Who is “in charge here,” and, more importantly, who died and made you the head of a movement?

Answer: That’s a fair question. The founder of this website is Steve Dillard. Steve is a convert (and former Southern Baptist), who joined the Church in December 2003.  From August 2002 until December 2006, Steve founded/operated a popular conservative blog, Southern Appeal (with the help of several excellent contributors), which won and was nominated for several Catholic Blog Awards.  During that time period, Steve publicly opposed/was harshly critical of Senator John Kerry’s attempt to portray himself as a faithful Catholic for political gain, while at the same time advocating public-policy positions in direct contravention of fundamental Church teaching (most notably on abortion).  At that time, he was asked by several of his more liberal/moderate readers whether he would oppose a proabortion Catholic Republican if he/she sought the party’s presidential nomination.  Steve indicated that he would, and by forming and operating this website he has kept that promise.  But for Steve and others, this movement is about much more than simply being consistent. It is about  issues that transcend politics and go to the heart of the Christian faith. How can we love one another, as we love ourselves, if we are unwilling to respect the sacredness of all life from the moment of conception until natural death?

As for being the “head” of a movement, that is not how Steve views his role, which he sees as that of a facilitator. His goal is to equip faithful Catholics at the parish level to encourage others to publicly oppose Giuliani’s candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination.  In this respect, the four years Dillard spent operating a popular conservative Catholic blog put him into contact with several prominent Catholics and political bloggers, who he knew had the ability to help give this cause instant credibility.  And thus far, that has certainly been the case.

But this website is not about Steve Dillard. It’s about Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a prominent Catholic politician, running for president, in part, on public-policy positions that are in direct contravention of fundamental Church teaching.  This is as unacceptable as it was when Senator John Kerry ran for president as the Democratic Party’s nominee in 2004, and Catholics Against Rudy will do every thing in its power to see that Mayor Giuliani never receives the Republican Party’s presidential nomination for the 2008 race.

(under construction)