Obama, the Freedom of Choice Act, Abortion and the Catholic Church (h/t American Papist):
“Catholics can support “pro-choice” candidates if they support them despite — not because of — their “pro-choice” views. But they also need a compelling proportionate reason to justify it. What is a ‘proportionate’ reason when it comes to the abortion issue? It’s the kind of reason we will be able to explain, with a clean heart, to the victims of abortion when we meet them face to face in the next life — which we most certainly will.”
Interestingly the “Roman Catholics” for Obama actually have this message from Chaput on their website and still feel justified supporting Obama. They do not expressly state what their proportionate reason is for supporting Obama, just that:
After faithful thought and prayer, we have arrived at the conclusion that Senator Obama is the candidate whose views are most compatible with the Catholic outlook, and we will vote for him because of that — and because of his other outstanding qualities — despite our disagreements with him in specific areas.
Under the section “Life and Dignity of the Human Person” they cite his positions on the death penalty, war and guns, finally addressing abortion only to cite Obama’s stated belief that it should be made “less common.” I would hardly call those “proportionate”.
Meanwhile John McCain is not making this decision any easier for Catholics by telling the Weekly Standard that he won’t rule out a pro-abortion running mate:
“I think that the pro-life position is one of the important aspects or fundamentals of the Republican Party,” McCain said. “And I also feel that–and I’m not trying to equivocate here–that Americans want us to work together. You know, Tom Ridge is one of the great leaders and he happens to be pro-choice. And I don’t think that that would necessarily rule Tom Ridge out.”
4 Comments on “Attention Roman Catholics for Obama”
I have a hard time imagining how any good Catholic or person claiming to be pro-life can vote for him.
Hi Chelsea, I really enjoy reading your blog. Though the anti-abortion arm of the Democratic party is small, it has been gaining ground within the party. After a lifetime of seeing how little the Republican party has done to protect the unborn, exercising political capital and taking political risks largely for tax cuts and wealth accumulation, I’ve been digging a bit. There’s a group called Democrats for Life of America (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democrats_for_Life_of_America) which believes “that one of most effective ways to reduce abortions is to support pregnant women and provide access to health care, child care, a livable wage and freedom from the fear of domestic and sexual violence.” I wouldn’t think that we, as a nation, would turn away from selfishness to embrace the sanctity of life led by the left, but the list of pro-life democrats is longer than I thought, and they seem to be gaining momentum, while the list on the republican side seems to be shrinking to the point that we’re looking at McCain and possibly an anti-abortion running mate. Time will tell. May His Spirit continue to work to open the eyes and hearts of a sleeping, sinful nation.
Catholics for Obama??? I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. I mean, isn’t that an oxymoron??