‘C ATHOLICISM and Republicanism are as plainly incompatible as oil and water,” the Chicago Press and Tribune declared in 1860. Earlier this month, the GOP blew its chance to appoint the first Catholic chaplain in the history of the House of Representatives—and answered Democrats’ prayers for a chance to reignite the historic tension between Catholics and the Republican party.
You can be sure the Democrats will exploit this issue to the full. But the fact is, the Republicans’ rejection of a Catholic priest for the chaplaincy was the result of ineptitude, not intolerance.
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