Catholics can claim that all they want, but until a year ago, every Catholic I knew, ie, was related to and worked with, voted dem, and they are what you all would call faithfully practicing Catholics. Very active in their parishes, attending mass EVERY Sunday, without fail, and then some besides for the holy days.
When asked why they voted dem when the democratic party was pro-abortion, the answer was the same, both thirty years ago and today with the Catholic neighbor I talked with, it's because the dems are *for the poor*. Almost word for word the same answer, decades apart and in a different locale.
Somehow catholics fail to see that the mandate to care for the poor is for the CHURCH, given to followers of Christ. It's not something to be foisted off on to the government. That does not fulfill the individual Christian's obligation to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, and care for the poor.
You can't vote or legislate away your responsibility.
Conservative Catholics can claim all they want that anyone calling themselves Catholic who votes liberal isn't REALLY a Catholic, but their argument isn't with those of us who point out the error in that claim, it's with the practicing Catholics who vote liberal.
Take it up with THEM. THEY'RE the ones practicing their religion and considering themselves *good Catholics* because they are *helping* the poor by assigning the job to the government.
Amen to post #28! That is the biggest problem with the church, IMHO, that they teach that the rich are evil and the government needs to steal their money and give to the poor. Christ taught that WE are supposed to feed and clothe the poor. Pointing the way to the welfare office is not doing God’s work. I think the Jesuits are responsible for this travesty. Any commie country that you hear about priests and nuns dieing is usually Jesuits running guns to the commie rebels and getting caught. It seems they want to be activists for the left more than they want to serve Christ.
My wife is catholic,her two sisters are,her brother is, and so is her 78 year old mother. Not a one voted for Obama.
The vast majority of the practicing Catholics I know vote Republican. (Unfortunately, I also know of some who wouldn't vote for Romney because they didn't view him as conservative enough - an opinion shared by some voters here on this forum.) IMHO, it has more to do with location: The northeast tends to vote Dem, and many Catholics live in the northeast.
Conservative Catholics can claim all they want that anyone calling themselves Catholic who votes liberal isn't REALLY a Catholic,
Catholics who vote GOP and Catholics who vote Dem are both Catholics. However, here's a factor to consider: Cradle Catholics tend to continue to self-identify as Catholic even when they no longer practice the faith. So, these exit polls may be lumping everyone together, including people who were raised Catholic but really no longer are practicing - they're secular. The real Catholic vote is reflected in those who attend Mass regularly (weekly), as we're obligated to do, and reportedly the majority of that group voted for Romney. This study is being challenged, and I don't know how accurate it is, but the numbers are at this link.