John Allen's "Open Letter"
Here is my response to his letter:
Mr. Allen,
With all due respect, I think you have misstated a few things in this letter.
The fact that Pope Benedict sent a note of congratulations to Senator Obama, calling it a "historic occasion" is absolutely correct. But this does not, in any way, indicate that the Pope approves of or supports Mr. Obama's already-expressed vision or policies. Clearly, the Pope will work with Mr. Obama insofar as he can, perhaps especially on Africa, but I'll be very "surprised" if his relationship with Mr. Obama is either warm or enduring. If you think that the Pope will allow himself to be used to shore up Obama's base with Catholics, you yourself are off-base. Doctrine does count, after all.
Second, the "robust religiosity" of America that you cite is more apparent than real. Aside from the collapse of the mainline Protestant bodies and the erosion in the Catholic Church, I think what you're referring to, without being explicit, is the oft-cited strength of evangelical Protestantism. Well, if their strength was in evidence during this election cycle, I didn't see it. Either they sat on their hands or their "principles" were as up-for-grabs as anyone else's. Religiosity requires more than putting on a good show.