McGreevey devout, yet diplomatic
By PETE McALEER Statehouse Bureau, (609) 292-4935
Ask Gov. James E. McGreevey about the Tropicana Casino Parking Garage collapse and the first person he mentions is Sister Grace Nolan from Atlantic County Catholic Charities and her power to console in the midst of tragedy.
Listen to the governor speak and you're likely to hear a lighthearted story about the nuns who taught him at St. Joseph's grammar school in Carteret.
Stop in his office in Trenton and you will see numerous pictures of John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic president, and his brother Robert.
McGreevey's Catholic faith is an integral part of his political identity and he is not shy about letting people know it. Yet refer to him as a Catholic politician and McGreevey shakes his head as if he doesn't appreciate the term. The response is hardly surprising.
McGreevey's politics and the politics of the Catholic Church don't always follow the same path. Right now, it would seem the two could not be further apart.
Last Sunday, McGreevey signed a bill that made New Jersey just the second state to promote stem-cell research. He is expected to sign a bill Monday that provides benefits to same-sex couples. And McGreevey supports needle-exchange programs based in a hospital setting.
The
New Jersey Catholic Conference, which serves as the lobbying arm for the state's Catholic bishops,
has posted three legislative alerts on its Web site since October:
oppose human embryonic stem cell research, oppose domestic partner benefits and oppose needle-exchange programs. Citing moral grounds to oppose each issue, the organization asks readers to contact McGreevey's office and urge him to veto the legislation.
Repeated calls to the
New Jersey Catholic Conference Executive Director Bill Bolan seeking comment for this story were not returned, but the organization released a statement that said the bishops are "deeply distressed" that McGreevey signed the stem-cell bill into law.
"We believe it is more important than ever to stand for the principle that government not treat any living human being as research material, as a mere means for benefit to others," the statement read. "Research that relies on the destruction of some defenseless human being for the possible benefit to others is morally unacceptable."
The stem-cell law gives patients at fertility clinics the option to donate for research unused embryos that otherwise would be discarded. The church condemns the procedure because it involves researchers destroying days-old embryos. Scientists hope to use stem cells to replace damaged organs and tissues and eventually find cures to diseases.
During an interview in his office, McGreevey recalled a woman from Wisconsin he met just before Christmas. Her daughter suffered from a degenerative brain disease. Doctors drilled six holes into the girl's head and injected thousands of cells into her brain.
"For the first time in her life, her daughter's smiling," McGreevey said. "She's moving her arms. She said to me, 'Jim, this is a miracle.' "
McGreevey paused a few moments when asked how he reconciles the disparity between his views and the views of his church.
"For that mother there is such profound suffering, and we have an opportunity to alleviate that suffering," he says. "From my perspective, it's reflecting on the compassion, on the caring, on the love of Christ. To cure the sick, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked."
Though McGreevey's clashes with church politics date back to his campaign for governor - he supported abortion rights and criticized Republican opponent Bret Schundler for supporting school vouchers - he is hardly the first Roman Catholic politician to stray from church policy. Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro and current Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry all caught flak from the church for their pro-choice stance on abortion.
Yet McGreevey's efforts are far bolder. While pro-choice Democrats are practically a redundancy, few states have supported laws that recognize the rights of gay couples. California is the only other state to approve stem-cell research.
The Vatican, meanwhile, has taken steps to reassert its political power. In January 2003 it released the "doctrinal note on some questions regarding the participation of Catholics in political life." The paper reiterated the church's opposition to stem-cell research, abortion, same-sex marriage and euthanasia and urged Catholic politicians to vote in line with those "non-negotiable ethical principles."
McGreevey believes he is doing just that, even if his own ethical compass doesn't follow the path set by the Vatican.
"We all reflect on our respective faith traditions and family values and upbringing and we struggle and we search in our hearts to do what is morally right, what is morally compassionate, what is morally decent," McGreevey said. "For me, Christ's great courage was his compassion and decency."
After the interview, McGreevey grabbed a copy of a book he's reading by Garry Wills, called "Why I Am A Catholic." In it, Wills fondly remembers his Catholic upbringing and argues that one can criticize church leaders while embracing the tenets of the Catholic faith.
It is that same philosophy that allows McGreevey to continue to reference his Catholic faith at a time when bishops are offering prayers that the governor will change his mind about his stance on stem cell research. Ask him about the past year's battles with Atlantic County Sen. Bill Gormley and the Governor smiles and recalls Sister Grace.
"She prays for both Sen. Gormley and I both," McGreevey says. "And I'm counting on it."
To e-mail Pete McAleer at The Press:
PMcAleer@pressofac.com
Don't let the door hit you in your self-righteous ass. The Church does not exist to pamper your ego or ratify your agenda. Apostacy becomes you. I'm sure you'll be welcomed into the ranks of the Orangemen with open arms.
A note on terminology.
The term "devout Catholic" in the mass media invariable means someone who will claim a Catholic "identity" while simultaneously rejecting utterly one or more major parts of the Catholic faith, typically those concerning sexual morality.
Real Catholics call people like that "heretics," "apostates," or "cafeteria Catholics".
The mass media calls real Catholics "rigid," "triumphalist," "patriarchal," "traditionalist," "anti-Semitic," and "homophobic" ... but never "devout".
There are three things you can never turn your back on -- your family, your country and your faith. They are too deeply a part of you. Someday you shall return and shall be welcomed. I pray for that day to come sooner than later.