I hope Sojourners will forgive the play on their awesome campaign. I just couldn't resist.

While much of the discussion of the Papal visit has been excellent (see, for example, the New York Times' A Papal Discussion blog), I'm continually amazed by some of the beltway pundits' inane efforts to reduce the pontiff's message to simple political slogans.

Over the last eight years, George W. Bush and his allies have launched a highly successful Catholic outreach strategy, much of which consists of highlighting areas of agreement between Bush and the Catholic hierarchy, which is itself a perfectly legitimate exercise.

More nefarious, however, is the aggressive re-branding strategy launched by a few conservative operatives depicting the Republican party and Bush policies as the only "authentic" Catholic positions despite glaring disagreement on torture, the Iraq war, poverty and the environment. These important issues are either ignored or dismissed as "negotiable." Bush is referred to as the "second Catholic president," a highly partisan political event gets unironic billing as the "National Catholic Prayer Breakfast," and Dana Perino suggests that the Pope and the President share an understanding that the surge is working despite Benedict's outspoken opposition to this war in particular and preemptive war in general.

The last straw, for me, was hearing Benedict XVI referred to as an "honorary Republican." That's just plain silly. (Ditto to calling him an honorary Democrat). The Pope, and his message, simply don't fit in our conventional political boxes.

I was one of the lucky people who attended the Papal mass at Nationals Park. Being packed in a stadium with almost 50,000 people and being led in prayer by the leader of over a billion Catholics worldwide, I was overwhelmed by the sheer bigness of it all. Partisan politics seem small by comparison.

Benedict's message made his priorities clear: he is a pastor first and foremost. He addressed the sexual abuse crisis with great sensitivity and sought to give encouragement to all of us trying to live lives of grace in our local Catholic communities. Benedict doesn't shy away from engaging with public policy, but his message is always rooted in his understanding of the Gospel, not which sound bite will swing an election.

I do not agree with everything Benedict has preached or everything he wrote back when he was only Joseph Ratzinger. Like millions of my co-religionists, I do my best to reconcile the teachings of my church, my experience in community and the convictions of my conscience. I also do my best to remember the awesome responsibilities that come with being Pope.

In addition to the sex abuse crisis in the U.S., Benedict must deal with rapidly changing demographics in the global church, find a way to keep peace between those of us Catholics who would like to see more liberal policies on some key social issues and traditionalists who think Vatican II bordered on apostasy, cooperate with other religions in search of a more peaceful world, and try to alleviate the immediate suffering of many of Catholics in global south experiencing hunger, disease and frustration.

The Holy Father has a long to-do list, but boosting political parties is not on it. The next time a political pundit wants to make Pope Benedict an honorary Republican (or Democrat) they should do him the honor of listening to what he says. All of it.