Abortion Issue Again Dividing Catholic Votes

[groovedaddy]

SCRANTON, Pa. — Until recently, Matthew Figured, a Sunday school teacher at the Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church here, could not decide which candidate to vote for in the presidential election.

He had watched progressive Catholics work with the Democratic Party over the last four years to remind the faithful of the party’s support for Catholic teaching on the Iraq war, immigration, health care and even reducing abortion rates.

But then his local bishop plunged into the fray, barring Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, from receiving communion in the area because of his support for abortion rights.

Finally, bishops around the country scolded another prominent Catholic Democrat, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, for publicly contradicting the church’s teachings on abortion, some discouraging parishioners from voting for politicians who hold such views.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/17/us/politics/17catholics.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

[YOY]

1. I am amazed that these Bishops can't see the forest for the trees.

Then again they don't f***...at least not publically.

[midnight]

2. Joe Biden will just have to not recieve communion from the

church. He will have to take a shot glass and some wonder bread and make his own. It is such an outrage that this way of blackmail is even being discussed. I'm pro-life now end this war. The church should question everyone before they receive communion if they support this war. This war goes against pro-life values.

[Bozita]

3. Shouldn't these bishops spend more time scrutinizing their ranks for pedophiles?

[AndyTiedye]

4. They Are Taking Their Direction from Maledict

Pope Maledict has been at the forefront of protecting the pedophiles while at the same time encouraging the Church's forray into right-wing politics.

I wondered how he got to be Pope, until I saw this:

[Bozita]

5. LOL ... good'un!

[tazvil04]

6. This is a ruse.

It really should not divide Catholic voters.

So long as the reason you support a candidate is not their abortion view -- you can vote for them.

There are so many other reasons to support Obama other than his view on abortion that Catholics need to find other reasons to give him their vote.

[iverglas]

7. "publicly contradicting the church’s teachings on abortion"

The RC Church teaches that abortion is wrong, a sin, yada yada.

Has Nancy Pelosi (or Biden, or any other pro-choice RCer) publicly disagreed with that?

The RC Church also teaches that adultery is wrong, a sin, yada yada. Ditto divorce.

Where are the bishops demanding that adultery be a crime, and divorce be removed from the statute books?

Churches deal in sins, and punishment in the hereafter.

Legislatures deal in crimes, and punishment in the here and now.

No Christian theology claims that Christian dogma must be made law and applied to dissenters.

Time some bishops (in Canada, too) took a refresher course.

[HockeyMom]

8. Add BC to that list too

So when are they going to start counting the heads of the rugrats among there parishoners? Haven't they noticed their followers are having the same 2.1 kids as the "non-believers"? Abstinence IN marriage until MENOPAUSE?