Exclusive: Newt Gingrich Opens Up on Catholic Conversion and Embracing 'Overt Christianity'

May 20, 2009 03:08 PM ET | Dan Gilgoff

Dan Gilgoff, God & Country

Former House speaker and Republican überstrategist Newt Gingrich is off to Europe next week to shoot a documentary on Pope John Paul II's 1979 trip to Poland and how it helped to lay the groundwork for bringing down the Soviet Union. The film, Nine Days That Changed the World, is slated for release this fall.

The trip will take Gingrich and his wife, Callista, to Poland and to Rome for the first time since he converted to Roman Catholicism in March.

I caught up with Gingrich this morning and asked if he expected this trip to be different from previous visits to Rome. He gave a long answer that had him opening up about the reasons for his conversion to an extent he hasn't done publicly before:

I don't know that it's much different. That's part of what led to my conversion is the first time we [he and Callista] went to St. Peter's together. It's St. Peter's. I mean, you stand there and you think, this is where St. Peter was crucified. This is where Paul preached. You think to yourself, two thousand years ago the apostles set out to create a worldwide movement by witnessing to the historic truth they had experienced. And there it is. The last time we were there we were allowed to walk in the papal gardens and you get this sense that is almost mystical.

The moment that finally convinced me [to convert] was when Benedict XVI came here [to the United States] and Callista in the church choir sang for him at the vespers service and all the bishops in the country were there. As a spouse, I got to sit in the upper church and I very briefly saw [Benedict] and I was just struck with how happy he was and how fundamentally different he was from the news media's portrait of him. This guy's not a Rottweiler. He's a very loving, engaged, happy person.

I'd first seen Pope John Paul II when he came to the U.S. when Carter was president and I was a freshman congressman. And I [later] met him as Speaker.

The other sense is that the church has had two of its most powerful popes back to back, in their intellectual ability to engage the secular world on behalf of Christ. And the weight of all that, and going with [Callista] to church every Sunday to the Basilica [in Washington, D.C.], a magnificent church with a wonderful mass. In that sense I felt differently a long time ago, which is why I converted.

And part of me is inherently medieval. I resonate to Gothic churches and the sense of the cross in a way that is really pre-modern.

Callista, who is Catholic and who was key to Gingrich's conversion, added that it was "10 years in the making," starting around the time Gingrich left the House in 1999. I asked Gingrich if his conversion had changed some fundamental political beliefs for him. He said it was the other way around—that political developments had made him more overtly Christian:

The whole effort to create a ruthless, amoral, situational ethics culture has probably driven me toward a more overt Christianity. I'll give you an example. As a college student at Emory when the Supreme Court ruled that school prayer was unconstitutional [in 1963] after 170 years of American history, I didn't notice it. As a graduate student at Tulane I probably would have said it's a good decision.

I've now had an additional 40 years to think about it. And I think about the world of my grandchildren. I don't think American children are healthier, safer, and better off today than they were in 1963. So I have actually become more conservative in response to the failure of the liberal ethos to solve problems.

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Converts' search brings them to Catholicism

By Charita Goshay

CantonRep.com staff writer

Posted Apr 11, 2009 @ 10:10 PM

Last update Apr 11, 2009 @ 11:40 PM

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If local converts to Catholicism require an example, they need look no further than their own bishop.

As a little boy, Bishop George V. Murry was raised as an African Methodist Episcopal, but was so impressed by his experience at his Catholic school that he convinced his parents to allow him to convert. Eventually, they too, became Catholic.

In the Diocese of Youngstown, 406 converts have joined the Church just in time for Easter. On Saturday, 169 people received the Sacrament of Baptism, and 237 who were baptized in another denomination received the sacraments of confirmation and the Holy Eucharist.

Adults who want to become Catholic must enter a months-long education process known as RCIA, the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. They undertake classes in which they learn about Catholic beliefs and liturgy. Each person has a “sponsor” or mentor.

SPIRITUAL SEARCH

For Ruth DeFranco of Alliance, a divorce, the death of her only child and her father’s illness took a spiritual toll.

“I questioned my faith, with God,” said the former Methodist and Lutheran. “I was lost and had questions and felt alone. I had friends that were Catholic and attended church with them. I wanted to learn more about the Catholic faith.”

Upon becoming godmother to a Catholic friend’s grandchild, DeFranco enrolled in RCIA classes at St. Peter Church in Canton under the tutelage of Rita Kingsbury.

“It’s a great process,” Kingsbury said. “Everybody learns from one another. Most people have a rich life in God that they bring with them. Everybody becomes richer.”

One of DeFranco’s sponsors is the Rev. David Delargy of Ireland, a member of the recording group, The Priests.

For Emily Studeny, becoming a Catholic just made sense for her family. Her husband, Mike, is a lifelong Catholic, and last summer the couple baptized their baby daughter into the Church. A former United Methodist, Studeny has been attending St. Peter since 2003.

“At Christmas time, I decided it was definitely something I wanted to do,” she said. “One reason it took so long is, my family is very involved in the United Methodist Church.”

Once her mother and family gave their blessing, Studeny went ahead, saying, “It’s something you need to pray about. It’s something you have to do wholeheartedly.”

NATURAL FIT

On Saturday, the Rev. John Zuzik of Little Flower Catholic Church in Plain Township led 12 converts to the faith. Zuzik said whenever he’s approached by someone about converting, he tries to discern their motive.

“I ask them if they’ve prayed about it, and why do they feel called to become Catholic?” he said. “There’s usually a couple of reasons. One is marriage to a Catholic. A lot of people like to start off their married life with the same religion as their spouse, though it’s not required in the Catholic Church.

“We have non-Catholics who’ve come (to Mass) every week for years, then one day, they come to me and say, ‘I’ve prayed about it; it’s time.’ Other times, it’s because of a traumatic experience in their life. As they say, there are no atheists in foxholes.”

At 15, Leah Wilson is one of this year’s youngest converts. The bright and personable McKinley High School freshman said she grew up attending a United Methodist church but was never baptized.

“I learned about Catholicism in the fifth grade, through some of my friends who were Catholic,” she said. “Last summer, I decided I wanted to become Catholic. I’m very excited, and my family is happy for me.”

Wilson advises the curious to do some homework.

“It’s forever,” she said. “It’s not to be taken lightly.”

With a Catholic father and an Amish-turned-Methodist mother, Leslie Foster said she felt destined to be Catholic.

“I always felt more comfortable with Catholicism than Methodism,” she said. “I feel like I’ve always known I was going to make my Confirmation.”

“I was thrilled, very excited,” said Foster’s fiancé, Joe Cole, a “cradle” Catholic. “My mom was a Protestant who always wanted to convert, but with raising kids, there just wasn’t time.”

Cole became a sponsor for his mother, and now, Foster.

“I’ve learned more about my own faith as a result,” he said.

“It sounds kind of corny, but it felt very spiritual, falling in love,” Foster added. “It just seemed a natural fit.

“I found a peace within myself and the answer I’d been searching for,” DeFranco said. “... I believe that the Catholic faith is the biblical form of Christianity and most united with Christ. They are a community that remembers Jesus.”

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Former Episcopal bishop discusses his new life as Catholic priest

"For Father Steenson, the role of the pope as the successor of St. Peter, the servant of church unity and the guarantor of the church's fidelity to tradition was key to his decision.

"It is not negative things that turned me to the Catholic Church," he said. "I just felt God saying, 'It's time.'"

The time came, he said, in 2007 when he felt the bishops of the Episcopal Church had decided to give priority to their autonomy rather than to unity with the larger Anglican Communion.

Father Steenson said that for him gay people were not the issue. "It was the way the decisions were made and the way they were defended," placing the local church and modern cultural sensitivities ahead of the universal church and fidelity to tradition, he said.

The priest said that while the Episcopal Church spoke of the importance of Christian unity, it continued to approve practices -- ordaining women priests and bishops, ordaining homosexuals and blessing same-sex unions -- that everyone knew would be an obstacle to Christian unity.

"The frustration with being a Protestant is that every morning you get up and have to reinvent the church all over again," Father Steenson said..."

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The Newt Evangelization: Gingrich to become Catholic

From The Deacon's Bench:

"Buried deep inside this long and wonkish profile of Newt Gingrich in Sunday's New York Times, was this little nugget that, I suspect, went largely unnoticed:

At a moment when the role of religious fundamentalism in the party is a central question for reformers, Gingrich, rather than making any kind of case for a new enlightenment, has in fact gone to great lengths to placate Christian conservatives. The family-values crowd has never completely embraced Newt, probably because he has been married three times, most recently to a former Hill staff member, Callista Bisek. In 2006, though, Gingrich wrote a book called “Rediscovering God in America” — part of a new canon of work he has done reaffirming the role of religion in public life. The following year, he went on radio with the evangelical minister James Dobson to apologize for having been unfaithful to his second wife. (A Baptist since graduate school, Gingrich said he will soon convert to Catholicism, his wife’s faith.)"

PHOTO: by Nigel Parry for the New York Times.

Posted by Deacon Greg Kandra

Robert D. Novak: My Brain Tumor

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The main reason I am writing this column is that many people have asked me how I first realized I was suffering from a brain tumor and what I have done about it.

But I also want to relate the reaction to my disease, mostly compassionate, that belies Washington's reputation.

The first sign that I was in trouble came on Wednesday, July 23, when my 2004 black Corvette struck a pedestrian on 18th Street in downtown Washington while I was on my way to my office.

I did not realize I had hit anyone until a shirt-sleeved young man on a bicycle, whom I incorrectly thought to be a bicycle messenger, jumped in front of my car to block the way. In fact, he was David A. Bono, a partner in the high-end law firm Harkins Cunningham. The bicyclist was shouting at me that I could not just hit people and then drive away. That was the first I knew about the accident. Mr. Bono called the police, and a patrolman soon arrived.

After I said I had no idea I had hit anyone until they flagged me down and informed me, Mr. Bono told The Washington Post, "I would not believe that." Fortunately, the investigating officer, P. Garcia, was a policeman who listened and apparently believed me. While Mr. Bono and other bystanders were taking on aspects of a mob, shouting "hit-and-run," Officer Garcia issued a right-of-way infraction against me, costing me $50, instead of a hit-and-run violation that would have been a felony. Following Officer Garcia's instructions, I promptly paid the $50 fine at Third District Police Headquarters in Northwest Washington, in cash and in person.

Officer Garcia's justification in believing me was soon confirmed by the diagnosis of my brain cancer, in which I have lost not only left peripheral vision but nearly all my left vision, probably permanently. Several people have asked me whether the person I hit was crossing in front of me on my left. I answer, "I never saw him."

The person I hit, identified by police as Don, with no fixed address, was taken to George Washington University Hospital, where police said, "There are no visible injuries."

On the next day, Thursday, July 24, there were more clues that something was seriously wrong. I lost my way to my dentist's office in Montgomery County and never found it. I also had trouble finding my way back to my office. After returning from a speaking engagement in North Carolina on Friday, I found it difficult locating my office in the 13-story building where I have been a tenant since 1964.

My wife Geraldine and I left Washington Saturday to spend the weekend with our daughter, Zelda, and her husband, Christopher Caldwell, and their children at their summer house at Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. When Geraldine noticed that I was having trouble following her in the Boston airport, she suggested I go to a hospital emergency room. I always resist such suggestions and did so this time, but fortunately Zelda prevailed. The CT scan at Salem Hospital showed a brain mass. I returned to the summerhouse and went into seizure the next day.

When Zelda said to call 911, I again resisted, but she again prevailed. I promptly suffered another seizure in the ambulance, the second of three seizures that day. I gained admittance to the high-quality Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, which has an excellent oncology staff. A biopsy was performed, which showed a large, grade IV tumor. In answer to my question, the oncologist estimated that I had six months to a year to live. Being read your death sentence is like being a character in one of the old Bette Davis movies.

I believe I was able to withstand this shock because of my Catholic faith, to which I converted in 1998.

I then called Dr. Donald Morton of the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, Calif., who removed a cancer from my lung in 1994 and has been a friend and close medical advisor. He told me that different people react to serious cancers in different ways and reminded me that I was a three-time cancer survivor.

Dr. Morton recommended Dr. Allan H. Friedman, a master surgeon who is chief of neurosurgery at the Duke University Medical Center.

After studying my CT scan and MRI, Dr. Friedman said a resection -- that is, a removal of the tumor -- was possible by surgery. Dr. Friedman had performed a similar operation this summer on Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts.

In today's world, it is up to the "informed patient" to make many decisions affecting treatment. Dr. Morton recommended that I go ahead with surgery by Dr. Friedman.

My dear friend, the Democratic political operative Bob Shrum, asked Sen. Kennedy's wife, Vicki, to call me about Dr. Friedman. I barely know Mrs. Kennedy, but I have found her to be a warm and gracious person. I have had few good things to say about Teddy Kennedy since I first met him at the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, but he and his wife have treated me like a close friend. She was enthusiastic about Dr. Friedman and urged me to opt for surgery at Duke, which I did.

The Kennedys were not concerned by political and ideological differences when someone's life was at stake, recalling at least the myth of milder days in Washington. My long conversation with Vicki Kennedy filled me with hope.

The irony of my going to Duke to save my life can only be appreciated by somebody who knows that I am a fanatic University of Maryland basketball fan with no use for the Duke Blue Devils and their student basketball fans, who certainly have not turned the other cheek toward me.

The ingenious taunts by the students at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium are usually directed against opposing players, but I am one fan who also has been the target of the "Cameron Crazies."

During my last visit there to watch a game won by Maryland, students raised a placard with two pictures: one of Benedict Arnold and one of me. "Two Traitors, " said the headline.

But I was treated with immense courtesy and skill by the great Duke neurosurgical team. Dr. Friedman operated on me for over four hours, starting at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 15. He later showed me before-and-after pictures, revealing that the 3-by-1.5-inch tumor had been removed. Of course, cancer cells remain, requiring a rigorous regimen of radiation and chemotherapy, managed by the Duke team and conducted at the George Washington University Hospital in Washington.

Al Hunt, who has become a close friend, though we disagree about almost everything, says it will be very difficult for me to inveigh against Duke in the future. I do believe he is correct. Al and his wife, Judy Woodruff, have been staunch pillars of support during this ordeal and helped arrange our living accommodations at Duke.

I am now at home in Washington, awaiting further therapy. Dr. Friedman recommended that I try to get back to at least parts of my normal life. He suggested reading, but also that I try to write columns, which is the reason I've composed this piece.

There are mad bloggers who profess to take delight in my distress, but there's no need to pay them attention in the face of such an outpouring of good will for me. I had thought 51 years of rough-and-tumble journalism in Washington made me more enemies than friends, but my recent experience suggests the opposite may be the case.

But Joe and Valerie Wilson, attempting to breathe life into the Valerie Plame "scandal," issued this statement: "We have long argued that responsible adults should take Novak's typewriter away. The time has arrived for them to also take away the keys to his Corvette."

Thanks to my tumor, the Wilsons have achieved half of their desires. I probably never will be able to drive again, and I have sold the Corvette, which I dearly loved. Taking away my typewriter, however, may require modification of the First Amendment.

Support for me and promises of prayers sent for me poured in from all sides, including political figures who had not been happy with my columns. I'm told that President George W. Bush has not liked my criticism, particularly of his Iraq war policy. But the president is a compassionate man, and he telephoned me at 7:24 a.m. on August 15, six minutes before I went into surgery. The conversation lasted only a minute, but his prayerful concern was touching and much appreciated.

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