Kathleen (Kennedy) Townsend, former Lieutenant Governor of the State of Maryland and a member of the Kennedy clan, has written possibly the most outrageous article I've ever seen in her latest blog entry: http://www.newsweek.com/id/205961.

Entitled, "Why Barack Obama represents American Catholics better than the pope [sic] does," it contends that "Obama's pragmatic approach to divisive policy (his notion that we should acknowledge the good faith underlying opposing viewpoints) and his social-justice agenda reflect the views of American Catholic laity much more closely than those vocal bishops and pro-life activists."  With this statement, Ms. Townsend reveals that she is no more a Catholic than the Man in the Moon is, nor does she even understand what it means to be Catholic.

I'm not sure what "catholics" Townsend is talking about, but I believe she means those the church refers to as "lapsed," meaning they don't attend mass regularly.  Some of them come once in a while, most notably on Christmas and/or Easter, which has also earned them the sobriquet "twice-a-year Catholics."  She also probably means those that real Catholics refer to as "Cafeteria Catholics," referring to the fact that although they attend mass regularly, they choose from the church's teachings by selecting those they want to follow and ignoring those they don't.

My clue to what she means by "catholics" comes when she talks about Obama's "notion that we should acknowledge the good faith underlying opposing viewpoints," a notion that is the essence of politics, in which the art of compromise is key to success, but is anathema to a religion, which must have some kind of moral foundation to be meaningful.  And that's the rub, isn't it, not only for lapsed Catholics but for the cafeteria variety, too?  They don't want to be told to behave morally because, as Americans, they're used to doing just what they like.  Morals are relative, so if it feels good, do it.

Unfortunately, the church simply isn't in the business of compromise, nor should it be, in my opinion.  Jesus, during his brief but significant lifetime, set down principles for living, and He left no room for "respectful disagreements."  He also understood that people, being people, were sinners and would sin, and He was willing to forgive, provided the sinner repented:  In the Bible he says, "You are forgiven.  Now go and sin no more."  But repentance means trying not to willfully commit the same sin again; willful sinners are not forgiven.  And, of course, Jesus was also about love.  From Him comes the Christian maxim, "Love the sinner but hate the sin."

That's why a statement like "the Vatican shows disdain (if not disgust) toward gays" is such an outrageous lie.  The Vatican disapproves of their lifestyle; so did Jesus, who regarded the man-woman family as the building block for his religion.  No one wishes more than the Holy Father that homosexuals see the error of their ways and repent.  But if they refuse, what can the Church do?  Similarly, abortion is nothing but the murder of an unborn baby.  How can and why should the Church compromise on either of these issues?  Compromising with people who are wrong only makes one wrong as well.

Real Catholics, the ones who attend mass regularly for their spiritual well-being, who donate their time and money to help those in need, and who try to make the law of the land reflect the morals of a just society, understand these principles quite well.  Other so-called "catholics," Kathleen Townsend included, don't get it and never will.  Perhaps they should form their own religion, one like some other so-called Christian religions where any sin is O.K. and upright, moral people are looked down on as "judgmental."  Whatever they do, they should not dare to call themselves "Catholic."

As usual, true compassionate conservatism calls for being compassionate towards people who follow the rules and live upright, moral lives.  No conservative should ever waste compassion, however, on the willful and unrepentant sinner.  God will judge them, all in good time.  And that goes for you, too, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.