When Sen. Barack Obama recently announced the formation of his Catholic National Advisory Council, he said he was “deeply honored to have the support and counsel of these committed Catholic leaders, scholars and advocates.” We quickly urged him “to dissolve it immediately.”
Of the 26 Catholic former or current public office holders listed as either National Co-Chairs (5), or as members of the National Leadership Committee (21), not one of them agrees with the Catholic Church on all three of the following public policy issues: abortion, embryonic stem cell research and school vouchers.
Indeed, on the issue of abortion, their record is disgraceful. Consider the scorecard as issued by the most radical pro-abortion organization in the nation—NARAL. Of the two National Co-Chairs who have a NARAL tally, one agrees with the extremist group 65 percent of the time and the other agrees 100 percent of the time. Similarly, of the 20 National Leadership Committee members with a NARAL score, 17 have earned a 100 percent rating. Of those who have less than a perfect score, not one is in favor of school vouchers.
“Practicing Catholics have every right to be insulted by Obama’s advisory group,” we said. We continued, “What is the purpose of having an advisory group about matters Catholic when most of its members reject the Catholic position?” Indeed, we said, “to choose Catholic dissidents to advise him about Catholic concerns is mind-boggling.”
