In the summer of 2009 , Catholic Democrats launched the website , " Pope Greets Hope " to celebrate President Obama 's first meeting with Pope Benedict XVI on July 11 , 2009 . Dr. Patrick Whelan , president of Catholic Democrats , blogged from the Vatican during the meeting , which followed the release of the papal encyclical '' Caritas in Veritate '' and the 35th G8 summit in L'Aquila , Italy , earlier in the week . In August 2009 , the organization paid tribute to the late U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy ( D-Mass . ) , who had been a great inspiration to the founders of the group . The group has more recently paid tribute to Sargent Shriver , a founder of the Peace Corps , and Fr . Thomas Kaminski , a Chicago priest who was president of the community development organization that hired Barack Obama in 1985
35th G8 summit
35th G8 summit
Catholic Democrats