White House Refuses to Deny Bush Made Poltical Plea

On Sunday, the New York Times said President Bush continued his assault on the separation between Church and State by reportedly asking the Pope to get US Bishops in line and promote his political agenda by attacking the rights of gays and so on. Their source? The Vatican. With John Kerry a Roman Catholic, Bush is hoping more criticism by US bishops can splinter the Catholic vote. Today, the White House confirmed they spoke about "shared priorities" and did not deny Bush urged for more attacks on Kerry and stances that might harm Kerry's standing among Catholics. It's an odd pairing since the Vatican has been on the outs with Bush over Iraq and on the outs with American Catholics for its antiquated stances on sexuality and democracy (which the Church supports everywhere except in the Church)and especially for the shameful child abuse scandal it refuses to make amends for. And American bishops are on the outs with each other since most condemn the actions of just four Bishops who want to turn the giving of Holy Communion into a weapon for attacking anyone they disagree with.