Posted on 11/02/2008 7:40:19 PM PST by nickcarraway
With Election Day just around the corner, Omaha Archbishop Elden Curtiss is weighing in on the battle for the Catholic vote with a letter that implies Catholics should not vote for Barack Obama.
Curtiss' letter, to be read at Masses or inserted in church bulletins at parishes this weekend, does not mention Obama, John McCain or any other candidate by name.
Archbishop Elden CurtissThe Rev. Joseph Taphorn, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Omaha, said the letter is not an endorsement of any candidate or meant to tell parishioners how to vote; rather, it is guidance to local Catholics on the principles of their faith as they apply to voting.
Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, supports a woman's right to make reproductive decisions and supports keeping abortion legal. McCain, the Republican nominee, opposes allowing abortions except in cases of rape, incest or a threat to the life of the mother and believes that Roe v. Wade — the 1973 Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal — should be overturned, though he opposed overturning Roe v. Wade during the 2000 primary campaign.
Curtiss' letter says "the very first right we must protect, if all human rights are to be protected, is the right to life for the unborn. Those who do not understand or accept this basic human right are unworthy of our trust."
Taphorn said Curtiss was not available for comment for this article. The archbishop said what he wanted to say in the letter, the chancellor said.
The letter went this week to all parishes in the Omaha Archdiocese. It is posted on the archdiocesan Web site in English and Spanish.
With it, Curtiss joins a hot debate within the Catholic Church, made more heated in this election by fierce competition for the Catholic vote. Catholics make up 25 percent of the American electorate, and as much as one-third of the vote in some battleground states.
Democrats have gone after the Catholic vote in new ways this election. Obama — who says he personally opposes abortion — has tempered his abortion rights stance by saying he would like to see abortions reduced.
In the Illinois State Senate, Obama voted against banning the late-term procedure that opponents call "partial-birth" abortion. He has said he supports the federal Freedom of Choice Act, which would limit state and federal regulation of abortions.
Lay organizations such as Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good have argued that the best way to reduce abortion is not through attempts to make abortion illegal but to support pregnant women and increase economic, social and educational programs that would reduce unwanted pregnancies.
A handful of prominent Catholic academics have endorsed Obama, including Doug Kmiec, a former official in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations who worked on briefs seeking to overturn Roe v. Wade.
"Those people represent a pragmatic pro-life point of view," said the Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a Jesuit priest and senior fellow in the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University.
Conservative Catholic groups argue that abortion is not just one of many issues but should take priority as the most fundamental issue. They say Catholic voters must put a priority on opposing the "intrinsic evil" of abortion and defending the rights of the most vulnerable of people, unborn children.
Sioux City, Iowa, Bishop R. Walker Nickless put it this way in a column in the current issue of the Globe, his diocesan newspaper: "We as faithful Catholics can never choose a candidate who directly supports abortion rights, when another suitable candidate is available."
McCain is such a candidate, said Gerard V. Bradley, a professor of law at the University of Notre Dame.
McCain has said he believes human life begins at conception. He has an anti-abortion voting record.
Both sides in the debate — and Curtiss in his letter — cite a 2007 document from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship," which guides Catholics through church teachings and their responsibilities in voting.
But they come to different conclusions about the document.
"The main thing about what (Curtiss) is doing . . . is that their primary concern is not who wins the election, but the integrity of Catholic faith," Bradley said by e-mail. "They see (as anyone can) that many Catholics these days are discounting the wrongness of abortion. . . . Many Catholics are either not fully aware of what the church teaches, or are not taking what the church teaches seriously enough."
But Dr. Patrick Whelan, president of a Democratic advocacy group, Catholic Democrats, said from Massachusetts that Obama and the Democrats have a better strategy than Republicans to reduce abortions.
"Groups like ours have been pounding the pavement getting this message out," Whelan said. "The bishops are reacting."
Nickless has written several columns stressing to Catholics in the Sioux City Diocese that "you need to vote your conscience and vote pro-life," said Kristie Arlt, communications director for the archdiocese.
In the Diocese of Des Moines, Bishop Richard E. Pates asked every priest in the diocese to preach on Sept. 26 "on Faithful Citizenship and all the issues, teachings and concerns that are there," said the Rev. Stephen Orr, vicar general of the diocese.
In the Diocese of Lincoln, Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz long has made clear his position on the priority of opposing abortion, but hasn't written columns or letters specifically on the election and abortion recently, said the Rev. Daniel Rayer, chancellor of the diocese.
Diocese of Grand Island officials could not be reached for comment Friday. But Grand Island Bishop William J. Dendinger wrote about the late Pope John Paul II's encyclical "Evangelicum Vitae," the "Gospel of Life," in the current edition of the diocesan paper, West Nebraska Register. The encyclical addresses abortion and other culture-of-life issues.
In Omaha, Archbishop Curtiss had been asked by several people to provide guidance on moral principles as Catholics prepare to vote, Taphorn said.
"The archbishop isn't trying to force anyone to vote in a particular way," Taphorn said.
Instead, he said, he's encouraging them to research the presidential and other candidates as well as understanding Catholic teaching and examining their consciences.
"He's underscoring the moral responsibility to vote and encouraging people to do so in a well-thought manner, considering the moral obligations that are important to us as Catholics," Taphorn said.
The bishops have been excellent this go around. I wonder if it is the threat of having to close down all Catholic hospitals if FOCA is passed.
Where is Cardinal Mahony?
Has anybody heard his voice on Prop 8 and the Abortion Issue during this campaign?
One would think that all that the hospitals would have to do is shut down their OB/GYN Departments.Yes,doing that would be very unfortunate but it's not as bad as shutting the whole operation.
What has happened to Bruskewitz? I can’t believe that he has not spoken out.
I'm sorry, I just get tired of namby pamby Christians. I'm sick of it. Babies are being slaughtered and priests are worried about loosing their 501c3 status. Is the pope scared of Barry Lind?
| Over 100 Bishops Have Spoken Out on Priority of Life Issues Posted on October 28, 2008, 11:59 AM | Deal W. Hudson |
Diocese of Allentown
Most Reverend Edward P. Cullen
P.O. Box F
Allentown, PA 18105-1538
Most Reverend Thomas J. Welsh
Former Bishop of Allentown
Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown
Most Reverend Joseph V. Adamec
126 Logan Blvd.
Hollidaysburg, PA 16648
Diocese of Erie
Most Reverend Donald W. Trautman
P.O. Box 10397
Erie, PA 16514-0397
Diocese of Greensburg
Most Reverend Lawrence E. Brandt
723 E. Pittsburgh Street
Greensburg, PA 15601
Most Reverend Anthony G. Bosco
Former Bishop of Greensburg
Diocese of Harrisburg
Most Reverend Kevin C. Rhoades
P.O. Box 2153
4800 Union Deposit Road
Harrisburg, PA 17105
Archdiocese of Philadelphia
His Eminence Justin Cardinal Rigali
222 North 17th Street
Suite 1207
Philadelphia, PA 19103-1299
Most Reverend Joseph R. Cistone
222 N. 17th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-1299
Most Reverend Robert P. Maginnis
222 North Seventeenth Street, Rm. 830
Philadelphia, PA 19103-1299
Most Reverend Joseph P. McFadden
222 North 17th Street, Room 530
Philadelphia, PA 19103-1299
Most Reverend Daniel E. Thomas
222 N 17th Street, Room 930
Philadelphia, PA 19103-1299
His Eminence Anthony Bevilacqua
Former Archbishop of Philadelphia
Most Reverend Louis A. DeSimone
Former Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia
Most Reverend Martin N. Lohmuller
Former Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia
Archeparchy of Philadelphia for Ukrainians
Most Reverend Stephen Soroka
827 North Franklin Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123-2097
Most Reverend John Bura
827 North Franklin Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123-2097
Most Reverend Stephen M. Sulyk
Former Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Philadelphia for Ukrainians
Diocese of Pittsburgh
Most Reverend David A. Zubik
1910 South Webster Avenue
P.O. Box 23825
Green Bay, Wi 54305-3825
Most Reverend Paul J. Bradley
111 Blvd. of the Allies
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-1618
Most Reverend John B. McDowell
Former Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh
Most Reverend William J. Winter
Former Bishop of Pittsburgh
Archeparchy of Pittsburgh for Byzantines
Most Reverend Basil Schott, OFM
66 Riverview Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15214
Diocese of Scranton
Most Reverend Joseph F. Martino
300 Wyoming Avenue
Scranton, PA 18503
Most Reverend John M. Dougherty
300 Wyoming Avenue
Scranton, PA 18503
Most Reverend James C. Timlin
Former Bishop of Scranton
The Catholic vote is going heavily to McCain.
People haven’t even voted yet! Don’t listen to the polls.
The heretic Reese will most likely have an eternal seat next to Drinan, Greeley, McBrien, Pfleger, Kung, the Berrigan's, et al, in a very unpleasant place
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