Thanks to fair Amy, I found this link to the New York Observer’s piece on the former mayor of New York — the most famous (or infamous) Catholic now running for President.

Those of us who lived through 9/11 here in New York will never forget what Rudy did for this city. And many who have followed his life since then (both personal and political) will never forgive him for not championing Catholic values (or, in fact, contradicting them.) But he is a force to be reckoned with and, as matters now stand, could be his party’s standard-bearer next year.

Do your garden variety, church-going, envelope-paying, CYO-belonging, bingo-playing Catholics care all that much about Rudy’s position on abortion? Or do other concerns — security, Iraq, the economy — trump right-to-life issues? (I know a few faithful Catholics, of course, who would argue those other things are right-to-life issues.) It will be interesting to see how his campaign plays out among Catholic voters.

The Observer piece quotes everyone from Cardinal Kasper to Thomas Reese and Pope Benedict. Kasper, I think, gets to the heart of it here:

Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and a top Vatican official who is generally considered to have a more liberal outlook, also said in a separate interview that a Catholic politician holding positions like those of Mr. Giuliani—the former Mayor says that he is morally opposed to abortion but supports abortion rights—created a “contradiction.”

“To be pro-choice is directly against the fundamental Catholic position, and I don’t see how it could be possible,” said Cardinal Kasper, who is a member of the Roman Curia, the body that enforces the pope’s policies, shapes the doctrine and runs the government of the Holy See.

“It’s complicated,” he said. “Questions of conscience are always complicated. But if somebody wants to be in public life, as a Catholic, he should also state Catholic positions.”

It’s going to be an interesting campaign. And a long one. For Rudy. For the country. And for Catholics. Does anyone expect any homilies on this subject in the months ahead?