I wholeheartedly agree with the assessment that the change in behavior is due to the change in the position. There are many offices in the Church and there are many of them for a reason. Different duties for different jobs. But when I read this piece I can't help but tilt my head a bit at the use of the term "neocon" to describe Church conservatives, when in my experience, it doesn't seem to fit.

I would say "neocon" to describe a certain school of thought in American foreign policy and just plain "conservative" to describe right wing Church members. But that's just me.

The word conservative means whatever you want it to mean now. For some, it means professional wrestling and NASCAR. For others, it means supporting capital punishment, war and torture. Neo-con is just another variety of a word that has no real meaning any longer. The folks who originally coined the word "conservative" would probably roll in their graves if they heard how the word is now used in modern conversation.

The author, Michael Sean Winters is correct that the Catholic Church and the Pope defy easy characterization. This is entirely appropriate for an institution that claims to be the embodiment of a man "not of this world".

Herzog is absolutely right. "Neoconservative" is far too often used as a catch-all term by people who don't know any better. It implies that one's political views moved from liberal to conservative, and such isn't the case with Weigel--he's always been conservative.

I, for one, will sigh with relief upon the end of the Bush presidency, if only because it'll finally muffle all the foam-flecked commentators on the left who incorrectly demonize anything they disagree with as "neoconservatism."

The neoconservative ideology WAS first articulated by former liberals, but of course a number of those who support those ideas were always conservative.

Certainly, it is possible to be Catholic and neo-con, but the neo-con part is essentially a political ideology and is independent of one's particular religious ideology.

Fairly or not, the image of neo-cons has been badly smeared by the role promininent administration neo-cons had in our entry into the Iraq war.

The neoconservative ideology WAS first articulated by former liberals, but of course a number of those who support those ideas were always conservative.

Yes; I would certainly include Cheney and Rumsfeld in the list of administration neo-cons (particularly in foreign policy and the use of the military), neither of whom are former liberals.

>>Fairly or not, the image of neo-cons has been badly smeared by the role prominent administration neo-cons had in our entry into the Iraq war.<<

Huh? How has the interventionist character of neoconservatism been "badly smeared" by...interventionism?

As an aside, we didn't "enter into the Iraq war" in 2003; the war was begun in January 1991, and a conditional ceasefire was instituted in late February 1991. The conditions of that ceasefire were violated on many occasions, contributing to the casus belli in 2003.

As I said, "fair or not." The fact that the war has not gone at all as they publicly predicted has lead many to characterise this as a failure of neo-con ideology.

NightSwimmer:

The word conservative means whatever you want it to mean now. For some, it means professional wrestling and NASCAR. For others, it means supporting capital punishment, war and torture. Neo-con is just another variety of a word that has no real meaning any longer. The folks who originally coined the word "conservative" would probably roll in their graves if they heard how the word is now used in modern conversation.

If I recall correctly from Political Science 100, conservatism originally referred to the belief that the government should actively promote the interests of the traditional nobility over the interests of everyone else, especially the rich merchant class.