But that is the dliemma discussed by the President and the Pope, so it has
everything to do with the peculiar question discussed on this listserv.
The position advocated by some on this listserv that the President cannot
communicate with (co-)religionists about matters of faith and morals, speak
about his faith in speeches, or invite Christian pastors to his inaugurals
to offer sectarian prayers because of some vague constitutional norm reminds
me of Professor Monaghan's article, Our Perfect Constitution. Vote for a
secularistic presidential candidate because you are a secularist not because
some so-called constitutional sentiment encourages you to do so.
The Religion Clauses simply do not impose a filter on the President's
communications with religious believers.
----- Original Message -----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, June 14, 2004 10:36 AM
Subject: Re: The President and the Pope
In a message dated 6/14/2004 10:23:48 AM Eastern Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Just so I understand, you approve of Catholic politicians taking communion
against the express wishes of their Church and you would base your vote on
it?
The dilemma for the American bishops is not whether Kerry should be taking
communion. He should not. The dilemma is whether the Church should
withhold communion in light of his refusal to abide by Church norms.
The above points seem to be to be entirely irrelevant to the
question addressed in my post, which was to wit: Whether it is
constitutionally appropriate, in some interesting sense of that term, for
the President of the United States to ask the Pope to urge Bishops to
embrace a particular moral-religious position. Answers to this question have
little, if anything, to do with the substantive religious "dilemma" of
"whether the Church should withhold communion in light of his [Kerry or
anyone] refusal to abide by Church norms."
As a non-Catholic I have no opinion on the substantive religious jud
gment. As a student of American constitutional law, however, I do have a
position on the constitutional appropriateness of a President urging the
Pope to instruct his bishops to act in one way or another.
Bobby
Robert Justin Lipkin
Widener University School of Law
Delaware
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