Washington's other newspaper: Catholics Could Get Majority on High Court.

Here we go again, kiddies.

Remember this: If Alito were a deracinated leftist Catholic, he would be heralded by the you-know-whos.

Alito, an appeals court judge, and his wife are members of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Roseland, N.J., a suburban parish which referred inquiries about the judge to the Archdiocese of Newark. Archdiocesan spokesman Jim Goodness said Alito attends Mass weekly and his wife teaches religious education classes at Blessed Sacrament, where his children were confirmed. But Goodness would not comment on whether Alito volunteers for any church work.

My guess is the WaPo yahoos would call him a hypocrite if he didn't "volunteer" for "church work".

Monsignor Thomas Gervasio, the new pastor at Our Lady of Sorrows/Saint Anthony's Parish in Hamilton, N.J., where Alito's mother Rose is a member, said she told him the judge was confirmed, served as a lector and was married in Our Lady of Sorrows. The judge attended public school and enrolled in church religious classes as a boy, Rose Alito told Gervasio.

Taking calls at her Hamilton home, where a small Virgin Mary statue sat on the mantle, the judge's 90-year-old mother asked Gervasio to "say some prayers for Sam" and declared of her son: "Of course, he's against abortion."

That comma in the last sentence looks and sounds like an editorial addition.

Two of the Catholics on the current court _ Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas _ are abortion foes. Scalia, whose son Paul is a priest, and Thomas are sometimes seen walking together to the court after attending Mass on holy days of obligation.

Amen to that, Brothers.

The third Catholic _ Anthony Kennedy _ voted with the majority in a 5-4 ruling in 1992 reaffirming the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, despite some apparent inner turmoil.

Not enough, apparently.

Newly installed Chief Justice John Roberts, the fourth Catholic, is solidly conservative and his wife, Jane, volunteers for Feminists for Life, but it is unclear how he will vote on abortion cases.

Here's the most interesting paragraph:

Catholics have become part of the nation's political mainstream _ far removed from the blatant anti-Catholic prejudice that once permeated American culture. They are as divided as other Americans on abortion and other social issues that will be a focus of Alito's confirmation hearings _ making an outpouring of religious pride for the conservative jurist less likely.

So let me get this straight, O High and Mighty Leftist Establishment: The Catholics face no more prejudice because they have abandonded the teachings of The Church that set them apart from the "mainstream" of Christian America. That would be the Justice Kennedy kind of Catholic, right? The kind of Catholic you like, right?

But that other kind of Catholic, (let's call them Scalia Catholics here) they're the ones it's still ok to hate, right? Because Scalia Catholics oppose your political agenda. Or is is it something deeper than politics?