J. Bottum of The Weekly Standard reports here that Tom Daschle received a letter from his diocese in Sioux Falls, South Dakota informing him that he may no longer identify himself as a Catholic, and directing him to remove any references to his Catholicism from his congressional biography and campaign material. Bottum suggests that this is part of a larger move to banish "Cuomoism" from the Catholic Church, which he defines as those Catholics who express personal opposition to abortion but who are nonetheless politically pro-abortion. Worth a read. 
Unlike Protestant denominatations, who have no singular voice such as the pope, the Catholic Church really have had a tough go at it on this pro-life v. pro-welfare state stance. Toss in the recent impassioned anti-war plea from Pope John, and this "larger move to banish ’Cuomoism’ from the Catholic Church" really strikes me as ill-timed and very odd.
Needless to say, had liberals had their way the war in Iraq would’ve never occured, even as the welfare state would’ve never suffered the mighty blow of the Welfare Reform Act of 1996 -- a conservative trimuph -- had Clinton vetoed it a third time.
Many of my Democrat Catholic, as well as black Protestant, friends would always respond with a pained and resigned, "Oh, yeah," expression whenever I brought the abortion/welfare irony up in conversation.
Has this resignation morphed into resolve in our strange post-9/11 world? If so, look out Democratic Party!