When John Paul penned his “Theology of the Body,” I’m not sure he had this anatomical notion in mind:

Bill Roth, president of the Catholic Democrats political action committee, recently spoke about pro-life Catholics who strongly oppose the idea that voting for Barack Obama is a viable Catholic option, describing them as followers of “pelvic theology.”

Roth made the derisive comments while speaking to Rick Maese, a journalist from the Baltimore Sun. Maese reported Roth’s remarks on Saturday in the Baltimore Sun article “Democrats again face the Catholic challenge.”

Roth, who claims to promote “civility” in intra-Catholic disagreements about abortion, told Maese that the American Roman Catholic Church is split between “believers in social theology” who are most concerned about poverty, health care and war, and “those with a firm adherence to pelvic theology,” who are driven to the polls by issues such as abortion and same-sex marriages.

“Emotions have grown heated, with Biden under attack from national Catholic groups for his views on abortion, and Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin energizing many socially conservative voters,” writes Maese.

Maese also recalls that “the top vote-getter in the past nine presidential elections has won a majority of the Catholic vote. If Obama and Biden – who would be the first Catholic vice president – are to win in November, many analysts say it will be because Democrats successfully wooed undecided Catholics, including those grappling with the ticket’s support of abortion rights.”

There’s more at the CNA link.

And you can read the full account in the Baltimore Sun.