Posted on 11/15/2009 6:28:02 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
An oft-quoted non-scientific poll.
Pius XII’s quote which you cited beat the reds in the 1948 election.
Dems may lose Catholics over abortion
You will never see this headline: “Dems may lose Protestants over abortion
The Dims have already lost the Evangelicals over abortion and other Social Issues. They voted more heavily Reublican than any other group in 2008. The majority of Catholics voted for Obama so get down off your high horse.
Baloney!
I am not a cradle Catholic, I am one of thousands of adults who felt God’s pull in our lives leading us to join the Catholic Church.
When I joined RCIA I was matched with a sponsor who was very open in her beliefs on abortion, the death penalty and politics. I learned almost immediately that she was a staunch Democrat and pro-choice.
When I questioned how, as a cradle Catholic she could be pro-choice she informed me that the Catholic Church did not teach that abortion was a sin!!! I gave up arguing with her when each time I presented her evidence that her contentions were false I was told she knew what she was talking about, she had grown up in the Church and knew what was right.
After I was fully brought into the Church, the director of RCIA contacted me to ask my opinion of my sponsor. The director was trying to decide if if my sponsor would be asked to sponsor another RCIA member the following year.
I was very honest and told our director that I did not feel my sponsor was an appropriate choice. I was shocked to hear the director agreed with me. She had specifically picked me to match with my sponsor. My RCIA director and I had spoken at length about my beliefs, what I’d studied about the Church and my faith in general; she felt I was strong enough and knowledgeable enough to handle a sponsor who was not providing a RCIA candidate with the true teachings of the Church.
While I was flattered that my RCIA director knew I already had a good foundation, it did bother me that she would allow a person who was so clearly against the teaching of the Church to have any influence with a new Catholic.
Since that time I have met many cradle Catholics who are pro-choice. Some openly state the Church is wrong on the issue while others claim the Church does not teach abortion is a sin.
Having not grown up in the Church I can not put my finger on where this idea comes from that the Church is accepting of abortion. I will say I have yet to speak to a person who choose as an adult to become Catholic who is not fully aware the Church is completely pro-life.
During Catechism classes and other Church activities I have brought up this problem. Some place the blame on Vatican II. Some on the lack of Catholic education. Others place the blame directly at priests who do not preach the evils of abortion from the pulpit. I do not know where this disconnect originates from; I do know it is a situation that must be corrected not only for our Church but for the souls of Catholics who have this mistaken belief.
I pray our Bishops will begin to look at the Abortion issue closer and begin to require additional teaching to Catholics of all ages the Churches pro-life position. I also pray our Bishops will begin to admonish, punish and even excommunicate Catholics who live their lives in mortal sin by supporting abortion in deed and in word.
To me there is no difference between an abortion doctor and a person who through their vote, support or contribution allow that doctor to kill babies. Both to me are mortal sins and neither side is less guilty.
The Church should not tell us who we can vote for or what party to support, however She must take the lead in teaching Catholics that supporting politicians and political parties that are fully pro-choice is the same as supporting or performing abortions themselves.
How can we as Catholics begin a change in our Church? How do we convince the 48% of Catholics that voted for the most pro-abortion politician in US history to repent of their sin and stop supporting and aiding those who are murdering 50,000 infants a year?
I must admit to feeling physically sick when I consider the number of my brother and sister Catholics who contribute to keeping pro-abortion politicians in power. My revulsion increases when I look at openly Catholic politicians who have spent their political careers increasing the number and type of abortion in the country.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful testimony about your conversion trip.
**Some on the lack of Catholic education. Others place the blame directly at priests who do not preach the evils of abortion from the pulpit. **
I put the blame here. Vatican II has been misinterpreted by many. It never told Catholics that they could support abortion, euthanasia, contraception, etc.
Not possible. I know tons of Catholics who are and forever will be Dems. People just get brainwashed.
Yep, even just a few highly visible excommunications would have a dramatic effect on the laity’s perception of the seriousness of the problem. How would that come about, though? Who would have to initiate the process?
And yes, you are right. It does not take rocket science to see that abortion is a profound moral wrong, whether one is Baptist or Catholic or whatever. Like the old saying goes, there are none so blind as those who will not see.
No Way!
While the bishops rant over the evils of abortion, they and their USCCB staff do not walk the walk. The USCCB is staffed with extreme liberals, many of them former Democrat operatives. The USCCB guy who funded ACORN with millions is a former Minnesota Democrat Hubert Humphrey crony who dispised George Bush and would never support Bush's anti-abortion causes.
Most bishops come from Democrat backgrounds and just can't shake their roots. They rave about the evils of abortion, then dine and party with the Kennedys and Mikulskis, Bidens, Leahys, Pelosis, Daleys, and Kerrys.
And when these Democrat abortionists die, the bishops and cardinals are there to celebrate their funerals. Until these bishops actually speak out in toto against these Democrat practitioners of abortion, don't expect the faithful to stop voting for them.
As pro-life Catholics we must begin to organize, when we come from a position of strength with the truth on our side, we can slowly but surely push the Church into tackling the abortion issue head-on.
“53% of Catholic voters...”
As a Catholic, I am deeply ashamed and scandalized by this. This sort of thing must make our Blessed Lord want to weep.
So quote a better study already. That exit poll data is not perfect, but it will have an enduring impact on public perception until it is bested by a scientifically credible study.
I would assume that Bishops can begin excommunication proceedings against those in their dioceses.
A perfect test case would be Nancy Pelosi. It was only a year ago when she was brought in front of the Church and admonished for her pro-abortion position and work to assure abortion was funded and easily performed.
Even after her admonishment she publicly claimed that abortion WAS acceptable.
Her recent health care boondoggle was a gift to the abortion industry and as we all know, as was the plan from the beginning, Stupak will be stripped in the final bill.
Action taken against her would send shock-waves across the Church and would go a long way in teaching Catholics that they can either be Catholics or they can fight for abortion, they can’t have it both ways.
The majority of Catholics did not vote for Kerry, so I don’t know how you can blame them for that. I think there were later numbers showing that the 53% for Obama is wrong.
Great story Brytani. I had a pretty liberal RCIA teacher as well though my sponsor was not.
CINO will continue to be an apt description on many of our Catholic brothers and sisters for awhile unfortunately.
Great story Brytani. I had a pretty liberal RCIA teacher as well though my sponsor was not.
CINO will continue to be an apt description on many of our Catholic brothers and sisters for awhile unfortunately.
I hope you’re right!
“Baloney!”
What’s baloney?
“Baloney!”
What’s baloney?
(see below)
Poll: Obama Faith Rhetoric Worked, Evangelicals Vote Abortion Over Catholics
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
November 17, 2008
Email RSS Printer
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A new poll by a collection of religious groups that provided cover for Barack Obama’s pro-abortion groups say Obama’s faith rhetoric attracted both Catholic and evangelical voters. The poll also showed evangelicals based their vote on abortion in higher percentages than Catholic voters.
The Faith in Public Life poll, sponsored by Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and Sojourners, found only 21 percent of white evangelicals surveyed voted for Obama.
But nearly double that number — 39 percent — say he is “friendly” to religion and shares their values.
Obama’s rhetoric about his Christian values appeared to help secure a higher positive name ID than prior pro-abortion candidates.
Fifty-four percent of voters see Obama as friendly to religion while 58 percent felt the same way about McCain, and the four percentage point split is much closer than the splits for the Bush-Kerry and Bush-Gore contests.
Obama’s numbers represent a 15-point improvement over his party’s numbers, with evangelicals saying the Democratic Party is friendly to religion on only a 39 percentage point margin.
The poll also found a concern for the pro-life movement about the need to re-emphasize the importance of abortion to evangelical and Catholic voters.
Some 21 percent of evangelicals and 12 percent of Catholics said putting emphasis on abortion reflected their values, while 18 percent of evangelicals and 32 percent of Catholics want to see more emphasis on issues like poverty and the environment.
The rest of the voters interviewed thought all of the issues should be addressed equally.
The Faith in Public Life poll also found that 83% of voters, including white evangelicals (86%) and Catholics (81%) believe elected leaders should work together to find ways to reduce abortions.
However, the poll doesn’t appear to have included a question about whether Obama’s abortion views — supporting abortion throughout pregnancy, favoring taxpayer-funding of abortions, and favoring the reversal of every measure to reduce abortions — were the kind of common ground respondents favored.
Not surprisingly, the poll found voters in all religious groups named the economy as their first or second most important issue while 14 percent said abortion guided their vote.
Asked to name the single most important issue, 9 percent of all voters named abortion while 21 percent of evangelicals did and 12 percent of Catholics did.
The poll also found interesting results regarding whether certain religious groups believe abortions should generally be legal or illegal.
White evangelicals believe abortions should be illegal on a 69-28 percentage point margin while white voters in mainline Protestant churches support legal abortions 63-31 percent.
Catholics were split 49-45 percent on legal abortions, even though other polling data shows 60 percent of Catholics taking a pro-life position opposing most or all abortions.
Despite the differences on legal abortions, all religious groups want to see abortions reduced with 86 percent of evangelicals, 79 percent of mainline church voters, 90 percent of black protestants, and 80 percent of Catholics saying so.
The poll also found pro-life groups need to do more to reach religious voters.
Only 1-in-5 voters report that they heard about election issues from their place of worship or from religious groups. White evangelicals and Catholics are more likely to hear about election issues than any other group, which reflects the work of pro-life groups to reach voters at churches shortly before the elections.
Among the minority of voters who heard about election issues from their place of worship or from religious groups, nearly three quarters (73%) say they heard about opposing abortion — showing the last-minute voting guides reached a high percentage of evangelical and Catholic voters.
The survey was designed and conducted by Public Religion Research and it consists of a nationally representative sample of 1,277 American voters and was conducted from November 5 to November 7, 2008.
Buzz up!
Sign Up for Free Pro-Life News From LifeNews.com
Daily Pro-Life News Report Twice-Weekly Pro-Life
News Report
Receive a free daily email report from LifeNews.com with the latest pro-life news stories on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here. Receive a
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.