After a long period of relative silence, following his departure from the presidential race, Sen. Sam Brownback is back, and he has some of his fellow Catholic politicians in his sights:

Kansas Republican Senator Sam Brownback, in a fundraising letter for a new Washington-based antiabortion group distributed under his signature, questioned whether six of his Democratic colleagues and the Speaker of the House are genuine Catholics.

“Real Catholics need a new voice — not the likes of Ted Kennedy and Nancy Pelosi who have campaigned as Catholics while voting to undermine the values that we hold most dear,” according to the undated Brownback letter.

NCR received the letter in the mail Feb. 17.

“The same can be said for the five ‘Catholic’ senators sponsoring the Freedom of Choice Act,” continues the letter, which then specifically cites Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as among those who “openly and unabashedly claim to be Catholic — every year at election time” but who then “once in office … willfully cast life-destroying votes at every turn.”

The letter, carried in an envelope that bears Brownback’s signature in a manner similar to official Congressional correspondence, was distributed on behalf of Catholic Advocate, a project of the Washington-based Morley Institute for Church and Culture, publisher of Inside Catholic, a conservative Catholic Web site.

A spokeswoman for Catholic Advocate said the letter was sanctioned by Brownback. “Approval came from the senator’s office,” Brenda Steele said in a Feb. 20 e-mail provided in response to NCR’s questions.

But Brownback spokesman Brian Hart said, “Our chief of staff … had never seen, heard of, or approved it.” Hart said Brownback’s Senate staff has “reached out to both the organization responsible and the mail house [responsible for printing and distributing the letter] and directed them not to use Sam Brownback’s name, signature, likeness or representation in any way moving forward and expressed that we are not pleased with the content of the letter.”

It is unusual, and perhaps unprecedented in modern times, for one senator to question the religious practices of another.

“This is an astonishing breach of the basic norms of civility long honored in the United States Senate,” Stephen Schneck, professor of political science and director of The Catholic University of America’s Life Cycle Institute, told NCR. “Regardless that FOCA is horrible and — for me — immoral legislation, an affront like this between senators is unfathomable,” said Schneck.

It is also counterproductive, said Schneck. “How can language like this do anything but hurt the pro-life cause?”

Check out the link for more, including a link to Brownback’s letter.