Why Catholics can't vote for Obama, or, Nancy Pelosi was wrong

[dtherese]

For a moment, let's put aside his other questionable, more or less Marxist policies, and focus on one critical issue for Catholics: Senator Barack Obama is deeply committed to preserving and expanding the practice of legal abortion

Comments

[ladybluestar]

I just love when people pretend to know about Catholicism and thereby mislead the uninformed and confuse the faithful.
Ok, done being snarky now.

[dtherese]

According to what the Pope said in this article: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL0956318820070509, she's excommunicated.

That's what drives me crazy, that so many people don't seem to understand. If you choose to be Catholic, that means embracing ALL of what the Church teaches. You can't pick and choose which doctrines you like and still expect to be able to participate in the sacraments.

[dtherese]

I didn't say the Church told anyone how to vote. But when a candidate is so fundamentally opposed to a central tenet of Catholic teaching (the sanctity of life), it is a serious moral problem for a Catholic to vote for that candidate.

[jerseychick2]

Okay, I'm not really wading in, just kind of wading in. :) This was actually a homily at my parish but got published by National Review all after Nancy Pelosi made her misinformed comments. And while yes, we are not to be told how to vote, as Fr. DeCelles stated in his homily, "Now, some will want to say that these bishops-and I- are crossing the line from Religion into to politics. But it was the Speaker of the House who started this. The bishops, and I, are not crossing into politics; she, and other pro-abortion Catholic politicians, regularly cross over into teaching theology and doctrine, And it’s our job to try clean up their mess." Here's the link for the article. http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NTY1MzAwOTc5MmViMzUyYzM5YmY3OWFkYzdkMzY0YzM=... )

[txnarmywife]

This is similar to a discussion I hope to have with my 8th graders soon. However, we're going to examine first the duties of a Catholic citizen - to vote for the common good. Of course, we're defining the common good as not what benefits the individual but what benefits the masses. And, as Catholics, all our actions must be motivated by preservation of all human life and of the family.

The two fold goal mentioned in the prior sentence sums up the five beliefs the Catholic Church espouses as the "Non-Negotiables". While neither candidate is completely in line with Church beliefs, there are startling differences between them.

As a side note, the five non-negotiables are abortion, cloning, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, and homosexual marriage. The first four are clearly affronts to the dignity of life while the last is an injustice against the dignity of the family.

It is most important to remember that, while many political issues are of great importance, not all issues are equal.

[dtherese]

Exactly. It's true, neither candidate is a "perfect" choice for Catholics, but one is clearly and obviously far closer than the other.