"Cafeteria Catholics" vs the Demo Candidates

Wall St Journal Political Diary
http://opinionjournal.com/politicaldiary

"Cafeteria Catholics" is the nickname given to politicians who 
profess the faith but take political stands against the church's 
teachings. The tolerance meted out to such folks has gone too 
far, in the eyes of some. Last year, then-California Gov. Gray 
Davis got a surprise when a Catholic monsignor, upset with the 
politician's stance on abortion, barred him from visiting 
Catholic orphanages. He was even more surprised when, a short 
time later, Sacramento Bishop William Weigand called on Gov. 
Davis to abstain from receiving communion.

By one count, some 400 "cafeteria Catholics" hold political 
office around the country, including Edward Kennedy, Nancy 
Pelosi, George Pataki and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Dallas and 
Philadelphia archdioceses have already prohibited abortion-
rights supporters from speaking at Catholic churches and 
schools. It's safe to say most Catholics probably aren't 
spoiling for a new fight along these lines, but a fight just 
became a lot harder to avoid.

Even moderate church members are up in arms over the 
Massachusetts gay marriage decision. Meanwhile, three Catholic 
Democrats running for president -- John Kerry, Wesley Clark and 
Dennis Kucinich -- have endorsed some form of gay marriage, 
putting them on a collision course with Bay State bishops and 
thousands of parishioners who are gearing up to oppose gay 
marriage in the state legislature. How big a headache can this 
become for Democrats? The court gave the Massachusetts 
legislature 180 days to produce a law authorizing gay marriage. 
That means the controversy should just be peaking about the time 
Democrats begin to gather in Boston next summer for their 
nominating convention.