Posted on 11/07/2012 12:21:18 PM PST by NYer
My remarks will be brief, since this is not a political blog, and I am not a political prognosticator. The American people and process have spoken. But a few remarks based on the election results, things I think of as undeniable facts for the Church, though you are free to offer any rebuttals.
1. The strained relationship between the Catholic Church in the Democratic party will continue and the strain will likely grow. The reasons for this are that the Democratic Party is increasingly aligning itself with positions that are in direct conflict with Catholic teaching. More of this in the following points.
2. Largely unrestricted abortion will continue unabated, as will funding for organizations such as Planned Parenthood, the chief provider of abortion in this country. Possible Supreme Court nominations will also feature pro-choice jurists. Likewise many Circuit and other Federal District Court judges will continue to be appointed who favor largely unrestricted abortion.
3. The homosexual agenda will continue to grow and receive increasing legal recognition and protection. This includes not only gay “marriage” but also, other issues in the Gay agenda such as adoption, and the general insistence that the Gay lifestyle be promoted in schools and other public settings. This will require Church opposition and generally embroil us in many public disputes. This may have continued even with a Romney win, but there will be fewer political hurdles for such agendas and the pace will be quicker.
4. The HHS mandate moves forward, untouched. Our religious liberty is in greater jeopardy. We’ll have to meet the administration in court. And while the legal basis for our grievance seems strong, recent experience in the courts has demonstrated that nothing is certain. Civil disobedience may be in our future.
5. Extreme debt seems likely to pile up. Well this may not be a specific issue the Catholic Church has spoken to, it remains a fact that we spend money we do not have, and this has moral implications. Little change in a very divided Congress, means there will be likely little progress in arresting a runaway debt. This will become an increasing moral problem that the Church will likely have to address at some level. This too draws us into the morass of debates about spending priorities etc. and may divide us as a Church between fiscal conservatives and those who emphasize the Social Doctrine.
Thus, the next years ahead, will likely draw the Church into increasing conflict with the political scene in general, and the Democratic Party specifically.
And while it is not the instinct to the Church to be drawn into one side of the political debate, moral issues are increasingly demanding from us an unambiguous stance, one which draws us into increasing conflict with the Democratic Party on issues which we consider non-negotiable. At the same time, issues that we may share with the Democratic Party, are less doctrinal or certain for us. We face difficult days ahead, and difficult decisions about strategy and how to engage a party in power that is increasingly at odds with our most central tenants.
The Central question for us is, How will the Church be able to articulate her positions, increasingly at odds with the platform of the Democratic party and be able to resist the (unfair) charge that we are merely the Republican Party at prayer. There are difficult days ahead for the Church.
Let us pray for great courage and prudence.
There is a very lively discussion on this thread, dealing with issues of society vs the church. More than 80 posts that are well worth investigating.
Go back and review exit polling data for as long as you want. You will see this is self-inflicted. You put these people in power; don’t whine to me - clean your own house and fix the problem.
I say the church, and not only the Catholic church needs to draw a line in the sand. Simply say we are NOT going to provide contraceptives or abortions and we are NOT going to bless gay marriages no matter how many laws you pass or court orders you get against us. Put the feds in the position that either have to back off or face the public backlash that would result from priests being hauled out of churches in chains and houses of worship being seized.
I sit and watch liberals pray to God at church, see how they teach their children to pray to God and listen to some who celebrate Obama’s victory last night with prayer. I prayed too. Apparently, I’m on the losing side.
"The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time: the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them."
As a people, how far away from the very basis of our Constitutional protections we have come!
A President's election majority may have hinged, largely, on a population group who preferred him over his opponent because of his willingness to support that "hand of force" which "destroys" both the life and liberty of children in the womb.
Will Cardinal Wuerl allow Kathleen Sebelius to take Communion in the Archdiocese?
Do you suppose they “know” the people who represent them booed God? Do you suppose they care?
No but I guess it didn't bother God either. He blessed them with a victory.
God has not voted yet. Do you suppose those people WILL care when God does vote? At the end of their lives?
From a 2009 story on CatholicNewsAgency.com:
Washington D.C., Mar 30, 2009 / 05:26 pm (CNA).- According to the Washington Times, Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington plans to maintain the pastoral request Kathleen Sebelius’ bishop made in 2007 asking her not to receive Communion.
# 3—The Church pushed for illegals, they shoved for Immigration reform and those Hispanics voted against the Church. So you are partially right.
#4 The Church should have taken a stand when Pelosi started telling the Church what was right and wrong and Biden started pushing abortions , they should have taken a astand then and excommunicated these political whores.
#5 I watch these same Democrats come to Church and then go vote for abortion,and same sex marriage. I don’t know why they come to Church, they should go to a DNC meeting, that is their religion.
#6 God gave us life, but Americans fought for Liberty, a Liberty they now willingly give up for entitlements, and the right to kill their fetus.
#7 Cardinal Wuerl will give it to her himself if she appears before him for it.
#8 of course they know. Many of them were there and did the booing.See my post to #5. The party is their religion. God plays 2nd. fiddle.
Why wait until Biden and Pelosi to take a stand? Why not Kennedy in the late 70’s? Why must it be because of a Catholic politician? Why not the issues themselves? They knew the party was supporting abortion from the beginning.
I also have no doubt who the winner will be.
Stand strong and take up your cross.
You're right but the problem is much deeper. According to exit polls, Obama won Catholic voters 50 percent to 47 percent! That's an alarming number but when you dig deeper into the stats, you discover that Catholics who attend Mass weekly seem to have favored Romney.
Like Judaism, Catholicism is now considered by many as a birth rite. The thinking goes something like this: "since I was baptized into the Catholic Church, even if I don't attend weekly mass, I am a Catholic". These CINOs, many of whom have never been educated in their faith, vote the popular view, while still identifying as catholics. That skews election results based on religious affiliation. How many of these "catholics" would truly accept the teachings of the faith into which they were baptized?
Even in our very small parish, we see the phenomenon of families with children suddenly showing up at church, interested in having them baptized and receiving First Communion. The pastor has done a wonderful job of advising them on their responsibilities as parents and educating the children in the faith. But then, once they have completed a year of education, received First Communion, poof, they disappear.
Let's be realistic about contemporary society. Yesterday's election confirmed something many of us find hard to accept: Government has replaced God in the eyes of the needy. Sports, birthday parties, sleepovers, et al. have replaced Sunday Mass for many families with children. Your thoughts?
Time to make it clear to everyone that just because one is born and baptized Catholic that doesn’t make them a practicing “Catholic”. Catholics are required under pain of mortal sin (which prohibits them from receiving communion and confess their sin before doing so) to faithfully attend Sunday mass at a church if acessable.
Some of these polls are not making that distinction when reporting on what “Catholics” are doing. If they’re not going to Sunday mass they are not practicing their faith and can hardly be representative of that group.
Comparing Catholics to Jews as a racial/tribal type identity, doesn’t work, or make any sense, and Catholics can attend any church in America if they no longer feel like Catholics.
Catholics have always voted democrat with a few, recent, exceptions.
Catholics have always been seen as having politics not in agreement with the people who created the nation, nothing has changed, in fact, the nation is catching up to the Catholic voter.
This Catholic vote is not some new trend, it is historically normal and routine, the democrats, the unions, the big city machines, desiring a powerful central authority, big government, social collectivism, over individuality, tribal identity, seeing nationalism and borders as a hindrance to Catholic growth, it is all traditional.
Liberals are liberal first, then jews, catholics, protestants, second, third or whatever...
People who look to govt first are not followers of any belief system other than man and his govt...
There in lies the churches problems... nobody thanks God when they get a check from uncle Sam.... they may thank God for uncle Sam....
She is under Interdict from her Bishop.
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