In the News
Politicians talk faith at inaugural Catholic prayer breakfast
4-28-04
By Patricia Zapor
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- An inaugural National Catholic Prayer Breakfast
April 28 drew about 1,000 participants to hear politicians talk
about the influence of faith in their lives and a cardinal discuss
the need to battle the "moral vacuum" of contemporary
society.
Organizers said the event likely will have raised around $100,000
for the two charities it will benefit, the Religious Sisters of
Life and Peter's Pence, Pope John Paul II's private charity.
Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., challenged the audience to "do
something heroic ... something countercultural," and get closer
to God to hear what he wants done.
"I believe God speaks in whispers and you will not know what
his will is unless you are close (to him)," he said. "He
is calling, let me assure you, he is calling."
Santorum said many Catholics think living out their faith is simply
a matter of "jumping through the hoops" that the church
sets out -- such as going to church on Sunday and avoiding mortal
sins. "This is not a religion with a check-off. This is one
that asks you to live a life of sacrifice for Our Lord."
Santorum noted that when he was introduced at the breakfast the
speaker cited comments he made in the Senate in support of a law
banning partial-birth abortion that sounded heroic in nature, "but
for five years I was in elected office and never said the word abortion
on the floor of the House or the U.S. Senate."
He said the only reason he was able to do so was that at the same
time he was considering speaking out about abortion "I was
getting closer to Our Lord."
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said his participation in the regular
House prayer breakfast and in a small fellowship group has given
him the strength "to not be a bomb-thrower," the kind
of politician who gets in the news by being harshly critical of
others.
"I admit it's difficult at times not to criticize, judge or
condemn," Stupak said. "It's difficult to walk in the
light," as Jesus asked.
"In our current society it is so easy to judge and condemn,
especially public officials," he said. "Elected officials
seem to learn early, the harsher your words, the more press time
and TV time you receive. If you're a good bomb-thrower, you'll be
asked to be on 'Crossfire' or 'Hardball' or one of the other screaming
shows every night."
Cardinal Avery Dulles, who teaches at Fordham University in New
York, said although for Americans "there is nothing more sacred
to our lives than the idea of liberty" the "negative pull"
of freedom from responsibilities is drawing the nation into immorality.
"Once freedom operates in a moral vacuum, it becomes meaningless,"
said Cardinal Dulles. "Each choice is as good as every other
and there's nothing worth living or striving for. In such a situation,
society decays."
The United States has proven successful at overthrowing tyrannical
regimes, Cardinal Dulles said, but seems unable to create anything
more than a "moral vacuum, which is painfully filled by the
demons of fraud, drugs and violence."
He said, for example, in post-Taliban and post-communist societies
"too many citizens begin to hanker for a return of the ousted
rulers who provided at least a minimum of order and security."
True freedom comes from following the example of Jesus, he said.
"Christ alone can set us free. By welcoming him into our lives
we can enjoy the glorious freedom as children of God. Nothing is
so liberating as the love of God."
In his homily at a Mass that preceded the breakfast, Coadjutor
Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Orlando, Fla., said a lack of hope has
become one of the significant problems of the age.
"We have forgotten ... we were created for life in God,"
he said. Problems such as abortion, drug abuse and promiscuity reflect
that many people lack hope for the future, he said.
"Our world needs us to be witnesses to hope, and we witness
to hope through prayer," said Bishop Wenski. "The journey
with Christ is never a cakewalk, but a walk along the way of the
cross, but we are confident if we share in his cross, we will also
share in the glory of his resurrection."
Participants at the breakfast included Catholics from a range of
Washington legal, academic, political and religious backgrounds.
Prominent among the names of the advisory council and host committee
were members of the Bush administration, Ave Maria Law School and
the Federalist Society.
Many of Washington's most prominent Catholic Democrats in Congress,
such as Massachusetts Sens. Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, were not
in attendance.
Austin Ruse, vice president of the prayer breakfast, said the goal
was to have the event be nonpartisan, and that organizers had invited
"all the pro-life Catholic Democrats" to be speakers.
He later told Catholic News Service that "even if you are
an unfaithful Catholic" or someone who votes in favor of abortion
laws, as he put it, "you can come and eat eggs with us. We
want this to be larger than just our set of people." Only people
who are pro-life would be invited to speak, however, he said.
Contributing to this story was Mark Zimmermann.
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