September 29, 2012 10:07 AM
Catholics: pro-choice votes a sin
Excellent explication of why Church teaching (our Catechism) means Catholics cannot vote for pro-choice candidates in favor of "social justice" issues. May help some confused friends - but my guess is that they don't care what Church teaching is, they want to have it their way
HT/Maria
Posted in Pro-Life Issues | Permalink
Comments
Interesting break-down of the party platforms. I agree completely that we are morally complicit if we support those who are supporting morally evil things (abortion, homosexuality, etc.). I do have two questions, though. Why must a party platform address "feeding the poor" and other such social needs? Isn't that the purview of the church rather than of government? Our constitution and our Bible says nothing that would require government to provide for people (outside of defense). Also, I didn't realize that the Catholic catechism was against the death penalty. Capital punishment is something specifically assigned by God to address those things He said were worthy of it: murder, kidnapping, etc. I would hope we would not want to be "nicer than God" regarding such things. Overall, though, very thought-provoking video clip, and the summation of voting pro-choice being a sin---bravo! God would certainly agree.
Posted by: Sherry | September 30, 2012 9:43 AM
How well spoken your bishop is, Barbara! I so wish that pastors and churches would refuse to be bound by civil laws and would just come out and give their congregations explicit instructions on whom to vote for. How refreshing that would be! I also wish pastors would bravely hold their congregations accountable for their votes and excommunicate those who vote for candidates who support abortion under any circumstances.
I agree with Sherry, however, that God has very clearly instituted the death penalty for certain offenses. I feel the Catholic church, and the church to which I belong (Conservative Mennonite)are both very wrong in their teachings regarding the death penalty. I will continue to oppose any effort to lessen the use of the death penalty.
Posted by: Sarah | September 30, 2012 3:30 PM
Sarah, Bishop Paprocki is not my bishop, but the Bishop of Springfield, IL.
Here's wikipedia; Thomas John Paprocki (born August 5, 1952) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as Bishop of Springfield in Illinois since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on 20 April 2010.[1] From 2003 until his appointment he served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Before moving to Springfield, Paprocki would often be found running on the Chicago Lakefront path in his trademark White Sox hat running between an 8:00 and an 8:30 pace. He has run marathons all over the world.
As an evangelical, I shared your feelings about the death penalty. As a Catholic, I respect the Church's teaching (which is not black and white, but more nuanced) and do acknowledge that it is consistent with pro-life philosophy - which the leftist pro-abortion/anti-death penalty stance certainly is not.
Posted by: Barbara | September 30, 2012 3:43 PM
