SOME CATHOLICS AVOIDING THE POPE

As I'm writing this hordes of Catholics are making their way to Nationals Park. Thousands will be there for the event of a lifetime. They want to be a part of history as the Pontiff performs a mass at the Stadium for 44 thousand. The tickets to today's event were carefully doled out by the Catholic Church. But this is a city of privilege. If you are in power you can usually get your hands on any hot ticket in town.

Last night Kate and I went to the Congressional Correspondence Dinner at the Washington Hilton. It was a scene of the powerful and the privileged. I conversed with lots of folks in the media business and in government. It's also where I met someone who is going out of his way to avoid the Pope, and today's Mass. Here is how our conversation went:

"Good Evening Congressman, how are you?"

"Good, how are you Mike."

"I'm hanging in there. Are you planning on going to the Mass tomorrow?"

I was greeted with silence, and a bit of a smile. Somehow in all the excitement of the Pope's journey to Washington it's so easy to forget recent history. Not all Catholics are enthusiastic about his visit. If you are a Catholic member of Congress, serving in the House or Senate, and your votes and views don't reflect that of the Vatican on at least one issue, then you are a target. That was clearly evident when this Pope inserted the Catholic Church into the 2004 Presidential election. He ordered bishops to deny communion to abortion rights supporters, including Senator John Kerry.

So last night this lawmaker was direct.

"I'm avoiding every event involving the Pope. I especially won't be there tomorrow. I've already had reporters ask if I was going and if I was going to try to receive communion. They are looking for a gotcha moment."

There has already been a gotcha moment in the District. It happened at the installation Mass of Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl. Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the representative of Pope Benedict XVI, was seen giving Holy Communion to Senator Kerry. The incident was even reported by the Catholic News Service (CNS), the official news service of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.
CNS stated: "During the Mass, Kerry, who supports keeping abortion legal, received Communion in the hand from Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States and Pope Benedict XVI's representative to the U.S. bishops."

The Pope will give communion to 50 people today. I don't know who he will give communion to. I do know it won't be the Congressman I spoke to last night. Come to think of it, it won't be Senator John Kerry either.