Let Abortion Guide Vote, Catholics Told (Archbishop Donoghue - Atlanta)

[Khephra]

Let Abortion Guide Vote, Catholics Told

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution



Atlanta, Sept. 17--Abortion must outweigh every other issue for Roman Catholic voters, Atlanta's archbishop said Thursday after issuing an unusual letter telling his flock that Catholics are obligated to follow church teachings at the polls. "You have an erroneous conscience if you think there is some case in which you can vote for a pro-abortion candidate," Archbishop John Donoghue said in an interview. "You're wrong as far as church teaching is concerned."

Catholics may debate other issues, like war or capital punishment, "but there's no debate about abortion. It is intrinsically evil. It is way above other issues as far as evil is concerned."

Donoghue's letter, "On Conscientious Voting," was posted on the archdiocese Web site and published in Thursday's edition of the diocesan newspaper, The Georgia Bulletin.

Religion has come into play throughout this election year as groups from the religious right and left have worked to rally voters. The Bush-Cheney campaign sparked criticism from both ends of the spectrum earlier this year by urging supporters to send in church directories and mailing lists.

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/152/story_15294_1.html

[Lucille]

1. Wonder why these bishops never seem to comment on Guiliani

Pataki, Ridge, Schwatzenneger, etc.

Wonder why they never urge a march on fertility clinics or threaten those who work there with excommunication?

Wonder why.

[JoFerret]

2. Why not Iraq or capital punishment

Pope baby is VERY clear on both.

This is same perverted theology that declares rape is preferable to masturbation.

[DemBones DemBones]

3. Hold on! I went to the archdiocesan site and read this:

"What must Catholics do - in this upcoming General Election, and in all elections of law-makers and law-upholders? "

"The Church holds her members to acceptance, complete acceptance of her teaching on matters of faith and morals. We can argue incessantly about degrees of authority, and types of authoritative statement. But the Church's teaching is to be held and practiced. In moral theology, there are two kinds of cooperation involved in this question, and they break down as follows: "Formal cooperation is that degree of cooperation in which my will embraces the evil object of another's will. Thus, to vote for a candidate because he favors abortion is formal cooperation in his evil political acts. However, to vote for someone in order to limit a greater evil, that is, to restrict in so far as possible the evil that another candidate might do if elected, is to have a good purpose in voting. The voter's will has as its object this limitation of evil and not the evil which the imperfect politician might do in his less than perfect adherence to Catholic moral principles. Such cooperation is called material, and is permitted for a serious reason, such as preventing the election of a worse candidate." (cf., Colin. B. Donovan, Moral Duties Concerning Voting, EWTN)"


That says to me that I, and other Catholics, can vote for John Kerry in order to limit the evil George Bush would do in a second term, and that I will cast my vote for Kerry with Archbishop Donoghue's blessing and approval. It would be a sin to vote for Kerry if one voted for him only because he "favors" abortion (that is, if it was a primary reason or the only reason you voted for Kerry.) I can't imagine any practicing Catholic doing that, however.

[DemBones DemBones]

4. I see that the archbishop also talked about

circumstances in which Catholics could vote for a pro-choice candidate in the interview for the AJC, which is the one you linked to on BeliefNet.


" Donoghue's letter followed the pattern of a memorandum this summer by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in allowing the possibility of a Catholic's voting for a candidate who favors abortion rights in spite of, not because of, that stance."

"It might be possible to vote for a candidate even though he is pro-choice, when you put abortion against an accumulation of five or six other things that are sinful," the archbishop said in the interview. "He might be good on the death penalty, good on war, good on other things. It depends on why you are voting for him."


The AJC emphasized the parts that make it seem that Archbishop Donoghue said Catholics could never vote for a pro-choice candidate without casting an immoral vote. Donoghue himself makes it clear both in the interview and in his letter.

It's a nuanced position, which is not unusual in Catholic thinking.

[TexasBushwhacker]

5. This seems more in line with what the Pope said recently

Didn't the Pope say recently that Catholics shouldn't let a single issue make them vote for one candidate or another? He didn't mention abortion specifically, but it was pretty apparent that was what he was talking about. Plus, he thinks Bush is the Anti-Christ!

[DemBones DemBones]

6. Yes, John Paul II does not see abortion as

the only pro-life issue.

Bush* appears before selected Catholic groups and talks about the "culture of life," but he signed about 150 death warrants as governor of Texas, has started two wars, and has arguably set up economic conditions that will cause more women to seek abortions.

[Demoiselle]

7. I'm totally confused...

The A J-C quotes Donoghue as saying that abortion trumps all other issues...and yet it also says his statement mirrors Ratzinger's, which most certainly does NOT say that abortion trumps all issues! Is this double talk from Donoghue, the newspaper, or both?

[DemBones DemBones]

9. I'd say it's the AJC that's muddying the issue.

I read Donoghue's entire letter on the archdiocesan web site very carefully because he's my bishop and I wanted to know what he said.

If you read my first post above, you can see that his letter says what Cardinal Ratzinger has said. The AJC article first makes it seem that he is saying -- let's be honest here -- that Catholics can't vote for Kerry, but it goes on to explore the nuances a bit. That's an unfortunate thing, considering how many people only read headlines and maybe a paragraph or two.

[kwolf68]

8. How convienient

Let abortion guide you, but other things that kill people we can debate.

[DemBones DemBones]

10. Why don't you read my posts? The article is misleading. nt

[kwolf68]

12. I read this

Catholics may debate other issues, like war or capital punishment, "but there's no debate about abortion. It is intrinsically evil. It is way above other issues as far as evil is concerned."

I'm much too tired to dissect things at this point. However, this caught my eye and its what I responded to.

[DemBones DemBones]

14. It was put out there to catch your eye, I'm sure.

It simply was not all he said in the interview, nor was it what he said in the letter.

He (Donoghue) is my bishop so I checked it out right away and, fortunately, what he said is more nuanced than the articles would have you believe. That's why I posted it above. Then I discovered he had made other relevant statements in the interview -- quoted later in the article and thus easily ignored -- so I posted again with those statements.

[goforit]

11. Then ......All Catholics choose fascist demise of SATAN!

[leesa]

13. Go to sleep foolish man.