The Catholic Campaign for America

March-April 1996

By Luis E. Lugo

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Catholic Campaign for America, a non-partisan educational organization quite distinct from the Catholic Alliance (see previous article), held its first national conference here this past November under the theme "Public Catholicism: Issues and Challenges." The large crowd of over 800 people was welcomed by Washington Archbishop James Hickey, who read a letter from Pope John Paul II extending his blessings on their efforts as Catholic lay people to contribute out of their deepest convictions to the strengthening of American public life. Participants heard a wide array of plenary speakers which included well-known political figures such as Michigan governor John Engler, former Reagan/Bush cabinet member William Bennett, and Illinois Congressman Henry Hyde. Leading Catholic intellectuals Richard Neuhaus, Michael Novak and George Weigel also addressed the conference. A series of workshops, which sought to lay out Catholic views on the media, population control, the sanctity of life, and educational reform, among other topics, rounded out the two-day meeting.

The Catholic Campaign, which was established only in 1992, already shows signs of being able to energize Catholic citizens to play a more active role in public life on the basis of a rich tradition of Catholic social teaching. The Campaign has conducted town meetings throughout the country, engaged in various forms of media campaigns, organized student summits, and sponsored seminars and news conferences on Capitol Hill. It has now embarked on an ambitious development strategy whose aim is to establish local affiliate chapters in all fifty states.

The growing confidence of conservative Catholics to speak as Catholics in the public square was much in evidence at the conference. Old inhibitions born of past discrimination are quickly being set aside in favor of a more self-assured, activist posture as more and more Catholics sense the need for the renewal of American public life. This trend was strongly affirmed by Neuhaus, editor of the influential journal First Things, who encouraged the audience to think of themselves not as American Catholics but as Catholic Americans, with a responsibility to contribute to the vitality of American democracy precisely by nurturing a distinctively Catholic way of being American. Conference speakers left no doubt that this includes above all an unswerving loyalty to a pro-family agenda in service of what John Paul II has termed the culture of life. The several women who spoke at the conference enthusiastically supported this emphasis, and drew a close connection between a strong pro-life stance and what Campaign board member Mary Ellen Bork referred to as an "an authentic womanhood."

One of the principles of public Catholicism that guides the Campaign is the call for a consistent integration of faith into every aspect of life, including our public life. This is a sound and powerful vision, but it suggests a range of concerns that is as broad as culture. It was not surprising, therefore, that the conference included workshops on such diverse topics as living the faith in the work environment (led by Thomas Monaghan of Domino's Pizza fame and Robert Mylod, chairman of Michigan National Bank) and educating the next generation (featuring the very evangelical Fr. Michael Scanlan, president of Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio).

Sensing the need to make its message more coherent and concise, the Campaign is moving toward focusing its attention on a few main themes. While some of these retain a broadly cultural orientation, others move decidedly into the public policy arena. Included here is a commitment to support policies that provide alternatives to abortion, that enhance parental choice in the education of children, and that encourage democratic institutions to move power closer to the people (thus linking the Catholic principle of subsidiarity to efforts aimed at decentralizing government).

To the extent that the Campaign continues to move in a public policy direction, it will face some additional challenges. Not the least of these will be the need to expand its agenda in ways that more fully reflect the broad scope of Catholic social teaching, a move that is sure to generate tensions within the movement. In addition, the Campaign will have to forge an institutional identity that clarifies its similarities to, and differences from, the more explicitly political Catholic Alliance. The program's inclusion of Ralph Reed, who sees in the emerging Evangelical-Catholic partnership the key to the future of American politics, only serves to underscore this potential difficulty. However it decides to resolve these tensions, the Catholic Campaign for America will likely become an important player in the increasingly crowded field of religiously-based public policy organizations.