The Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life of Georgetown University recently hosted an event on Pope Francis, faith, and the 2016 campaign. The panel featured: Lauren Ashburn, EWTN News Nightly White House correspondent and political director; E.J. Dionne, Washington Post columnist and professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University; Emma Green, writer and editor for The Atlantic politics section covering religion and public life; Gregory Smith, associate director of research on religion and politics at Pew Research Center; and Michael Sean Winters, author and columnist for National Catholic Reporter. John Carr, director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, moderated the conversation. Check out the highlights:
Emma Green: evangelicals aren’t being swayed by the faith candidates. @emmaogreen #faithvote
— Christopher J. Hale (@chrisjollyhale) March 30, 2016
@emmaogreen notes evangelical voters have defied predictions in this election. Evangelicals are not a monolith. @Georgetown #FaithVote
— John Gehring (@gehringdc) March 30, 2016
“Very striking that Pope Francis is quoted most by Bernie Sanders in the 2016 campaign” @EJDionne #faithvote @GUcstpubliclife
— Tessa Pulaski (@tessapulaski) March 30, 2016
Pope is critiquing the entire campaign: love, not destruction; mercy, not vengeance #FaithVote @EJDionne
— Allison Walter (@allisonwalter91) March 30, 2016
@EJDionne says some evangelicals voting for Trump because they are fighting back against perceived hostile culture. #FaithVote
— John Gehring (@gehringdc) March 30, 2016
@GregSmith_Polls says struck by how many religious voters who say they don’t think Trump is religious but they like him anyway. #faithvote
— John Gehring (@gehringdc) March 30, 2016
“@PewReligion data surprisingly shows that religious voters are voting more on non-religious issues.” @GregSmith_Polls #faithvote
— Georgetown CST (@GUcstpubliclife) March 30, 2016
“Most surprising aspect of #Election2016 is level of anger. God is talked about, but doesn’t seem to be in it.” @laurenashburn #faithvote
— Georgetown CST (@GUcstpubliclife) March 30, 2016
@laurenashburn says “anger has trumped religion in this election.” @GUcstpubliclife #FaithVote
— John Gehring (@gehringdc) March 30, 2016
Michael Sean Winters: the right used to introduce cultural war issues to win elections. Now the left does it. #faithvote
— Christopher J. Hale (@chrisjollyhale) March 30, 2016
“#PopeFrancis has exposed a rift in #CatholicLeft on labor & culture issues, but not reflected by Democrats.” @MichaelSWinters #faithvote
— Georgetown CST (@GUcstpubliclife) March 30, 2016
Greg Smith: Catholics are the most diverse voting bloc in the United States. @GregSmith_Polls #faithvote
— Christopher J. Hale (@chrisjollyhale) March 30, 2016
“The one word to describe the #Catholicvote is diverse – demographically, geographically, politically” @GregSmith_Polls #faithvote
— Georgetown CST (@GUcstpubliclife) March 30, 2016
.@GregSmith_Polls: Young latinos are shifting the geographic and political center of American catholics #FaithVote
— Matthias Witt (@msbcw) March 30, 2016
Greg Smith: White, moderate Catholics are one of the most important swing blocs in the US. @GregSmith_Polls #faithvote
— Christopher J. Hale (@chrisjollyhale) March 30, 2016
.@EJDionne “there is no Catholic vote and it’s very important.” #FaithVote
— kathy saile (@KathySaile23) March 30, 2016
“There is no Catholic vote and it’s really important” 40-40-20 group @EJDionne #faithvote @GUcstpubliclife pic.twitter.com/59JJ9992pj
— Tessa Pulaski (@tessapulaski) March 30, 2016
@EJDionne: Anger is real in this election but misleading if we only have a “Trump-o-centric” view. @GUcstpubliclife #faithvote
— John Gehring (@gehringdc) March 30, 2016
Economic justice will be the defining issue determining the voting patterns of this generation – @emmaogreen #FaithVote
— Matthias Witt (@msbcw) March 30, 2016
“Anger in 2016 also among young #BernieSanders voters, particularly on econ. justice. Used to be a religious issue.” @emmaogreen #faithvote
— Georgetown CST (@GUcstpubliclife) March 30, 2016
“People are finding Catholic social thought valuable as a framework in #Election2016.” John Carr #faithvote
— Georgetown CST (@GUcstpubliclife) March 31, 2016
Abortion is still the only sacrosanct issue among conservative Catholic voters, everything else is debatable – @laurenashburn #FaithVote
— Matthias Witt (@msbcw) March 31, 2016
John Carr:”Catholic Social Teaching is looking at issues from the bottom up, from outside & who is left behind” @GUcstpubliclife #FaithVote
— Sara Benitez (@SaraStoryteller) March 31, 2016
“If the Church is being only modern, then it’s not being true to itself.” – EJ Dionne #FaithVote
— Cassandra Kienbaum (@CassieKienbaum) March 31, 2016
Amen! @MichaelSWinters “the best thing happening to the Catholic Church is Latinos”#FaithVote @GUcstpubliclife
— Sara Benitez (@SaraStoryteller) March 31, 2016