Report says Bush sought Vatican help
Conservative themes addressed
By Anne E. Kornblut and Glen Johnson, Globe Staff | June 14, 2004
FROM:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/06/14/report_says_bush_sought_vatican_help/WASHINGTON -- On his most recent overseas trip, President Bush reportedly asked Vatican officials earlier this month to promote socially conservative values in the United States more aggressively -- a further sign that the Catholic Church and its members could play a key role in this year's presidential campaign.
Bush, whose reelection strategy hinges in part on winning support from highly religious voters, told a Vatican official that "not all the American bishops are with me" on social issues, according to an article in the independent journal National Catholic Reporter. Bush focused especially on gay marriage, the article said.
White House officials have not confirmed the account. But advisers to Senator John F. Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee and a Catholic, said Bush's effort to recruit Vatican support is in keeping with his pattern of mixing religion and politics -- coming on the heels of a memo from Bush campaign officials, made public in early June, seeking to organize supporters through their church congregations.
"Bush's overt attempts to use houses of God as political organizations, and now lobbying the Vatican to play election politics, crosses the line," Kerry campaign spokesman Michael Meehan said yesterday. "While people of faith are important to the foundation of America's value system, politicians should not exploit religious organizations for personal political gain; dimming reelection prospects are included."
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