Posted on 11/14/2007 4:39:11 PM PST by wagglebee
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The nation's Catholic bishops on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted for a new document saying that the abortion issue should guide the voting decisions Catholics make. While the Catholic Church recognizes that a variety of political issues are important, the bishops said pro-life issues take precedence.
"The direct and intentional destruction of innocent human life is always wrong and is not just one issue among many," the bishops said in the new document.
Titled, "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship," the document does not tell Catholics which candidates to support but encourages Catholic voters to decide which candidates best promote Catholic views and side with the Church on pro-life topics.
In addition to abortion, the bishops said euthanasia, assisted suicide, and embryonic stem cell research should form the panoply of pro-life issues that guide Catholic voters.
At the same time, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, who led the committee that drafted the document, said it is "a summary of Catholic teaching, not a voter's guide."
"It calls us as bishops to help form consciences for political life, not tell people how to vote or whom to vote for or against," he added.
The document also says that Catholics should put their pro-life values ahead of devotion to a particular political party and urges more Catholics to run for office. Instead, they should be focused on "the dignity of every human being and the protection of the weak and vulnerable."
"As Catholics, we should be guided more by our moral convictions than by our attachment to a political party or interest group," the 47-page draft document reads.
"When necessary, our participation should help transform the party to which we belong; we should not let the party transform us in such a way that we neglect or deny fundamental moral truths," it adds.
Because the document is aimed towards faithful, churchgoing Catholics it does not address the issue of pro-abortion Catholic politicians who want to receive communion.
That has been a contentious political issue and some leading bishops such as St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke have said they would not support giving the sacrament to pro-abortion politicians.
It has become a custom that U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops release political guidelines for Catholics every four years in advance of presidential elections.
Seven committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops crafted the new document and two-thirds of the bishops must support it for it to be ratified. They will also consider a shortened version that would be placed in church bulletins.
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What about John Kerry, Ted Kennedey etc?
There is no way that Kennedy could EVER win a national election and the ‘Rats know it. The majority of Catholics voted for Bush in 2004, not Kerry.
I was thoroughly disgusted with the DC Catholic newspaper in 2004. In side-by-side articles they glossed over both Kerrey's pro-abortion stance and Bush's solid pro-life actions.
One of the people asked if we are not guided by our conscience while voting.
Our priest explained that peoples conscience can be guided in many ways, if the guide is not the word of God, the conscience will not guide you in the right direction.
Looks like the Bernardin’s “consistent ethic of life” is dead.
This is a very good sign!
Very awesome news. “Overwhelmingly” also!
If the choice for President is between Hillary and Rudy, you'd better believe I'll pull the lever for Rudy. He has been upfront about his pro-abortion views, and has also been upfront in saying that he would appoint Justices to the Supreme Court in the mold of Alito and Roberts.
Any GOP candidate will win my vote over a radical feminist pro-abortion Hillary Clinton. Including Rudy.
Rudy is not going to uphold that promise, but all politicians make empty promises anyway.
Well put.
Way to go Catholics (I applaud your church for standing up for Life, and having the Christian faith to recognize the principles for doing so behind it)!
I would prefer the Republican nominee appointed a Justice in the mold of Thomas and Scalia, rather than Alito and Roberts. In the Partial Birth Abortion case, Thomas and Scalia reinterated their view in a concurring opinion that Roe vs. Wade was wrongly decided. Alito and Roberts did not join that opinion. All of the candidates, with the exception of Giuliani, support the Thomas and Scalia view of Roe vs. Wade.
Not me. I saw how fast Schwartzeneggar stabbed me in the back. He didn’t even campaign for a single Republican last year. I will be forever RINO hunting after that. Nobody whose shoes I help shine will ever step on me. Never again.
This is a Catholic bump that I’ll gladly join! Rudy is NOT the answer!
Bishops run the Missions in CA. That’s where to go for a real service. Card. Roger Mahoney is more of a politician than a religious leader. The Pope should fire this type of Cardinal instead of putting up with them. Or tell them to make a career choice. It’s destructive.
Did Jimmy Carter whip Ted Kennedy's rump in the Democratic primaries of 1980 or NOT?
If Catholic primary voters perfered Jimmy Carter to Ted Kennedy in 1980 when unemployment, interest rates, and inflation were all in the 15 to 20 percent range, then Ted could not get elected anywhere except Mass.
The left was sure that Jimmy could not get re-elected and they begged Teddy to take him out in the primary elections. Jimmy Whipped Teddy's A$$. He said he would and he did.
Then the media figured that Jimmy could defeat Reagan. And Reagan won in a landslide.. How badly would Reagan have beaten Teddy? The only answer is a lot worse than he beat Jimmy.
The Catholic Church is the largest denomination in the US. The Baptists are the next largest, both accounting for about 41%, and of course, both are strongly anti-abortion. The next largest denomination is Methodist/Wesleyan at 6.8%, our countries' largest solidly pro-abortion denomination in the US.( Numbers from www.adherents.com ).
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