Opinion: Is there a ‘Catholic Vote’? Will Catholics Decide this Election?

Catholic Online ^ | 10/31/08 | Deacon Keith Fournier

[tcg]

Make no mistake; those who say that a Catholic with a truly formed conscience can choose to vote for such a candidate when an alternative is available - who acknowledges the right to life, opposes Roe v Wade and refuses to sign the Freedom of Choice Act - are wrong. When they tell Catholics that such a choice is a proper interpretation of Catholic Moral teaching they must be exposed and opposed. I cannot and will not vote for a candidate who fails to recognize the very ground of all fundamental human rights, the right to life. In this election, that candidate talks a lot about the poor but then selectively hears the cry of only some of them. He stops his ears to the cry of the ones whom Blessed Mother Theresa called the “poorest of the poor”, children in the womb. Every issue of human rights is a “moral issue”. Catholic teachers of constitutional Law are not the moral teachers of our Church. That is particularly obvious when their analysis is so clearly in error. The moral teachers of our Catholic Church are our Bishops, in union with Pope.

Is there a ‘Catholic Vote’? Will it Turn this election? Well, as to the first question, not in the way in which there needs to be in the future. However, as to the second question, if every Catholic who knows the truth concerning the humanity of our first neighbors in the womb votes in a manner consistent with the moral duty that such a knowledge brings with it - by rejecting the candidate who refuses to recognize their right to life and who will set back efforts to protect them - then Catholics will decide this election. We will all know very soon.

[GBA]

I can understand how anyone can fall out from the Church, but I can't understand how the Church itself can fall from Scripture. I'm told that the Church leaders want to maintain their congregations and that it's more important to stay mainstream and relevant and keep the pews full than it is to strictly adhere to Principles and thus run people off. If people aren't in Church, then they can't be reached and their ways can't be guided and corrected.

To me, it sounds like the rot runs deep, that in too many cases, the Churches have become political, not spiritual. How else can someone like Pelosi or Biden be considered good Catholics and receive Communion? It must be all that money and fame they bring to their Parishes. What is the price of a soul or the soul of the Church itself? I wonder what Jesus would say.

[Salvation]

Today's First Readings at Mass -- October 30, 2008.  Words in blue are explained below.

 

Reading 1
Eph 6:10-20

Brothers and sisters:
Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.
Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm
against the tactics of the Devil.
For our struggle is not with flesh and blood
but with the principalities, with the powers,
with the world rulers of this present darkness,
with the evil spirits in the heavens. Principalities, powers, darkness, evil spirits all refer to fallen angels or to the devil.
Therefore, put on the armor of God, armor=belief
that you may be able to resist on the evil day evil day=election day
and, having done everything, to hold your ground.
So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, while voting
clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,
and your feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace.
In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield,
to quench all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. who wants us to be voting for abortion
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God. the Bible

With all prayer and supplication,
pray at every opportunity in the Spirit.
To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication
for all the holy ones and also for me, Pray for the innocent babies
that speech may be given me to open my mouth,
to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel
for which I am an ambassador in chains, Are each of us an ambassador as St. Paul was?
so that I may have the courage to speak as I must.

 

 

I was the reader at Daily Mass today and all these thoughts (in blue) went flashing through my mind as I prepared for proclaiming this reading.  Any thoughts?

 

Pray for the candidates that support life -- McCain-Palin

[Salvation]

Guess you haven't seen this. 100 out of 197 bishops and counting.

Over 100 Bishops Have Spoken Out on Priority of Life Issues
Posted on October 28, 2008, 11:59 AM | Deal W. Hudson

The list of U. S. bishops who have spoken out on the priority of the life issues in this election is now over 100. The list now contains 70 individual bishops and three joint statements.

I would like to continue updating this list until the day of the election. I have tried to incorporate all the comments thus far. If I dd not get them all, I apologize. (For a few of the suggestions, I could not find a suitable link.)

Please continue using the comments section to let us know what bishop is not on this list who should be. This would include any bishop who has individually, or jointly, published a statement about this election pointing out the primacy of the life issues.

Thank you for your help.

1. Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver

2. Bishop James Conley, auxiliary of Denver

3. Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C.

4. Justin Cardinal Rigali of Philadelphia, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities

5. Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, chairman of the Committee on Doctrine

6. Edward Cardinal Egan of New York

7. Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo

8. Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh

9. Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs

10. Archbishop Jose Gomez of San Antonio

11. Bishop Oscar Cantu, auxiliary of San Antonio

12. Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre

13. Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa

14. Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas

15. Bishop Gregory Aymond of Austin

16. Sean Cardinal O'Malley of Boston

17. Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando

18. Archbishop John Nienstedt of Saint Paul/Minneapolis

19. Francis Cardinal George of Chicago, President of the USCCB

20. Bishop Robert Vasa of Baker

21. Bishop Jerome Listecki of La Crosse

22. Bishop Richard Lennon of Cleveland

23. Bishop Ralph Nickless of Sioux City

24. Archbishop George Niederauer of San Francisco

25. Bishop Glen Provost of Lake Charles, LA

26. Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn

27. Bishop Joseph F. Martino of Scranton

28. Archbishop Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura

30. Bishop Peter J. Jugis of Charlotte

31. Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Raleigh

32. Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, KS

33. Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, MO

34. Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison, WS
35. Bishop Ronald Gilmore of Dodge City, KS
36. Bishop Paul Coakley of Salina, KS
37. Bishop Michael Jackels of Wichita
38. Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito of Palm Beach
39. Bishop Kevin W. Vann of Fort Worth

40. Bishop Rene H. Gracida, retired, of Corpus Christi

41. Daniel Cardinal DiNardo of Houston

42. Bishop Paul S. Loverde of Arlington

43. Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo of Richmond

44. Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Center

45. Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester

46. Bishop Arthur Serratelli of Patterson

47. Bishop Robert Herrmann of St. Louis

48. Archbishop Edwin O'Brien of Baltimore

49. Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix

50. Bishop Thomas D. Doran of Rockford

51. Bishop Joseph A. Galante of Camden

52. Bishop Robert J. Baker of Birmingham

53. Archbishop Alexander J. Brunett of Seattle

54. Bishop J. Peter Sartain of Joliet

55. Bishop John M. Smith of Trenton

56. Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing

57. Bishop Leonard R. Blair of Toledo

58. Bishop Frances J. Dewane of Venice

59. Bishop W. Frances Malooly of Wilmington

60. Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison

61. Bishop John Yanta , retired, of Amarillo

62. Bishop James V. Johnston of Springfield-Cape Girardeau

63. Archbishop John Vlazny of Portland

64. Bishop Blase J. Cupich of Rapid City

65. Bishop Lawrence Brandt of Greensburg

66. Bishop Dennis M. Schnurr of Cincinatti

67. Bishop Larry Silva of Honolulu

68. Bishop Paul Swain of Sioux Falls

69. Bishop Michael J. Sheehan of Santa Fe

70. Bishop Eusebius Beltran of Oklahoma City

71. Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Harrisburg

72. Joint Statement by the bishops of New York State (22 bishops)

73. Joint Statement by the bishops of Pennsylvania (16 bishops)

74. Joint Statement by the bishops of Kansas (4 bishops)

75. Joint Statement by the bishops of Florida (9 bishops)

 

http://www.prolifeblogs.com/articles/aggregator.php?entry=606961

[adc]

“It won’t be decided so much by who votes but rather how they vote, with their eyes open or closed.”

Unless some of those with their eyes closed to the very literal vision of what happens to these babies, see the video done by Eduardo Verastegui, they can put the issue away in the back of their minds and disregard it at the polls.

I think it’s only the viewing of this video, http://www.durarealidad.com/
that will make a difference, especially with younger voters, who want to be part of the hip ticket, and for whom the economic issues are not of uppermost importance. They have to reached on a purely emotional level, and it’s not too late. We can reach many, many of these voters in 4 days. Once seen, it can never be forgotten, or put on a shelf.

PLEASE, PLEASE post this video, wherever you think young voters will see it, FACEBOOK, etc. This is our only chance to reach those hearts that are going to vote Obama.

[taildragger]

I have been saying this for months if not longer...

I got to see Schumer and Emanuel bragging on TV about how they took back the House and Senate with a sweep from PA westward. My guess is by looking at the map of Catholic Voters, they picked of disenfranchised (or liberation theology) Catholics in regards to the war. My gut feel is they do not trust Obamee and his inexperience and Sarah's Example of embracing life might just ring home with them.

[hunter112]

Unfortunately, there are very many muddle-minded Catholics out there. I speak from experience, I'm referring to my own parents.

I should use the term "adoptive parents" since that's what they are. If abortion had been legal fifty plus years ago, they would not have been able to adopt me, and later, another baby that became my brother. So, it's not like they don't know what abortion means.

They're churchgoing (well, until Dad's Parkinson's got too bad), and as religious as any Catholics I know, but they've been drinking Obama's kool-ade ever since he appeared on the cover of Time magazine for the first time. Fortunately, they live in WA, which is never a swing state, and they cannot do any electoral harm there.

[adc]

I’ve never seen such a detailed state breakdown of the Catholic vote. Interesting that such a large number of the states where Catholics show higher percentages are the states which the campaign has thrown under. Specifically, NYNJCTMA, etc.

I think it’s because they have miscalulated the campaign issue that is the only one Obama could be beaten on. The Moral one. This country is a faithful country, but, instead we all all so focused on the economy, (thanks to he pollsters and the MSM, and maybe Rove as well), that we have missed the forest for the trees. JMO