Lay Catholics call for greater civility in American political debate

Published: 2007-11-06

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Charging that the debate leading up to the 2008 elections "is increasingly filled with attacks on private conduct and recriminations," a group of prominent lay Catholics called for a "spirit of civility" in all political discussions and said the church must be protected "from being stained by the appearance of partisan political involvement." Signers of the "Catholic Call to Observe Civility in Political Debate," released on Election Day 2007, include 11 former U.S. ambassadors, former chairmen of both the Democratic and Republican national committees, a retired undersecretary-general of the United Nations, past and current university presidents, business executives, attorneys and former officeholders. Thomas P. Melady, former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican and president emeritus of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., said at a Nov. 6 news conference in Washington that a conscious decision was made not to solicit signers from among current Catholic officeholders. "That might change," he said. "But it has to be a carefully thought-out thing."

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