(RNS) — Since Saturday (Sept. 21), when Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris turned down an invitation to the Al Smith Dinner, the Archdiocese of New York’s annual fundraiser for children with disabilities, living in poverty or foster care or needing social services, Catholic social media and editorials from Catholic outlets have been full of punditry over the decision.
Many have described the decision as exceptional, following New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s lead. Dolan told reporters at a press conference, “We’re not used to this. We don’t know how to handle it.”
“This hasn’t happened in 40 years since Walter Mondale turned down the invitation, and remember he lost 49 out of 50 states,” Dolan said, before joking that he didn’t want to draw too much of a connection.
What Dolan and many Catholic pundits failed to note was that since 1984, three of nine Al Smith Dinners in presidential election years have been held without either presidential candidate.
In both presidential elections in the 1990s and then in 2004, first Cardinal John O’Connor and then Cardinal Edward Egan kept the candidates away from the fundraiser, with an archdiocesan spokesperson citing the campaign’s divisiveness in 2004.
Abortion policy, a major reason that Catholic leaders have criticized Harris, has brought drama at the dinner for decades.
The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner on Oct. 17, 2013, at the Waldorf A …