As Catholic voters increasingly turn away from Barack Obama's presidential effort - polls show Obama's support has dropped more than 25 points among Catholics in the last month alone - the Democratic party may be ready to give their party's lone pro-life senator, Bob Casey, Jr., from Pennsylvania, a chance to address the national convention in Denver.

The move is part of a series of considerations the Obama campaign is giving to mollify Catholics who feel Democrats often disregard their church's teachings on the sanctity of human life. Casey's father, Robert Casey, Sr., was banned from addressing the Democratic convention 16 years ago because of his pro-life views.

However, at the same time, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, often mentioned as a potential Obama running mate, worked with the state Democratic party to defeat Mark Gilstrap, a Catholic and a three-term Democratic state senator because of his openly pro-life position.

According to The New York Times:

Mr. Casey’s appearance would be an important signal to Catholics, especially those who follow church teachings and oppose abortion. Mr. Obama could also use his choice of a vice-presidential running mate to reassure Roman Catholics. Among those that his campaign is vetting is Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia, a Roman Catholic whose faith has been part of his political identity. At least three other Catholics have also been mentioned as possible running mates: Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr., of Delaware, Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas.

Although abortion is central to the political crosscurrents around Catholics — Ms. Sebelius has vetoed a number of bills that would restrict abortion rights in Kansas, prompting the archbishop of Kansas City to suggest that she stop receiving communion — part of Mr. Obama’s strategy is to emphasize that there are other issues on which they can base their votes. It would be a way to address the perception that Mr. Obama has a “Catholic problem.”

Ed Morrissey, a popular Catholic blogger, explained in Hot Air the depth of antipathy felt by many Catholics toward Obama.

Quite obviously, the problem exists; it’s not just a perception.  Obama lost the Catholic vote by 40 points to Clinton — which can be attributed to her targeting of working-class and suburban/rural voters in the Rust Belt — and has dropped dramatically this summer. Catholics used to comprise a healthy portion of the Democratic Party until the 1980s, when the party demanded lock-step support for abortion from all of its candidates.  The snub of Casey Sr didn’t start the problem; it merely made it obvious to Catholics that their pro-life views were no longer welcome in the party.

Sebelius has developed a long history of policies that trouble many Catholics. 

Her well-publicized reception for late-term abortion clinic operator George Tiller - whose political donations are used to defeat pro-life politicians - caused a stir in the state earlier this year, and her Bluestem PAC receives support from James Stowers, the Missouri financier who has an interest in embryonic stem cell research, and passes the funds on to candidates who support her abortion policies.

She has been an active supporter of unrestricted abortion in Kansas for her entire political career and the subject of direct criticism by the at least two Catholic archbishops.

But it may be her deliberate sabotage of Mark Gilstrap's political career because of his pro-Catholic, pro-life views that may cause her attempt to grab the vice-presidential nomination to suffer. Many Catholics may see in Sebelius' tratement of Gilstrap a reminder of the party's treatment of the senior Casey.

William Galston, a former Clinton advisor and a fellow at the Brookings institute, told the Times that Catholics don't easily shrug off Democratic intolerance of their views. “I spend a lot of time with Catholic intellectuals, and no matter how liberal they are and inclined to support Democrats, they speak with vehemence about the exclusion of Casey’s father from the 1992 convention,” Mr. Galston said. “They don’t accept any of the explanations."

The Week in Review