Pryor's Catholicism
I realize I come late to this but I watched a good portion of the Pryor hearing on C-Span2 and one thing caught my attention:
I really got interested when Pryor started standing up for the Catholic position on abortion. I was pretty amazed when, instead of dodging, he began to give the Church's position back to the Senators entirely undiluted (gotta admire that). When Hatch actually asked Pryor's religion it felt as though a curtain was raised revealing the elephant in the room. And Leahy was trying as hard as he could to get that curtain back down: "Elephant? What elephant? We've never asked about that elephant before and we shouldn't ask about it this time. We can ask all the questions we want to about his affiliation with the elephant (and besmirch his name for that affiliation) but we cannot - and should not - acknowledge the elephant's name or presence."
I don't have have empirical evidence, but I'd bet good money that groups such as NARAL are horrified by the prospect of staunch Catholics getting onto the bench; if the bench must have Catholics, it would prefer nice, flaccid "Catholics" who don't follow the Church's moral teachings (Gray Davis / Tom Daschle). And I doubt the Democratic Party will deny NARAL its will in this case.
Bill Pryor has forever earned my respect for his straightforward statement of his beliefs based upon the moral teachings of the Church. Unfortunately, I don't have a vote on the Senate floor. His honesty and morality makes him a better man than those who will most assuredly filibuster his nomination on the floor of the Senate at NARAL's behest. Of course, if you are Catholic you deal with this sort of prejudice throughout your life.
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