Benedict XVI to Avoid U.S. Presidential Politics

by Rhonda J Mangus | April 12, 2008 at 08:50 am | 197 views | add comment

Church teaching doesn't fit neatly into any one political agenda, a hard lesson American presidential candidates have learned as they have courted Catholic voters in recent years. Catholics make up about one quarter of the electorate nationwide and don't vote as a bloc.

Described as "...an inconvenient coincidence for the Vatican,..." the Pontiff's visit to the United States ends just two days before the State primary in Pennsylvania, where Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are seeking the Catholic vote, and where Senator Clinton recently announced the formation of a 71 member Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, and Trans-gender (GLBT) Steering Committee to provide campaign advice and opinions to Senator Clinton.