The Hawaii Catholic Herald received a number of letters from readers who objected to the Catholic News Service article “60 years after JFK, wait continues for the second Catholic president” (Aug. 21) about Catholic candidates for the U.S. presidency and vice presidency.
The story, by longtime CNS reporter Mark Pattison, stated that, if Joe Biden is elected, he would be the second Catholic president in U.S. history after John F. Kennedy. The story then gave a rundown of the Catholic candidates over the decades from Al Smith in 1928 to the present.
It was a story about the religious affiliations of the candidates, not their positions, though it did touch on the Communion controversy of another Catholic presidential candidate, John Kerry, who was pro-abortion.
Several of the letter writers were angry that I ran the story because Biden is in favor of legal abortion.
One wrote, “Yes, Joe Biden is a baptized Catholic. So was Hitler, so is Pelosi.”
Another wrote, “this article is meant to fool pro-life supporters, who are uninformed and many lukewarm Catholics.”
And another, “This newspaper needs to teach the faith, not allow one to be comfortable in sin.”
A couple letters took personal jabs at the reporter and myself.
I also received letters of a political nature responding to an earlier letter to the editor critical of Catholic New Service columnist Carolyn Woo. These could be characterized as being on the opposite side of the partisan divide from the anti-Biden letters.
The Catholic Church, a non-profit religious entity, cannot endorse a candidate or favor a political party. The Gospel is not Republican or Democrat. (Long gone are the days when you heard the church tell you to vote for someone because he or she is Catholic.) This does not mean the Hawaii Catholic Herald cannot report on political issues linked to Catholic teachings on human life and dignity and the common good such as abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty or immigration. For this, we get a lot of help from Catholic News Service, the news service of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, for accurate and thorough reporting and analysis, and the guidance of the Holy Father and the bishops.
I mention the content of these letters only to say that I won’t be publishing them. As much as I want to give everyone a voice, I can easily see the antagonism getting out of hand. This is going to be a testy and rancorous election. I don’t want the Herald to be a platform for angry letters on politics. I think it is the prudent thing to do. Letters on other topics will be welcome, but not letters that endorse or condemn a political party or candidate.
—Patrick Downes
