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A Rare Bird, Indeed

Pro-Life Democrat Speaks at Campion College

BY JOHN HERREID

"Not conservative or Republican, not liberal or Democrat. Just Catholic."

That's how former ambassador to the Vatican Raymond Flynn described his ideal politician. Now president of the non-partisan organization Your Catholic Voice, Flynn is devoting his time to spreading the word about what it means to be Catholic and American. To him, a committed Catholic must also be involved as an active citizen in his community, providing support and input for qualified Catholic initiatives, politicians, and causes.

Flynn spoke at the second annual Campion College benefit dinner, a fitting venue for the former mayor of Boston. Campion College is only a year old but is already beginning to make an impact on the area, providing a lecture series, the Campion Forum, and utilizing student volunteer programs to help with local homeless shelters and tutoring for low-income families.

The audience at the Campion dinner received Flynn well, although some chuckling preceded the applause when Campion College president John Galten introduced Flynn as "a rare bird indeed, a pro-life Democrat." To many, it sounded like an oxymoron.

The talk that Mr. Flynn gave was amply peppered with names and anecdotes, fragments of his richly diverse life as a politician and Catholic leader. He recollected his childhood as the son of poor Catholic laborers, followed by his rise to fortune as a professional basketball player. His success in the sports world was later mirrored by his rise in politics, becoming mayor of Boston in 1983 and serving three terms. In 1993 he was tapped by then-President Clinton to be U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, where he became a friend to the Holy Father. An old school politician, Flynn seemed at his best while describing his experiences as ambassador.

Flynn has emerged recently as one of the strongest voices in the country calling for Catholic politicians to follow Church teaching. As a pro-life Democrat, he knows how to pick his fights. He publicly chastised presidential candidate and Catholic John Kerry for criticizing the Church's stance on homosexual marriage, saying, "John Kerry's comments were cynical and disrespectful. He wants it both ways. He wants the Catholic vote, but disregards the Church's teachings."

This cynicism is rife in the area that Mr. Flynn wishes to reform, the public arena of politics. "You have to have priorities," he said, telling the audience that issues of life, such as abortion and euthanasia, should trump other considerations when contemplating which way to vote. Without this priority of motives, politics becomes nothing more than a game.

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