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Bishop Serratelli urges Catholics to stay away from Obama
NorthJersey News ^ | 10.21.08 | SACHI FUJIMORI,

Posted on 10/21/2008 3:37:12 PM PDT by Coleus

In his weekly column last week, Bishop Arthur Serratelli urged Catholics against voting for Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, based on his pro-abortion stance. "Every vote counts. Today, either we choose to respect and protect life, especially the life of the child in the womb of the mother or we sanction the loss of our most basic freedoms," wrote Serratelli in his column that appeared on the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson Web site.

Stopping short of mentioning the Illinois senator by name, Serratelli, nevertheless, criticized his legislative voting record on abortion issues. "In 2002, as an Illinois legislator, the present Democratic candidate voted against the Induced Infant Liability Act," wrote Serratelli. The bill, which was defeated in the Illinois Legislature, addressed the status of a fetus born alive during an abortion procedure. The bishop's move has rankled some who argue for a clear separation of church and state. Religious and educational institutions that receive federal tax-exempt status are not permitted to make public statements that endorse or oppose candidates.

"His statement clearly goes over a forbidden line by urging opposition to a candidate," said Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a national watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Lynn, who read Serratelli's column, said he will file a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service.

In dioceses nationwide, a battle for the Catholic vote is ensuing between conservative and liberal Catholic groups. Serratelli is among several Catholic bishops, including the bishop of Scranton, who have stepped into the political arena by issuing statements against voting for a candidate who supports abortion rights.

Serratelli, in his column, also compares Obama to Herod, a murderous Roman ruler who beheaded John the Baptist based on a promise the disciple made. If elected president, Obama has promised to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, a bill that would expand abortion rights. At the same time, liberal Catholics are using this election to highlight high-impact issues such as poverty, ending the war in Iraq and the environment. Catholics across the Paterson Diocese were divided about how much prominence to give abortion over other political issues. Most agreed that the political opinions of Catholic clergy do not influence their voting decisions.

Jerry Flach, a Catholic from North Haledon who supports Obama, said she was angry after reading Serratelli's column. "I was upset first and foremost that he brought politics into the mix," she said. Flach, who supports abortion rights but also attends Catholic Mass every Sunday and takes Holy Communion, said supporting life goes beyond the abortion debate. "What about food for families, an energy policy that supports the future, and the war in Iraq?" she questioned.

William and Frances Gulino, a retired Wayne couple, said they can't support Obama because of their strong opposition to abortion. William, who hasn't decided whether he will vote for Republican presidential nominee Arizona Sen. John McCain, said he never hears political sermons from the Catholic pulpit. But occasionally, the weekly church bulletin publishes columns stating that abortion is wrong.

When deciding how to vote, Joe Manzo of Paterson said he follows his own conscience. Manzo said there are many other pressing issues beyond abortion, which he is opposed to. "Judging from the terrible destruction of the past eight years, we're due for change," he said. Manzo said his Catholic friends all say that life is sacred and should be protected, but they disagree with how abortion should be legislated. "If you make it illegal, it will go underground and will result in more deaths," he said.

Geraldo Alcartara of Paterson is strongly opposed to abortion, but will vote for Obama in November, because of other pressing issues such as the Iraq war and the downturn in the economy. "I cannot follow everything that priests say," Alcartara said.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Politics/Elections; US: New Jersey
KEYWORDS: 2008; antichrist; barackobama; bishopserratelli; catholicvote; democrats; dioceseofpaterson; elections; nj2008; nobama08; obama; serratelli
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To: Coleus

“Geraldo Alcartara of Paterson is strongly opposed to abortion, but will vote for Obama in November, because of other pressing issues such as the Iraq war and the downturn in the economy. “I cannot follow everything that priests say,” Alcartara said.”
_____________________
Doesn’t get it; there is a primacy of issues, the first and foremost being “Life”. It’s not that difficult to understand when someone “thinks” about it. Without “Life”, the other issues don’t come into play.


41 posted on 10/22/2008 5:17:09 AM PDT by glide625
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To: Cicero

I never thought I’d say this, but I’ll take the persecution, if that’s the price we pay.
Remember that the blood of martyrs feeds the garden of Christianity, and that our martyrs give their lives, without taking others.


42 posted on 10/22/2008 6:07:27 AM PDT by steve8714
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To: Coleus
Last weekend, Fr. Ray Suriani, a parish priest, gave a homily on voting. Very appropriate.

“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s."

Based on a quick reading of the gospel story we just heard, you might think that this is simply a command to pay your taxes. But that’s too narrow an interpretation of the text. Yes, the passage does teach us that we should honor all legitimate civil authority and obey the tax laws and other laws of our nation (unless those laws command us to do something contrary to God’s eternal law); but giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s also includes other things—like participation in the political process. In fact, paragraph 2240 of the Catechism explicitly states: “Submission to authority and co-responsibility for the common good make it morally obligatory to pay taxes, to exercise the right to vote, and to defend one’s country.”

All that having been said, today is a perfect day to reflect on how we, as Catholics, are supposed to ‘give Caesar his due’ by voting in this year’s national election.

What are the ideas and principles that should guide us in our choice of candidates?

That, I would say, is the key question we need to ponder.

To answer it clearly and somewhat concisely, I’ll share with you today a few insights that come from a guide booklet published by the apologetics’ group, Catholic Answers. You can find this little booklet in its entirety on their website, the address of which is very easy to remember: www.catholic.com.

In one of the opening sections of the guide, the following important statement is made: “To the greatest extent possible, Catholics must avoid voting for any candidate who intends to support programs or laws that are intrinsically evil. When all of the candidates endorse morally harmful policies, citizens must vote in a way that will limit the harm likely to be done.”

The document then goes on to list what it calls the “5 non-negotiable issues.” These issues concern actions that are intrinsically evil, and which should be opposed by every Catholic, both in and out of the voting booth. I’m sure they will not surprise most of you. Almost all of them involve direct attacks on innocent human life:

Abortion

Euthanasia

Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Human Cloning

Homosexual “Marriage”

The document reminds us that these should be the most important issues for Catholics in the upcoming election. Other issues—even if they be very important—are in a different category, because they do not involve actions which are morally evil in and of themselves.

Concerning these other important matters, the Catholic Answers’ guide says this: “Some issues allow for a diversity of opinion, and Catholics are permitted leeway in endorsing or opposing particular policies. This is the case with the questions of when to go to war and when to apply the death penalty. Though the Church urges caution regarding both of these issues, it acknowledges that the state has the right to employ them in some circumstances (Cf. CCC 2309, 2267). . . . [As Pope Benedict said, back in the days when he was still Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger:] ‘There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia.’”

The guide goes on to say, “The same is true of many other issues that are the subject of political debate: the best way to help the poor, to manage the economy, to protect the environment, to handle immigration, and to provide education, health care, and retirement security. While the underlying principles (such as solidarity with the poor) are non-negotiable, the specific applications being debated politically admit of many options, and so are not ‘non-negotiable’ in the sense that this guide uses the term.”

Practically speaking, this means there is no official Catholic Church teaching on how to get out of the economic crisis we’re presently in, or on how to reduce our dependency on foreign oil, or on how to get rid of poverty in our country. In good conscience, Catholics can hold very different views on policies involving those and similar subjects.

Let me now repeat a key statement from the guide that I quoted a few moments ago: “To the greatest extent possible, Catholics must avoid voting for any candidate who intends to support programs or laws that are intrinsically evil.”

Sometimes, of course, you’ll have a situation in which both candidates are on the wrong side of some of those 5 “non-negotiables” mentioned earlier. Concerning that dilemma, the Catholic Answers’ guide says this: “In some political races, each candidate takes a wrong position on one or more issues involving non-negotiable moral principles. In such a case you may vote for the candidate who takes the fewest such positions or who seems least likely to advance immoral legislation, or you may choose to vote for no one.”

And lastly, remember that not every candidate who calls himself a Catholic is with the Church concerning the most important matters mentioned in this guide! In fact, sometimes non-believers actually support the things of God a lot better than believers do.

Think, for example, of Cyrus.

Cyrus was the civil leader mentioned in today’s first reading. He was the King of Persia, who ruled from 559-529 B.C. He was also a pagan, a Gentile, an unbeliever. And yet, he is called “God’s anointed” in this text we just heard from Isaiah 45!

Why? Because he allowed the people of Israel to return to their homeland and rebuild their sacred Temple after they had spent several decades in exile in Babylon.

He conquered the Babylonians, and then he let the Israelites go home.

Even though he was a pagan, Cyrus of Persia did something that was morally righteous, and that made him a better civil leader than many of the Israelite kings of the past had been! Thus the Hebrew Scriptures call him the “anointed” of the Lord.

May Almighty God help us to recognize the Cyruses of our generation—as well as the believers of our generation—who deserve our votes. And may he help us to ‘give Caesar his due’ by actually casting our ballots for these candidates this November—and in every election thereafter.

posted by Fr. Ray Suriani at 8:58 AM @ http://fatherrays.blogspot.com/

43 posted on 10/22/2008 7:46:34 AM PDT by no more apples (#1 Frowny Fan)
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To: Coleus

Everything these pro-abortion “Catholics” are regurgitating they learned from pro-abortion “Catholic” bishops over the past thirty years. Now that we have A FEW Catholic bishops, these pro-abortion “Catholics” are stunned, and obviously uncomprehending.


44 posted on 10/23/2008 1:26:29 AM PDT by Arthur McGowan
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To: Coleus
Did you see this?

Group asks IRS to investigate Catholic bishop against Obama

45 posted on 10/23/2008 8:43:15 AM PDT by NYer ("Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ." - St. Jerome)
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