In the ’08 elections, pro-life Catholics emerged as the dominant voice of the religious right. To be sure, Mr. Obama won a majority among Catholics. Yet the sharpest anti-Obama rhetoric from religious leaders came not from old culture warriors like Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson but rather from some Catholic clergymen.  Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City, Mo., for example, warned voters that their eternal salvation might be at stake if they supported Mr. Obama. A couple of pro-life priests even suggested that Catholics who voted for Mr. Obama should go to confession. (Their bishops, it should be said, quickly rejected that idea.)  Cardinal Francis Stafford, a former archbishop of Denver who today heads a Vatican court, described Mr. Obama’s rhetoric on abortion as “aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic,” and compared the election results to the Garden of Gethsemane — the spot where, according to the Bible, Jesus agonized before his crucifixion.  In that context, “Dignitas Personae” risks being read as encouragement for the most ardent pro-life forces in America to let slip the dogs of war.  Of course, many Catholic bishops and many ordinary Catholics in America believe that while Mr. Obama’s positions on abortion and stem cell research are troubling, there are also important areas of common ground.  That seems to be the balance the Vatican is trying to strike. Pope Benedict XVI sent a telegram of congratulations to Mr. Obama calling his election a “historic occasion,” and the two men later spoke by telephone. A papal spokesman said the Vatican hopes to work with him on Iraq, the Holy Land, Christian minorities in the Middle East and Asia, and the fight against poverty and social inequality.  To be clear, the Vatican yields to no one in its pro-life commitments. In effect, “Dignitas Personae” is a reminder that there will be no “truce,” no strategic silence, about the defense of human life from the moment of conception. The question now is whether the Vatican will find an equally effective way to mobilize those Catholics who hope to build bridges.  This is one case in which the pope would do well to think a few American thoughts.  John L. Allen Jr. is the senior correspondent for The National Catholic Reporter and the author of “The Rise of Benedict XVI.”  A version of this op-ed appears in print on , on Page A45 of the New York edition with the headline: The Pope’s Real Message for Obama. Today's Paper|Subscribe
The tendency may be to see the Vatican document on bioethics as a plan for resistance to the Obama administration. In reality, that amounts to trying to shove a square peg into the round hole of American politics.