Congress Catholics want Pelosi to "correct" abortion remarks

[FightingFat]

Nineteen Roman Catholic members of Congress have written to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging her to “correct the public record” on remarks she made a week ago on NBC’s “Meet the Press” about the Catholic Church’s teaching on abortion.
“As fellow Catholics and legislators, we wish you would have made a more honest effort to lay out the authentic position of the Church on this core moral issue before attempting to address it with authority,” said the letter, delivered to the speaker on Tuesday.
“Your subsequent remarks mangle Catholic Church doctrine regarding the inherent sanctity and dignity of human life; therefore, we are compelled to refute your error,” it added.
Mrs. Pelosi had said the Catholic Church has been divided over abortion and only in the past 50 years has believed that life begins at conception. The remarks were quickly condemned by the bishops of New York, Washington, Denver and Pittsburgh as well as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Catholic officials have stressed that despite different understandings over 2,000 years about when life begins, their church has always considered abortion a grave moral evil.
The signers of the letter asked Mrs. Pelosi to “rectify your errant claims and apologize for misrepresenting the Church’s doctrine and misleading fellow Catholics.”

More washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/29/catholic-congress-members-pelosi-should-correct-re/

Not much is more irritanting than someone altering the catechism to suit their own agenda eh?

 

[tomarin]

Hats off to them!

 

[averheyen]

Hello, it’s not just the congress Catholics.

 

[LilyM]

Thanks be to God there are some REAL Catholics in Congress - if only there were a few more, and many more in our Australian Parliament too

 

[Dale_M]

Only 18 of the 132 Catholic members of Congress signed this letter. The headline is misleading since only a small fraction of Catholics in the US Congress supported this letter.

 

[tomch]

Too bad that all these pro-abortion politicians are claiming to be Catholic. For a Church that is as pro-life as the Catholic Church claims to be, how in the world did we get so many pro-abortion politicians? I’m confused!

I was a fundamental Protestant - crossed the Tiber in 07. The rest of my family are still Fundy-Prots, and they are noticing all these pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage, anti-family-value “Catholic” politicians. They’re not very impressed at all. Neither am I.

It’s pretty embarrassing when the Protestants contribute someone as outstanding as Sarah Palin to the political scene, and the best we Catholics can come up with is Joe Biden… or Nancy Pelosi… or John Kerry… (the list goes on and on…)

Are there any Catholic politicians who are pro-life? What is happening here?

 

[KathleenElsie]

Too bad that all these pro-abortion politicians are claiming to be Catholic. For a Church that is as pro-life as the Catholic Church claims to be, how in the world did we get so many pro-abortion politicians? I’m confused!

I was a fundamental Protestant - crossed the Tiber in 07. The rest of my family are still Fundy-Prots, and they are noticing all these pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage, anti-family-value “Catholic” politicians. They’re not very impressed at all. Neither am I.

It’s pretty embarrassing when the Protestants contribute someone as outstanding as Sarah Palin to the political scene, and the best we Catholics can come up with is Joe Biden… or Nancy Pelosi… or John Kerry… (the list goes on and on…)

Are there any Catholic politicians who are pro-life? What is happening here?

American dissidents in the 1960s & 1970s and their teaching of personal choice and not Magesterium teachings. Check the ages and see when they were in CCD and when their teachers were in CCD. Simple to teach a values empty class, harder to retrain values later in life.

The only way to make this better (a bitter pill to swallow) is to come right out and tell everyone that if you can not support the prolife teaching of Holy Mother Church you are NOT CATHOLIC in good standing period end of subject.

This is no harder then saying you are not a Christian if you don’t believe in Christ.

 

[Lurch104]

T
It’s pretty embarrassing when the Protestants contribute someone as outstanding as Sarah Palin to the political scene, and the best we Catholics can come up with is Joe Biden… or Nancy Pelosi… or John Kerry… (the list goes on and on…)

Are there any Catholic politicians who are pro-life? What is happening here?

Don’t despair…
Rick Santorum, Sam Brownback, John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Sam Alito, Bobby Jundal…the list goes on.

We have quite a few very solid Catholic politicians out there, the tide is turning. Heck, the Supreme Court loading alone is fairly impressive.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I was a fundamental Protestant - crossed the Tiber in 07. The rest of my family are still Fundy-Prots, and they are noticing all these pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage, anti-family-value “Catholic” politicians. They’re not very impressed at all. Neither am I.

It’s pretty embarrassing when the Protestants contribute someone as outstanding as Sarah Palin to the political scene, and the best we Catholics can come up with is Joe Biden… or Nancy Pelosi… or John Kerry… (the list goes on and on…)

Are there any Catholic politicians who are pro-life? What is happening here?

I think the difference is that Fundamentalists who decide to go over to the “culture of death” switch to some non-Fundamentalist church, or just drop out entirely. Catholics who do so tend to remain nominally Catholic. Not saying that’s good. Just saying that’s the way it seems to work.

To me, it is an acutely embarrassing “deja vu” to see a staunchly prolife protestant running against a compromised Catholic. That was the case in Bush/Kerry, and here we are again.

 

[Nino]

amen to that…when americas mayor (!) ran for president and made similar wise cracks I also was angered and frustrated that the Catholic leadership was so silent…at least he did not fool anyone else in the nation and lost all primaries…no one hurts our religion more then these self-styled pc catholics…‘catholics’ in name only …since they are like in a cafeteria .picking and choosing…you can finish the rest…

 

[Ridgerunner]

The more I think about American politics, the less difference I see between the parties except when it comes to the “culture of life/death” issues. There is a lot of posturing about “social justice” and war, but they seem to end up in the same place when it comes to action. Both take corporate money. Both pay back with favors. One has to hand it to Boone Pickens, who is running his own independent race for subsidies for his wind farms. He knows the game.

Granted, in this election we might really be seeing the potential for a true shift in the free market/socialism spectrum, and that is a matter of concern. Still, there are the lobbyists and their money, so that might be just one more rhetorical thing. There might be a true shift in the interventionist/isolationist position too, though I’m doubting that more and more.

But on the assumption that it’s all just “rhetoric as usual”, and the history of both parties in the last 20 years is intensely suggestive of that, there really is only one “issue” anymore. There are subsets to the “culture of death/culture of life” confrontation, but abortion on demand is its central theme. The rest of it seems almost to be a succession of red herrings. I grant that there is a handful of “true believers” in Congress, but it really does seem like a handful.

So, in a sense, politics in the U.S. is “single issue” of its very nature. There really is only one issue, and that’s abortion on demand. The voters do control that, indirectly, and can oust culture of death politicians. That’s why those politicians are so anxious to misdirect our attention with “issues” they have no intention whatever of addressing in any significant way.

 

[tomch]

I’m glad that at least a few Catholic Bishops and politicians are finally coming out and clearly spelling out the Church’s position. I was reading other posts and found this verse, which is very applicable:

And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?

Time for the Catholic Church in America to give a distinct warning of what’s going on here~!

 

[stbruno]

Amen to that. I do know that the Catholic politician Durbin in our state of Illinois would never agree to corect Pelosi. More reasons to pray.

 

[tomarin]

The more I think about American politics, the less difference I see between the parties except when it comes to the “culture of life/death” issues. There is a lot of posturing about “social justice” and war, but they seem to end up in the same place when it comes to action.

So true. A lot of the “difference” appears to be rhetorical (excepting, as you say, culture of life/death issues).

 

[Lief_Erikson]

Too bad that all these pro-abortion politicians are claiming to be Catholic. For a Church that is as pro-life as the Catholic Church claims to be, how in the world did we get so many pro-abortion politicians? I’m confused!

I was a fundamental Protestant - crossed the Tiber in 07. The rest of my family are still Fundy-Prots, and they are noticing all these pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage, anti-family-value “Catholic” politicians. They’re not very impressed at all. Neither am I.

It’s pretty embarrassing when the Protestants contribute someone as outstanding as Sarah Palin to the political scene, and the best we Catholics can come up with is Joe Biden… or Nancy Pelosi… or John Kerry… (the list goes on and on…)

Are there any Catholic politicians who are pro-life? What is happening here?

Makes me feel sick .

 

[Confiteor]

Amen to that. I do know that the Catholic politician Durbin in our state of Illinois would never agree to corect Pelosi. More reasons to pray.

Isn’t Durbin the one who devised the ever-so-slanted Catholic “scorecard” designed to equate many less fundamental social and prudential issues with abortion, euthanasia, and gay marriage so certain members of Congress/candidates would appear more aligned with Catholic teaching?

 

[stbruno]

I wouldn’t doubt it. Whenever I write him and whenever our Cardinal talks to him, he just shrugs everything off…he’s following “his conscience.” May God have mercy on him, and hopefully someday he will understand the evil that has deciminated by his decisions. When I write him as a constituent, I always include, prayers for his change of heart.

 

[Deacon_Ed_B]

I think that with many of these politicians we are seeing the fruits of lack of proper catechesis. So many have done so little for so few and the rest were allowed to get lost on the way. Prayer is the answer. Pray daily for them, for us and for out country. Pray for the Church and its representatives whoever and wherever they may be. If we do not pray, it does no good to say look what the Church did, for we are the Church.
Prayers & blessings
Deacon Ed B

 

[stbruno]

Not only a lack of catechesis but a certain smugness since they are fairly successful and do not understand that it is all a gift from God. But for those much is given, much will be expected too.

I hope others will join in the Novena Prayer for the elections beginning this Tuesday. You can pick up the novena information on the usccb.org website.

 

[elts1956]

Don’t despair…
Rick Santorum, Sam Brownback, John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Sam Alito, Bobby Jundal…the list goes on.

We have quite a few very solid Catholic politicians out there, the tide is turning. Heck, the Supreme Court loading alone is fairly impressive.

Then I wonder why they didn’t add their names to the list of:

Hon. Thaddeus G. McCotter (MI)
Hon. Steve Chabot (OH)
Hon. Virginia Foxx (NC)
Hon. Phil Gingrey (GA)
Hon. Peter King (NY)
Hon. Steve King (IA)
Hon. Daniel Lungren (CA)
Hon. Devin Nunes (CA)
Hon. John Sullivan (OK)
Hon. Patrick Tiberi (OH)

on the letter the above wrote to Pelosi, chastizing her for her muddled thinking and muddled faith?

Perhaps we should write and ask them. I am.

Also does anyone else know of any other Catholic reps. who are either pro-choice, or pro-abortion, or the ones who support life. We should write to them and thank them.