B
Barbara_Rice
Guest
I really desire a response by an apologist please. My church bulletin included a statement on October 3rd over a controversy of a non-Catholic candidate for the US Senate who is pro-abortion and making a political appearance at Benedictine University in Lisle, IL (Joliet Diocese).
I read the article 10-15 times and still wasn’t sure what I was reading. So did my adult daughter. Two comments were stated.
1: A quote from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Doctrinal Note on Some Questions regard the Participation of Catholics in Political Life (11/24/02). This states something about "it is incoherent to isolate some particular element to the detriment of the whole of Catholic doctrine. A political commitment to a single isolated aspect of the Church’s social doctrine does not exhaust one’s responsibility toward the common good.
2: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. The bulletin did not state when, where, why. I had to look it up.
In looking it up on the Internet, it is Cardinal Ratzinger’s memorandum to Cardinal McCarrick. He states 6 points which are extremely strong. At the end, there is a section in brackets beginning with [N.B. A Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in evil. . . . "]
This states in the last that if we voted for a pro-abortion candidate and we CAN, we would be participating in "remote material cooperation, which can be permitted in the presence of proportionate reason.
I spoke with my pastor and the “presence of proporationate reason” as he explained was if the candidate is very concerned about programs for the poor. He said the church cannot tell anyone how to vote and that we should be more like Jesus and listen to others, that all the old heresies were stated in places of higher learning. That’s how we learn from this.
I am frustrated and angry. The church may not be able to say “vote for Bush”, but they certainly can tell us what our responsibilites are morally.
The USCCB clearly states "that the Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.
I felt like a pesky fly on my pastor’s nose.
Are these documents saying what I think they are or have they been misinterpreted. My pastor’s take on Cardinal Ratzinger’s letter makes we want to scream. What are they thinking if they misquoted or misinterpreted the Cardinal’s letter.
Please help. Thank you.
Barbara
I read the article 10-15 times and still wasn’t sure what I was reading. So did my adult daughter. Two comments were stated.
1: A quote from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Doctrinal Note on Some Questions regard the Participation of Catholics in Political Life (11/24/02). This states something about "it is incoherent to isolate some particular element to the detriment of the whole of Catholic doctrine. A political commitment to a single isolated aspect of the Church’s social doctrine does not exhaust one’s responsibility toward the common good.
2: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. The bulletin did not state when, where, why. I had to look it up.
In looking it up on the Internet, it is Cardinal Ratzinger’s memorandum to Cardinal McCarrick. He states 6 points which are extremely strong. At the end, there is a section in brackets beginning with [N.B. A Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in evil. . . . "]
This states in the last that if we voted for a pro-abortion candidate and we CAN, we would be participating in "remote material cooperation, which can be permitted in the presence of proportionate reason.
I spoke with my pastor and the “presence of proporationate reason” as he explained was if the candidate is very concerned about programs for the poor. He said the church cannot tell anyone how to vote and that we should be more like Jesus and listen to others, that all the old heresies were stated in places of higher learning. That’s how we learn from this.
I am frustrated and angry. The church may not be able to say “vote for Bush”, but they certainly can tell us what our responsibilites are morally.
The USCCB clearly states "that the Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.
I felt like a pesky fly on my pastor’s nose.
Are these documents saying what I think they are or have they been misinterpreted. My pastor’s take on Cardinal Ratzinger’s letter makes we want to scream. What are they thinking if they misquoted or misinterpreted the Cardinal’s letter.
Please help. Thank you.
Barbara
is correct about the interpretation, but incorrect about the example he gave. In the case of abortion, there is NOTHING that would qualify as proportionate “enough” to offset the evil of abortion (like helping the poor). It’s a non-negotiable.
