Our modern day Al Smith; the Rick Santorum of his generation

Rick Santorum recently reminded us that "It Is Hard to Be Catholic in Public Life."

In accepting the nomination for President, Al Smith offered the reminder that "We must have people of character and outstanding ability to serve the nation." His words were largely ignored:

• "By any measure, Alfred E. Smith, the Democratic candidate against Herbert C. Hoover in 1928, had a formidable record....Smith should have been an impressive candidate, but the electorate had several problems with him....Their foremost objection...was to his religion: Smith was a devout Roman Catholic....The Ku Klux Klan became actively involved in preventing a Catholic from ever getting near the White House, going all out to defeat Smith....Smith lost that year, badly....What really broke the governor’s heart, however, was that his own beloved home state thoroughly rejected him; New York went for Hoover, and outside of the five boroughs, only a scant four counties returned for Smith" (When a Catholic Terrified the Heartland, NY Times, 12/10/11).

There is a popular notion that anti-Catholicism faded away with the election of John F. Kennedy. Yet in his famed speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, Rick Santorum has rightly noted that JFK threw his Catholicism "under the bus" (my wording, not his):

• "I believe in a President whose views on religion are his own private affair....
  
  "I want a Chief Executive...whose fulfillment of his Presidential office is not limited or conditioned by any religious oath, ritual, or obligation....
  
  "I ask you...to judge me on the basis of 14 years in the Congress, on my declared stands against an Ambassador to the Vatican, against unconstitutional aid to parochial schools....
  
  "I do not speak for my church on public matters; and the church does not speak for me. Whatever issue may come before me as President, if I should be elected, on birth control, divorce, censorship, gambling or any other subject, I will make my decision in accordance with these views -- in accordance with what my conscience tells me to be in the national interest, and without regard to outside religious pressure or dictates. And no power or threat of punishment could cause me to decide otherwise.
  
  "But if the time should ever come -- and I do not concede any conflict to be remotely possible -- when my office would require me to either violate my conscience or violate the national interest, then I would resign the office; and I hope any conscientious public servant would do likewise."]

Rick Santorum has also noted that New York Governor Mario Cuomo's 1984 speech at Notre Dame (often cited as masterful) popularized the dopey notion that it's OK for a Catholic to be "personally opposed" to abortion but promote it in the public square! Yet Cuomo ignored the Natural Law and seemed to intimate that issues of human life and marriage/family were mere Catholic peccadillos.

Rick Santorum showed willingness to engage the culture on the destructiveness of contraception - fortitude that is rarely even seen from the pulpit. Truly Rick Santorum has shown himself to be our modern day Al Smith. Yet, it's more accurate to note that Al Smith was the Rick Santorum of his generation.

"Many generations are never called to do great things, make great sacrifices to maintain liberty. We are the fortunate ones who have the opportunity not only preserve but build on the founders' vision of freedom supported by virtue which in turn is supported by a vibrant faith -- a mutually strengthening interface of church and state that with respect and our collective effort will keep America that beacon of hope, that shining city on the hill. May God continue to bless our country. May we do our part to carry the torch of freedom and pass it successfully to the next generation" (Rick Santorum, 3/30/12).