Ad in Pittsburgh Catholic opposes one-issue voting (priests,nuns,laity)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04295/399299.stm

Fifty priests and several hundred sisters and laity from Western Pennsylvania have signed an ad in the Pittsburgh Catholic, saying that voting decisions cannot be reduced to the single issue of abortion.

The ad is in response to the bishops and conservative lay organizations that have declared it wrong for a Catholic to vote for a candidate who does not publicly oppose legal abortion, such as Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John F. Kerry.

The ad, sponsored by Pax Christi USA, a 60-year-old group advocating pacifism and nonviolence, says, "Members of the media -- and indeed a few of our own religious leaders -- do a great disservice to our church and nation when they attempt to use one or another issue as the benchmark for Catholic identity.

"A candidate for office must understand that the Church stands against any policy or course of action which diminishes life, dignity or the rights of the human person: abortion, capital punishment, war, scandalous poverty, denial of health care, mistreatment of immigrants and racism to name but a few. All are essential issues to a 'pro-life' voter."

This newspaper is huge in the catholic churches of Western PA.

[chicagojoe]

1. Some priests here in Chicagoland have spoken out on this, too.

[GOPBasher]

2. Yes!

I LOVE it!

[gratuitous]

3. Good for them

This whole "voting for Kerry is a sin" nonsense is being pushed hard by a tiny segment of reactionary Catholics, and pumped up out of all proportion by a media that is more interested in fomenting controversy than in fair reporting.

Let's see if a responsible majority voice gets as much coverage as an irresponsible lunatic fringe voice.

[flordehinojos]

4. Back in the time when John XXIII was Pope ... this was the kind of voice

which permeated the Catholic Church: a very caring, progressive, liberal one. Then he died and then came Pope Paul II, and then he died a month after being installled as Pope and then came John Paul and the liberal voices of the Catholic church begun to be silence to the point we now have a very retrogade Catholic Church. Good for these good souls who have spoken up for truth in the mentioned ad.

[DemBones DemBones]

5. But as conservative as John Paul II is, he has done good things, one being

to oppose the US war on Iraq. He's also, no doubt, been behind Cardinal Ratzinger's letter to the American bishops, and I think has even commented publicly that Catholics may vote for a pro-choice politician in some circumstances.

The minority of Catholics who want John Kerry excommunicated are of the "more-Catholic-than-the-pope" stripe and not reading what the Vatican and the bishops have actually said.

[flordehinojos]

9. Yes, I'll give this Pope that ... He has opposed the war in Iraq!

He also visited Cuba ... got there on the day that the MOnica Lewinsky story broke and the likes of Cokie Roberts flew away from Cuba and coverage of the Pope's visit there to come here and slime Clinton... anyhow. I am getting away from the subject. Idid not mean to do that.

[Free2BMe]

6. Yes, and more should speak up about this!!!

[DemBones DemBones]

7. See www.votingcatholic.org and www.paxchristiusa.org for more

great info in opposition to the right wing of the Church.

Dem Bones "Another Pro-life Catholic Voting for John Kerry"

[Redleg]

8. I have seen similar statements in my dioscesan paper.

Unfortunately, I have also seen ones placing abortion as the #1 evil in society.

[trogdor]

10. It's almost as if someone in Steel City has been reading my little blog.

http://www.republicansareidiots.com - article title is "Go to confession."

In this piece, I say basically the same thing - that one should follow one's own conscience when voting. If your bishop insists on making a bunch of noise about it, then let's ALL OF US line up at confession on Nov. 3rd.

Single-issue voters make me :puke:.