Vote Catholic
Labels: election
posted by Tom at
8:45 PM
About
Musings from two Domers who love their God, country and Notre Dame.
Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine,
There’s laughter and dancing and good red wine.
At least I’ve always found it so.
Benedicamus Domino!
--Hilaire Belloc
Authors
Previous
- Point - Counter Point
- Little Known Facts About Barack Obama
- Little Known Facts About Sarah Palin
- Palin Power
- Am I The Only One Who….
- The Things We Do For Love. And Football.
- From "Bad Idea Toys"....
- The Sham And Shame Of The 2008 Olympics
- A little David Mamet for Friday....
- My new favorite quote
9 Comments:
Oddly enough, voting Catholic this election season will mean NOT voting for the "Catholic".
By
Anonymous, at Monday, September 15, 2008 8:53:00 AM
Terrific! I am going to write the 'family' to go to your blog.
Atta boy mijo...who does that sound like?
Aunt Chila
By
Anonymous, at Tuesday, September 16, 2008 12:30:00 AM
Yesterday I received an email with a "grassroots video" produced by Catholicvote.com.
The video and website, Catholicvote.com were produced by Fidelis. They have very strong ties to the Republican Party and to the McCain campaign. In February of this year they issued a press release endorsing John McCain for president and their website includes articles from Deal Hudson who is an advisor to the McCain campaign as a member of the “Catholic Outreach Committee”. They have given campaign contributions only to republicans and even supported republican Senator Rick Santorum over Bob Casey, a pro-life Catholic democrat, during the 2006 election cycle.
If you forward this video or link to the website in your official capacity you may be in violation of IRS regulations and Church policy. You will also be distributing materials that contradict Church teaching.
Among other things, the video glorifies US economic and military power. This runs contrary to Catholic Social Teaching which emphasizes a preferential option for the poor and solidarity. It also runs contrary to the Cathecism which teaches us that "Respect for and development of human life require peace."
There is more than one intrinsic evil at issue this year. They include genocide, racism, torture, targeting non-combatants and engaging in unjust wars. They are all life issues and they all require our attention as Catholics.
Whether we vote Republican or Democrat this year what defines us is that we are Catholic.
Don't let the political parties redefine what it means to be CATHOLIC.
Vote the Common Good!
www.votethecommongood.com
By
Kathy O'Leary, at Tuesday, September 16, 2008 4:44:00 PM
Ms. O'Leary:
Pardon me if the words "common good" send a shiver down my spine. It seems to me that those with socialist leanings are forever invoking the "common good" in their attempt to impose their vision of utopia on us.
And excuse me, Ms. O'Leary, but your organization is no less partisan than Fidelis (an organization I had never heard of until your comment), and runs as contrary to Church teaching as you accuse Fidelis of being. In looking at some of the positions outlined at the votethecommongood site, there is much for an orthodox Catholic to take exception to:
Immigration Breakout Session:
Statement: As an immigrant nation, we believe people have a right to migrate. And immigrants have always been essential contributors to the economic, social, political, cultural, and religious fabric of this nation. Efforts to criminalize and marginalize immigrants destroy that fabric, and undermine the common good.
Question: How do you propose to address the current immigration crisis that has resulted from US foreign and economic policies...
As usual among those trying to muddy the waters on this issue, there is the failure to distinguish between legal immigration, which is opposed by no one, and illegal immigration, which is opposed on the grounds that it is, you know, ILLEGAL. How on earth US foreign policy is to be blamed for illegal immigration is beyond me; the only US economic policy that could be blamed for illegal immigration is that illegal immigrants are collecting taxpayer-funded govt. payouts without paying any taxes, which is unjust.
Health Care Breakout Session:
Statement: We believe, on the basis of Catholic social teaching, that healthcare is a basic human right....
It is a basic human right that one may not be gratuitously denied health care. However, it is not a basic human right that anyone (doctor, hospital) must provide a service to anyone else free of charge. When you can wrap your head around that, maybe you can then start to work on a truly just health care system.
As Catholics, we recommend that the U.S. — as a good global citizen working for the global common good — develop an ethical U.S. foreign policy that emphasizes conflict resolution through multilateral diplomacy instead of unilateral U.S. military action...
Ah, yes, multilateral diplomacy: where we need the permission of people that do not like us in order to defend ourselves.
More silliness in your post:
[Fidelis] even supported republican Senator Rick Santorum over Bob Casey, a pro-life Catholic democrat...
So now it contradicts Church teaching to favor one pro-life candidate over another?
There is more than one intrinsic evil at issue this year. They include genocide, racism, torture, targeting non-combatants and engaging in unjust wars.
Yes, and while you blithely convince yourself that it is OK to vote for a candidate that advocates withholding medical care from babies that survive abortions, I will ask you the following:
By what standard of evidence can you dare to assert that the US military targets non-combatants? Our jihadist enemies target non-combatants, but that hasn't really shown up on your radar, has it?
Racism? How is this election about racism, other than the not-very-thinly-veiled charge that anyone who does not vote for Obama must be racist?
Genocide? Again, by what stretch of fantasy to you charge that the US is engaged in genocide?
Torture? Yes, those harsh conditions at Guantanamo - where prisoners endure the air conditioning turned up too high, loud Christina Aguilera music, and under-inflated balls in their recreation area - are surely harsh. Tell you what, I'll get upset about the US 'torturing' prisoners when you get upset about what happens to US soldiers and civilians (you know, those non-combatants you claim to care so much about) when they are captured abroad.
Unjust wars? While it is true that the late Pope John Paul II opposed the US entering Iraq, it is also true that the present Pope Benedict XVI (you remember him, right?) supports the US staying in Iraq until the mission is completed.
If you forward this video or link to the website in your official capacity you may be in violation of IRS regulations and Church policy...
As to our 'official capacity', I have no idea what you are talking about, and apparently neither do you. The only "official capacity" Tom and I have is:
-- we are officially married to smokin' hot, intellectually gifted, devoutly Catholic women
-- we run the "Tom and Jerry" blog
As such, we will link and/or forward anything we damn well want to. However, neither Tom nor I forwarded the CatholicVote video, or even a link to it, to you. You, on the other hand, came to our site and posted (in your comment) a link to votethecommongood. You then proceeded to caution us about violating IRS and/or Church policy. I see you think no more clearly about what constitutes a policy violation than you do about political or moral issues.
Cordially,
Jerry
By
Jerry, at Tuesday, September 16, 2008 7:42:00 PM
Kathy O'Leary,
Your comment mentions genocide as a life issue for this election. As far as I can tell, neither presidential platform supports genocide explicitly. Although, those who support abortion are supporting the killing of millions of innocent children. That sounds like genocide to me.
I also noticed that the front page of your website does not once mention abortion. You mention "protecting life at all stages" and then give specific examples of promoting life after birth. Why are you so silent on protecting life before birth?
Can you imagine the good you could accomplish by holding politicians' feet to the fire on abortion. If Catholics as a voting block resolutely rejected pro-choice candidates, then latter would have to change their position on abortion. They simply could not get elected without the Catholic vote.
Catholics, who gloss over and ignore a politician's pro-choice platform in favor of other life issues, simply enable those politicians to ignore the most basic right to life.
Finally, political parties have, for some, defined what it means to be Catholic. But it was the Democrats who did so. During the middle of the twentieth century, Catholics held a strong allegiance to the Democratic party. In 1972, when the Democratic party radically embraced a pro-abortion platform, weak Bishops and other weak Catholics found ways to excuse the Democratic party rather than withdrawl their support. Finally, some Catholics are standing up to pro-abortion politicians in both parties.
Catholics should vote pro-life. It doesn't matter if the cadidate is Republican or Democrat.
You claim that supporting Rick Santorum over Bob Casey is evidence of partisanship. I strongly disagree. Bob Casey is mostly pro-life, and he would earn my vote if the other candidate were pro-abortion. However, Bob Casey is weak on some life issues. Rick Santorum has a much stronger pro-life record than Bob Casey. Given a choice between the two, it is no suprise the pro-life voter recommended Santorum.
By
Tom, at Tuesday, September 16, 2008 9:47:00 PM
seems like this O'leary has been leaving this very same comment all over the Internet.
By
Robert Simms, at Tuesday, September 16, 2008 11:47:00 PM
Yes she has. You can leave a comment on her blog:
http://paxsummit.blogspot.com/2008/09/archdiocese-of-newark-forwarding.html
By
Tom, at Wednesday, September 17, 2008 8:44:00 AM
I tried to leave a comment on her blog yesterday. She has comment moderation and I suppose she didn't care for what I had to say about her.
By
Robert Simms, at Wednesday, September 17, 2008 11:00:00 AM
Dear Miss O'Leary,
How sad it is for Catholics to forgo their creed.(If you are Catholic) Tom and Jerry have answered your illogical (at best)statements. I will refrain,and instead I suggest that you save your arguments for Jesus for that time when you will stand before him; And, stand before Him you will.
I shall pray for you.
AC
By
Anonymous, at Thursday, September 18, 2008 12:58:00 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home