Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the way American elites view politics and religion:
In today’s New York Times, there are several related articles on the subject of politics and religion. All feature the way white New York politicians stumped for themselves or others from African-American churches yesterday. What happened at the Brown Memorial Baptist Church was stunning: the pastor, Rev. Clinton M. Miller, literally asked those in the pews to vote for gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo. Neither the reporters nor the editorial board of the Times registered any objections.
Yesterday, CNN reported on the Red Mass that took place on Sunday at Washington, D.C.’s Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle; it is an annual service for lawyers. There were no endorsements from Archbishop Donald Wuerl, nor was the pulpit extended to any politician or office seeker, but it was attended by several Roman Catholic Supreme Court Justices. Yet this was enough for CNN’s Belief Blog to say that the Red Mass “has drawn criticism for what some see as an unhealthy mix of politics, law and religion.” The some, obviously, include the CNN reporter, and, of course, Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
The split reaction of these cultural elites is driven by two forces: politics and race. The elites get upset at even the slightest intersection of conservative politics and religion, and they are particularly incensed when white clergy members are involved. But when the black clergy push for liberal candidates—offering the pulpit and instructing the congregants whom to vote for—that’s quite okay.
It would be great to see how the elites would react if a black minister were to endorse a white conservative, or if a white priest were to endorse a black liberal. Surely it would confuse them. That they don’t see their own duplicity in such matters is revealing.
