Catholic voting tied to economy

Let's face the cold, hard facts about American Catholics: They have become increasingly godless. How can any Christian place the economy ahead of the lives of the unborn? This is unconscionable. As a Catholic, I can tell you that many have become greedy and materialistic. Is the Christian message really penetrating? No! The Catholic Church should start excommunicating all those who vote for pro-choice candidates because abortion is murder. The Bishops need to put teeth into their pronunciations. Many Catholics are plain flabby in their faith. The Pope is right to worry about the state of American Catholicism --in which Mammon is more important than upholding Christian truth. American Catholics: Rise up and be true to your faith!! The economy is totally insignificant compared to the life of the unborn. If you don't fight for the weak and helpless at the ballot box, then who will?

Can't the Bishops just stick to molesting and stop trying to play the moral card, when they have no clue what moral really is.

people didn't vote for Obama because of the economy only. they vote because he is an intellectual, something hard to find in Washington. He is an organizer. He brings the best in people. I knew he was going to be President one day 4 years ago. He exudes something special. The economic problems are just a coincidence. I bet these Bishops are having problems understanding the actual World. Everything was easier when the World was flat. Bishops ask for faith. Sure: Believe in me, I have no proof of God. If they are so sure that God exists, how come there have no fear of him when they are abusing little boys? how come they are not in fear when they relocate the perpetrator so he can continue molesting? If they have no fear, maybe is because they know that God doesn't exist...

It is a sad commentary on the current state of my faith that the current leadership does not see the immense moral and social failures that led to the collapse of our economy. The Bishops know full well, also, that the outgoing party is the one that gave us torture, rendition and GITMO. That yawned while Katrina devastated the south. That revealed its own CIA operative for political gain. Voters took the moral high ground this time. The Bishops are mistaken. I love unborn babies too! But voting one the one issue, abortion, has become no longer a pro-life vote. It has become a litmus test of blind obedience to right wing extremism.

Congratulations to the Catholic bishops for speaking out on this issue, but they must realize that their words mean nothing without strong action against the politicians who continue to mock them. LaRocca, if the worst you can say about Bush is that he fights terrorists and can't stop hurricanes then you may want to admit he was a good president. Furthermore, if you think protecting innocent babies from being murdered is "extreme" you should stop calling yourself Catholic.

People seem to forget that yes, Obama got the Catholic vote. Unfortunately, most Catholics do not follow Church teaching. Those who do follow it most likely did not vote for Obama. 1960s-1990s was a time when the faithful were not properly catechized. For the bishops to admit that means they failed in their role as moral teachers & leaders, but not all failed. My bishop is trying to reverse this negative trend by teaching in parishes, visiting & listening to all members of his diocese, and through other faithful examples in a diocese where most Catholics are not practicing their faith. He's got a very long road ahead to succeed. In the 1980s Pope Benedict, when he was a cardinal, predicted that in the near future the Catholic Church will shrink to a size consisting of only faithful practicing Catholics. It's a shame but I think he may be right! Let's be realistic, it is difficult being a practicing moral Catholic where a society encourages the opposite.

Being a Catholic, i'm enraged this same group of Bishops gave a $1.3 million dollar grant to ACORN!

Hypocrite is an appropriate term for people who call themselves Christians and vote for a person who advocates murder of children still in the womb. Exodus 21:18 calls for the death penalty for anyone who kills an unborn child. Every body part and life of that child is equal in value to that of an adult in God’s sight. If you care more about food in the fridge, and gas in the tank than the life of an unborn child then you should examine your relationship with the one who bought you with His blood. Soon the Democrats will introduce legislation that will undo all the pro-life progress made over the last eight years and codify the heavy handed judicial dictatorship of Roe versus Wade. What true Christian will dare ask God to “Bless America” when this happens?

OldSully, no offense - but I care about food in my fridge a lot more than society murdering the unborn. Call me a hypocritical Catholic, but I can't do much good as a pro-lifer if I am without life. And if I want to sip some $40/bottle wine in the back of my Lincoln Towncar, with an escort on one arm and a cracker piled with Brie in the other, well, that's not being selfish - it's being realistic. And realism is really what this country is all about. Realism and foie gras. P.S. The Exodus 21:18 verse you cited has to do with paying back a man if you injured him and caused him to miss work.

Why does the Church focus on the legislative aspect of this at all? If everybody "chose" life, the question of whether or not abortion is legal would be moot...

The poor boxes in the church today are on the shoulders of these sanctimonious bishops. Holy men? Hardly! They are administrators bereft of any quality except shallowness.

Hitler Killed millions he was catholic. Why was he never excommunicated? The lives of the people that died in WWII and all of the crusades were just as sacred as the so called unborn.

Y'know, we could solve the abortion issue overnight by simply PAYING the mothers $5,000 to carry to term!

I cannot stand it when people say, "Oh, I'm pro-life ... but I don't vote on just one issue," or, "Oh, I'm pro-life ... but I can't push my beliefs on others." Was the Holocaust "just one issue"? If the people in Germany had the choice to remove Hitler from power, should they have voted for him, because, after all, he did strengthen their economy, transportation, and national pride? If you say, "No," then you should not say that abortion is any different, because the only real difference is that the Holocaust did not last 30 years and 8 times as many unborn children have been killed by abortion as Jews were killed in the Holocaust. Or what about the Dred Scott Case? Since many people in northern states were against slavery, but many in the south who had slaves were not, shouldn't they have been allowed to have slaves wherever they wanted, because one's own morality cannot be pushed on others? If you said, "No," then you cannot say the same thing of abortion.

PhillipLatio75 thanks for pointing out that I referenced the wrong verse. Exodus 21:21-22 refers to killing or injuring an unborn child and the punishment to follow. When we knowingly support those who promote evil we become a partaker in the coming judgment of God because of it. Now lookup Matthew 7:25-34. The passage begins with Jesus saying “Do not worry about your life, what you shall eat or drink…” The passage ends with "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things shall be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself.” This life is important, those of us who claim to be Christ followers should live in obedience to Him. The next life is even more important for it is everlasting.