Voting our Conscience, Not Our Religion.

[ScreamingMeemie]

As a Catholic, I have to say this is the best written article I have seen by a Catholic since the Bush mess started. It is currently making its way around my Catholic community. I truly believe minds are being changed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/11/opinion/11roche.html?oref=regi

By MARK W. ROCHE

Published: October 11, 2004

snip-
More important, given the most distinctive issue of the current election, Catholics who support President Bush must reckon with the Catholic doctrine of "just war." This doctrine stipulates that a war is just only if all possible alternative strategies have been pursued to their ultimate conclusion; the war is conducted in accordance with moral principles (for example, the avoidance of unnecessary civilian casualties and the treatment of prisoners with dignity); and the war leads to a more moral state of affairs than existed before it began. While Mr. Kerry, like many other Democrats, voted for the war, he has since objected to the way it was planned and waged.
-snip

snip-
Second, politics is the art of the possible. During the eight years of the Reagan presidency, the number of legal abortions increased by more than 5 percent; during the eight years of the Clinton presidency, the number dropped by 36 percent. The overall abortion rate (calculated as the number of abortions per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44) was more or less stable during the Reagan years, but during the Clinton presidency it dropped by 11 percent.
-snip

snip-
In many ways, Catholic voters' growing political independence has led to a profusion of moral dilemmas: they often feel they must abandon one good for the sake of another. But while they may be dismayed at John Kerry's position on abortion and stem-cell research, they should be no less troubled by George W. Bush's stance on the death penalty, health care, the environment and just war. Given the recent history of higher rates of abortion with Republicans in the White House, along with the tradition of Democratic support of equitable taxes and greater integration into the world community, more Catholics may want to reaffirm their tradition of allegiance to the Democratic Party in 2004.
-snip

Mark W. Roche is dean of the College of Arts and Letters at the University of Notre Dame.

**and they say abortion education doesn't work...Proud Catholic voter for Kerry here. :hi:

[kikiek]

1. I agree. I am going to be passing that one around.

[ScreamingMeemie]

2. The one thing that really bothered me was that my daughter's school

(parochial) had somehow twisted the catholic teachings on war to support the war. Sadly, even the pastor claimed that the pope was "old" and didn't know any better...:(

[kikiek]

4. Geez..I would think you could get in trouble for dissing the pope!

The part I can't get over is how the Catholics are aligning with a religion that believes they're all going to hell. Many people that want a Christian nation don't realize if it ever comes to fruition they will be at each others throats. Like Iraq with different factions of Christians. Of course many Catholics like the ones in my family don't go for government and religion melding, and don't plan on voting for Bush no matter what any Bishop etc says. Religion is a guide not a rule book. Then it is a cult I don't care what name it goes by.

[ScreamingMeemie]

8. Truth be told, if we looked at it as a rule book...we'd all be going to

hell. :hi:

[ScreamingMeemie]

3. One kick for what I thought was a great Op-ed...obviously not.

:hi:

[kikiek]

5. You're right it is a great op ed. I heard it mentioned on shows today.

[gratuitous]

6. It's a shame one's religion and conscience don't line up

As I recall, Jesus had one or two things to say about that. As did Amos, Jeremiah, Isaiah and Micah.

[ScreamingMeemie]

7. Alas, today, so much of our religions have become "pick and choose" your

beliefs. I really hope this gets out to America's Catholic churches.

[tomfodw]

9. My religion IS my conscience

It informs everything I do. I try to live my life according to Jewish morality and ethics.

I am not a rabbi, but if I was, I would be extremely wary of using my presumed authority to directly influence anyone's political activity. And, as a layperson, if my rabbi tried to tell anyone how to vote, well, he would not be my rabbi much longer.

Judaism is not a hierarchical religion, and has not been an authoritarian religion for two millennia. No one can tell a Jew what to do, especially how to vote. I can't speak for any other religion bu my own, but I think God gave us all a brain for a reason. We can't let anyone else think for us - or vote for us.

[ScreamingMeemie]

11. My conscience is not my religion. For if my religion tells me to do

something which my conscience disagrees with (which sadly is the case in my Catholic parish) then I must listen to my conscience. :hi:

[mumon]

10. Good factoid there- I blogged it...

Yet surely the traditional Democratic concern with the social safety net makes it easier for pregnant women to make responsible decisions and for young life to flourish; among the most economically disadvantaged, abortion rates have always been and remain the highest. The world's lowest abortion rates are in Belgium and the Netherlands, where abortion is legal but where the welfare state is strong. Latin America, where almost all abortions are illegal, has one of the highest rates in the world.


So next time somebody tells you they want to ban abortion (and most likely it's a conservative), this is very useful to point out.