Replies

This is an entirely irrelevant, and in fact silly, line of discussion. The polls you cite to prove that Catholics supported Obama by the whopping margin of 54 to 46 percent are exit polls, all of which identify who is a "Catholic" simply by asking the person they're polling whether they are one.

They don't ask the Pope, they don't ask the person's pastor, they don't ask to see a baptismal certificate, they don't ask to see church contribution records, they don't administer a doctrinal test, etc.

Out of self-identified Catholics in the U.S., what percentage actually attend Mass weekly? (I should point out that this is required to be a Catholic in good standing; it's not a "nice thing to do on a Sunday morning" like it is in a lot of denominations.) The percentage is probably in the low 40's. Now, if the other 55+ % can't be bothered to order their lives according to Catholic teaching enough to show up at Mass on Sunday, why should anyone think that Catholic teaching would have any relevance to their behavior in the voting booth? If they live like pagans, they're probably going to vote like pagans, right?

So it would be a fine thing if the Catholic Church could bring her disobedient sons and daughters back to the fervent practice of their faith, wherein they would learn to vote for candidates that uphold human life and traditional marriage, for starters. (Oh, and then there's that little gem from Pope Pius XI, "No one can be at the same time a good Catholic and a true socialist".) Until then, Matthew 18:17 applies.

The fact that no one can answer this simple question honestly, shows why we cannot fix the Catholic vote. So the Pope, and the Vatican do not count those people as Catholics? Those “non-Catholics” are removed when the Pope or the Vatican offers numbers for the Catholic population?

No, it's been answered honestly. You don't like the answer but that's another issue.

What's your point here? That those counted as "Catholics" by the Church is larger than the number of those who actually sincerely hold its teaching as true? Uh......yeah. The Pope knows this. Everyone knows this. That's the whole point.

That's not because of dishonesty or because of a desire to inflate numbers.It's simply because there are a limited number of metrics for quantifying affiliation with a Church. Identifying those who sincerely hold its beliefs as true is simply not practical.

You'll note that the article is actually about Catholicism. Why might that be do you think? It's because Catholicism is ground zero in the culture war. Those who hold Catholic beliefs as true are in the front line of this fight. The rest will simply be blown away by the winds of persecution. So thanks for your concern about "fixing the Catholic vote" but we're way ahead of the curve.

Tell us again what your particular profession of faith has done to incur the displeasure of the Obama administration? Tell us again what piece of current government legislation is going to affect the way your church or group of believers does business on a daily basis? Tell us again what real pain the government has inflicted or is about to inflict on your church? Tell us again what Obama's plans will cost your church in terms of real estate and money?

Anything?

Feel free to post any evidence that your profession is even a factor in this war and that you're actually something more than a mere naysayer on matters Catholic.

Well?