That line could have come from King George VI played by Colin Firth in The King’s Speech. The archbishop thought he was going to tell the king how to run his business, in this case using a speech therapist without proper credentials to help him prepare for his coronation. The king with the speech defect put the archbishop in his place. So comes now Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles who wants Catholics to “let their faith form their political decisions” before they vote this year. Gomez plans to write a series of essays on the principles that should guide Catholics in this year’s elections. “We have important obligations as citizens. But we have to carry out those obligations always in light of our duty to God,” the archbishop directed. Of course, Gomez gets to define that duty.
Almost simultaneously, the Pew Center reported that support among Catholics for President Obama’s re-election has ballooned to at least 54 percent compared to 39 percent for Mitt Romney. Obama’s rise among Catholic voters came even though Romney picked Paul Ryan, a Catholic with movie star looks, as his running mate. Since almost 70 percent of HispanicLatinos support Obama, it would seem that as many or more HispanicLatino Catholics support Obama. HispanicLatinos and the rest of the Catholic electorate will help hand Obama and Catholic Vice President Joe Biden score a one-sided victory in California in November.