Backlash: Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput criticized Catholic groups and a prominent conservative who are publicly supporting Obama despite his abortion stance. (Will powers/AP/File)
Can antiabortion Catholics support Obama? Some do.
Several conservative bishops counter that candidates’ stands on abortion should be the litmus test.
By Jane Lampman | Staff Writer/ October 29, 2008 edition
Reporter Jane Lampman talks about how US Catholics, a key swing vote, are viewing this year's presidential race.
Roman Catholics – a sought-after swing vote in several battleground states – are caught up in a charged debate over how to apply the church’s moral teaching to politics.
Like other Americans, Catholics rate the economy as the top issue for this election. But the political debate has once again pushed the contentious issue of abortion to the fore, potentially affecting how some “undecideds” vote. It has also stirred concerns that partisanship on the part of a few church leaders could damage the role of faith in public life.
Four years ago, conservatives helped deliver the Catholic vote to George Bush over fellow-Catholic John Kerry, insisting that an antiabortion stance was a litmus test for the candidates.
Viewing that effort as divisive and narrow, other Catholics have since worked to broaden the political agenda to more fully reflect the church’s social teaching and its emphasis on promoting the common good. They’ve created new organizations, such as Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, and reached out to ordinary Catholics of every stripe, urging them to consider candidates’ positions on a wide range of societal issues.
“These new groups are moderate voices who are presenting the whole array of Catholic social teaching, and they are having an impact,” says the Rev. Thomas Reese, senior fellow at Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University in Washington.
At the same time, the US bishops modified their election guidelines for 2008, presenting a moral framework but emphasizing individual responsibility for “prudent” decisionmaking. Calling abortion “an intrinsic evil” that must be opposed, they nevertheless left the door ajar to voting for a candidate who supports abortion rights. In “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” the bishops write: “There may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate’s unacceptable position may decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons.” (They also highlighted fundamental concerns that include war and peace, poverty, healthcare, a living wage, and environmental stewardship.)
Despite this opening, the endorsement of Barack Obama by prominent Catholic Republican Douglas Kmiec, a constitutional law expert at Pepperdine University, came as a great surprise to Catholics. Professor Kmiec, a former legal adviser to Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, has written a controversial book – “Can a Catholic Support Him?” – detailing his rationale for Senator Obama based on the Catholic tradition.
While disagreeing with the Democrat’s abortion-rights position, he sees the candidate as sharing the broader worldview of Catholic social teaching. Kmiec once worked on briefs seeking to overturn Roe v. Wade, but he argues that the commitment to programs that reduce abortions will be more effective than continuing to try to reverse Roe. Even if a reversal were achievable, it would only throw the decision back to the states and abortion would continue, he says.
“It’s an argument that will make sense to Catholics who are pragmatists,” says Father Reese.
Kmiec’s comments immediately got him into trouble. A local priest attacked him in a sermon and refused to give him Communion. (Cardinal Roger Mahony, archbishop of Los Angeles, later called that action indefensible.) Church leaders insist that efforts to overturn Roe continue as well as programs to reduce abortions.
Soon, another prominent antiabortion Catholic lawyer, Nicholas Cafardi of Duquesne University, endorsed Obama. He resigned from the board of Steubenville University owing to negative reaction.
A few conservative bishops have attacked the efforts to broaden the agenda and support abortion-rights candidates. A former St. Louis archbishop, now working in Rome, charged that Democrats risked becoming “a party of death.”
Bishop Joseph Martino of the Scranton Diocese interrupted a church forum to say that abortion was the only issue of concern and that his teaching as the local bishop superseded the US bishops’ guidance. He also threatened to refuse Communion to vice presidential candidate Joseph Biden if he came to Scranton, Pa., where he grew up.
Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver insisted that Kmiec and groups like Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance “have done a disservice to the Church.”
“Simply put, he has a different prudential judgment about how to apply church teachings to public policy,” says Chris Korzen, who heads Catholics United. “The bishops acknowledge they don’t speak with the same authority on political matters as on moral matters.”
Indeed, church policy says church leaders are to inform the consciences of Catholics but not to instruct them how to vote nor get involved in politics. It’s up to lay Catholics to express those values in political action.
Most bishops are doing their best to stay out of the spotlight during the campaign. Many Catholics, however, would like them to rein in their outspoken colleagues, who they feel have crossed a line into partisanship. Some have called on bishops not to violate their own guidelines.
“A few bishops and prelates have come dangerously close to making implicit political endorsements by telling Catholics that abortion trumps all other moral issues and lashing out against the Democratic party,” writes Lisa Sowle Cahill, professor of theology at Boston College, in the National Catholic Reporter. “When clergy mistake their role as pastors and spiritual teachers by making tacit endorsements, a tenuous line has been crossed.”
At the same time, conservative Catholic Deal Hudson, a Republican adviser, charges that if Obama wins with the help of Catholics, the bishops’ own guidance will be to blame, providing “the escape clauses needed to convince Catholics they could vote for a pro-abortion candidate in ‘good conscience.’ ”
Catholics, who are 25 percent of the US population, have long been pivotal in presidential elections. Since 1972, they’ve chosen Republicans five times and Democrats four times and always sided with the top vote-getter.
This year, conservative and progressive groups have issued competing voting guides, and the two political campaigns are avidly wooing swing voters.
In Pennsylvania, a battleground state, two sets of Catholics fit that category – working-class Democrats from culturally conservative families and well-to-do suburbanites, says G. Terry Madonna, political science professor at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa.
“Catholics are a higher proportion in this state than in others, about 35 percent, and if you win the Catholic vote, you’re likely to win Pennsylvania,” he says, “and the nation.”
Comments
2. Joseph | 10.29.08
I am a Catholic and memeber of JustFaith and the Knights of Columbus, I like to point out that abortion is not on top of my list but human suffering and oppression is. Like the Palestinian people who are suffering under Israelis terrorism supported by McCain and company. And now I see in the news that McCain and Palin calling Palestinian Americans terrorists. How can I vote a person who calls other Americans terrorists.
3. Jim in Atlanta | 10.29.08
There is no way a true follower of Christ can accept any form of abortion let alone ‘partial birth abortion!’ I think we must also acknowledge there is a difference between pro-choice and an “Advocate!” Obama is an advocate of partial birth abortion and is unwilling to have any compromise. I cannot see how he can call himself a “Christian!” No true jew or christian for over several thousand years can accept abortion in any form.
4. Gerald Bettice | 10.29.08
The Catholic bishops of the United States have written a document for this election year, and in their presentation they, as a body, respect voters who are guided by the complex array of issues represented by candidates. Making abortion the single issue for voters is totally against the spirit of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Archbishop Chaput and his fellow travellers are renegades and dissenters in the total Conference. They are doing a disservice to both candidates and to Catholic voters.
6. jpt51 | 10.29.08
I live in a conservative part of Texas and by far, most fellow Catholics have McCain signs in their front yards. I’ve spent a career of 35 years helping the poor or volunteering with the St. Vincent de Paul Society and I know Obama has a better platform to help ALL Americans. While governor, I watched George Bush give lucrative contracts to special interests resulting in higher state costs and the results were disastrous. There are too many examples where he did the same to federal programs. As cited, I’d rather have the country work together to lower abortions than think that enacting laws will somehow stop them from occurring illegally. We need to focus as much on helping our most valuable resource, our children, after they are born.
7. joseph hohmann | 10.29.08
I ama 76 year old catholic with 7 children and 20 grandchildren. How can any christian who repects human rights vote for anyone who would deny the basic human right which is to be given life at conception?
8. Deb Kirstein | 10.29.08
My opinion, Can voters support Obama, absolutely not!!! If abortion is the issue, and I am a Christian, how can I stand before God someday and say I am not for abortion. What could his reply be???? This is ridiculous. Each must search his or her heart and we must vote according to the word of God which stands for life always no matter what. Our government has been allowed to govern our morals and we must now each vote according to the word of God. Not our opinion!!!!!
Deb
9. Lex | 10.29.08
Abortion is what it is; abortion is the termination of INNOCENT human life. There is NO justification in any abortion. God consecrated that human life, He formed it, and He breathed life into it. At the day of Judgement God will require an accounting for the innocent life that was spilt.
10. Bill | 10.29.08
Sadly, the Catholic Bishops are inconsistent. They bar from churches and colleges those who support the right of a woman to make the very difficult decision about her pregnancy while they welcome into the churches and colleges those political leaders who oppose abortion, but who advocate for the death penalty and who engage in unjust wars that kill thousands and thousands. It is the Pope who has condemned both the death penalty and the war in Iraq. When will the bishops take action against the politicians who support both evils.
11. Scott Hammond | 10.29.08
“Steubenville University” is not correct. It should read “Franciscan University of Steubenville”.
12. Tom Poelker | 10.30.08
The bishops who make abortion the single issue for voting decisions have abandoned all perspective and a most basic principle of moral theology, that of double effect. For centuries, Catholic theologians have taught that a negative effect, in this case electing a politician who does not see all abortions as murderous, is permitted when a positive effect is intended and is proportional. The positive effect here is electing a candidate more inclined to give a “preferential option for the poor,” more inclined to negotiation than to military options, and more concerned with environmental conservation than the opponent. Proportionality can include the likelihood of getting anything to change on any of these issues.
It is unfortunate that the minority of American bishops who have more enthusiasm for opposing abortion than theological depth of thought are also so willing to display these limitations to the press and fail to follow the advice of Thomas Aquinas and consult the magisterium of the theologates and so inform their own consciences before presuming to instruct the consciences of the faithful.
Thomas A. Poelker
Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies
Aquinas Institute of Theology, 1994
St. Louis MO USA
13. Jane Meneghini | 10.30.08
I thank Douglas Kmiec for his brave stand and his wise defense of Barack Obama and of the broader issues in traditional Catholic teaching on social justice.. As a life-long Catholic for 70 years, I am deeply troubled by the neo-conservative turn being taken by many in the Church hierarchy. They didn’t use to tell us how to vote. They do not have jurisdiction in American politics.
And I thank CS Monitor for this well-balanced article.
14. Jim Strang | 10.30.08
I think the Bishops of the Catholic Church should be very clear on where the Church stands on abortion and other beliefs of the the RC Church. I left the Episcopal Church because of the inablility to make stands on basic concepts of the faith. Over the years the liberal wing of the Episcopal Church began with allowing basic tenents of faith to pass by and now look where the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion are. The RC Church has been a foundation stone on the faith and practice for people to follow. The Bishops should take a firm stand on what the Church teaches and leave no doubt where they stand.
15. Chuck | 10.30.08
Dear Roman Catholic Voters: I am writing to ask you to vote for the presidential candidate who is truly most in line with the teachings of Jesus – Barack Obama. I know many of us have been told to vote against him because of his pro-choice stance, but I agree with distinguished Catholic scholar Doug Kmiec, who strongly argues that isolating that one issue, and ignoring so many other gravely important issues, would be a tragic mistake.
I recently read Senator Obama’s book, “The Audacity of Hope.” In it is a very thoughtful chapter on faith in which Senator Obama discusses the abortion issue. I encourage all Catholics to pick up a copy and read at least that chapter. Read how balanced and reasonable his views are. Read how he chastised his own Senate campaign staff for including inflammatory abortion rhetoric on his web site, and how he ordered the offensive material removed.
I would also remind Catholic voters that Popes John Paul II and Benedict both have strongly condemned the Iraq War (Go to http://www.cjd.org/paper/benedict.html for more info). On THIS life issue the Church and the Democratic Party are in near absolute accord. On issues of poverty, universal health care, civil and human rights the Democratic Party is much more in line with Church doctrine. Even on abortion, while opposing criminalization of the act itself, the Democratic Party is squarely in favor of reducing the number of abortions. To those bishops who insist on injecting themselves into politics, I say shame on you.
In my opinion, the core of our faith is derived from the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus gave us a new, radical set of laws to live by. If you haven’t done so lately, please re-read the Beatitudes. And when you go to the polls ask yourself which party’s policies embody the ideals put forth in those laws.
16. Chuck | 10.30.08
Dear Roman Catholic Voters: I am writing to ask you to vote for the presidential candidate who is truly most in line with the teachings of Jesus – Barack Obama. I know many of us have been told to vote against him because of his pro-choice stance, but I agree with distinguished Catholic scholar Doug Kmiec, who strongly argues that isolating that one issue, and ignoring so many other gravely important issues, would be a tragic mistake.
I recently read Senator Obama’s book, “The Audacity of Hope.” In it is a very thoughtful chapter on faith in which Senator Obama discusses the abortion issue. I encourage all Catholics to pick up a copy and read at least that chapter. Read how balanced and reasonable his views are. Read how he chastised his own Senate campaign staff for including inflammatory abortion rhetoric on his web site, and how he ordered the offensive material removed.
I would also remind Catholic voters that Popes John Paul II and Benedict both have strongly condemned the Iraq War (Go to http://www.cjd.org/paper/benedict.html for more info). On THIS life issue the Church and the Democratic Party are in near absolute accord. On issues of poverty, universal health care, civil and human rights the Democratic Party is much more in line with Church doctrine. Even on abortion, while opposing criminalization of the act itself, the Democratic Party is squarely in favor of reducing the number of abortions. To those bishops who insist on injecting themselves into politics, I say shame on you.
In my opinion, the core of our faith is derived from the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus gave us a new, radical set of laws to live by. If you haven’t done so lately, please re-read the Beatitudes. And when you go to the polls ask yourself which party’s policies embody the ideals put forth in those laws.
17. Mr Mac | 10.30.08
I wish that a Democratic candidate would describe him/herself as “anti-abortion/pro-choice” or “pro-life/pro-choice”. I have never heard of picketers outside of OB-GYN offices shouting “Abort now! End life!”
18. John Smith | 10.30.08
It’s very striking how right wing white American Catholics are compared to non white Catholics, as well as Catholics in for example Rome, the Pope’s back yard. In Italy, abortion is freely available via national health are, and the pill is available without prescription. This Bishop is mostly opposing Obama because of the extent to which he identifies with the ex dixiecrats and white working class right wingers. He needs to stop using the church as a facade for his social jurassic park longings.
19. kyle | 10.30.08
someone tell me who we can promote the “common good” when women have the “right” to murder a child in the womb. i consider issues besides abortion, but abortion has to be #1 on my list because it is SO intrinsicly evil.
20. Chris | 10.30.08
They used to call them “cafeteria Catholics” because they picked the items they liked and ignored the others. It looks like conservatives are the new cafeteria Catholics. They pick abortion and ignore torture, war, and poverty.
21. Chris Edwards | 10.30.08
Sen. Obama has said clearly that he is “pro-life” in opposing abortion, but does not want to put women or their doctors in prison for it. He and his advisor, Shaun Casey, instead support compassionate measures that would relieve women of the desperation that leads to abortions, while helping the children who are born to have a good quality of life: affordable housing, food, healthcare, education, etc. Why not? What exactly do the anti-abortion ideologues want? Today’s Republican doctrine seems to say that the government must save the life of fetuses by punishing those who obtain or perform abortions; then (since, of course, government services are “socialism” — a big no-no — do nothing more for the children once they are born. Is that what Jesus would do?
22. Stan Solin | 10.30.08
Something wrong with clergy who derive their paychecks from donations that are tax deductions voicing political opinions. I think they should give up their tax free status on their buildings and their donors give up the deductions on the donations. France is 85% Catholic, abortion is legal, the Catholic Church does not mess one bit in politics there. They really practice separation of Church and State. I personally am against abortion, but I am also in favor of following the law. My loyalty to the law takes preference over my personal anti-abortion feelings.
23. John Q Dallas | 10.30.08
Most Catholics in this country are American Catholics and not Roman Catholics. They practice the religion of pick and choose. How can genocide trump the general economy to a follower of the Pope? It just doesn’t happen. If life begins at conception, the belief that the government should not respect it is irreconcilable. Obama represents the triumph of the theoretical urbanite over the cultural individualist. The desire of the majority to vote itself the right to the property of the minority, will reduce the desire for property accumulation. The American engine of free enterprise will fail. By conquering the failed Soviet economic system and then embracing its principals, Catholics are forgetting Christ’s admonition to give the Caesar only what is Caesar’s. They are giving what is God’s to Caesar. God help them!
24. Drs.Willem.K.Gelok | 10.30.08
There is something intrisically worng with (Roman Catholic) bishops advising to vote. As we all know, there are regulations and laws enough to make abortion not a pleasure trip to Disneyland, and the abortion experience is not exactly a highlight in ones life. So in making it a political issue is to me something of the same kind as whether the Eucharist is really Christs body and blood or just the rememberance of it.
The abortion theme should not be dealt with by man who do not even have the possibility of conceiving: they belong to the domain of private opinion. Sure, one can have a outspoken viewpoint in such matters, and even discuss it, but let that remain a private viewpoint and do not lay upon others the boredom of a guilty conscience.
25. Greg | 10.30.08
Some Catholic bishops have said the to be pro-life one must agree that all life is precious…not just the unborn. So to be pro-life one must also be against war and the death penalty. With that definition most Republicans are pro-death rather than pro-life.
26. Edward T. Carden, M.D. | 10.30.08
Intelligent people no longer look to the hierarchy to define what is right and what is wrong. Any group that fostered pedophilia or tolerates those who fostered pedophila has an extremely flimsy knowledge of morality.
27. Brian | 10.30.08
The “Novus Ordo” liberal Bishops are wrong and are destroying the church by pushing their liberal agendas onto other catholics and have been doing so since Vatican II on the 1960’s. As a Catholic you can’t for a candidate that supports abortion, gay marriage etc. PERIOD.
28. Wilfred Madsen | 10.30.08
To be Pro-Choice is not to be Pro-Abortion. For a woman to have an abortion is a highly personal choice the result of which is because of a multitude of varying individual reasons that should not be a legislative matter determined by old men in some far-away capital. Nobody likes abortion. Simply put … if you are against abortion … don’t have one.
29. MP | 10.30.08
Our responsibility as Catholics (and Christians as a larger whole) is to defend the most defenseless in society. What better social teaching is there than to show that mercy? If we destroy life before it can be born, what good is a prosperous economy, a just foreign policy, or quality education. Certainly abortion is not good healthcare for the unborn. Really, all other issues are viewed through the lens of how we view the gift of life. How we treat our friends, family members and enemies has as its foundation, how we treat the most defenseless in society. Obama chose to support abortion long ago, and in so doing, removed himself as a viable candidate. The Catholic Church did not do that. He did. How is the Church wrong for identifying that truth?
30. MP | 10.30.08
Wilfred Madsen, using that same logic, I could say, “Against slavery, then don’t own one.” Of course, that is wrong-headed. Why? Because both slavery and abortion are intrinsically immoral actions. It has nothing to do with what men say (old, young, white, or black men). It is wrong because it is wrong. Just as in mathematics, 2×2=4 regardless of how I feel about it. Moral truths are absolute as well. We cannot vote for a man who wants to skew or ignore those moral truths. Would we vote for Obama if he spent 30 minutes telling us 2×2=5? No, because it is not true. We must base our vote on truth, the very truth that Christ Himself said would set us free.
31. Chicago | 10.30.08
@ Wilfred Madsen. Interesting argument. I would add, if you are against murder, don’t murder anyone. It is a personal choice to murder another human being — be they a child in the womb or a person down the street. As long as you’re not murdering anyone, it is not your business or for you to judge whether anyone is wrong to murder. As long as you don’t do it, your conscience should be clear.
32. MarkP | 10.30.08
The Church has every right, and in fact, has a duty to guide its flock in and out of the voting booth. How is it that Revs Jeremiah Wright and James David Manning have not been criticized for verbalizing support for one candidate over another? Both of them do so by name. The Catholic Church encourages moral voting, but has not endorsed any one candidate. Why are so many angered by encouraging a moral vote, but seem to be OK with endorsements by non-Catholic clergy?
33. Jae (Maryland) | 10.30.08
It has been said before, but it needs be said again, Abortion is the killing of the innocents. So is War!!! Most casualties in almost all wars are the innocents. How can these Bishops support the Republican Party? George W. Bush started two wars! What will you say before the All Mighty when asked to defend supporting the Republican Party that killed hundreds of thousands in Iraq and Afghanistan? Are the people of Afghan and Iraq not also children of God? How can these bishops defend a political party that likes to reward people who live like Caesars and punish people who live like a shepherd? SHAME ON YOU ALL!
34. shadowsprite | 10.31.08
Whether you are a Catholic or a Christian Scientist or any other religion you probably aren’t pro-abortion. Those who are against abortion can still be ‘Pro-Choice’.
Someone who is pro-abortion would force a mother to abort a baby if the mother’s health was endangered or if the fetus had no brain.
On the other-hand, if you are pro-life and feel that intentionally killing a fetus is a sin, then to have a clear conscience, you will need to let nature take its course and leave the whole birth process in God’s hands.
35. Shadowsprite | 10.31.08
At what point is it permissible for a man, or a religion, or the law to make a decision for another human being in regards to their mental, spiritual, and bodily well being? Shouldn’t a woman have the right to decide whether or not to carry a baby to term even if it means it will kill her? Doesn’t a mother have a right to refuse a C Section if she believes it is against God’s will? Usually when a woman gets pregnant there is a man involved: is an act of rape, incest, or molestation God’s will since it produced an innocent human life? Each of you can decide. I choose to believe that God is Love. Let us not judge one another.
36. dave eagle | 10.31.08
IF obama wins he and pelosi will reinstate partial birth abortions..he has said he supports partial birth abortions…do you want to vote for him and have that happen?i dont want that on my head…do you?
37. MarkP | 10.31.08
Many compare abortion to war, and it is true that both are grave evils. However, a war can be just (not the current one), but some wars can be just. When a foreign aggressor threatens another country with violence, that country must defend itself. However, abortion is never just as it ends the life of a defenseless human being. Do we not have an obligation as Christians to defend all life, as it is sacred? Some say that we cannot vote for McCain because he is pro-war (which is debatable) and pro-life. Using that same argument, how can we vote for Obama if he is pro-abortion and anti-war? Again, how we treat the most defenseless in our own society sets the stage for how we view life and its importance at the global level too. If we treasure the unborn, then we will eventually treasure all life. If we treasure all life, we will avoid war that much more.
38. Ann Chaikin | 10.31.08
Obama is not in favor of abortions. Neither am I. However I do believe that it should be a woman’s choice. That being said, sex education (not just abstinence), access the affordable birth control, and assistance with care for children who are born will lead much more quickly to lower abortion numbers than laws will. As to partial birth abortion, Obama’s objection is that a woman’s life being in danger is not even considered in the ban on this procedure.
39. A. Heffernan | 10.31.08
Obama is opposed to partial birth abortions. We catholics should look at
the candidates as a whole since no candidate will ever come close to
being a 100% catholic even if he is a catholic.
We should vote for the person who will end human suffering here and in the
world whether it’s Darfur, Palestine, or Kashmir.
40. erica(texas) | 11.01.08
im 19 years old and i beileive that Every Person was put on this earth for a reason.We cannot play god and decide to interfear with the birth of a child. An INNOCENT child a child who has done no wrong and is murrderd. most of my generation is screwed up because alot of people will grow up and never find there sole mate or there best friend because they were aborted. God has a plan and we do not interfear with that because when you abort a child you not only ruin that childs life you ruin alot more lifes than you think.
41. Rob | 11.02.08
Abortion is wrong. And it is one issue, SMALLER than many: The US military machine starting a war that has now killed over 100,000 Iraqi people in Iraq is morally wrong. (How would you defend that to God. I don’t think he’d be sympathetic. The US financial mistakes (largely as a result of unwise “deregulation”) will massively increase global poverty and retard progress in BASIC health and education for MUCH of the world’s population. The US consuming 23% of the world’s energy with 6% of the world’s population? Energy might trigger world war 3 IF we don’t get moving on alternative energy FAST. And what about global warming’s effect on MOST of the world, which is less wealthy than us? If a canditate has convinced you to think ONLY of abortion, it is a trick.
42. bernadette chumley | 11.02.08
ever heard of the expression of the pennies and the dollar will take care of itself? I think the same with abortion, take care of the little one in the womb and the other issues will take care of themselves. what country in the world does not support abortion and guess what?… the world is in a crises.
43. John Q Dallas | 11.02.08
By allowing himself to be put to death on the cross, Christ affirmed the right of the state to take a life when it feels that life threatens its existence. Jesus never derided David’s slaying of Goliath. He never derided the annihilation of Sodom and Gomorrah or the Great Flood of Noah’s time. When curing the Centurion’s slave, he praised the Centurion’s faith and did not denounce his military status or slavery. Wars against genocidal lunatics can be consistent with Roman Catholic teachings. From the Sermon on the Mount, one of the teachings is effectively “Blessed be the Peacemakers, for they shall be called the Children of God.” This beatitude formed the heart of Saint Augustine’s approval of the “Just War”, justifying a war that brings about a greater peace. The Meek only inherit the Earth, which may be interpreted as six feet under the surface. There is a clear and convincing argument that those fighting against abortion are Peacemakers. May the Roman Catholic God bless them.
44. John Q Dallas | 11.02.08
Last week, the parents of a black Dallas child were given a pass for effectively aborting her three months after birth. Law enforcement authorities did not want to spend the funds to determine which parent caused the fatal blows. After all, three months before her death they could have legally killed her and she was just a black kid. A couple years probation was agreed by all parties. There were no protesters and do no expect any. By allowing abortion on demand, the state allows the individual to take a life as a personal value judgment. From the Roman Catholic perspective it, abortion devalues all human life. From an emotional and philosophical perspective, it puts all life at risk. For most American Catholics, the economy will be the central issue of determining their vote, just as economics drives their perspective on abortion and the defense of human life.
45. Renee from Ohio | 11.03.08
Obama addresses Planned Parenthood and his plans to institute the Freedom of Choice Act which will reinstate legality of partial birth abortions. Please inform yourselves, Catholic, Jew, Evangelical, Protestant. Don’t be fooled my Obama’s rhetoric of being “moderate”.
46. Tikki | 11.03.08
I think a disclaimer is in order before I proceed. I AM PRO-Life! There are a number of problems with bishops wading into the political arena to dispense advice to the flock on how to vote. Let me say this with the little knowledge I have. The Bible does not implicitly address the issue of when life begins. In my little research, only eastern philosophy and thought seem to address this issue of when the soul enters the body. However, I will make the argument that life begins when the heart starts to beat. In the bible, it is said that God created man in his own image and then breathed the breath of “life” into him. That to me is the beginning of life. From that, one can make the inference that until a fetus has a heart that starts to beat, it is not yet a person. It is still in the formation process just like when God was creating man! I will leave that as such.
However, we have to understand the role of government and law makers in the governance. As a law maker, your only responsibility is to pass laws that generate the least social unrest especially in a pluralistic society as ours. If you try to impose your perception and interpretation of “natural law” then you go against the very tenets and purpose of democracy. If we do that then we are no better than the Taliban. Their rule in Afghanistan was based on their interpretation of natural law as prescribed by the Koran.
Secondly, the state has no jurisdiction on an unborn child. That child only becomes a ward of the state after birth. Prior to that, that fetus is the responsibility of the mother.
Anyone who engages in abortion will have to answer to their God. It is part of what makes us human. Choice! Free will if you may call it that.
47. Stanley D | 11.03.08
I have a hard time understanding the ‘christian right’ in the US. As christians, they voted in a president and party who has taken the US into a pre-emptive war against Iraq, based on lies leading to deaths of hundreds of thousands. Who have put through economic policies that have made the rich richer and the middle class poorer. Who have given tax relief to the top 10% by borrowing money from China. Who have grown the government massively under their tenure, while lying having said they’d do the opposite. Who have knowingly and purposefully engaged the US government in torture and imprisonment of ‘war criminals’ without trial or access to a transparent or fair legal process, and who have killed hundreds via the death penalty in the US in the name of justice. How can a christain vote for a party that behaves and acts this way? I do not understand. I do not understand how the mere fact that the republicans hold a pro-life position can possibly negate all the other evils the republican party has engaged in in the last 8 years. It seems to me that Bush and Palin represent the epitome of this paradox, as vocal christians who would rather fight for the right to carry a gun, keep the country at war, and torture ‘enemies’ of america than fight for government assistance for the poor and develop a working health care system that captures the 80 million or so without coverage. I do not understand.
48. Larry (California) | 11.03.08
John Q - I’m not sure how to take your phrase, “just a black kid”. Care to clarify?
49. Concerned American | 11.03.08
Intrinsic Evil = The thought that it is personal to have abortions and uthanize the old because they are unwanted and have no value. As Catholics we must believe that all humans have some value or our whole society is at risk. Socialist values have always started with the good of human kind, but humans have always used evil to corrupt these values. Take a good look at the US society; family values, greed in corporations, lack of respect toward women. I can now look at Pornography, have sex with a women I met 5 min ago, without any reprocussions. I can have a doctor remove life support because we deem that a life is not worth the cost associated with its preservation. I can pay a worker low wages and then fire them at will so my stockholders make an extra .10 cents. All issues revolve around the value of a human life.
50. George Schiller | 11.03.08
Recently, I chose to protest a Catholic Mass by leaving early because the priest’s sermon dealt with abortion. He went on to say that we should vote for the person opposed to abortion! The great thing is, of course, that no matter who becomes our next President, the Catholic Church will continue to be able to take this stand because our great First Amendment allows men and women who preach to say whatever they wish without fear of recrimination. I am disappointed that my church will cherry-pick this one issue, which to them is black and white, instead of having a dialogue with its members and other faiths about all deaths that occur as a result of starvation, genocide,disease or civilian and military deaths in just and unjust wars. I must ask, “Which is the more vile way to die—-of starvation or as an unborn fetus?” I know where my vote would go, but at least let us engage in the discussion.
51. Steve (Massachusetts) | 11.03.08
I am morally against abortion except in specific cases. First of all, I do not believe that the Gov should dictate by law what a woman can or cannot do w/ her body. For example, if a woman/girl becomes pregnant regardless of being married or not and her doctor explains to her that her life is in serious danger should she continue to carry the fetus - who would agree to have their (wife, daughter, mother, friend) take such a chance? And even if someday, the law is passed to prohibit abortion, women and more so, young girls will find other means potenially killing themselves by bleeding to death. I hope that the Church understand the fact that this is nothing new and there are always conflicting circumstances.
52. catholic prof for obama | 11.03.08
I am a life-long Catholic voting for Obama/Biden. Thank god i attended a Jesuit University where i was trained in theology - and taught how to think through complex moral issues. I am certain that my conscience is guiding me in the right direction - pro-life should be at the center of our mission - but this means respect for life across the board. I will continue to do my part to discourage abortion - but i know that the Republican party that some in the Catholic church advocate we support is neither effectively reducing abortion - nor has does it reflect the central tenets of Catholic social teaching on poverty, war, economics (remember the Conference of Catholic Bishops letter on the American economy), environment, the death penalty etc. (the central campaign issue for Sen. McCain has become taxes. How is this reason enough to support this candidate - he has actually at times forgotten his position what his position on abortion is when asked by the press (see You Tube interviews0. Are they (Denver Bishop/Omaha Bishop etc) seriously certain that supporting President Bush in the past two elections has done anything at all to advance the cause of pro-life? How many children have still perished, how many inmates executed, how many innocent Iraquis dead?
Ana-Maria
53. John Q Dallas | 11.03.08
Larry - (re: Posts #44 & 45) Just one of the Boyz n the Hood. National media doesn’t care, prosecutors don’t care and quite frankly, it appears you don’t care. You only care that someone may be making a racist comment. In the last five years, five white women in Texas have been prosecuted in capital murder cases for killing their white kids. In Dallas, they could care less who did it this time. The proximity to the time for legally terminating the kid’s life is so close, that it gives pause to wonder whether that had any bearing on the decision to let it go. I also question whether race had a role, whether it was “just” a black “aged” fetus. As it is, inexperienced and drugged out (etc) doctors can be seen at abortion clinics allowing partial birth “fetuses” starve to death after botching the termination. So what’s a couple months or so??
54. joshj | 11.07.08
I believe that God will get us through this difficult time…neither candidate can make much change…there is nothing America can do in this harsh time and personally i think we are drawing closer to the end. I pray that this nation will last a little longer. “Hail Mary full of grace the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary Mother of God pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death amen”
55. T | 11.09.08
Let’s all face facts. Abortion is not something that any woman wishes to do unless they feel it’s a dire circumstance. However, there ARE instances when abortion is an appropriate choice, like so many others have said. It could be a rape case, or the mother’s life could be at stake and then who’s to decide one life’s value over another? Do you choose the one who already has an established life/job/husband/friends/goals and dreams? Or do you choose the one who knows NOTHING outside of another person’s body?
Secondly, I strongly believe that it IS NOT a man’s right to have any say in this abortion issue. It is not the man’s body or emotions that are at stake here, so their opinion should not be allowed to be the voice for the thousands of women in that situation.
And who are McCain/Palin (and countless others) kidding with their abstinence only sex education programs? Have either of them been 16 before? There are natural human urges and desires that come with growing up, and it is every human’s right to have access to education on all ends of the spectrum. And who really believes that by just telling kids that not having sex is the best form of birth control is going to stop teen pregnancy? If anything, it will increase it (as well as STDs and HIV/AIDS), and if these people are too ignorant to see that, it is for the best that they are not in power.
Finally, no matter what religion you practice, I do not understand how you can believe that your “God” will accept banning a woman’s RIGHT to choose what happens to her own body.
56. Fr. Larry Gearhart | 11.10.08
Anyone who understands the purpose of public law and the value of human life cannot, in good conscience, vote for a pro-choice politician. People who argue that the human fetus does not deserve the protection of law do not believe in the transcendent value of the human person. People who believe pregnant women in untenable situations should not be penalized for procuring abortions, or that doctors who perform abortions on such women, do not deserve legal penalties do not understand what the law is for or do not believe that abortion is murder.
Not to believe in the transcendent value of the human person is to fail to believe in a core Catholic belief. It’s just as important to believe in this as it is to believe in the Trinity.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand the purpose of law. To argue that sanctions against murder are optional matters of law, or that the decision to support a candidate who is opposed to such law is a prudential matter is like arguing that the requirement to use the laws of arithmetic in accounting is a matter of prudential judgment.
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1. Steve | 10.29.08
I don’t like the church covering up their pedophile priest problems, then going and telling us how to vote. Get your own house in order and lead by example. Also, like the voters, they need to look beyond one single issue and see who offers the overall best path.