[pgyanke]

I am just beside myself with my bishop... but I keep praying, hoping and trying.

For reference, here is my "Voting Guide for Serious Catholics".

[brooklyn dave]

I don’t look to the bishops for much anyway. They seem to have always missed the train on a lot of issues. The Catholic hierarchy jumps and screams after the show is done and over. They are not a pro-active bunch. They are not a pre-emptive bunch. many (not all) are still in 1969-1970 Kumbaya mode.

[pgyanke]

For your ping lists.

[Venturer]

Don’t feel like the Lone Ranger.

I am disgusted with the whole mess in the catholic Church. I still go because I feel it is the religion set up by Christ and I should go, but the latter day Bishops and Cardinals don’t show me much.

As for confession that has more or less become a joke to many catholics.
I see them all get up and go to Communion every Sunday, but I know only 10% of them are anywhere near a State of Grace, many haven’t been to confession in years.

I don’t see the crowds that get up to go to Communion at Confession on Saturday.

I try to confess on Saturday and got to Communion on Sunday because there is no way in hell I can stay pure for a week, so I take Communion a couple of times a year. Reading Free Republic and getting angry at the Muslim takes the pure out of me fast.

[FourtySeven]

I’m not sure the American Bishops can condemn a particular political party, at least not by name, without putting the tax exempt status of the Church in America in jeopardy. I don’t know though; I could be wrong.

[Voltage]

There is a major misunderstanding here. The Catholic Church is not opposed to abortion. If they were hundreds, perhaps thousands of ‘Catholic’ politicians would be publically excommunicated.

[Tax-chick]

That’s a good letter. I said a Memorare for your intentions.

[teflon9]

Terri Schiavo was starved to death because of an obsolete legal doctrine that automatically strips parents of their next-of-kin rights once their children marry, and then bestows all next-of-kin rights to their spouse. Such legal theory was conceived in a time when lifespans where short, and parents were expected to die soon after their children married. But now, with people commpnly iving with sound minds well into their 80s and beyond, the illogic of this practice is now obvious. If Terri Schiavo's parents had superior rights over her estranged husband, we would not even be having this discussion, and Schiavo might still be alive, if only in the most technical sense of the word. The only remedy to this is legislation that will leave the next-of-kin rights of parents paramount, even if their children marry. After all, marriages come and go, but parenthood is truly "until death do you part." And altough it's all too common for someone to have nefarious intent towards their spouse (and Schiavo was almost certainly a victim of domestic violence) nefarious intent of a parent towards a cjhild is almost unknown.

[Gerish]

I think your letter is well written and not disrespectful at all. Alot of these Bishops need to get off the “social justice” issues, which are insignificant compared to the intrinsic evils being forced upon us by the current administration. My parish priest has spoken out avidly these past weeks about what is at stake in this election (he has a spine)!

[Salvation]

Why do we have altar girls when the Vatican GIRM states firmly “acolytes?” Democrats and the liberals and feminazzis

[Salvation]

Here’s the link:

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20030317_ordinamento-messale_en.html

[annalex]

This election cycle the US bishops did more than they ordinarily do: there was a firm stand taken on the HHS mandate.

However, you and I know that roughly 50% of US Catholics will vote Democrat. A swing has historically been about %5 either way; there is no reason to expect a swing for Romney this season; in fact, we should probably expect a swing for Obama, given Romney’s inability to voice social concerns.

The real question is not “Why don’t the bishops tell the Catholics to support the GOP candidates?” The questions are:

- Why are at least 45% voting against basic Catholic teaching on the value of human life? This is where the responsibility of the bishops is, and they failed it decades ago, when this electorate was formed.
- What is exactly, the basis for believing that Romney — or in fact the bulk of GOP establishment candidates — will do anything about stopping abortion (or any other social issue) in America? The most GOP candidates that survived the primary season all have bent over and grabbed their ankles to AVOID social issues, and Romney is the chief weasel-master; those Republicans that took a firm pro-life positions are under attack ...from the GOP. To attract Catholics to conservative ideas was the responsibility of the so-called conservatives in the GOP and they failed it.

What we have now is shaking the fists after the fight is over. A more realistic goal today is to rebuild a conservative base somewhere for years, and perhaps for the next generation, to come. There is nothing good that will come of this generation of conservative leaders, no matter what happens in November. The Tea Party had a better year in 2010, but that is where the future lies. If this system is to have a future, let’s grow the Tea Party and count the establishment GOP among the problems.

[pgyanke]

After six years of emails and encouragements, I received my first email response from my bishop:

“I am grateful for your assurance of prayerful support as we work together to bring our holy faith and the teachings of Jesus into the world in which we live. Above all else, we must surrender to God and entrust our lives, work and endeavors to His divine assistance.”

It doesn’t acknowledge my work nor address the issues... but it’s a start. I will endeavor to make this a conversation.