Romney's Rome visit seen fueled by politics

(Clarification: A Page One story on March 24 reported that Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley said that he had invited no one to Rome other than his relatives for the consistory at which he would be elevated to cardinal but that Governor Mitt Romney said he had been invited by the archbishop. The archdiocese now says that, although the archbishop had said ''we didn't invite anyone -- I thought that was the safest way to deal with it," the archbishop's secretary, the Rev. Brian Bachand, had extended ''an open invitation for the governor to attend" in a discussion with Romney's deputy chief of staff, Peter Flaherty. The archbishop's spokesman, Terrence C. Donilon, said the invitation to the governor was similar to that extended to the general public, in that the archdiocese decided not to organize a formal delegation but was happy to provide information to well-wishers who traveled on their own.)

ROME -- Among the 500 or so folks flocking to St. Peter's Basilica today to watch Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley become a cardinal, one stands out among the crowd: Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts.

Although many heads of state and dignitaries pass through the Vatican each year, it is unusual for a governor, particularly one who is not Catholic, to attend a ceremony for the creation of a new cardinal.

But Romney's visit, according to scholars of religion and politics, reflects two realities: the ongoing importance of Catholicism in Massachusetts and the rising importance of Catholics in presidential elections.

And the visit may be an early indication of how Romney will navigate the complex and uncertain implications of the fact that his faith, Mormonism, is viewed warily by Catholic and Protestant leaders, at least theologically.

Romney is the governor of one of the most Catholic states in the nation and is publicly exploring a bid for the White House in an era when presidential elections are increasingly being decided by a handful of swing states with heavy concentrations of Catholic voters. As a result, his visit offers the governor a rare chance to simultaneously appeal to two often competing constituencies: those at home and those outside the state.

The visit ''is inspired by Governor Romney's attentiveness to Roman Catholics as a voting community, in Boston, in Massachusetts, and in the United States," said Richard Parker, a lecturer in public policy at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. ''I don't say that in any way cynically. One builds coalitions to win the presidency, and identifies where likely voters are. If I were advising him, I would very much advise him to honor Cardinal O'Malley's elevation."

But Romney's decision to make a highly visible visit to a Catholic ceremony inevitably also reminds many of his own faith, which, some scholars argue, is now in a position similar to that of Catholicism in 1960, when John F. Kennedy ran for president.

''The question is lingering: To what degree do ordinary Christians view Mormons as fellow Christians or as weird," said Alan Wolfe, director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College.

''That's something the governor doesn't know the answer to, and I don't know the answer to," Wolfe said. ''But, given that Mormonism has been such a controversial religion and given that we live in an era when even the tiniest margins can make a difference in an election, it makes sense for the governor to show solidarity with Catholic and Protestant Christians."

Romney and O'Malley offer somewhat different descriptions of their relationship and how the governor decided to come to Rome. Romney, through his spokesman, describes the archbishop as a friend and says the archbishop invited him to Rome; O'Malley, in an interview, described the governor as an acquaintance and says he invited no one to Rome other than his relatives.

''I've met him a couple of times -- don't know him well -- but he's always been very gracious," O'Malley said. ''I think that it's an honor for the church that the governor would be a part of this."

Romney did not attend O'Malley's installation as archbishop in 2003 -- he was on vacation with his family in New Hampshire -- but did join the archbishop in December 2003 to break ground on a housing development at the site of a closed parish in Lynn, attended the St. Patrick's Day Mass at the Cathedral in 2004, and invited O'Malley to deliver the invocation at the 2004 State of the State address.

''I wanted to represent the Commonwealth to show just how significant we think an event of this nature is," Romney told reporters gathered for his departure from Logan Airport yesterday. ''The Catholic Church has roughly 55 percent of the population here in the state, and to have the leader of the church in our state become a cardinal is something which is a tribute not only to the individual but also to our state. . . . For me it's a real thrill to go to the Vatican, to go to Rome, and to see someone you respect as a man of God and a friend elevated in this nature is something I wouldn't miss."

Catholics today represent a hugely important political constituency. According to a study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, 53 percent of non-Latino Catholics voted for Bush, the Republican incumbent, in the 2004 presidential election, even though the Democratic challenger, Kerry, is a Catholic.

''If there's one thing Republicans learned in 2004, it's that aggressive efforts to court the Catholic vote can pay off," said John L. Allen Jr., the Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter. ''Any prospective Republican presidential candidate would see the Catholic vote as important, and, particularly if you're going for that faithful-practicing-Catholic vote, there's no more important point of reference than the Vatican."

But Romney, who previously visited the Vatican as a tourist, brushed off the notion of political implications of the trip, saying: ''I don't know that there is any interest nationally in my trip. This is something I want to do personally, to represent the Commonwealth in underscoring how much we appreciate the contributions the Catholic Church makes to our state."

While in Rome, the governor plans to attend this morning's consistory, followed by a lunch honoring O'Malley and the other American in the consistory, Cardinal William J. Levada, then a dinner at the residence of the US ambassador to the Holy See, Francis Rooney, a corporate executive and Republican donor. Tomorrow morning, Romney will attend the Mass of the Rings before returning to Boston tomorrow night.

Romney and O'Malley have found common ground on some political issues, such as their opposition to same-sex marriage, and Romney has twice attempted to come to the church's rescue on Beacon Hill, helping to quash a bill that would have required churches to report their financial holdings and filing legislation that would exempt religious organizations that provide adoption services from a state regulation requiring that they consider same-sex households as prospective parents. Romney has also, like many Catholics, voiced unhappiness about the Catholic bishops' handling of sexually abusive priests.

''Governor Romney's attendance is an interesting symbolic statement linking his place in the public imagination with that of O'Malley," said Nancy T. Ammerman, a professor of the sociology of religion at Boston University's School of Theology. Ammerman described Romney and O'Malley as ''moderate conservatives," saying that each represents religious traditions with similar stances on family values issues.

''Both of these particular religious traditions were also once outcasts, but are now part of an increasingly broad American religious mainstream, Mormons more recently than Catholics," she said. ''And ironically, both Romney and O'Malley are opposed by a majority of more liberal Massachusetts Catholic laity."

Back in 1985, when Archbishop Bernard F. Law became a cardinal, Governor Michael Dukakis -- like Romney, a non-Catholic -- did not come, but sent his wife, Kitty.

Asked about Romney's decision to go to Rome, Dukakis said, ''I don't know that there is any special significance to the fact that he is there. We haven't been seeing much of him in Boston lately anyway."

But Romney's appearance is all the more striking because none of the state's Catholic politicians are coming, according to O'Malley's aides. In 1985, Boston's mayor, Raymond L. Flynn; state Representative Salvatore F. DiMasi, and city councilor Thomas M. Menino attended the Law consistory. Menino is now mayor of Boston, and DiMasi the speaker of the House, and neither is expected here.

Stephanie Ebbert of the Globe staff contributed to this report from Boston. Michael Paulson can be reached at mpaulson@globe.com.