Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
James Martin, S.J.August 26, 2008

Not to be outdone by the Democratic Conventioneers, who have asked Sister Catherine Pinkerton to lead them in prayer, the Republican National Committee announced this today:

Father Edward A. Reese, S.J., president of Brophy Prep in Phoenix, will give the opening invocation at the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul on September 3. Two sons of Cindy and John McCain went to Brophy Prep, and Mrs. McCain is a member of Brophy’s board of regents.  Son Jimmy joined the Marines and served in Iraq while Jack went to the Naval Academy.
 
"The McCains have been generous supporters of Brophy," said Father Reese. "I am also pleased by his support of vouchers for Catholic schools like Brophy."
 
When asked if he was endorsing McCain for president, Father Reese responded, "Catholic priests should pray for anyone and everyone, but I don’t think we should endorse or campaign for political candidates."

Father Edward Reese is the brother of Thomas J. Reese, former editor of America and senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University. Both are Jesuit priests.

James Martin, S.J.
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
16 years 7 months ago
My sister Theresa went to Xavier Preparatory in Phoenix which is the school for girls next door to Brophy Prep. I hope in his prayer, Fr. Reese mentions the need for a more just immigration system. I am Chicano so it is one of my political priorities. I am delighted that a Jesuit is offering a prayer at one of the Conventions. I have never lived in Phoenix but I often go there to visit my sister who does live there. My sister is a Democrat and her husband is a Republican. In San Francisco where I live, it would be very unusual to have this kind of a mix marriage. Virtually everybody who lives in San Francisco is a Democrat. God bless all of us! Michael
16 years 7 months ago
In the the game of political prayer poker, I guess a Jesuit trumps a Josephite. Will the Democrats see their Josephite and raise an Archbishop?

The latest from america

Displaced Palestinian children run past tents at the Islamic University of Gaza compound amid the ongoing war in Gaza, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
The Israeli military began perhaps its most aggressive ground offensive so far in the war to root out what is left of Hamas, maintaining an almost daily pace of incursions and airstrikes. The results have been devastating.
Kevin ClarkeApril 11, 2025
Roosevelt understood, as few American presidents had before him, that there was no inherent separation between Christian charity and democratic citizenship.
Connor HartiganApril 11, 2025
In this image provided by Senate Television, Sen, Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, speaks on the Senate floor on April 1, 2025. The speech lasted 25 hours and four minutes, a record for the U.S. Senate. (Senate Television via AP)
Cory Booker and the Hands Off protesters prove that words still have power. But only if we accompany them with action.
Kathleen BonnetteApril 11, 2025
photo of the outside of the New York Armory during the New York International Antiquarian Bookfair 
At the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, you are guaranteed to find the following: a signed first edition of your favorite book, a celebrity (or two) and Bibles.
Mazie JonesApril 11, 2025