PRESIDENT BUSY COURTING THE CATHOLIC VOTE

If President George Bush is trying to woo Catholic voters, some Southeast Missouri Catholics unreservedly give him their blessing.

"He's strongly anti-abortion, and we Catholics are, too," said Father George Brown of St. Henry's Catholic Chuch in Charleston, Mo. "The real Catholics understand this, but many aren't sensitive to this issue."

Bush, a Methodist, is lavishing attention on Catholic leaders and their flocks. He and Democrat Al Gore essentially split the Catholic vote last year -- a big gain for the Republican side after Bill Clinton captured the Catholic vote by a 16-point margin in 1996 and 9 points in 1992, according to exit polling by the Voter News Service.

Advisers believe Catholics, about one-quarter of the November electorate, are particularly receptive to Bush's initiative to bring religious groups into government-funded charity efforts.

"Their core values fit with his agenda," said White House spokesman Tucker Eskew. "The man has an abiding sense of compassion, and that value is a tenet of the active Catholic's faith, as is defense of the family, defense of life. Those issues all ring true with this president's character and that faith's values."

Personal character

Kris Martin, a parisoner at St. Mary's Cathedral in Cape Girardeau, said he grew up surrounded by a strong Democratic influence in Cairo, Ill. But inspite of some teasing he gets from other members of his labor union, he sticks by Bush as a matter of principle.

Martin said his political decisions are based on candidates personal character, which led to him voting for Jimmy Carter in 1976. That was his only Democratic vote.

"I hadn't noticed Bush was trying to get the Catholic vote," said Martin, 44. "I say go for it."

Bush has kept busy courting Catholic leaders since his inauguration. Five days after taking office, the president paid a visit to Washington Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick. Swinging through St. Louis, he stopped to see Archbishop Justin Rigali.

Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said his party's stances on the environment, education, patients' rights and the economy will draw growing numbers of Catholics to Democratic candidates.

Father Brown was a priest in socialist South American countries for 33 years before coming to mostly Democratic Mississippi County. Gaining converts among commonly Democratic laypersons to a conservative Catholic viewpoint is not easy in either place, he said.

"It's hard to convince them that good industry can be as good for the whole as social programs for the poor," Brown said.

Rocky start

Bush offended many Catholics during the presidential campaign by making a campaign stop at Bob Jones University, a South Carolina school whose leader called the Catholic Church a "Satanic cult."

Ever since, Bush has gone out of his way to court Catholics, both on the road and at home.

Today, Catholics wield special clout in the Bush White House.

Aides mull issues and strategy every week with Catholics from around the country. The Republican National Committee has named Catholic teams in more than a dozen cities to bring more Catholics into the GOP and stir political activism among the faithful.

"This is a group of swing voters that is very influential, especially in many battleground states," RNC spokesman Trent Duffy said.

Conspicuous divisions

Nevertheless, conspicuous divisions remain between Bush and Catholic leaders and followers.

Pope John Paul II asked Bush to spare the life of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in May; Bush refused.

Catholic bishops in June voted unanimously to call for immediate action to mitigate the effects of global climate change, indirectly rebuking Bush over the 1997 global warming agreement known as the Kyoto Protocol, which he has rejected.

Bush is now weighing whether to allow federal funds for research that uses stem cells from human embryos, which scientists say holds tremendous promise in finding dramatic new treatments for disease.

The Catholic Church opposes the research, arguing that it amounts to unethical experimentation on an early life. One of the groups that have directly contacted the White House to express their opposition is the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, now part of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Southeast Missourian writer Tony Hall contributed to this report.