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Catholics divided over moral issues
As a Christian who thinks there are many moral issues on which to vote - poverty and justice being two - this article actually gives me some hope. I didn't realize there were so many out there in organized religion who agreed.
Excerpts below. link to full article
By Krissah Williams Thompson and Jacqueline L. Salmon
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, October 19, 2008; A06
JENKINTOWN,
Pa. -- ...
By "they," she means Democrats who are reaching out more aggressively to Catholics than she can ever remember. Rather than argue over the morality of abortion, these Democrats contend that the church's teachings on social justice and such issues as poverty, the environment, health care and unjust warfare should guide Catholic voters as much as abortion.
The Democratic effort includes antiabortion Catholic scholars who have come out in favor of Sen. Barack Obama, a proliferation of progressive Catholic organizations that have sprung up contending that Catholic teachings do not forbid voting for a pro-choice politician, and such high-profile Catholic Democrats as Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., the party's vice presidential nominee, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
"The stakes here are just so much greater," said Alan Wolfe, director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College. "If you're one of those Catholics who makes abortion the absolute priority -- the issue of all issues -- and Obama wins, you could say goodbye for the rest of your life to Roe v. Wade being overturned. At the same time, [people] . . . also think there are other issues and that the last eight years of the Bush administration have raised questions about economic and social justice -- core Catholic issues -- that simply have to be addressed."
...The jockeying by the candidates and the conflict among Catholics this year stand in stark contrast to 2004, when a handful of bishops threatened to deny Holy Communion to Sen. John F. Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate, and encountered little organized opposition from other Catholics.
This time, high-profile antiabortion Catholic scholars have come out in favor of Obama, and a number of progressive Catholic organizations have sprung up, contending that Catholic teachings do not forbid voting for a pro-choice politician. Catholics United, a nonpartisan group promoting the message of social justice, and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, which calls for a "consistent ethic of life" on such issues as poverty and capital punishment, argue that economic policies may be the most effective way to combat abortion by providing social services, such as affordable health care, for pregnant women.
Douglas W. Kmiec, a law professor at Pepperdine University who served in the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, is one of the antiabortion scholars who has endorsed Obama. In his recent book, "Can a Catholic Support Him? Asking the Big Questions About Barack Obama," he contends that overturning Roe v. Wade would not end abortion, and that the bigger priority should be addressing "the economic and cultural and social circumstances that force women to believe that they must make a choice against life."
Another scholar, Nicholas Cafardi, former dean of the Duquesne University School of Law and a Catholic canon lawyer, announced his support for Obama despite his belief that abortion is "an unspeakable evil."
But the debate continues. At a "Theology on Tap" discussion in a pub in Philadelphia's Manayunk neighborhood recently, several dozen young Catholics turned out to hear Jerry Beyer, an assistant professor of theology at St. Joseph's University try to explain how a Catholic could hew closely to the teachings of the church and still fairly conclude that there are other issues as important as protecting human life.
"Reasonable people can disagree about how best to implement the values and principles of the Catholic tradition in concrete circumstances. If you disagree on this level, it doesn't make you a bad Catholic," Beyer said, using a document issued by the U.S. Catholic Bishops on political participation to explain that Catholics have a responsibility to "form their own conscience properly" and choose the best candidate.
...Burke said she hopes the rifts will heal when the election is over. She understands how young Catholics could favor Obama in a historic election and wonders aloud if she would feel differently were she younger.
"Oh, there's a lot of division, but God is with us," she said. "He's going to protect the church for all time. We're all sinners."
Polling analyst Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.
Re: Catholics divided over moral issues
Personally, I've found that to be true. But, it's never moderate voices that are loudest.
Then again, I nearly ran into a guy (yes, a man, of course) who had a bumper sticker saying you can't be catholic and pro-choice and something else that had pro-life in huge letters. I can't remember what the rest of it was b/c the catholic one shoved that memory out.
I married into an Irish Catholic family and moved to a section of the Philly suburbs that is heavily populated by staunch Catholics. I can tell you that almost all the Catholics I speak with in our area still think that abortion is the issue and that any Catholic who votes for any Democrat, let alone just Obama, isn't truly a Catholic, since the Dems are the party of pro-choice.
I'm glad to see the moderate and more catholic (little c) voices beginning to speak up, but I think we have a long way to go.
Ditto sibil about moderate voices.
I think it's kind of amusing that the media is so fascinated with pro-choice/pro-Obama/Democrat Catholics all of a sudden. Catholics are a large and varied group who have historically polled Democrat and have struggled with the social agendas on both sides of the aisle for decades. OMG Catholics care about poor people?! No sh!t!
I'm on the listserv for the Alliance for the Common Good, as well as Catholics for Choice. There's plenty of us out here, most just deflect instead of pushing the Church back (guilty).
Catholics have ALWAYS been split.
this isn't new. Catholic social teaching is a huge part of the religion.
starting to speak up?!?! Your husband's family/area isn't the norm. Catholics have always been split.
I just sent the Catholics United website to my mom. It's awesome! Great quote:
"As of page 2 this might be the most boring argument ever. It's making me long for Rape Day." - Mouse
You'd never know it from my area, and we don't live in what I'd cast as a traditionally conservative region.
What I mean by that is: anytime I'm invited to a wedding or such in the Philly area, I assume its going to be very old school and traditional (in terms of teh catholicism).
Its just known as an area of Consevative Catholics.
Catholic-wise you do.
I'm glad that this is the case and that it's not necessarily indicative of all Catholics. I've had more than one moment where I've wondered if I made a mistake agreeing to raise my children Catholic. As is the case with the fundamentalists in my own family, I find the narrow-mindedness to be surprising and occasionally appalling.
ETA: quote and amend first sentence of my reply.
Oh, how funny! Since meeting DH, I've attended three Catholic weddings with him in this area. In one, the bride was 7 months pregnant; in another, the couple switched to a different parish because the bride wanted to wear a strapless dress and her own church wouldn't permit it; and in the third, the bride married a Jewish man so the ceremony was held in a "liberal" Catholic church and had no Mass.
And then there was my wedding, which was about as traditionally Catholic as they come. LOL!
ETD smiley, since the one that appeared wasn't what I expected.
Interesting. I live 5 miles outside of San Francisco, in an incredibly liberal, crunchy town. I've lived here for a year, and only in the last few weeks have I realized that there is a HUGE Catholic population here. They're mostly extremely liberal. It's very interesting.
Having grown up right outside of DC, the majority of the religious people I knew were conservative.
I think it's news because leaders are more vocally conflicted:
The most recent statement from the Pres of Catholics for Choice just landed in my inbox. Except for the last ppg, this could have come from any leftist group, NARAL included.
http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/about/message/default.asp
A Time to Choose
october 2008
Much time has been spent this election season trying to read the proverbial tea leaves to parse the nuances of Senator John McCain?s and Senator Barack Obama?s relative positions on abortion and sexual and reproductive rights. Now that the debates are over and we have heard from each of the candidates what they really think about the issues, we all know exactly what is at stake.
It is imperative that the next president address unintended pregnancy and abortion both here in the United States and around the world. Nearly half of all pregnancies in the US are unplanned, and of these, approximately 42% end in abortion. Real women?Democratic, Republican and independent, of all faiths and no faith?face these problems in the real world. The issues must be addressed in a way that meets the needs of American women. Catholics, who support sexual and reproductive health and rights are in good company, and in good conscience, in supporting prochoice policies and prochoice policy makers. Church teachings on moral decision-making and abortion are complex and far more nuanced than the monolithic teachings as represented by the bishops. In Catholic theology there is room for the acceptance of policies that favor access to the full range of reproductive health options, including contraception and abortion.
No matter how it appears from the never-ending buzz during this election year, unplanned pregnancy and abortion should not be political issues; nor should they exclusively be the concern of Democrats or Republicans. However, given that unintended pregnancy and abortion are, and will remain, political issues, much more can and should be done to address these issues in a nonpartisan manner. It is time for Americans to make a choice and vote for the candidate whose agenda they think will best address reproductive health and rights and women?s health.
The next president needs to appoint judges to the Supreme Court who will uphold the long-standing precedent of Roe v. Wade and respect the right of women to make their own decisions about abortion. Supreme Court appointments matter; presidential appointments influence the court long after the administration itself. We heard it in the last debate?the candidates are worlds apart when it comes to their take on judicial appointments and their support for Roe v. Wade.
The Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain said point blank in this week?s debate that he thinks Roe v. Wade was ?a bad decision.? When asked whether he would consider appointing a judge to the Supreme Court who ?had a history of being for abortion rights,? Sen. McCain said he would not impose a litmus test yet responded, ?I would consider anyone in their qualifications. I do not believe that someone who has supported Roe v. Wade that would be part of those qualifications.?
Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama said he thinks Roe v. Wade was ?rightly decided.? Sen. Obama elaborated to say, ?I think that abortion is a very difficult issue and it is a moral issue?But what ultimately I believe is that women in consultation with their families, their doctors, their religious advisers, are in the best position to make this decision.?
The next president needs to ensure that abortion remains legal and is truly accessible but also needs to address the issue of unintended pregnancy in America by promoting real prevention efforts that meet women, men and young people where they are. For the first time in fourteen years, the teen pregnancy rate in America increased. The next president should include as a major public health focus initiatives to prevent unintended pregnancy and support women who choose to carry their pregnancies to term. Again, the candidates could unfortunately not be further apart when it comes to focusing on prevention and on reducing the need for abortion.
During Wednesday?s debate, Sen. Obama recognized that while the issue of abortion is a divisive one, and will likely remain that way, ?there surely is some common ground when both those who believe in choice and those who are opposed to abortion can come together and say, ?We should try to prevent unintended pregnancies by providing appropriate education to our youth, communicating that sexuality is sacred and that they should not be engaged in cavalier activity, and providing options for adoption, and helping single mothers if they want to choose to keep the baby.??
Sen. McCain was presented with an opportunity to express his ideas for prevention but instead described Sen. Obama as extreme for his support of a health exception for all abortion. Sen. McCain is against birth control coverage by insurance companies, that he supports ineffective abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, and opposes funding for the Title X family planning program. Sen. McCain characterized Sen. Obama?s position: ?He?s [for an exception for] health for the mother. You know, that?s been stretched by the pro-abortion movement in America to mean almost anything. That?s the extreme pro-abortion position, quote, ?health.??
I don?t think it is ?extreme? in the least to care about women?s health and to support women in decisions they make with their medical professionals and their families. Sen. McCain was clear that he would ?do everything we can to improve adoption in this country?But that does not mean that we will cease to protect the rights of the unborn.? Sen. McCain elaborated saying, ?it?s vital that we?help these young women who are facing such a difficult decision, with a compassion, that we?ll help them with the adoptive services, with the courage to bring that child into this world and we?ll help take care of it.? Sen. McCain?s commitment to adoption is commendable. However, he did not address prevention and ridiculing the idea that the life of the woman should be of concern in the abortion debate will do nothing to advance the conversation.
It is time we have a president who will end the ?abortion wars.? The last eight years have seen abortion politicized as never before. President Bush signed measures that did nothing to reduce the incidence of unintended pregnancy or the need for abortion and instead did everything to ratchet up political disagreement about abortion rights. From the ban on using embryonic stem cells in federally funded research to a regulation that included fetuses in the federal?state children?s health insurance program (low-income pregnant women already receive coverage under Medicaid), the Bush administration has politicized women?s health at every turn. Even potential applicants for the Coalition Provisional Authority charged with rebuilding Iraq were asked about their position on Roe v. Wade. The next president needs to turn away from these politically divisive tactics and enact balanced, bipartisan measures that will reduce unintended pregnancy, increase access to family planning, and respect and support a woman?s right to access a legal abortion in a timely manner.At the heart of church teachings on moral matters is a deep regard for an individual?s conscience. We need to use our faith to inform our decision-making, and follow Catholic teaching which says that in the end, the final arbiter in a person?s decision is her or his conscience. The majority of Catholics desire to promote family planning, comprehensive age-appropriate sex education and caring adoption programs in order to reduce the need for abortion. This is a sensible approach that Catholics and non-Catholics can and do support. Our next president should do the same.
Irish, where do you think Chicago/Milwaukee area Catholics fall on the scale?
I'm trying to decide whether my family is an outlier for that region.
I hope the weather in London was better today than it was here in Glasgow. Gale force winds, driving rain and cold are not pleasant when you've just arrive from a tropical island...
Louisiana has a large Catholic population - heck we have parishes instead of counties! Although most are registered democrats they are very conservative and do vote republican quite often. They are very anti-abortion. Louisiana already has its law passed to make abortion illegal should Roe v. Wade be overturned.
As for me personally I am a bad Catholic-pro-choice, pro-death penalty, and pro-gay marriage!
It is true that Catholic teachings do not come out and tell you how to vote; however, it does state the following:
The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation:
"The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority. These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin. Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being's right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death." "The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law. When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined. . . . As a consequence of the respect and protection which must be ensured for the unborn child from the moment of conception, the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every deliberate violation of the child's rights."
I'm very curious as to the area you are talking about. You don't have to answer of course. There are some parts of the Philly suburbs that are more conservative. Most of the Catholics I know are Democrats (closer to the city). They may not be very liberal Democrats, but they vote Democrat.
I'll PM you.