach to the Muslim faith is a divergence from the views of the late Pope John Paul II. Former Rep. Timothy Roemer (D-Ind.) called for a stronger Catholic role in politics and said it is healthy for political systems and for the Catholic Church to be able to influence so many elections. Roemer said that universities with a strong Catholic foundation, such as Georgetown, “can have a profound influence in the wide breadth of important Catholic issues in the public sector.