| The Compassionate President |
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Posted on 10/27/2004 7:58:17 AM PDT by My Favorite Headache
The more Catholics know, the clearer the choice to vote Bush By BRIAN P. GOLDEN Guest Commentary
IN 1856, an American Catholic heading for the polls faced a no-brainer: Whatever you do, don’t cast your ballot for the Know Nothing Party.
The “know nothings” were part of the thriving Nativist movement, driven by anti-Catholicism and fear of immigration. Their platform promised, “war to the hilt, on political Romanism” and “hostility to all Papal influences.” As a Democratic legislator from Boston, who is also a Catholic, the following fact is especially troubling to me: By 1855, the governor of Massachusetts and all but two representatives in the Commonwealth’s House were Know Nothings.
Fortunately for Catholics and immigrants, the Know Nothing candidate, former President Millard Fillmore, was soundly defeated. In succeeding Presidential elections, Catholics traded their allegiances between the parties. When considering core values issues, the choice for Catholics has not always been clear. But this year is a dramatic exception.
The Democrats offer Sen. John Kerry, a professed Catholic. You may have heard that Kerry’s own Democratic colleagues, by some creative measure, call him the “most Catholic” senator. That’s like calling Tony Soprano a devout Catholic because he shows up at Mass most Sundays and throws some bills in the collection plate. Catholics know better.
For 20 years, on matters most fundamental to Catholics, Kerry has been consistently wrong. Kerry was one of only 14 senators to vote against the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. This year, he opposed the federal marriage amendment, which would give the American people a voice in the definition of marriage, rather than leave it to the whims of activist judges like those in Massachusetts. Kerry has even castigated church leaders for weighing-in on the marriage issue, calling it “inappropriate” and a breach of the “separation of church and state.”
In his first Senate campaign, Kerry promised that he would vote against “any restrictions on age, consent, funding restrictions, or any law to limit access to abortion.” That’s a promise he’s kept. He is among the most fervent supporters of abortion in the Senate, repeatedly voting for taxpayer funding of abortions, against parental notification for a minor’s abortion, and against a ban on partial birth abortion. He voted against the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which treats a violent crime against a pregnant woman as a crime against two people—the unborn and the mother. Even in Massachusetts, Kerry’s positions are far from the mainstream.
Kerry is the first Presidential candidate ever to receive the endorsement of Planned Parenthood. The group described electing Kerry as “crucial to preserving access to abortion.” To show his thanks, Kerry pledged to nominate to the Supreme Court “only supporters of abortion rights.”
Despite this record, Kerry states that he personally disapproves of abortion — even that “life begins at conception” — but that this is simply an “article of faith” for him, which he would not impose on others. Catholics with a little catechism and logic know better. They know that life is a basic human right, trumping all others, and that we must protect it through humane public policy. Kerry rejects this fundamental value, and his frequent declaration that he “was an altar boy” is not enough to dispel Catholics’ concerns.
In contrast, President Bush speaks of supporting the “culture of life” — the call to “uphold and affirm the dignity of every person, rich and poor, able and disabled, born and unborn” — and he has backed his words with action.
In 1960, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts inspired many first, second, and third generation Catholic immigrants. John Kennedy’s election was a final blow to the Know Nothings and their descendants. But, in those days, while Democrats and Republicans were debating the general direction of the nation, there was broad consensus on the central cultural issues. Now that the consensus has vanished, we must choose carefully. And while our faith should not direct our choice, it should certainly inform our choice.
This year, with another Democratic senator from Massachusetts running for President, many more Catholics will be avoiding the Democratic lever because the Democratic nominee shows little regard for what matters most to Catholics. This year, the more Catholics know, the clearer the choice becomes.
Brian P. Golden is a three-term Democrat representing Boston in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He is a major in the Army Reserves and served on active duty with the U.S. peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and at the Pentagon during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
But aren't most Catholics as nominal as Kerry is? Isn't this a situation that's similar to the huge number of Jews who vote for Kerry even though he's anti-Israel? I don't count on Kerry's liberalism to drive away Catholic votes.
Amen!!!!
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These pictures tell the story of a truly comappsionate president. God Bless George W Bush and our beloved troops!!!
You highlighted the correct words.
I Pray I Voted and Bush wins Oregon 2004!
AMEN!!!!
Excuse me, Tony Soprano is far more Catholic than John Kerry.
"This is *MY* bishop" ping :)
The multitude of Kennedy-loving CINOs in New England will doubtless give this piece all of 1.5 seconds attention.
There are many who call themselves Catholic because their parents or grandparents were Catholic and who are also pro abortion and favor embryonic stem cell research, cloning and euthanasia and generally oppose the culture of life. Those people are not Catholic...no matter what they say.
Great photos, thanks.
"Abort a baby, save a whale." The enviro socialist cry.
I may not always agree with the Catholic CHurch but I don't think it's for me to tell them to change, I'm free to change denominations anytime I want.
Any pix of Lurch with Pope John Paul II? Nope, didn't think so. Just pictures of Lurch with commies.
Yeah, let's not besmirch the name of an "honest" crook, by comparing him to John Kerry.
A CATHOLIC VOTER’S GUIDE -
THE FIVE NON-NEGOTIABLE ISSUES
These five current issues concern actions that are intrinsically evil and must never be promoted by the law. Intrinsically evil actions are those which fundamentally conflict with the moral law and can never be deliberately performed under any circumstances. It is a serious sin to deliberately endorse or promote any of these actions, and no candidate who really wants to advance the common good will support any action contrary to the non-negotiable principles involved in these issues.
1. Abortion
The Church teaches that, regarding a law permitting abortions, it is "never licit to obey it, or to take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or to vote for it" (EV 73). Abortion is the intentional and direct killing of an innocent human being, and therefore it is a form of homicide.
The unborn child is always an innocent party, and no law may permit the taking of his life. Even when a child is conceived through rape or incest, the fault is not the child's, who should not suffer death for others' sins.
2. Euthanasia
Often disguised by the name "mercy killing," euthanasia also is a form of homicide. No person has a right to take his own life, and no one has the right to take the life of any innocent person.
In euthanasia, the ill or elderly are killed, by action or omission, out of a misplaced sense of compassion, but true compassion cannot include intentionally doing something intrinsically evil to another person (cf. EV 73).
3. Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Human embryos are human beings. "Respect for the dignity of the human being excludes all experimental manipulation or exploitation of the human embryo" (CRF 4b).
Recent scientific advances show that often medical treatments that researchers hope to develop from experimentation on embryonic stem cells can be developed by using adult stem cells instead. Adult stem cells can be obtained without doing harm to the adults from whom they come. Thus there is no valid medical argument in favor of using embryonic stem cells. And even if there were benefits to be had from such experiments, they would not justify destroying innocent embryonic humans.
4. Human Cloning
"Attempts . . . for obtaining a human being without any connection with sexuality through 'twin fission,' cloning, or parthenogenesis are to be considered contrary to the moral law, since they are in opposition to the dignity both of human procreation and of the conjugal union" (RHL I:6).
Human cloning also involves abortion because the "rejected" or "unsuccessful" embryonic clones are destroyed, yet each clone is a human being.
5. Homosexual "Marriage"
True marriage is the union of one man and one woman. Legal recognition of any other union as "marriage" undermines true marriage, and legal recognition of homosexual unions actually does homosexual persons a disfavor by encouraging them to persist in what is an objectively immoral arrangement.
"When legislation in favor of the recognition of homosexual unions is proposed for the first time in a legislative assembly, the Catholic lawmaker has a moral duty to express his opposition clearly and publicly and to vote against it. To vote in favor of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral" (UHP 10).
ABBREVIATIONS
CCC Catechism of the Catholic Church
CPL Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Doctrinal Notes on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life
CRF Pontifical Council for the Family, Charter of the Rights of the Family
EV John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life)
RHL Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction on Respect for Human Life in Its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation
UHP Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Considerations regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions between Homosexual Persons
Catholic Ping - let me know if you want on/off this list
There are 60 million self-identified practicing Catholics in the United States. I myself am Catholic and know Catholics of varying degrees of faithfulness. Never in my life have I met a practicing (i.e. Mass at least once a week) Catholic who thought abortion was ok. It did not always translate into a pro-life vote, but still there was never approval of a pro-abortion position - but then I've never met Mario Cuomo.
This election has a different feel for Catholics and I'm not sure why. It may be that Kerry calls himself a Catholic. It may be that pro-lifers have gotten better at getting their message out. But this election, there are NO practicing Catholics openly admitting that they are supporting Kerry. That is a HUGE change.
BTW, it helps if you give the rest of us a clue as to where "The Union Leader" comes from.
Name of the city would be sufficient.
Catholics in name only (CINO) might want to weigh risk of damning their soul to hell for eternity with their support for Kerry. Cardinal Ratzinger, the Pope's right hand man is saying that a Catholic who votes for a pro-abort candidate is in formal cooperation with evil. This ought to cause the most ardent supporter of Kerry to take pause.
Simply click on the link.
Manchester NH
http://www.theunionleader.com/
I can't blame anyone for drawing negative conclusions about MA. It is easy to do from the outside. Inside though it is more like a prison where a few guards control a larger population through a system of controls. As a lifelong Bostonian I can tell you that this article reflects the true attitudes of many people in MA.
Kerry can call himself a Catholic ..
But he is not a Catholic in good standing
I guess I am what you would call a CINO since I haven't attended mass in months, haven't made confession in years (and only twice, so far, my whole life), and at 36, I haven't had confirmation. My Catholic practices got diluted when I became a Baptist in my teenage years although I "went back" to Catholicism in my twenties.
But, in spite of my being a non-practicing Catholic, I understand that the issue of abortion is very much a core belief. A big no-no (to all Christians, right?). And that's why, I think, that somebody like Kerry who is a regular churchgoer but does not think that abortion should be prevented is a big HYPOCHRITE. Somebody who doesn't make a stand for his core belief because he is not driven by conviction but by ambition. Either that or he really does not share the Catholic core beliefs, in which case, all those churchgoing that he does every Sunday is only a show.
Got it. Thanks to all who answered this non-Catholic's query. I just hope people aren't assuming that CINOs are going to turn out in droves to vote as if they were tuned-in, practicing Catholics. But it sounds like you're saying that *anyone* who can't stand Kerry's *hypocrisy* will dislike him. (I know I do.) God knows I can be a hypocrite at times too, but not like this. I don't wish to be judgmental, but wow, this guy is a poseur if there ever was one.
It's not just the Catholics. Take it from an old-time Democrat whose family has deep, deep roots in the party. The old Democrat party, whatever you thought of it, is GONE!!! i have ancestors who were Democrat politicians who are now probably spinning in their graves - not because I changed (thank, you, Bill Clinton, you made me see the light) but because of what his party has become. The FDR coalition is no more. The Reagan coalition is what will win.
This is as good a place as any to rant about the left's compalaints about "the power of the Christian Coalition," "right-wing religious types in politics," etc. The reason we NEED to inject "conservative religious values" into politics is as a reaction to secular liberals trying to remove fundamental understandings about society which were never questioned in the old days. Show me JFK's pro-abortion statements, or Hubert Humphrey's defense of same-sex marriage? See what I mean? When you challenge or try to everturn entrenced views about society, there will be a reaction. And hijacking the language and the logic of the civil rights movement (supported by Republicans more than Democrats) doesn't resolve or even address the issue.
Another rant of mine . . .
I had the pleasure of knowing Brian Golden (we were friends years ago) and can tell you he really is a stand up, principled guy. He has great integrity. I am sorry I lost contact with him. I have read he was the only Democrat north of the Mason Dixon line to endorse Bush in the last election, and I seem to recall him chairing a committee of Democrats for Bush or something like that....
Was there ever a question......
About a month ago I saw a guy in Massachusetts going to Saturday evening Mass in shorts. Why bother? Wrong clothes, wrong day, wrong attitude. Likely Kerry voter.
His constant pronouncements of being Catholic make my skin crawl.
You're a Republican and unfamiliar with the Union-Leader? Let's see your ID!
The Manchester, N.H., Union Leader was once the most Republican newspaper in the country and featured some of the most revealing stories about Democrats anywhere. Now, I'd say that title goes to the Washington Times, among MSM newspapers, if it's considered part of MSM.
The Union Leader is not as conservative since the publisher died a few years (decades) ago. But it was an article in the Union Leader in early 1972 that caused leading Democrat candidate Ed Muskie to hire a flatbed truck that he parked outside the newspaper while he gave a speech attacking the paper's rumors about his wife. During the speech, Muskie broke down crying, ending his chances of being elected.
This is the kind of old-school Democrat that people from out of state don't know about.
This article shows that there is good news to be found in between some of the doom and gloom.
The one's around FR aren't. If you frequent the religion posts you will find they are very devout. Problem is so many Catholics are being lied to by the media etc. and Kerry himself. (I should say I am not a Catholic)
Please forgive me if this sounds rude, but if John Kerry is Catholic, then I know a whole lot of Protestants who are just as Catholic as Kerry is. He just hasn't changed the name of his denomination.
Please forgive me if this sounds rude, but if John Kerry is Catholic, then I know a whole lot of Protestants who are just as Catholic as Kerry is. He just hasn't changed the name of his denomination.
If this double-posts, my apologies. My computer seems to want to do this a lot lately. I guess it's getting a little old!
Yes, MOST Catholics are Cafeteria Catholics like kerry. PRACTICING Catholics are not the Kerry type Catholics. We take our religion seriously and try tokeep it's Commandments and Church laws.
BTTT
I understand, but calling him Protestant would be a stretch too, IMHO. :-)
But aren't most Catholics as nominal as Kerry is?
Are you disdainful of all religions, or do you have a particular issue with the Catholic Church?
Oh, and, in answer to your question, try NO.
Yes, he trashes the name of Christianity in general. I have never understood how he felt he could get away with calling Vietnam Vets "baby-killers" yet supports every piece of legislation that does exactly that! He's one of the biggest hypocrites of all time!
Sorry if my question gave offense. I grew up in a town that was mostly Catholic (I am not one, but I am a Christian). My experience has been that most of the folks I knew while growing up were calling themselves Catholic but not taking the teachings of the Chruch very seriously. And they supported the Democrats more often than not, too. I know that there are a good many serious, practicing Catholics, and no doubt you are one of them. But as I said in another post, I don't expect huge numbers of CINOs (Catholics in name only) to turn out for Bush just because Kerry isn't much of a practicing Catholic. I hope I'm wrong. Again, sorry if my question gave offense.
In 48, please excuse my typographical error. The spelling, of course, is Church.
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