abortion

Originally posted at Talk to Action.

On August 3, 2009 Catholics United issued a press release welcoming [an] "Effort to Find Common Ground on Abortion in Health Care Reform Proposal."

Whatever the merits of various common ground discussions and proposals, I think that Catholics United has borrowed too heavily from the Religious Rights agenda.

The release sought to refute a commercial issued by the Family Research Council that mendaciously tried to scare seniors that health care reform money that would have gone to treat them would be diverted to fund abortions.

Originally posted at Talk to Action.

The Catholic Right-Part, Seventy-three

Some Catholics think President-elect Obama owes American Catholics something for providing him with a 54% plurality. As Frederick Clarkson recently observed there are timid Catholic liberals such as E.J. Dionne who urge the president-elect to somewhat modify his position on issues such as abortion - for example, by not signing into law the anticipated Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), or even anti-abortion related executive orders.  Those on the Catholic Right, are already chastising him to reverse course on his pro-choice position - this is the predominate position among several bishops.

However, my take is that Obama should remain true to his previously stated positions - especially on abortion, contraception and stem cell research. Beyond that, I suspect that many Catholics voted for the former Illinois Senator because they too disagree with the hierarchy in these issues -- and hope that he stands his ground.

Originally posted at Talk to Action.

The Catholic Right, Part Sixty-eight

Is Governor Sarah Palin really "a natural choice" for Catholics as Fidelis's Brian Burch suggests? The answer is obviously, "No."

As I discussed in my last post in this series, the Catholic Right is doing everything it can to disparage Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee Joe Biden - a Catholic who attends Mass regularly - by painting him as a someone out of sync on social issues important to his co-religionists. Now, these same folks are attempting to portray Palin, the self-styled pit-bull/hockey mom, evangelical/former Catholic, as a better Catholic than Biden.

Let the scrutiny begin!

One of the foremost issues where Senator McCain's running mate and the Vatican parts ways is the Iraq war.  Not so long ago Palin told a group of ministry students that our invasion of Iraq is "a task from God," but Pope Benedict believes that "nothing positive comes from Iraq."

Originally posted at Talk to Action.

Recently, I described how the Catholic Right has abused Holy Communion by using it as political tool, doing so by denying the Sacrament to pro-choice (i.e., liberal) elected officials. Now, according to Catholic Democrats certain Church hierarchs with close GOP connections have begun using this debasing tactic to target a potential Democratic running mate.

As I noted in Part Fifty-six of this series:

For Roman Catholics, Holy Communion is the height of the Mass. It is when the bread and wine, consecrated in the Eucharist, become the body and blood of Christ. This holiest of sacraments further serves as a reminder of the Passover Seder that became the Last Supper.

Thirty-five years after the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, the debate over the legality of abortion is arguably more divisive now than it was then. For many years now, this has been a wedge issue used to divide politicians and the electorate by requiring polar opposites, absolute agreement with no shades of gray. With its focus on the issue of legality, the abortion debate has become one of determining permissible times and methods instead of working to reduce the number of abortions, surely something that could not offend either side of the argument.

In the highly politicized rhetoric, pro-choice politicians sound disingenuous when they add “and rare” to their calls to keep abortions safe and legal. If pro-choice leaders truly desire that abortions should be rare while they remain legal, they should be eager to support legislation like that introduced by Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), a member of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), a member of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus almost a year ago. That bill was designed to provide contraception education as well as support for new mothers and resources for foster care and adoption. That, and similar legislation currently are referred to committees.

This was originally posted at Talk to Action.

The Catholic Right, Forty-nine in a Series

Hillary vs. Obama: Beyond Race?
Today, one of my favorite columnists, Marie Cocco has a very interesting take on why Hillary did better among working class folks than Obama in both Iowa and New Hampshire. As Marie points out:

Clinton won easily among less-educated voters, and among union members. In short, she ran strongly among traditional Democratic groups that have been a bulwark of the party since the New Deal. Obama's New Hampshire vote tracked closely with the slice of votes won by other Democratic candidates who ran insurgencies against the establishment -- Howard Dean, Bill Bradley and Gary Hart are the most obvious examples.



Is this working-class resistance to Obama because of racism? Some of it may well be. But it certainly cannot be argued that racism caused these voters to reject white candidates such as Dean, Bradley and Hart. Obama's soaring rhetoric and appeal for "hope" mean a lot less to them than solid campaign proposals that address their day-to-day concerns. Bill Clinton faced media ridicule for his numbingly detailed plans. But voters didn't get the joke. They saw practical solutions they liked. This is a big reason Hillary Clinton now mimics the approach.

I know I am not going to find many conservative Christian voters on this site. I am putting this out as a "Letter to the Editor" to several local papers, in my conservative rural Northern Michigan area. Do you know of any conservative Christian blogs that I could post this on?

To Conservative Christian Voters

As we are in primary election season and as another Presidential Election approaches, I would like to address this to the conservative people of faith or what is sometimes called the “values voter”. You have voted for conservative candidates in the last several elections because of abortion and Gay rights issues. I write to you as a fellow follower of Christ who respects your religious opinions, although I may not agree with all of them.

i know that it sounds crazy to link, rape and abortion as the same act when one is meant to "help" the other. it also must seem ironic to put euthanasia and capitol punishment in the same category after all one is meant to punish the guilty the other is supposed to allow "death with dignity" violence is not a tree that you can cut enough branches and kill the tree.