The New York Times reports: VATICAN CITY — Lauding John Paul II as a giant of 20th century history as well as a hero of the church, Pope Benedict XVI moved his towering predecessor one step closer to sainthood on Sunday in a celebratory Mass that drew more than a million people to Rome.

Full story here.

If you are visiting my site for the first time, my book gives a full, historical account of the canonization process from my own reporting at the Vatican, as well as Pope John Paul II’s role in changing the canonization process in the early 1980s, and how those church rules applied to my cousin, the saint — whom JPII beatified on May 4, 1997.

Beliefnet reports here: For years, pundits believed that the only Catholics a liberal Democrat could win en masse were theologically liberal, “Cafeteria Catholics” who don’t attend mass or listen to the Pope very often. While Obama did clean up with those lefty Catholics, a new survey by Professor John Green of University of Akron, shows that he also made stunning improvements among more traditional white Catholics.

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) Wilmington’s new bishop said he won’t alienate pro-choice Catholic politicians like Vice President-elect Joe Biden. ”My own conscience tells me I have a better chance of helping someone if I don’t alienate” that person, Bishop W. Francis Malooly said during an appearance as part of the Theology on Tap speakers series for young adult Catholics. Malooly said he was following the lead of a majority of the 390 American bishops who have advocated a moderate approach.

The whole story is here.

HAVANA (Reuters) Nov. 29 – Cuban President Raul Castro attended a ceremony for the country’s first religious beatification on Saturday in another sign of warming relations between the Communist-ruled island and the Catholic Church…After Fidel Castro came to power in an armed revolution in 1959, Cuba expelled priests and Catholics faced decades of official atheism. Ties improved after Cuba guaranteed religious freedom in 1992 and Pope John Paul II visited six years later.

From a letter in The New York Times today: “Catholic tradition requires Catholics to follow their own well-formed consciences even if it conflicts with church teaching. As the Catechism notes, ‘a human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience.'” The full letter is here.

Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. poses that question in this commentary.

Excerpt: “It has become commonplace in American politics: Certain Roman Catholic bishops declare that the faithful should cast their ballots on the basis of a limited number of “nonnegotiable issues,” notably opposition to abortion. Conservative Catholics cheer, more liberal Catholics howl. And that is usually the end of the story.

” Not this year. Catholics, who are quintessential swing voters and gave narrow but crucial support to Presidenti Bush in 2004, are drifting toward Barack Obama. And this time, some church leaders are suggesting that single-issue voting is by no means a Catholic commandment.”

From the Associated Press: VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday gave the Roman Catholic church four new saints, including an Indian woman whose canonization is seen as a morale boost to Christians in India who have suffered Hindu violence. The full story is here.

Oct. 23 will be the third anniversary of Benedict’s first canonization ceremony. Padre Gaetano Catanoso was named a saint on that day.

“The majority of Catholic voters has lined up with the winner of the popular vote in the last nine presidential elections. Don’t think this fact is lost on the 2008 presidential nominees of both major parties. As the election season moves into its critical final phase, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama continue their battle for the crucial Catholic swing vote in the pages of the October issue of U.S. Catholic magazine.”

Full story here.

The Jesuit magazine America weighs in on John McCain’s acceptance speech last night:

“Given the shameful way that George W. Bush defeated John McCain in 2000, you could not help feeling that a wrong had been righted as McCain accepted his party’s nomination. But, the John McCain of 2008 is a far cry from the John McCain of 2000. Then, he truly was a maverick. Today, saying it won’t make it so.”

The whole story is here.

Yonat Shimron at the News & Observer in Raleigh reports today: “In a rare joint appearance on the steps of the General Assembly, North Carolina’s two Roman Catholic bishops announced an initiative to create a unified voice on public policy issues affecting the state.

“The move represents an effort to flex a political muscle that has strengthened in recent years. For generations, Catholics represented less than 1 percent of the state’s population and North Carolina was considered by church leaders as “mission territory” ripe for evangelism. But with an influx of newcomers from Northern states as well as Mexico and Latin America, Catholics — numbering about 800,000 across the state — now want to be heard.”

Interesting fact: 30 years ago, the state’s Catholic population was about one-tenth what it is today. The vast increase is the result of Northeastern and Midwestern residents moving South (count me in that group), and of course, the state’s growing Hispanic population.

Shimron also writes: “As part of that initiative, (Raleigh diocese Bishop Michael) Burbidge (right) said the dioceses will send a questionnaire to gubernatorial candidates as well as to North Carolina’s U.S. House and Senate delegation asking their views on a host of issues. The results of that questionnaire will be posted on the Web site in October.”