More Good News About Bishops

I posted Some Good News About Bishops the other day, and lo and behold, there is more good news day!

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!