This strikes me as unfair on two counts. First, the Republicans have generally taken care not to accuse Democrats of personal animosity toward Catholics. Second, as is so often the case with charges of hypocrisy, the other side is hypocritical too. For years, the lynchpin of liberal jurisprudence on civil rights has been the notion that one does not need to prove malice or bigotry to demonstrate that discrimination is taking place. All one need do is show that a given policy leads to a "disparate impact."
For example, poll taxes and literacy tests were overturned by the courts because they were deemed, correctly, to discriminate against blacks. Personally, I have no problem with the idea that people should know how to read before they can vote. That doesn't make me a bigot, but it does mean I favor a policy that might disproportionately impact blacks. (My solution: Improve education.)
The point is that, thanks to liberals, as a matter of law and politics we've come to accept that "disproportionality" - in women's athletics, minority hiring, insuring the elderly or disabled, etc. - is often prima facie evidence of "bias." If we're hypocrites for using this logic, liberals are hypocrites for abandoning it.
The Democrats are taking the position that if you agree with your faith on abortion, gay rights, etc., then you face the presumption of incompetence when it comes to enforcing the law of the land. By this standard, serious and committed people of faith will be less likely to be approved for judgeships. Think of it this way: If our elected leaders took the position that anybody who believes eating pork is wrong can't work for the Department of Agriculture, "serious" Muslims and Jews would be barred from such jobs.
This is most certainly a bias against "serious" Catholics, among others. In fact, it's a bias against religious faith in general. I'm no absolutist on this. If a religion says a man can burn his wife or murder your children, that's certainly something to worry about.
But many of the "deeply held views" of Mr. Pryor and others (remember the Ashcroft nomination hearings) are mainstream and traditional views held by tens, if not hundreds, of millions of Americans.
If Democrats believe such views should disqualify you from government service, we should have an argument about it. Sure, Republicans can sound tone deaf and hypocritical for crying bigotry the way liberals so often do on matters of race and sexuality. And the "No Catholics Need Apply" rhetoric can go too far. But that doesn't mean they're wrong for bringing the issue up.