Can you be both Catholic and liberal?

[diggerdomer]

Don’t try to sugar coat it. If you vote for a pro-choice candidate, you are supporting abortion. Period.

I’m not sugar-coating anything. I do not support abortion.

 

[Texas_Roofer]

I’m not sugar-coating anything. I do not support abortion.

I heard Obama say he is not for abortion.

 

[gearhead]

Don’t try to sugar coat it. If you vote for a pro-choice candidate, you are supporting abortion. Period.

And with enough people thinking like this, a party in power could commit whatever injustices it wanted against whoever it wanted, and as long as it made enough noise condemning abortion, that party would continue to get elected.

That’s the danger of being a single-issue voter.

 

[Shin]

Just to be clear the Popes have also condemned both Communist and Socialist policy, and both ideologies by name, more than once.

So Socialism, condemned. Communism, condemned. More than just the anti-life platforms of the Democrats have been condemned.

That means yes, the forceable redistribution of wealth has been condemned and property rights upheld by the Popes, and anyone who wants to, can look it up, and it will read like the Republican parties’ TV ads at times…

Or I daresay, it would fairer to say vice-versa.

However, there is no Catholic party this is true. And we should have one, this is true. Why don’t we? Good question. I can think of several reasons why offhand. And they aren’t pretty.

In the meantime however if one party is going to serve the Church more than the other and have the potential to be reformed, the Republicans have far more potential to serve than the Democrats.

 

[lil_flower_luv]

Among those who have broden their understanding on voting. They realize how many candidates have been elected to office since 1974. So how does your logic tell you that abortions remains legal? That is why abortion has become a morally neutral voting issue in the USA, you pick between keep it legal and keep it legal. Some republicans are trying to claim catholics are now captives of the republican party, it is not working against well educated catholics

Rather captives of the republican party than the democratic party!

One issue of difference I know of; the Church prefers abortion be restricted to therapy which is not intented to create an abortion, while Obama see’s that restriction should not be government enforced. So that leaves about 99.99% for other issues which ones are you proposing separate Obama and the Church?

Well, Obama believes it is okay to kill a baby no matter what stage of pregnancy. I believe that is murder. Please read the fifth commandment.

diggerdomer:

I’m not sugar-coating anything. I do not support abortion.

Well, if you do not support abortion, then you should be a single issue (pro-life) voter, because that is what it has come to.
Whether or not a pro-life president does much for the pro-life movement, at least you know they aren’t supporting something that goes completely against our Faith. At least they will try to do something!

 

[Texas_Roofer]

Just to be clear the Popes have also condemned both Communist and Socialist policy, and both ideologies by name, more than once.

So Socialism, condemned. Communism, condemned. More than just the anti-life platforms of the Democrats have been condemned.

That means yes, the forceable redistribution of wealth has been condemned and property rights upheld by the Popes, and anyone who wants to, can look it up, and it will read like the Republican parties’ TV ads at times…

Or I daresay, it would fairer to say vice-versa.

However, there is no Catholic party this is true. And we should have one, this is true. Why don’t we? Good question. I can think of several reasons why offhand. And they aren’t pretty.

In the meantime however if one party is going to serve the Church more than the other and have the potential to be reformed, the Republicans have far more potential to serve than the Democrats.

Could you forward the parts of church teaching supporting (1) torture, (2)secert prisons, (3)justification of the Iraq war? I know that is not much but I would like to see these things first

thanks in advance

 

[Shin]

Could you forward the parts of church teaching supporting (1) torture, (2)secert prisons, (3)justification of the Iraq war? I know that is not much but I would like to see these things first

thanks in advance

You can look ‘them’ up yourself. Somehow I don’t think you’re really interested.

 

[Texas_Roofer]

Rather captives of the republican party than the democratic party! …

no one should be captive, it opposes free will

Well, Obama believes it is okay to kill a baby no matter what stage of pregnancy. I believe that is murder. Please read the fifth commandment.

Can you document that? or is this a another accusation to asperse a person?

 

[Texas_Roofer]

You can look ‘them’ up yourself. Somehow I don’t think you’re really interested.

Actually I do not think it exists so there would be no such thing to "look up "

 

[DanteAlighieri]

Hi all~

I know that you cannot be both Catholic and pro-choice due to what we believe and practice as Catholics, but is it possible to be a liberal and still be a good Catholic? A lot of my extended family is left-wing, yet claim to be Catholic. My immediate family is fully conservative, however, and I have never doubted that. Is it that I don’t fully understand the term “liberal” and think that you must automatically be conservative if you’re Catholic?

Please help me understand and excuse my political ignorance…

~Therese

I once asked a similar question after I saw a voter’s guide that listed the main party positions for the two major parties. My impression at the time was something like, “Wow, those liberals sound really Catholic – except for their pro-abortion position.”

Unfortunately, I was mistaken. While a liberal position seems more geared toward social justice, it seeks to legislate that which ought to be voluntary – i.e., social consciousness, charity, and good deeds.

The short answer to your question is yes, one may be liberal and be Catholic - provided that one does not advocate things against which the Church has spoken (i.e., birth control, abortion, gay marriage, socialism). The problem is that these are the pet issues of most liberal organizations, so…

Peace,
Dante

 

[lil_flower_luv]

I heard Obama say he is not for abortion.

In that case, look up, “Barack Obama on Abortion”. You might be surprised.

gearhead:

And with enough people thinking like this, a party in power could commit whatever injustices it wanted against whoever it wanted, and as long as it made enough noise condemning abortion, that party would continue to get elected.

That’s the danger of being a single-issue voter.

Think what you want. But if abortion can one day be eliminated in this country and God-willing, the world, we are on our way to true healing. Once the greatest evil has been destroyed, *any *evil can be destroyed afterward.

 

[diggerdomer]

Well, if you do not support abortion, then you should be a single issue (pro-life) voter, because that is what it has come to.

Fortunately, the Church teaches we are not called to be single issue voters (though individuals are free to choose that for themselves if they want to).

 

[gearhead]

That means yes, the forceable redistribution of wealth has been condemned and property rights upheld by the Popes, and anyone who wants to, can look it up, and it will read like the Republican parties’ TV ads at times.

Really?

The Holy Father’s action for preventing and averting this second conflict in Iraq, which began last spring and is still very far from reaching a peaceful end, was timely and insistent.

vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/2003/documents/rc_seg-st_20031018_sodano-xxv-pontificate_en.html

The recent UN Climate Change Conference in Bali has shown that through increased concern for our neighbour, in particular for those most vulnerable to climatic change, we are better equipped to adopt strategies and policies which balance the needs of humanity with the urgency for a more responsible stewardship.

The Holy See assures of its collaboration towards achieving the objectives set in Bali. To this end, the personal commitment and numerous public appeals of Pope Benedict XVI have generated awareness campaigns for a renewed sense of respect for and the need to safeguard God’s creation. Individuals and communities have started to change their lifestyles, aware that personal and collective behaviour impacts climate and the overall health of the environment. While such lifestyle changes at times may seem irrelevant, every small initiative to reduce or offset one’s carbon footprint, be it the avoidance of the unnecessary use of transport or the daily effort to reduce energy consumption, contributes to mitigating environmental decay and concretely shows commitment to environmental care.

vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/2008/documents/rc_seg-st_20080212_climate-change_en.html

A fourth area needing particular attention from the moral standpoint is the relationship between disarmament and development. The current level of world military expenditure gives cause for concern. As I have pointed out before, it can happen that “immense military expenditure, involving material and human resources and arms, is in fact diverted from development projects for peoples, especially the poorest who are most in need of aid.

…]

As my venerable Predecessor Pope John Paul II had occasion to remark, globalization “is notably ambivalent”[14] and therefore needs to be managed with great prudence. This will include giving priority to the needs of the world’s poor, and overcoming the scandal of the imbalance between the problems of poverty and the measures which have been adopted in order to address them.

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/peace/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20081208_xlii-world-day-peace_en.html

Access to primary health care and affordable life-saving drugs is vital to improving global health and fostering a shared globalized response to the basic needs of all. In an increasingly interdependent world, even sickness and viruses have no boundaries, and therefore, greater global cooperation becomes not only a practical necessity, but more importantly, an ethical imperative of solidarity.

vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/2009/documents/rc_seg-st_20090709_tomasi-ecosoc_en.html

So… the Vatican, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have called for:

• diplomatic solutions instead of war in Iraq
• pursuit of the objectives agreed upon at the 2007 UN climate change conference in Bali
• a general decrease in military spending
• controls on globalization with the aim of helping the world’s poor
• universal access to health care as an “ethical imperative”

… and you say that the Popes’ positions read like a Republican TV ad?

 

[lil_flower_luv]

ontheissues.org/Social/Barack_Obama_Abortion.htm

 

[lil_flower_luv]

Fortunately, the Church teaches we are not called to be single issue voters (though individuals are free to choose that for themselves if they want to).

Would you vote for Barack Obama next election?

 

[gearhead]

Think what you want. But if abortion can one day be eliminated in this country and God-willing, the world, we are on our way to true healing. Once the greatest evil has been destroyed, *any *evil can be destroyed afterward.

And what will you use to destroy “any evil” once you’ve sold the farm to the first charlatan who came along sporting a “pro-life” button on his lapel?

 

[lil_flower_luv]

I once asked a similar question after I saw a voter’s guide that listed the main party positions for the two major parties. My impression at the time was something like, “Wow, those liberals sound really Catholic – except for their pro-abortion position.”

Unfortunately, I was mistaken. While a liberal position seems more geared toward social justice, it seeks to legislate that which ought to be voluntary – i.e., social consciousness, charity, and good deeds.

The short answer to your question is yes, one may be liberal and be Catholic - provided that one does not advocate things against which the Church has spoken (i.e., birth control, abortion, gay marriage, socialism). The problem is that these are the pet issues of most liberal organizations, so…

Peace,
Dante

Thank you for your (name removed by moderator)ut, Dante! From your answer I can gather liberal beliefs and Catholic doctrine don’t mix well, do they?

 

[diggerdomer]

Would you vote for Barack Obama next election?

Depends on who’s running, what the current situation of all issues is, and so on.

How about you?

 

[lil_flower_luv]

And what will you use to destroy “any evil” once you’ve sold the farm to the first charlatan who came along sporting a “pro-life” button on his lapel?

You are straying far from the point. Our country needs to understand the sanctity of life! If we can do that one thing, we can accomplish many other things…
And maybe not be headed to hell in a hand basket?

 

[lil_flower_luv]

Depends on who’s running, what the current situation of all issues is, and so on.

How about you?

I see.

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” My immediate family and I will vote pro-life, for the children, as we are urged to do.