Catholics Can't Vote for Pro-Abort Politicians: Cardinal-Designate Burke

LifeSiteNews.com -- Your Life, Family, and Culture Outpost ^ | San Diego, October 27, 2010 | By John Jalsevac and Kathleen Gilbert

[topher]

Thursday October 28, 2010

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Catholics Can't Vote for Pro-Abort Politicians: Cardinal-Designate Burke

By John Jalsevac and Kathleen Gilbert

San Diego, October 27, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – As Americans approach the eve of election week, Cardinal-designate Raymond Burke has said in a new interview that they must recognize their solemn obligation to defend their unborn brothers and sisters when approaching the voting booth.

“You can never vote for someone who favors absolutely the right to choice of a woman to destroy a human life in her womb or the right to a procured abortion,” the archbishop told Thomas McKenna, President of Catholic Action for Faith and Family, in an interview released this week.

McKenna interviewed Cardinal-designate Burke in Rome on Oct. 20 literally hours after it was announced he would be elevated to cardinal.

(Click here to send a note of congratulations to the archbishop)
 
The archbishop told McKenna that, “As a bishop it’s my obligation in fact, to urge the faithful to carry out their civic duty in accord with their Catholic faith.” Catholics, he said, have “a very serious moral obligation in voting to vote for those candidates who would uphold the truth of the moral law, which of course also serves the greatest good of everyone in society.”

In recent years Cardinal-designate Burke, who is prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Church’s “supreme court,” has taught repeatedly that Catholic politicians who support abortion rights may not receive Holy Communion and that Catholics who know of the politicians’ voting record on these issues cannot vote for them and retain “a clear conscience.”

In the recent interview, the archbishop explained that such politicians create “scandal,” which he defined as “doing something or omitting to do something that leads other people into confusion or error about the moral good.”

“Here's the perfect example of Catholics who betray their Catholic faith in political life, as legislators, as judges, or whatever it may be, leading other people to believe that abortion must not be the great evil that it is, or that abortion is in fact a good thing in certain circumstances.”

To those who would vote for pro-abortion politicians because they agree with those politicians on other issues, the archbishop said he would say, "Do you follow the golden rule that was taught to us by the Lord himself in the Gospels?"

“In other words,” he explained, “do you do unto others as you would want them to do unto you. Do you really consider it fair to advance some interest you have, which may be a good interest - whether it’s the environment, or whatever it might be - at the cost of denying to other members of society, especially those who depend upon us completely for life itself, to deny them the right to life?

“I think that if most people would reflect in this way, simply in terms of the golden rule, they would realize that no, it can never be right.”

The archbishop also pointed out that while some criticize the Church for upholding traditional marriage as a form of "discrimination" against homosexuals, such critics fail to recognize that, “The Catholic Church, in teaching that sexual acts between persons of the same sex are intrinsically evil - are against nature itself - is simply announcing the truth, helping people to discriminate right from wrong in terms of their own activities.”

While racial and other types of discrimination may be unjust, he said, "There is a discrimination which is perfectly just and good, and namely that's the discrimination between what is right and what is wrong."

In a press release announcing the interview, McKenna commented, “Millions of Catholics have no idea it’s a sin to vote for candidates who favor these grave evils, which attack the very foundations of society." In his interview, said McKenna, "[Cardinal-designate Burke] makes it very clear what the responsibility of every American Catholic will be next Tuesday."

The videotaped interview is available in two five-minute videos on YouTube, and a 25-minute Q&A video interview that is available for broadcast at CatholicAction.org.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Major Pro-Life Leaders “Elated” at Archbishop Burke Elevation to Cardinal
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/oct/10102505.html

Vatican Archbishop Burke: Public Repentance is Required for Pro-Abort Politicians
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/oct/10101504.html

URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/oct/10102806.html

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[topher]

Pass the word to all Catholics that one of the highest ranking Americans in the Vaticans says that it is wrong and one may not vote for pro-abortion politicians...

From the article:

“You can never vote for someone who favors absolutely the right to choice of a woman to destroy a human life in her womb or the right to a procured abortion,” the archbishop told Thomas McKenna

[topher]

ping.

As far as I am concerned, Archbishop Burke and Cardinal-designate Burke is the highest ranking American in the Vatican.

He says that it is very, very wrong to vote for pro-abortion politicians.

And it is also very, very wrong to honor them as Notre Dame University did...

[Soothesayer]

Why do they waste that hour on Sunday if they are going to support child murder?

They might as well just stay home and do something fun...

[topher]

Are there any Catholics in Delaware?

Are there any Catholics in Pennsylvania?

Are there any Catholics in the state of Washington?

Are there any Catholics in very close races for the Senate and the House across the country?

I would not mind the GOP making a commercial about this, and stating that Cardinal-designate Burke is one of THE highest ranking Americans in the Vatican. There are American Cardinals, but the position that Cardinal-designate Burke has makes him, in my opinion, the highest ranking American in the Vatican.

[topher]

Sorry. That last post was a rhetorical post to myself — it was not aimed at you... Just a general post...

[doc1019]

Christians shouldn’t, be they Catholic or Protestant. If you are in any way shape or form conscience of God, you can’t believe in abortion.

[topher]

Archbishop and Cardinal-designate Burke's position in the Vatican (from the article):

Cardinal-designate Burke, who is prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Church’s “supreme court

[topher]

The ministers need to repeat this from the pulpit.

Unfortunately, some Catholics are confused because Pelosi, Biden, and the late Ted Kennedy preached from their pulpit that abortion was okay, and they claimed to be good Catholics.

Since they are/were in leadership positions, people look to them for guidance (and become misguided).

These people are wolf among the sheep.

[Arthur McGowan]

http://tinyurl.com/canon915

Print this article out, send it to your bishop and pastor, and tell them you are sending all your “church” money to pregnancy aid centers until they announce that they are obeying Canon 915.

[topher]

I meant to say:

he ministers need to preach this from the pulpit.

[K-oneTexas]

Who will this statement work against? Politicians? The Catholic Church?

Will there be a backlash against conservatives because of the Archbishop’s statement?

Will Catholics actually stop voting for Dems or Libs or RINO’s or any politicians who actually hold this position?

I am guessing they have to publicly pronounce it, which they have in the past. But with this pronouncement how many politicians will be so candid with this personal viewpoint, Especially around election time.

I apologize to anyone in advance, I do not ask to anger or put anyone off. In prior years, decades ago maybe, I might tend to think the Catholic Church had such a hold over their parishioners but I wonder if that is still true today. Just begs more questions in my mind.

[topher]

In my part of the country, politicians must be pro-life.

This is Catholic South Louisiana, and every priest that I know is pro-life [and preach it from the pulpit -- regularly].

In fact, my Church is hosting the Life Chain for Lafayette, Louisiana on Sunday [we changed the date from October 3 to October 31 because the New Orleans Saints play at night on the 31st].

Hopefully, we will have a good turnout. The local right to life chapter is promoting it [Acadiana Right to Life] as well as [hopefully] other local churches...

[liveoak4]

Are there any Catholics in the state of Vermont???

[topher]

If you know Christians/Catholics that might vote the wrong way this election, send them information about this.

At least for Catholics, they should head the words of an American who is Prefect of the Vatican Supreme Court.

Evangelicals tend to oppose abortion and vote conservative.]

The liberal parts of the church tend to ignore abortion [those who would also support homosexual partnerships that they claim are marriages] and similar atrocities.

My posting this the way I did is to get people to pass along this information so that uninformed voters might be swayed by this American's position on pro-abortion as well as how high a ranking official he is in the Vatican...

[doc1019]

The ministers need to repeat this from the pulpit.

Seldom does a Sunday sermon pass my lips that doesn't include a condemnation of abortion. I thinks that abortion is the sin of the ages second only to the rejection of Jesus as GOD.

[topher]

I am hoping people will use this article to challenge Catholics, especially in states with close elections (and there is a pro-life candidate) to vote pro-life. And to pass the word about this.

Catholics you might know in Vermont might argue with you, but Archbishop Bishop is sort of like the chief justice of the Supreme Court for the Vatican.

Should Catholics argue with him?

[topher]

In Delaware, Chris Coons is clearly a strongly pro-abortion Democrat. Christine O’Donnell is clearly a strongly pro-life Republican. Catholics have no choice, they must vote for Christine according to Catholic Church teachings...

[topher]

Is that not because God gave us the gift of pro-creation, and, in a sense, we are rejecting God when we reject this gift of life?

It is also murder, and maybe we are putting ourself above God by destroying the unborn for our own vanities?

[doc1019]

Not wrong my brother in Christ.

[K-oneTexas]

I agree with you on the desired goal. However that still does not put the questions to rest. People tend to do what they ‘want’ to do and that is not always what they are ‘told’ to do.

Many people, myself included, do not like being told HOW to vote or HOW to think. People are not robots and they are not, although there are exceptions, mindless robots.

Many a good plan has gone bad because the intended ‘target’ did not react as was planned. “The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men, Gang aft agley”, Robert Burns, I believe.

Who knows what goes on inside the polling booth. Not even the Church has monitors standing there watching how one votes. When I am asked how I voted, I tell them it is none of their business. It is not their business cause it is a matter conscience inside the polling booth. Ill mannered and uncouth individuals are the only ones who would stoop to even ask such a question.

I was raised to think for myself and I raised my children the same way. You must come to that conclusion through your own thought and searching ... not because someone tells you to think that way.

The human mind is what is at play here, not political philosophy. You can be sure the liberal press with yell and point fingers at this statement. You can be sure that liberal politicians will do the same. It is their MO.

The questions are valid.