One week after the October 1995 visit of Pope John Paul II to the United States, about one million Catholics received a letter from a new organization known as the Catholic Alliance. Using words from the pontiff as an introduction, the letter invited Catholics to join in "a fight with the radical Left for the soul of our great nation."
According to the letter, the avowed enemy is made up of interest groups on the Left, including "militant homosexuals, radical feminists, and Big Government liberals." All of these groups, the letter stated, have "powerful organizations advancing their point of view in government."
The Catholic Alliance claims to be the largest affiliate of the 1.6 million member Christian Coalition. According to its literature, it exists to assure America's 50 million Catholics that their voices will be heard by government; to represent Catholics in local, state, and national governments; and to protest unfair and biased treatment of Catholics by the media.
Although it claims to be Catholic, the Catholic Alliance often goes against church teaching. While it agrees with the U.S. Catholic bishops on the issue of abortion, the Catholic Alliance parts ways with the bishops' stances on many other issues. The alliance does not support an earned income tax credit, supports balanced budget legislation that would slash social spending, proposes harsh immigration policies, and supports capital punishment.
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