c. 2006 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ For the second year in a row, the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast on Friday (April 7) scored one of the hottest invites in town _ President Bush.

Well, perhaps the second-hottest invite.

At last year’s breakfast, the event’s vice president, Austin Ruse, joked that the pope would make an appearance the next time around. While Pope Benedict XVI remained in Rome Friday, Bush was well received by the crowd of 1,700 as he spoke about Benedict, the late Pope John Paul II, immigration reform and abortion.

The reception was so warm that after Bush left the stage, Ruse dubbed the president, a United Methodist, “the second Catholic president” to chuckles and applause.

“Some people believe you cannot distinguish between right and wrong,” Bush told the crowd. “The Catholic Church rejects such a pessimistic view of human nature and offers a vision of human freedom and dignity rooted in the same self-evident truths of America’s founding.”

In his brief speech, Bush praised John Paul II _ who died just over a year ago on April 2 _ for launching “one of the greatest revolutions for freedom the world has ever known.” He also credited Benedict for understanding the measures of a free society.

Bush reiterated his opposition to abortion, saying his administration “will continue to work for the day when every child is welcome in life and protected in law.”

And, referring to the congressional stalemate over immigration reform, the president noted the need for civil debate. Some prominent Catholic bishops have denounced a House immigration bill that they say is too harsh and would criminalize church outreach to migrants.

“America does not have to choose between being a compassionate society and a society of law,” Bush said. “I’m confident that we can change … our immigration system in ways that secure our borders, respects the rule of law, and, as importantly, upholds the decency of our country.”

In just its third year, with growing attendance and the attention of the White House, the Catholic breakfast has become a powerhouse event. Leaders of the U.S. Catholic Church were in attendance, as were members of the House and Senate. Chief Justice John Roberts was sitting in the crowd with his wife and earned a standing ovation. Democratic Reps. Bart Stupak of Michigan and Daniel Lipinski of Illinois were the only Democratic politicians at the breakfast, organizers said.

Organizers like to refer to the mostly conservative attendees as “faithful Catholics” because of their strict allegiance to church teaching on social and doctrinal issues.

Ruse stressed that the breakfast is not a Republican event, and said all Catholics on Capitol Hill _ including more liberal ones like Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. _ were sent invitations.

“We really want them to come and eat scrambled eggs and pray with us,” Ruse said in an interview. “And maybe one day they will.”

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Ruse nevertheless said Catholics are a major part of Bush’s constituency, noting that more Catholics voted for him in 2004 than his Catholic opponent, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, criticized the event’s political topics and the attendance of the president.

“This event was more about politics than it was prayer,” Lynn said in a statement. “The president and his allies are trying to recruit Catholic voters into the GOP column.”

A ticket to the sold-out breakfast cost $60 and included eggs, potatoes, fruit and pastries, but not the breakfast’s traditional bacon, in accordance with church rules against eating meat on Fridays during Lent.

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Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison, Wis., the event’s keynote speaker, condemned abortion, stem cell research and challenges to the sacrament of marriage between a man and a woman. Morlino said opposing beliefs fall under what Benedict has called “the dictatorship of relativism,” which the pope says “recognizes nothing definite and leaves only one’s own ego and one’s own desires as the final measure.”

“We need to insist that the existence of God, the dignity of every human being, and the definition of marriage are not Catholic curiosities that we are trying to force on the rest of the world, but the dictates of reason of the natural law itself,” Morlino said.

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