September 9, 2008
Catholics for McCain/Palin
Back in the spring, I wrote about how Sam Brownback has been leading the “Catholics for McCain” effort here and here and here and here and here. I wrote so much about it I figured I’d give everyone an update on how that effort is going.
There is no doubt that Sarah Palin has brought a great deal of energy to the Catholic vote. On August 31, I wrote:
Students at my conservative, Catholic college were psyched about Palin. On Friday when she was announced, the buzz around campus was about Palin and it was all positive. My college draws conservative students from across America, so I think it provided a real snapshot of how young conservatives now feel about the ticket. I emphasize now, because there was a big chunk of students I know who were not enthused at all about McCain… Most could stomach voting for him, but ask them to knock on doors, make phone calls? Not a chance. Another portion of those students were going to write in Ron Paul or not vote at all. That all changed with the Palin pick. Students are asking how to get involved, and those that weren’t going to pull the lever for McCain are now.
However, I wanted to make sure that the enthusiasm wasn’t just outside my immediate network of Catholic friends and family. So, at the suggestion of Matthew E. Miller’s 100 Blogs for Palin idea, I decided to reach out to Catholics from across the country to gauge their feelings about Sarah Palin on my blog, Catholics4McCain. The response I got was overwhelming. Hundreds of Catholics sent in their comments to me about how, as a Catholic, they felt about the addition to Sarah Palin on the ticket. You can read the responses by clicking the logo below.
Here are just three examples:
“As a mother of 4, grandmother of 9, a working woman for 25 years, and a political activist, I enthusiastically support Sarah Palin as McCain’s running mate! She is a role model for the pro-life feminist. Her courage and forcefulness to reform the corruption in the Alaska shows she has the qualities to be a VP who will bring honest change to our government in D.C.”
– Patricia Mahoney, Rye Beach, New Hampshire
“I am thrilled. What an incredible candidate to add to this ticket… pro-life, pro-family, pro-defense, pro-environment… and she rose through the ranks by her own desire to serve her local community. I, for one, have added Sarah Palin to my list of role models…”
– Lauren Werda, Ann Arbor, Michigan
“I am a big fan. 3 days ago I was planning to vote Constitutional Party. Now I am will be voting McCain. 5 minutes after Gov. Palin finishes her speech I will be online making my first ever campaign contribution, I will have a yard sign in front of my house for the first time ever, I will be wearing a Palin / McCain button…”
– Paul Deming, Vancouver, Washington
“Sarah Palin has restored my faith in the Republican campaign. Her devotions to life, family, and morals are an inspiration to a young woman such as myself who is looking for a representative of my ideals in politics. She is a strong woman, accomplished, but compassionate and loving as well- as close to the true meaning of feminine as I have ever seen a woman get in a political world where masculinity is celebrated- even among woman. I look forward to voting for John McCain and Sarah Palin and am encouraged by where I believe they will lead our country.”
– Lindsey Harner, Malvern, Pennsylvania
So now that I have conveyed the enthusiasm about Palin and Catholic voters, now let’s look at the polls:
CNN poll shows that McCain is winning the white Catholic vote by 23 points — 59% to 36%. And, just 3 days ago in a separate poll, John Zogby noted:
The striking thing here in this poll is that McCain has pulled ahead among Catholics by double-digits.
There is no doubt that this is much in part due to Palin.
Besides Palin, the Catholic Outreach effort is in full-throttle, as the McCain campaign has a full-time staffer working Catholic Outreach from the headquarters, and there are full-time Catholic outreach field staff in key states.
Catholic Outreach activities at the Convention went extremely well, and resulted in headlines like these:
National Catholic Register: Courting Catholics (9/4/08)
In his acceptance speech, McCain electrified Catholics by speaking about a culture of life, funding for private schools and America’s newest Catholics, immigrants.
Catholic News Service: Republicans rally fellow Catholics to support McCain-Palin ticket (9/7/08)
“Are you pumped up yet?” Brownback asked the crowd of about 300 people as he took the stage. He immediately praised McCain’s choice of Palin, which was announced Aug. 29.
“The lady is a real lady, a believer in the pro-life movement,” he said. “She lives it. She is it.”
Associated Press: McCain campaign courts critical Catholic vote (9/5/08)
Shortly after a priest’s opening prayer and a screening of a short film on John McCain’s faith, Sen. Sam Brownback stepped to the microphone and didn’t waste words.
“Just to get to the whole meat of the matter, the Catholic vote is a swing vote,” the Kansas lawmaker and Catholic convert said at a Catholic reception during this week’s Republican National Convention.
“It is a critical vote in swing states,” he said. “It is a vote we can win _ but only if we work to win it.”
My Catholic friends who were at the Convention said that morale among Catholic leaders was the highest they had seen it since the beginning of the election.
And just yesterday, coming off working Catholics at the convention, Sam Brownback hit the ground fast, doing surrogate work for John McCain in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Visiting Cleveland; Steubenville, Ohio; and Greensburg, Pa, Brownback pitched McCain to Catholics. Combined, the events drew nearly 400 Catholics.
Hope this gives you an update on the Catholic vote, and I look forward to keeping you up to date on this key coalition that I believe is going to help deliver John McCain and Sarah Palin the election.
http://race42008.com/2008/09/09/catholics-for-mccainpalin/trackback/
September 9th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Chalk me up as a Catholic for McCain-Palin.
I do not see how a Catholic in good conscience, who takes the Church’s teachings seriously, could vote for Obama-Biden.
September 9th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Is Palin Catholic or Pentecostal? I have been reading that she speaks in tongues and rolls around on the floor at pentecostal meetings. Which is it?
September 9th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Here here MWS. This is another Catholic for McCain-Palin. It makes no sense to me that a man like Biden who was born and raised Catholic, could be pro-choice. It is against every teaching of the Church.`
September 9th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
[...] (Cross posted from Race42008) [...]
September 9th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Jonathan, you might like this post I wrote, “Joe Biden, Coward, Punts His Catholic Views on Abortion” http://catholics4mccain.org/?p=154
September 9th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Another Catholic for McCain/Palin here…
September 9th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
#2, Palin was RC until she converted.
“I have been reading that she speaks in tongues and rolls around on the floor at pentecostal meetings. Which is it?”
Palin does not speaks in tongues and rolls around on the floor. Another false claim.
September 9th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Bill, I am proud of you. This post really brings a tear to my eye. Catholics will make the difference in the election, and many don’t even consider the Catholic vote.
September 9th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Thanks, Krostofer. I was reading the article where her pentecostal leader claims that she still attends important services at his church. When did she convert to Catholicism? Was it at a time when she had political aspirations? Just curious.
September 9th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
#9, no, her father converted them at a young age, I believe at age 7.
September 9th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Is there a category for “Former Catholics for McCain/Palin”?
Like Palin, I was born into the Catholic church, but converted a number of years ago.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
I may have posted this already, or it may have been one of the things I tried to post, but got eaten by the spam filter, but anyway, here’s a good list of Palin rumors:
http://explorations.chasrmartin.com/2008/09/06/palin-rumors/
September 9th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
I’m a Catholic for McCain-Palin too.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Add me to the list…
September 9th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Biden says he believes life begins at conception.
But he won’t do a thing to protect that life.
It blows my mind how someone could truly believe that abortion is the taking of innocent life, but yet support it. It would be easier for me to accept if Biden was just a flat-Earther who believed babies aren’t alive until their born. At least then he wouldn’t be on record support the destruction of human life.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Isn’t it funny how liberals get all offended when anyone questions the science behind global warming, but yet they all seem to think that when life begins is a THEOLOGICAL issue?
Maybe they think that gravity, quantum physics, and the engineering of combustion engines also are only issues for theologians to grapple with.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Exactly, MWS. Biden can’t claim any ignorance on the abortion issue. He really accepts to be true that life begins at conception, and goes ahead and supports its destruction.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Are Catholics not as reliably Republican as their protestant/evangelical counterparts?
September 9th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
And if so whats the main factor behind this?
September 9th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Sean M: Historically, Catholics were solid Dems until relatively recently. In the past twenty years or so they have tended to be swing votes.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
A catholic for PALIN/McCane here!
September 9th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Sean,
“Are Catholics not as reliably Republican as their protestant/evangelical counterparts?”
No. There are at least a few reasons.
1. Historically (going back 50-150 years), the Democrat party was the immigrant party, and the Republican party was the WASPy party. Many Catholics came here as immigrants from Poland, Italy, Ireland, Germany, etc…. and hooked up with the pro-immigrant party. Some Catholics have clung to the Democrat party as their ancestral party.
2. Catholic social teaching is often interpreted as favoring more liberal economic policies, and some Catholics mistakenly believe that this can trump the right to life.
3. A lot of Catholics are Catholic in name only, and ignore Church teaching when it comes to abortion, same sex marriage, etc….. Exit polls show that weekly mass attenders vote Republican, the Christmas and Easter crowd votes Democrat.
4. In the Rust belt, a lot of Catholics belong to unions, and see their economic interests as being in the Democrat party.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Florida PPP (D) McCain 50, Obama 45 McCain +5
PPP is a Democratic pollster, so this is great news.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Diageo/Hotline Tracking Poll: The Palin Factor
In the latest release of the Diageo/Hotline daily tracking poll, McCain/Palin leads Obama/Biden 45-44% — a 1% bump over yesterday’s 44-44% deadlock. McCain/Palin’s minor overall gain stems from small increases among women and Inds.
Obama/Biden now lead women by 9%, a drop from their 13% margin yesterday. Inds meanwhile now break 48-29% for McCain/Palin; the GOP ticket had previously led the group, which accounts for one-fifth of all respondents, 45-31%.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
“Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion!”
September 9th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Ya, I saw Biden in that interview. It’s interesting how much (some) liberals disconnect values from the political sphere, esp. on this issue. Biden’s viewpoint seems to connotate doubt, the idea that his belief that life begins at conception is not an issue of right or wrong, but rather the viewpoint he feels more comfortable holding,and that it can only proven right when a majority of people agree.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Most catholic don’t agree 100% of the time with the vatican, that’s nothing new and I don’t think you can call them “Catholics In Name Only”.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Shouldn’t the Catholic church lose its tax excempt status if it promotes a certain type of party or candidate?
September 9th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
11
I am also a former Catholic and I also converted… to Evil.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
deg,
The Church isn’t promoting a candidate or party. It is speaking out on issues of grave moral concern, for the sake of Her flock, and the world at large.
The Church was around long before America, and will be around long after.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
If a church explicitly endorses a specific candidate, then it is in danger of an IRS inquiry (and this has happened on a few occasions). As long as the church confines itself to speaking out on issues, they are on safe ground (even if the issues they choose to emphasize favor a particular party or candidate).
September 9th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
#22, well said about Catholics.
The Catholic Church should stray away for endorsing a candidate because this may backfire on the church. I’ve never met a candidate in office who is completely 100% in line with Catholic Teaching, including Senator Brownback (whom I admire). If the church starts endorsing candidates without fear of tax exempt status, the church would probably be fractured and turn into the Protestant Church with different faith factions.
The Catholic church needs to stick to the issues such as life, social justice teaching, and some economic issues. Stick to the basics that will help pro-life leaders as McCain/Palin will help.
Catholics I don’t believe pick and choose issues, I think they see what they value as important. Most any Catholic you talk to would most likely be pro-life, not pro-abortion. Some Catholics believe Social Justice teachings such as healthcare or welfare are more important right now than abortion. What the Catholic church teaches is that the protection of human life is foremost the most important issue our country faces today.
September 9th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Mike, The Church is not endorsing Palin / McCain, individual Catholics are. Other demographic groups in Eastern Ohio are doing the same.
September 9th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
What is all this talk of “converting” from Catholicism to Protestantism? I’m a lifelong Protestant, but I thought both Catholics and Protestants all fit under the umbrella of “Christianity”, therefore, “conversion” is not necessary (my definition of cerversion being from one religion to another, i.e. Judaism to Christianity, Hinduism to Islam, etc.). Please forgive my ignorance…
September 9th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
There is a distinction politically between active weekly Church-going Catholics and inactive Catholics, those that go less often if at all. Republicans do well with active Catholics; Democrats with inactive Catholics. McCain appeals to both.
September 9th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
#33, yes you are right. Individual Catholic can and should endorse McCain/Palin.
McCain will win over all Catholic, in fact I’m predicting he’ll win 70% of the Catholic vote, which would be unpresendented in American election history. Folks love McCain and hate Obama. The news media is only helping McCain’s cause right now.
September 9th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Catholic for McCain Palin!
why isnt republic party doing more to sign mu voters. They should station
thermselves at churches schools etc.. Everytime i leave my apt a young DNc with
a clipboard is asking me if i am a democrat! they are all over new york !
unfortunately there is wing of the catholic church that is almost socialist and very liberal- seems liek a lot of boston catholics believe in this -they will vote obama despite fact that obama will never help organized labor or catholics -he is one of the liberal elite- his only plan is to institute gay marriage and more baby killing
September 9th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Catholic for McCain Palin!
why isnt republic party doing more to sign up voters. They should station
thermselves at churches schools etc.. Everytime i leave my apt a young DNc with
a clipboard is asking me if i am a democrat! they are all over new york !
unfortunately there is wing of the catholic church that is almost socialist and very liberal- seems liek a lot of boston catholics believe in this -they will vote obama despite fact that obama will never help organized labor or catholics -he is one of the liberal elite- his only plan is to institute gay marriage and more baby killing
September 9th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Catholic for McCain Palin!
why isnt republic party doing more to sign up voters. They should station
thermselves at churches schools etc.. Everytime i leave my apt a young DNc with
a clipboard is asking me if i am a democrat! they are all over new york !
unfortunately there is wing of the catholic church that is almost socialist and very liberal- seems liek a lot of boston catholics believe in this -they will vote obama despite fact that obama will never help organized labor or catholics -he is one of the liberal elite- his only plan is to institute gay marriage and more baby killing
September 9th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Any Catholic that votes against McCain Palin is by extension attacking the Holy See and the principles which the Bishop of Rome has enunciated.
The interloper, B. Hussein Obama, is a Muslim thug who wishes to impose Sharia on this great land of ours…hence his mysoginist tendencies.
September 9th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
“Folks love McCain and hate Obama”; “Biden, coward; “…attacking the holy see”; “baby killing”. Listen to yourselves. Wow! Is this your version of christian love?
September 9th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Catholic for McCain/Palin. As a practicing Catholic obedient to the teachings of the Church (Christ), I could never vote for anyone who embraces, condones, supports, or ignores the brutal killing of pre-born (and in some instances born) babies. If Obama is not “certain” when life begins or when a baby receives a soul, why would he not give that baby the benefit of the doubt and assume that this pre-born baby is a living human being and support his/her right to live and breath and walk the planet?
September 9th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Pleased to hear of the students at the Catholic school with motivation to change the status quo. I am not a Catholic, but would love, as a Baptist, to join your efforts.
I’m a 49 y.o. white woman, born and raised in Georgia. Georgia is a red state, no matter what color is used on political maps in news organization broadcasts. We are not a swing state, and we are not for sale. We are, however, heavily evangelical christians, and we always vote.
I’m thrilled to endorse, work for and vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin in this election. Continue to pray that God’s will be done in our country as we continue to offer thanksgiving for His many blessings. This election is safe in God’s hands if we continue to welcome his control.
September 9th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
As a Catholic, I find it highly offensive that the right wing would try to pander to me in the guise of McCain/Palin.
Being against abortion as a matter of faith is a far different matter than insisting on criminalizing a person who makes an opposite choice in a difficult situation (e.g., after rape or incest) while prayerfully agonizing over that choice with her God.
What we need is leaders who commit to actually DOING something to reduce/eliminate abortions by supporting women in the circumstances that will allow them to choose to carry the baby to term. Reduce poverty, reduce crimes of sexual violence, enhance social support systems.
And, if you see Palin as “pro-life”, just ask about her position on capital punishment (”yeah! hang ‘em up,” she says.) Ask the U.S. Conference of Bishops how that position squares with their campaign to end the death penalty.
If a Catholic is “pro-life”, then they are truly pro-life…..not just anti-abortion. Supporting the life of an innocent unborn is easy. Being truly pro-life means, as a Catholic, that you believe in the sanctity of ALL human life, including the life of those who are despicable and not easily defended.
September 9th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Great job Billy. Love the post. Keep ‘em coming!
September 9th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Most of these supposed Catholic politicians that support abortion claim they don’t want to impose their beliefs on others — ignoring the fact that is precisely what politicians do all the time. In enacting laws they impose their beliefs, whether it is about the redistribution of income, penalties for theft or anything else. So any claim to the contrary in relation to abortion is just a lie.
Politicians are not reluctant to impose their beliefs on others - so if they support a “right to abortion” it can only be for some reason other than a concern to protect others from their own beliefs.
September 9th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
McCain’s shrewd choice for vice president was clearly a play for votes rather than quality.
It would seem that McCain would rather win an election than put our country first!
September 10th, 2008 at 12:02 am
[...] UPDATE: Nutroots call to battle stations!!!: McCain-Palin pulling ahead among Catholics. [...]
September 10th, 2008 at 12:03 am
Catholic for Obama-Biden
The Holy Father has tried to promote faith and reason. Creationism is not reasonable, and yet because of a common stand on abortion we are supposed to forget that part of Gov. Palin’s Evangelical wackiness — it’s not supposed to effect our vote. Because of a common position on abortion we are supposed to shrug off an attempt to culturally enforce Holy Scripture as divine verbatim, which is a perspective on sacred text that the Evangelicals share with Muslims. Because of a shared position on abortion we find ourselves rejecting reason, having long before given up mercy and kindness. Because of abortion we have come to hate our enemies — which, like abortion, is a form of murder.
The Archbishop of Chicago had read from the pulpit last Sunday a letter concerning the Church’s teaching on abortion and politics. Effectively it was a political endorsement, even as it declared itself not to be. It also made a late passing admonition for we Catholics not to be self-righteous. But that admonition comes too late. Abortion politics has hardened us, made us mean, unforgiving and unreasonable. Abortion politics allows us a simple, satisfying way to cast the first stone.
But can Holy Mother Church really require us to weigh only one issue, one grave moral matter, above all others in casting our American vote? What about immoral war — isn’t that an abuse of state against humanity, and arbitrary power taking human life? What about plump American prosperity’s indifference to starvation? What about unrestrained scheming on Wall Street that takes families from their homes? Then Gov. George Bush got a smooth ride from us Catholics because of his Evangelical words on abortion, so we shrugged off all the death penalties he signed off on — that’s just how the system works, we said then. (They must have had it coming, while the fetuses do not.) The reality is that being a one-issue American Church Politic has produced very little good but strange theological bedfellows.
And hardened our hearts, as some of the above comments on Sen. Biden show. Some holier-than-thou reject our Catholic brother Senator Biden, who defended the faith clearly and simply on national television this Sunday, but tried to explain how America’s constitutional separation of church and state mitigates against the dominance of any theology over civil society. The fantasy-world revisionist Evangelicals try to cast Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Madison, et al. as fervent Christians at the time of the Founding, when in reality they were tepid Deists at best. Indeed for Jefferson Christianity was folly. The intenional line they drew between church and state was much firmer and clearer than their provision in the Second Amendment. Abortion politics has served the cause of herding American Catholics into conservative politics.
But I am not going to vote for a Governor who pounds the public drum of righteousness in announcing that her teenage daughter is going to keep the baby — she did so I believe for political effect. I am not going to vote for a Governor who uses an infant as a public prop, with great huzzahs about keeping a Down syndrome kid rather than aborting the child. What kind of twisted public morality have we come to when we so eagerly swallow such pandering and do not react with revulsion to a mother’s use of children to promote her abortion politics credentials? Worse, she is now a great hero.
I weigh positions on abortion gravely — but not solely. I don’t know why, but I just don’t believe John McCain when I hear him talk about it. But I still take him at his word, in my political thinking, and his position on abortion is far outweighed by the many other factors I consider as a Catholic who loves his country and cares about what our government does to us and to the world. I think Joe Biden is a good Catholic. And I believe that Barack Obama is a good man with a truly Christian heart, who is the president America needs. I have taken my Archbishop’s statement in consideration, but I will vote for Obama in good conscience.
Now it is your turn to condemn me, my brothers and sisters.
September 10th, 2008 at 7:27 am
As catholics in this electiion as in every election we have to make a choise:
1. The catholic church is strongly against arbortion and pro life. here we have to choose the reoublican party.
2. On the gay issue we also have to choose the rpublican party
3. The catholic church strongly opposes the war in iraq So here we have to vote for the democrats
4. The catholic church is against death penalty as a part of the pro life agenda This is not easy but also here we have to take the democrats
5. on economic social issues as health care we also have to vote for the democrats according to the teaching of the vatican
So single issue catholic voters might choose Mc Cain because of arbortion but i choose because of Iraq and social economic topics the democratic ticket
September 10th, 2008 at 7:32 am
She is flat-out unacceptable. She rose through the ranks in a tiny Alaskan town (and I mean tiny) by bringing national political issues into very local, tiny-town elections. She has dealt with opponents in entirely Machiavellian style. And worst of all (thus far), she essentially required a small-town librarian to categorically agree to ban books based upon “administrative agenda,” even though a list of books to be banned was never put up. Yikes!!!
I could go on. This is so depressing. I supported Hillary in the Dem primaries and now am a lock for B.O.
September 10th, 2008 at 7:44 am
As a progressive Catholic my point was that there is more to the conscience than abortion. The GOP had 6 years to do something about it and did basically nothing. They just politicize. Rile up the base and make the base afraid.
Meanwhile, this nonsense war rages on, and hasn’t China purchased a rather large oil field in Iraq?
September 10th, 2008 at 7:55 am
Your typical Papist pulling the lever for McCain/Palin.
Steven — the Vatican does not teach that a government-sponsored universal health care system is the moral vote to make. If anything, it undermines the subsidiarity of individual communities in manicuring their own morality. Further, on the issue of war, neither Democrats nor Republicans have that much of a different strategy anymore since the success of the Surge. Both McCain and Obama have agreed that some sort of withdrawal will be likely, conditional for McCain and unconditional for Obama, and that we will see a placement of troops in Afghanistan, which Obama has supported for some time. I have a hard time believing that the Vatican would say that war in Iraq is bad while war in Afghanistan is good. On the Death Penalty, the position is more nuanced than an outright ban on the DP from the Vatican. But even still, while JPII was announcing our positions on war, the death penalty, and social justice, he was most stringently against Abortion — what he considered the single most important issue for the modern Catholic. That doesn’t reduce it to a “single-issue,” but amidst the weakness of some of your other points, it elevates abortion to an important issue for Catholics, even if so-called ‘progressive’ Catholics don’t want to think about it.
September 10th, 2008 at 9:53 am
@MichaelBrazell
thanks for the answer
1. death penalty. the vatican is very clear here. You can easily find dozens of official statements from the vatican. “The right to life is an inalienable right of every human person” it´s god given and pro life can not only mean anti arbortion for every real catholic
2. health care was just an example why in my oppinion the democratic party and their views fit better to the overall catholic social teaching
3. The Holy See took a firm stance against the U.S war in Iraq as Senator Obama did. Pope John Paul II’s special envoy, Pío Cardinal Laghi, was sent by the Church to talk with George W. Bush to express his strong opposition to the war on Iraq. The vatican believs that it was up to the United Nations to solve the international conflict through diplomacy. The Vatican had not and has not such a strikt position on the issue of the war in Afghanistan. Mc cain made his position also very clear here and it is clearly not the position of the catholic church and not a position a real catholic could agree with.
As said the issue of arbortion and the views of Obama are clearly agains the teaching of the our church and i can understand everyone that can not support the democratic party.
But i made a different choice pro life is for me not only anti arbortion and the complete foreign policy of Bush was and is against my faith and my church.
September 13th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
I am catholic and I am against abortion and for me that is something personal. How can McCain be pro life when he agrees with this war that is a nonsense to me when the republican party does not know how to govern economically, they are horrible at management and they do not even help people with no healthcare. The republican party uses religion to get votes, but they are hypocrates because they do not care for the people, they only care for their own personal interests. MacCain, if he gets elected he will be a puppet from the republican party and this means things not only will not change they will get worse.
And about Sara Palin,I really doubt about the sincerity of her values when she has a baby with down syndrome who needs her and she only cares about her political ambitions. Everybody knows that the first year is really important for a baby to bond with his mother. As I always said, religion has to be separate from politics because politics can corrupt religion and religion can corrupt politics.
September 14th, 2008 at 9:22 am
This is a link to an EWTN Q&A on the faith. I think it gives a clear explanation of the importance of voting not only our conscience but an informed conscience. HTH
http://www.ewtn.com/vexperts/showresult.asp?RecNum=550517&Forums=0&Experts=0&Days=2008&Author=&Keyword=election&pgnu=1&groupnum=0&record_bookmark=7&ORDER_BY_TXT=ORDER+BY+ID+DESC&start_at=
September 15th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
I think about abortion. Catholics who insist that birth control is wrong have no right to decry abortion. How many lives would have been saved had the Catholic Church accepted family planning. Palin is an idiot. This country deserves her and McCain. We’ll be a laughing stock in the world and that will be good for us. We have had too much pride and it’s time to fall.