Chaput Counters Kmiec

Last week Public Discourse published the modified text of an address delivered by Archbishop Chaput speaking as a private citizen about the responsibilities of the Catholic voter. It contains a stern rebuke directed at Prof. Doug Kmiec:

In his own book [ Can a Catholic Support Him?: Asking the Big Question About Barack Obama ] he quotes from Render Unto Caesar at some length. In fact, he suggests that his reasoning and mine are ”not far distant on the moral inquiry necessary in the election of 2008.” Unfortunately, he either misunderstands or misuses my words, and he couldn’t be more mistaken . . . . But I’m grateful to Prof. Kmiec for quoting me in his book and giving me the reason to speak so clearly about our differences. I think his activism for Sen. Obama, and the work of Democratic-friendly groups like Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, have done a disservice to the Church, confused the natural priorities of Catholic social teaching, undermined the progress prolifers have made, and provided an excuse for some Catholics to abandon the abortion issue instead of fighting within their parties and at the ballot box to protect the unborn.