For its part, the powerful United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has taken a firm stance against the US presence in Iraq. A July 2007 letter to House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH), USCCB noted, "The current situation in Iraq is unacceptable and unsustainable,
as is the policy and political stalemate among decision makers in Washington ... our nation must have the moral courage to change course in Iraq."
Dissent is swelling up from the grassroots as well. In August 2007, an alliance of religious groups calling itself Catholics for an End to War collected 10,000 signatures for an online petition "urging leaders to commit to a responsible withdrawal of U.S. troops." Sister Simone Campbell of the national Catholic social justice lobby NETWORK said, "Church leaders and individual Catholics have opposed U.S. policy in Iraq since before the war began," adding that the petition "lets thousands of Catholics unite to speak out even more strongly for an end to the violence and occupation."
In other words, being dovish on Iraq might help the next Democratic presidential contender win Roman Catholic votes. Whether the current front-runners qualify for that distinction, however, is another matter.
This article first appeared in http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/4610"> Foreign Policy in Focus as part of a series on religion and politics. Heather Wokusch is the author of http://www.progressiveshandbook.com"> The Progressives' Handbook series. For a video of this article or to contact Heather, visit www.HeatherWokusch.com .
as is the policy and political stalemate among decision makers in Washington ... our nation must have the moral courage to change course in Iraq."
Dissent is swelling up from the grassroots as well. In August 2007, an alliance of religious groups calling itself Catholics for an End to War collected 10,000 signatures for an online petition "urging leaders to commit to a responsible withdrawal of U.S. troops." Sister Simone Campbell of the national Catholic social justice lobby NETWORK said, "Church leaders and individual Catholics have opposed U.S. policy in Iraq since before the war began," adding that the petition "lets thousands of Catholics unite to speak out even more strongly for an end to the violence and occupation."
In other words, being dovish on Iraq might help the next Democratic presidential contender win Roman Catholic votes. Whether the current front-runners qualify for that distinction, however, is another matter.
This article first appeared in http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/4610"> Foreign Policy in Focus as part of a series on religion and politics. Heather Wokusch is the author of http://www.progressiveshandbook.com"> The Progressives' Handbook series. For a video of this article or to contact Heather, visit www.HeatherWokusch.com .
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