Posted on 04/17/2015 12:12:16 PM PDT by RnMomof7
I’ve mentioned that Roman Catholicism is so onerous because it puts its hooks in you at various times in your life – from baptism as a child, to “first confession” and “first holy communion”, then Confirmation as an early teen, then marriage, baptism of your own children, etc. It’s a programmatic cycle.
There is another point at which Rome is prominent, and that is at death. As the “Baby Boom” generation continues to age and die, people will continue to be focused on this phase of life, either as people focused on the end of their own lives, or that of their aging parents.
Paul Moses, a journalism professor at Brooklyn College/CUNY”, has written a piece for the Wall Street Journal this morning entitled “A Liberal Catholic and Staying Put”, which puts this in view.
Beginning the article with some comments from the atheistic “Freedom From Religion Foundation”, which urged discontented, liberal-minded Catholics to “Summon your fortitude, and just go”, he rejects this notion with the following comments:
To me, these invitations reflect a shallow view of the Catholic Church that reduces its complex journey to the points where it intersects with the liberal social agenda. Pope Francis’ pastoral approach has shown a more merciful, less judgmental face of the church—one that always existed but needed to be more prominent in the public arena.
After my father died last year, I realized that my instinctive resistance to these “just go” arguments—from the atheists, the secularists, the orthodox, the heterodox or anyone else—runs deep. It began when I observed how impressively the church was there for me in a moment of need (emphasis added).
Early on the morning after he died, I went to my father's parish, St. Peter's in lower Manhattan, to find out what to do to bury him. I found one of the priests in the sacristy after the early Mass. The Rev. Alex Joseph took my hands in his, spoke a beautiful prayer, told me of his own father's death years earlier and added, "Our fathers are always with us." I was much moved.
We decided to have my father's funeral in the Staten Island parish where he had worshiped for 25 years … Bernard L. Moses, who died at 88, had loved Father Madigan’s homilies, and to hear [Father Madigan] speak at the funeral Mass was to understand why. My father had advanced up the ranks of the New York City Housing Authority to director of management. Citing his concern for tenants, Father Madigan used the traditional Catholic term “corporal work of mercy” to describe what my father did. It explained for me, in those difficult moments, why my father, who was well-schooled in Catholic social teachings, had passed up the opportunity for a more pleasant career in academia, or a more lucrative one managing private housing, to work in housing projects instead.
Few of us, I think, live daily on the edge of eternity in the conscious way that the Puritans did, and we lose out as a result. For the extraordinary vivacity, even hilarity (yes, hilarity; you will find it in the sources), with which the Puritans lived stemmed directly, I believe, from the unflinching, matter-of-fact realism with which they prepared themselves for death, so as always to be found, as it were, packed up and ready to go (emphasis added). Reckoning with death brought appreciation of each day’s continued life, and the knowledge that God would eventually decide, without consulting them, when their work on earth was done brought energy for the work itself while they were still being given time to get on with it (pg 14).
There really is no such thing as the “Catholic vote” at least not anymore. True BHO carried the “Catholic vote” twice. But that is because of the huge margin he won among Hispanics who voted overwhelmingly Democrat especially in the last presidential election. Hispanics account for at least 1/3 of all Catholics in the US today and in 2012 they voted about 3/4 for BHO over MR. The white Catholic vote went for MR over BHO 59% to 40%-—about the same as the overall white vote in general. Also those who tend to be active church goers (doesn’t matter your particular denomination) tend to vote GOP over those who are more secular and rarely or never practice their faith. Tell me your race, your age, and often you go to church, I can pretty much predict how you vote.
I suspect that bloc was largely contributing to those Democrats elections but it would be good to have dual printed confirmations of this factoid.
It's out there...but in summary, in the past presidential elections going back to Truman catholics have given the majority of their vote to the GOP in about four(?) elections if I remember correctly.
Going back prior to 2008 the catholic vote has gone dimocrat more than gop-e so the breakdown by ethnicity becomes a non-issue.
You're right though about 2008 and 2012 and Hispanic catholic voting patterns. They've been raised up in Liberation Theology that's plaguing countries south of the border and they want that type of guvment here.....plus dims want them to be made citizens.
Sure there is a Catholic vote, the catholic denomination has always voted democrat (with 4 or 5 exceptions) and still does, and always will, (with hopefully a couple of more exceptions) it is how that church denomination votes.
I think today-—not in the past-—white Catholics are now voting pretty much along the same lines as the general white population. I believe race is now a much bigger factor than religious affiliation. Religion IS a factor though. Active church goers tend to vote more Republican than secular voters this applies to all denominations.
The Catholic vote, we know about it, and the democrats depend on it, that is why the left has always wanted more Catholics.
South Africa, Swaziland, Kenya, Botswana, Liberia, and Malawi aren't doing great, are they?
A lot of the Caribbean Islands are majority Protestant, and I don't think they're great bastions of freedom either.
That is gross. What is it supposed to be?
Well that’s mighty gay of you.
Would it be too much of an inconvenience to explain your comment?
Breaking out in song in the middle of this thread was just a happy and kinda unexpected thing to do; that’s all.
I think he’s calling RnMom a one-noter.
I have been doing this One Note Samba on RnMomof7 anti-Catholic threads because it appears to me that her purpose here is simply to criticize Catholicism. She is free to do what she wishes, and I have made attempts to find common ground and to dissuade her from launching these daily attacks on what to me is a friendly club called FR. Defending one’s beliefs is always acceptable, but to launch scud after scud against Catholicism is unseemly.
Ping
St. Benedictus
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