Can a Catholic Support Him?: Asking the Big Questions about Barack Obama

by Douglas W. Kmiec, Martin Sheen (Introduction)

"Douglas Kmiec's Can a Catholic Support Him? may very well become the most important comprehensive document written to date on American Catholics, abortion, and candidates for public office." -Martin Sheen On April 18, 2008, Douglas W. Kmiec was denied Communion at a Catholic Mass in Westlake, California. Ironically, Kmiec had been invited by a Catholic business group to give a dinner address on the Bishop's teaching of "Faithful Citizenship." Kmiec had served as head of the Office of Legal Counsel for both Ronald Regan and George H. W. Bush. But now, he found himself rejected by his faith-simply for endorsing the presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama.

In Can a Catholic Support Him?, Kmiec offers us a thoughtful explanation of his rationale. He addresses the difficult questions at the core of his Can a Catholic support a Pro-Choice candidate? Can there be a reverence for life that embraces a larger set of values? How does a Catholic citizen balance his obligations to the Church and to community? In asking these questions, he challenges those whose partisan interests are provoking a false rift between the Catholic Church and the Democratic party.

This inquiry could hardly be more timely. Catholics have been on the side of the top vote-getter in the last nine presidential elections, and make up roughly one fourth of the electorate. This provocative book-at once a legal and religious treatise and a sincere and personal journey of faith-will be an irreplaceable contribution to the conversation, in 2008 and beyond.

176 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2008

Reviews

[Eddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catholicism is not a single-party platform

Mr. Kmiec is provides the Big Answer to the Big Question of can a Catholic support Barack Obama. Mr. Kmiec makes his case for Catholics casting their vote for Obama - guilt free:

"...it violates no aspect of Catholic teaching for a Catholic voter to endorse, support or vote for Barack Obama, even if Senator Obama sees better ways for reducing abortion than pressing for the Supreme Court to reverse Roe. Any claimed Catholic duty to the contrary is nonexistent." pg. 36

Although Mr. Kmiec is qualified in the areas of Constitutional law and Catholicism, don't just take his word on it. In this book, Kmiec cites leading authorities, including Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), et. al.

I believe Mr. Kmiec's intention here is to provide information to assist the voter in making a conscientious choice. He reminds us that overturning Roe v. Wade is not the litmus test for choosing a candidate. A candidate may provide numerous alternatives to abortion. A candidate may have a strong, as Kmiec puts it, `Social Teaching' platform. A candidate may take strong faith-based positions on other human life issues. All of these a Catholic voter must carefully consider before ultimately deciding on whom to vote for.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thoughtful book on a difficult subject--how a pro-life Catholic could support Barack Obama's presidential campaign in spite of Obama's support of Roe v. Wade. Kmiec's main point seemed to be that Obama's other positions are far more in keeping with Catholic social teaching than McCain's, and that pro-lifers have mistakenly put all their political eggs into the single basket of overturning Roe, which would in actuality only send the issue back to the fifty individual states, and in no way addresses larger issues of reducing actual numbers of abortions.

[Susie]

I regularly see Doug at Mass, and he often teaches an adult education class on Sundays at my Church. I was well aware of his political stance last year and the controversy surrounding it. I just read about this book in my Pepperdine alumni magazine, so I think I will check it out.

[Nick W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read for anyone interested in Catholic doctrine and its interpretation on voting. Certainly timely for the 2008 election, i wish I'd read it back then to be more informed.