More from Fr. Neuhaus on Bishops Working with Democrats to Forge Iraq Policy

(Hat tip: Jonathan at Vox Nova)

Fr. Neuhaus writes in the First Things blog On the Square:

... [Bishop Wenski] did respond to my observation that, on the “life questions,” beginning with the protection of unborn children, the bishops have not launched a project comparable to that launched to change Iraq policy. Bishop Wenski wrote, “The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is perhaps the most visible and effective advocate for unborn children, and virtually everyone in Congress is well aware of this fact.” That is no doubt right. The emphasis, however, is on a comparable project. I am not aware of any announcement by the bishops of a comparable project to “work with the Congress and the administration to forge bipartisan policies on ways to bring about” the legal protection of the unborn.

Of course, it may be objected that such a project would be futile, since the abortion question is so charged with political partisanship. Fair enough, but that raises the question of the bipartisan or nonpartisan nature of the bishops’ Iraq initiative. That initiative was undertaken in response to a letter from fourteen Democratic members of Congress who—although some are prominent opponents of the Church’s teaching on the protection of human life—identify themselves as Catholics. In their letter, the Democrats described themselves as “increasingly disheartened with our country’s presence in Iraq.” The letter did not ask the bishops for moral guidance on the Church’s teaching with respect to war and peace, a subject on which, one would like to think, the bishops possess a degree of competence. Rather, the letter asked the bishops “to help mobilize Catholic opinion . . . in pursuit of our shared goal of ending the war in Iraq as soon as possible.” Explicitly criticizing President Bush and the policies of this administration, the letter concludes, “We respectfully urge the USCCB to join with us in mobilizing support for Congress’ efforts to end the war.”

The letter to which Bishop Wenski, on behalf of the USCCB, responded positively was, to put it delicately, hardly nonpartisan. His response on this website repeatedly referred to what he described as the bishops’ interest in a “responsible transition.” His letter to congressional Democrats is more explicit. It expresses unhappiness with current policies and says that the bishops “share your deep concern for the dangerous and deteriorating situation in Iraq.” He told the Democrats that “our nation must have the moral courage to change course in Iraq and to break the policy and political stalemate in Washington.” He did not, as in his posting here, speak merely of a “responsible transition” but stated that the goal is “to bring an end to the war in Iraq” and, at another point, “to end U.S. military engagement in Iraq.”

As evidence of nonpartisanship, the bishop notes that he later sent the same letter to the Republican leadership of the House, inviting them to join in this project. It is, I respectfully suggest, a new definition of nonpartisanship when Catholic bishops declare their agreement with Democrats and then invite Republicans to join their Democratic opponents in contending against a Republican administration and its policies...

[More]

(emphasis added)

My Comments:
Allow me to note that I am very uncomfortable with the notion of telling Bishops where their "competencies" lie, especially when "Anderson's Law" (or whatever you want to call it) is invoked in the process.

But I do think Fr. Neuhaus raises some valid points about the partisanship aspects of this.


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
"If Anyone is Left, Then Discuss Iraq"

U.S. Bishops Agree to Collaborate on Anti-War Strategy With Same Catholic Dems Who Slammed Pope on Abortion

Catholics Dems in Congress Seek Ally Against War