(Christianity Today) - Catholics who vote for politicians who support abortion rights or gay marriage will be banned from Communion until they have "recanted their positions" and confessed their sin, a Colorado bishop warned.How would this apply to the U.S. presidential election of 2008? To sum it up, Democratic nominee Barack Obama is the worst possible choice for a Catholic voter, and a vote for him would most certainly qualify as a mortal sin. Republican nominee John McCain is not the ideal choice for Catholics either, but it would not necessarily be a mortal sin to vote for him, if the intention was to vote against Barack Obama. In this case, the Catholic voter would be voting for the lesser of two evils. The most ideal choice for Catholic voters would be Independent candidate Alan Keyes, who is a practicing Catholic himself, is militantly pro-life and opposes gay-marriage.
Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs said any Catholic who does not reflect church teaching in the voting booth "makes a mockery of that faith and belies his identity as a Catholic."
Sheridan's May 1 directive is believed to be the first in the nation that would apply to voters the same controversial sanctions proposed by some bishops against abortion-rights Catholic politicians.
It is also one of the most drastic—equating a particular vote with sinful activity. Sheridan's order applies only to his diocese of 125,000 Catholics....
read full story here
Friday, August 8, 2008
Voting For Pro-Choice Or Gay-Rights Politicians Is A Mortal Sin
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: This is an old story, but just as applicable today as it was four years ago. I've said it right here on this blog multiple times, and received some grief for doing it, but it is true, and it would appear that multiple bishops around the world agree. Catholics who knowingly vote for pro-choice and gay-rights politicians commit a mortal sin, and cannot receive communion until they repent. When Catholics are confronted with limited choices, between two pro-choice and gay-rights politicians, the Catholic must vote in favor of the candidate that is more pro-life and is more opposed to gay-marriage...
Topics:
America,
Bishops,
Catholicism,
Homosexuality,
Politics,
Pro-Life,
Social Justice
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5 comments:
Or...you know...Chuck Baldwin. But hey, why bother mentioning everyone when you're clearly trying to influence people to your preferred candidate.
I wonder though, how exactly do you police voting when voting is by secret ballot? Obv, from a "mortal sin" perspective (assuming your position) there is an ultimate consequence - but how do you intend to excuse them from communion?
And how do you distinguish between those voting FOR McCain and those voting AGAINST Obama?
Further, I think it's a valid argument that there is no such thing as voting /against/ a candidate in american politics. You're always voting FOR someone. A vote for McCain is exactly that.
I wonder, how does a catholic vote for McCain despite the Vatican's clear statements on the War in Iraq, and Just War theory? Is it the same way protestants do (lying to themselves) or is there a complicated ritual?
Shamgar, you should know that proceeding to the communion line is an on-your-honor system. There is no such thing as a "communion cop" who interviews every communicant before receiving the sacrament. However, there are always those who are loud and vocal about their unorthodoxy. Those people can easily be denied if the priest is aware of their shenanigans.
As I've repeated many times on this blog. The position of the Vatican was anti-war when the whole thing began, and the Vatican was right. However, in recent years the Vatican has made it clear that now that the United States has destabilized the region by it's unjust war (began in 1990 and completed in 2003), the United States now has a responsibility to return peace and order to Iraq. In other words, the Vatican has made it clear that we made out bed, now we must sleep in it. We must pay the consequences for our actions, and that includes a protracted police action which results in the death and injuries of American soldiers, as well as the financial and political burdens that go along with this kind of police action. This is the consequence of poor leadership: George H. Bush - William J. Clinton - George W. Bush.
Shamgar, you should know that proceeding to the communion line is an on-your-honor system. There is no such thing as a "communion cop" who interviews every communicant before receiving the sacrament.
Actually, there is. Just not in the RCC.
However, there are always those who are loud and vocal about their unorthodoxy. Those people can easily be denied if the priest is aware of their shenanigans.
And yet - they aren't. Oh, that's right, because there are more than enough liberal priests who ignore the vatican for them to be sure they can avoid any censure for their actions.
Shamgar, it may shock you to find that I actually agree with you on one point here. The western world, particularly the United States and Canada, is filled with liberal priests (and bishops) who are perfectly content to ignore the Vatican and Canon Law. This is the greatest Catholic scandal of our era, and this is the root of all the other scandals in the Catholic Church.
Liberalism has failed. The only problem is the Liberals haven't figured it out yet. Fortunately, their days are numbered. Many of the new priests coming out of seminary are far more orthodox than the previous generation, and the Catholic Church experiences it's greatest growth in the third-world, which is far more orthodox in nature. It won't be long now, (perhaps about 10 to 15 years) before the majority of Catholic priests serving in the United States and Canada will either be African, Latin American, or Asian. Granted, that doesn't mean they'll all be orthodox, but I think it's safe to say that a much higher percentage of them will be. When that happens, it will be much easier for the Vatican to police renegade regions like the U.S. Catholic Church.
Actually that isn't official church stance... just one insane priest who should really be disciplined by the Vatican.
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