Keeping in mind that the report is billed as a blueprint for how Democrats still have a shot at the Catholic vote, the net effect of the report shows that the Democrats have lost, likely forever, their last strongly religious constituency.

Once upon a time, the Democrats could rely upon solid majorities of evangelical Protestants (the "religious right" in modern parlance), conservative Catholics and orthodox Jews. In 2004, however, it was clear that the more religious a person was, the less likely they were to vote Democratic, even if they had an affinity with some parts of the Democratic platform. What the Democrats hope against hope they can do is to convince at least a sizeable minority of religious believers to come back over to their side. Working with things such as the average Catholic's very forgiving and tolerant nature towards, say, homosexuality (as opposed to evengelical Protestant's much more rigorous views), the Democrat's hope is that they can use this to pull in a conservative Catholic who also wishes there to be socialised medicine (a lot of Catholics believe that healthcare should be provided free to anyone who needs it).

Wont work, Democrats; you're barking up the wrong tree. There are things in life of greater and lesser importance. While a lot of Catholics might have no problem with gay rights, socialised medicine and lavish welfare spending (another weakness we Catholics have; just can't get out of the habit of passing 'round the collection plate and using the money for good works) there are other, vitally important things we just cannot retreat upon. Among them, and central to the modern political debate, is the Culture of Life. Catholics, believing Catholics, just will never view a life as hopeless...this has been the Democrat's entry point into Catholic hearts for ages, because we're always willing to try one more time to help out the less fortunate...but this, you see, extends not just to the bum living on the street, but also to the helpless person lying in a hospital bed who's "quality of life" is held by the Democrat's leftwing base to be not worth living. Of course, never forget that a good Catholic will also never, ever view an unborn child as anything other than a gift from God to be treasured, never killed as a "choice".

Democrats already have all the Catholics they'll ever have as long as the left dominates the Democratic Party; a small and decreasing number of what really amounts to "fallen away" Catholics. Catholics who don't take their faith seriously and in a lot of cases are only nominal Catholics (baptized in the faith, but not at all part of it in a real sense). These psuedo-Catholics are really no different from any other part of the Democrat's declining Party; shallow sophisticates "too smart" to buy all that stuff the Pope puts out. They don't have many children, and they don't raise them Catholic...in a generation or two they will all be gone, but the Church will remain, and its members in the United States will be the same, old Catholics everyone has always known...and will follow the same moral dictates Catholics always have. In order to gain or retain their votes, you'll have to find a place at the table for the Church as it is, not as you wish it would be.