A political currency in embracing of pope

WASHINGTON -- President Bush, two former presidents, and dozens of prominent members of Congress, including both Massachusetts senators, are descending on Rome this week unified behind a single message: Pope John Paul II was a great man.

In life, the pope often chided American politicians in both parties, calling them to task for their support of abortion rights and the death penalty, and for a failure by such a wealthy nation to alleviate poverty at home and abroad. Last year, the pope made it clear during a Vatican meeting with Bush that he did not support the war against Iraq.

But despite their policy differences with the pontiff, Democrats and Republicans alike are eager to claim John Paul's legacy as their own, appealing to a divided Catholic constituency that can swing elections.

''If you're a liberal Democrat who wants Catholic votes or a conservative Republican who wants Catholic votes, going to the funeral is a good thing," said John C. Green, a University of Akron professor specializing in religion and politics. He noted that Catholics are largely split in their political affiliations, a traditionally Democratic voting bloc that nonetheless went for Bush over Democratic nominee John F. Kerry in last year's exit polls.

The Rev. Robert Drinan, a Jesuit priest, professor at Georgetown Law School, and a former Democratic member of Congress from Massachusetts, agreed: ''They want the Catholic vote."

Bush is making an unprecedented effort to honor John Paul's memory, becoming the first sitting president ever to attend a papal funeral, and hosting a reception for US bishops while he is in Rome.

''This is a time of mourning. This is a time to also honor and celebrate the life of a truly great moral leader, Pope John Paul II. And that is why we are going to Rome," Bush's press secretary, Scott McClellan, told reporters yesterday, after the president left for Italy with his father, President George H. W. Bush, and President Bill Clinton on Air Force One.

Some 26 House members and 14 US senators will also be attending the service tomorrow, a startling display by lawmakers in a country that has not always had such a warm relationship with the Vatican. The White House says President Jimmy Carter declined an invitation to join the delegation, although Carter allies explain his absence as the result of either a miscommunication or a White House snub, and President Gerald Ford, 91, is not up to travel.

Green said that politicians' eagerness to show their affinity for the Vatican is a recent phenomenon. John F. Kennedy, the nation's first Catholic president, was the target of allegations that he would be controlled by the Vatican, and rigorously sought to separate his role as president from his personal faith.

But now, Green said, ''politicians in both major parties don't have any problem being around" the Vatican, and the current generation of lawmakers has made matters of faith an issue in politics. Over the 40 years since the Kennedy presidency, public fears of Vatican influence have abated, in part because of greater assimilation of Catholics into US society, Green said.

Further, Protestants and Catholics have drawn closer because of common social and political views on issues such as abortion.

Republicans, however, have been more effective recently than Democrats in defining Christian values and Catholic teachings as their own, according to analysts and lawmakers in both parties. After decades of Democratic domination of Catholic votes, George W. Bush won the constituency by seven points in 2000 and by 14 percentage points last year, according to a recent study by Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg.

Many Catholic voters backed Bush on national security grounds, despite the pope's opposition to the war in Iraq. But Bush has emphasized his areas of agreement with the pope, including limits on funding of stem cell research and opposing abortion.

The president does not shy from expressing his religious faith even in an official capacity; his official Easter message to the nation, released by his press secretary, opened with a quote from the Bible and continued with a heavily religious statement. ''During this holy season, we thank God for His blessings and ask for His wisdom and guidance," the statement said. The president has also sought to fund faith-based organizations doing charitable work.

Bush's unabashed religiosity has brought him both respect from fellow religious conservatives and ire from liberals who believe he has inappropriately brought religion into governing, and selectively, at that.

''He doesn't know much about Christianity, George Bush, with all due respect. He's using religion," said Drinan. Bush's opposition to gun control and support for the death penalty ''are things that just offend against Christianity."

Drinan himself was driven from politics by Pope John Paul II, who decreed in 1980 that Roman Catholic priests should withdraw from politics. While the order was general in nature, it appeared directed at Drinan, who favors abortion rights. Now, Drinan has joined other Democrats in saying the party needs to reassert its claim on Catholic values, pointing to the need for charity and compassion for the poor.

For example, said Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, Democrats should be noting the effect that proposed cuts in Medicaid, a healthcare program for the poor, would have on the country's needy citizens. But Republicans still are more successful in using religious values to their electoral and political advantage, the senator said.

''This country is patriotic. It's religious. It is family-oriented. Republicans have been very effective at taking away the issues" from Democrats, said Kennedy, a Roman Catholic. ''Democrats haven't been very effective at taking them back. I don't know why."

Kennedy's Massachusetts colleague, Kerry, is also a Roman Catholic, who attended church every Sunday during the presidential campaign and yet still found himself on the defensive on matters of faith. Kerry favors abortion rights, which led one church leader during the campaign to say the senator should not be allowed to accept Holy Communion at church. Being at odds with some church leaders made it harder for Kerry to talk about religion the way Bush did, Green said.

Some Democrats have urged their party to be more open to antiabortion voters; the Republican party, for example, tolerates a wing that supports abortion rights, although the party platform is antiabortion. Greenberg recommended in his analysis that Democrats try harder to present themselves to Catholics as the party of the middle class, emphasizing ''personal responsibility" and a commitment to family.

Support for the death penalty -- which has been important for candidates appealing to law-and-order voters -- also appears to be waning among some voters. A recent study by Zogby International found 48 percent of Catholics supporting capital punishment, with 47 percent opposed. Support for the death penalty among Catholics has been as high as 68 percent in past surveys.