Be active politically, Catholic bishops say

WASHINGTON - America's bishops are urging Roman Catholics to exercise "political responsibility" and become active in the upcoming election campaign, saying those serving in public life bear "a particular responsibility" to apply the church's moral principles.

The 8,000-word statement, issued Monday, combines long-standing church concerns - abortion, aid for private school students, justice for the poor in America and worldwide - with current topics such as gay marriage and the war on terror.

Marxist Tactics Regarding Religion

"We must avoid converting to martyrs the church leaders of counter-revolutionary activities. The line of action against the church is to instruct, educate, persuade, convince and -- little by little -- awaken and develop fully the political consciousness of Christians, then their participation in political activites ... Through our activities, we should undertake the idalectical struggle in the bosom of religion ... Progressively, we will replace the religious elements with the Marxist elements.

Ideological Aggression, 1984, New York Circus Publications, Ltd.

["Circus", read "revolution" The Soviet Analyst]

Faith Based Funding: Hopeful Experiment or Proven Failure?

Be active politically, Catholic bishops say
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Sunday, October 19, 2003
....
The 8,000-word statement, issued Monday, ....

The dating seems a little funny. Nothing at the USCC/NCCB website right now about it, except for this:

WASHINGTON (October 16, 2003)

Elections a Time for "Faithful Citizenship"

As November 2003 inaugurates the upcoming election year and presidential politics move to the center of our national consciousness, the U.S. bishops have released a statement called Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility which offers an alternative way of looking at our political life. Rather than focusing on the question, "Am I better off than I was four years ago?" the bishops urge voters to consider the question, "How can ‘we'"all of us, especially the weak and vulnerable"be better off in the years ahead?" The bishops suggest that in this election "the most important challenges we face are not simply political, economic, or technological, but ethical, moral, and spiritual. We face fundamental questions of life and death, war and peace, who moves ahead and who is left behind." They urge Catholics and all citizens to become active in the political process, and they offer a summary of Catholic teaching on a wide range of issues that will be important during the 2004 campaigns. According to Joan Rosenhauer, Special Projects Coordinator, USCCB Department of Social Development and World Peace, "With the release of this statement, the bishops are launching a far-reaching effort to share this important message throughout the Catholic community and to encourage greater ‘faithful citizenship' during the 2004 election and beyond."

"We face fundamental questions of life and death, war and peace, who moves ahead and who is left behind" probably translates as "remember to vote straight Democrat, because of Bernardin's 'seamless garment' theory."

By the center's count, Christianity remains the world's largest faith, claiming just under 2 billion adherents in 34,000 denominations. Islam ranks second, with 1.19 billion followers, and Hinduism third, with 804 million.

The center estimates there are 762 million atheists or nonreligious people.

They should have noted that of the 2 billion Christians in the world, Catholics make up 1 billion of them.

Aside from that, I ask: why does America cater our laws to the atheists and "non-religious" who are in such a minority? For every three Christians there is one non-religious.

You'd think by voting powers alone, we would be able to control our country.

sigh. I think many Christians simply don't vote, or vote separate from their religion. I know many Catholics who would rather "tax the rich" than protect the unborn.

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