I would much prefer to be posting about news items like these
on a regular basis. Perhaps it’s going to become a more common occurrence.
First, from LifeSiteNews we have a story entitled “US
Bishop Slams Dem Platform for Endorsing Intrinsic Evils”. Here’s an
excerpt; read the rest at the link:
The bishop of Springfield,
Illinois has issued a
hard-hitting letter in his diocesan paper, slamming the Democratic Party
platform’s support for abortion and gay ‘marriage’ and urging Catholics to
bring their consciences to the ballot box.
Citing the events
that transpired at the Democratic National Convention when the last
remaining reference to God was removed, and then reintroduced into the party
platform, Bishop John Paprocki insisted that this debacle was not the worst of
the DNC platform problems, and that the platform’s pro-homosexual agenda and
pro-abortion planks “explicitly endorse intrinsic evils.”
… Remarking
on the Republican Party Platform as a contrast, Paprocki said, “there is
nothing in it that supports or promotes an intrinsic evil or a serious sin.”
…“Again,” the bishop concluded,
“I am not telling you which party or which candidates to vote for or against,
but I am saying that you need to think and pray very carefully about your vote,
because a vote for a candidate who promotes actions or behaviors that are
intrinsically evil and gravely sinful makes you morally complicit and places
the eternal salvation of your own soul in serious jeopardy.”
Yes! Thank you, Bishop Paprocki!
In a story from Catholic
News Agency, we see Archbishop Jose Gomez stepping up to the plate again.
Archbishop Gomez recently suspended
the faculties of a priest who has been a "gay marriage"
activist for years; CNA reports today that he has made another strong statement about the role of faith in
politics:
Archbishop
Jose Gomez of Los Angeles has called on Catholics to achieve a “unity of life”
and let their faith form their political decisions as they prepare to vote this
November.
“We
have important obligations as citizens. But we have to carry out those obligations
always in light of our duty to God,” the archbishop wrote in his Sept. 21
column for The Tidings.
… “The most important thing is to form our
consciences. We have to make sure our participation and our contributions
always reflect the moral and religious values that we find in the Scriptures
and in the teachings of our Church,” Archbishop Gomez wrote.
When
Catholics go to the voting booth, he said, there are non-negotiable aspects of
Catholic social teaching that they should recall. Abortion and euthanasia, and
families based on a marriage between a man and a woman are among those non-negotiables. These issues cannot be disagreed about among Catholics
who have formed their consciences with the Church, he said.
But
many issues are debatable among
Catholics who have well-formed consciences. Archbishop Gomez pointed to issues
such as taxes, government spending, how to deal with immigration and helping
the poor as examples of topics that are matters of prudential judgment.
It’s refreshing and
heartening to see these clear statements!
