USCCB Voting Guide for Catholics
Five Non-Negotiable Issues
- Abortion
- Embryonic Stem Cell Research
- Human Cloning
- [Eugenics]
- Euthanasia
- Same-sex "Marriage"
- [Religious Freedom]
Related Issues
- Freedom of Religion
I am an assenting Catholic
Vatican II taught that we should give religious assent to the teachings of the Ordinary Magisterium.
It taught that abortion and infanticide are "abominable crimes."
I cannot follow the Kennedy dodge: "I am personally opposed to abortion, but I will not impose my religious beliefs on others."
Put this into the context of slavery in the 19th century: "I am personally opposed to slavery, but I won't force my view on others. Slaveholders have the right to choose whether to have slaves or to set them free. Since this is something about which people disagree, there is nothing wrong with requiring Catholic institutions to buy slaves for those who choose to own them."
Murder is intrinsically evil
I cannot see pitting the born against the unborn.
Buying material comfort at the expense of murdering babies.
It is murder.
It is intrinsically evil.
The HHS mandate is not just about contraception but about abortion and bodily mutilation as well. Those who call it the "contraceptive mandate" are mis-representing the mandate.
Catholics are not Gnostics
Vatican II did not embrace gnosticism; many interpreters of Vatican II are gnostics. They hear what they want to hear and see what they want to see.
The idea of conscience espoused by the modern world is gnostic: "If you think it is good, it is good; if you think it is true, it is true."
Rights impose obligations
Establishing it as a right mandates participation by all citizens: taxpayers, doctors, nurses, social workers.
"Any procedure that involves a doctor is part of health care."
Murder is not "health care"
The deadening of conscience that allows us to tolerate government-mandated murder opens the door to other perversions of 'health' care, especially genetic engineering and euthanasia.
Choosing sides on this issue
I can't see the policies of the Democrat Party as consistent with my faith.
They call murder of children in the womb "health care."
The HHS mandate mandates that Catholic institutions pay for abortifacients in two forms: so-called "chemical contraceptives" and the morning-after pill. Both cause abortions.
The President has ceased to enforce the Defense of Marriage Act, and treats same-sex marriage as a "right."
The President allowed Federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research.
- For Democrats it’s as simple as pulling a quote from Matthew 25:40 — “We call it Catholic social doctrine: ‘Whatever you do to the least of these, you do for me.’” Vice President Joe Biden explained in a recent ad directed at Catholics. Biden reminded voters that he was “a practicing Catholic like many of you” and explained that the lesson was drilled into his head by priests and nuns.
- Lynn from Facebook: "I wouldn't say the democratic party is anti-catholic. Other than being pro-choice (which is not pro-abortion), democrats tend to hold views that are more Catholic Christian than other parties - support for the poor and disenfranchised, inclusion of historically segregated populations."
- As Catholics we are not single-issue voters. A candidate’s position on a single issue is not sufficient to guarantee a voter’s support. Yet a candidate’s position on a single issue that involves an intrinsic evil, such as support for legal abortion or the promotion of racism, may legitimately lead a voter to disqualify a candidate from receiving support.
Other Issues
- Economic policies:
- Labor relations
- Taxes and regulations
- Global trade policies
- National debt
- Immigration policies
- Health-care
- Medicare and Medicaid
- Social Security
- Foreign Policy
- Defense
- Education
Whatsoever You Do ...
"What you do to the least of my family, that you do unto me."
Natural Law
In a speech delivered at the 2006 “Call to Renewal” conference, Senator Obama offered these thoughts on the relationship between politics and religion: "Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal rather than religion-specific values. ... It requires that their proposals be subject to argument and amenable to reason. Now, I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, to take one example, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God's will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all."
Rom 1 and 2.
All sins are contrary to our human nature.