Non-Catholics: Would you vote for a Catholic candidate if he had very conservative Catholic religious views?

[Cinette]

I would not vote for a conservative Catholic.

…or Mormon

…or Baptist. Remember Jimmy Carter?

…or any member of a religion who described him/herself as ‘conservative’ (conservative UU?–maybe).

But it’s not going to happen. There are going to be fewer Catholic candidates of any stripe. The bishops have seen to that.

A candidate for president has to reflect the will of the people nationwide. The will of most people in the US is that abortion should be available in some form. No candidate for nationwide office, ie. president, is going to run on a so-called ‘pro life’ ticket. If he does, he loses. If he doesn’t, the bishops will get after him. Result: no Catholic is going to run. When John Kennedy ran, abortion was illegal. It is now legal. Most voting US citizens don’t want to change that.

An unintended result of having the RCC meddle in public life.

I bet you are below 40. Mature a little and then I want to hear what you have to say.

You obviously don’t believe that abortion is killing

 

[Cinette]

I listened the speech by Anderson the supreme Knight of Columbus - it was pretty impressive. What great work they do.

He said that there were 150 000 000 Catholics in North America. If that is accurate and if these Catholics were mature and politicised imagine how they could influence the elections. I realise he said North America of which Canada and Alaska are part. Well if we look at the US alone, how many Catholics are there? 62 000 000 perhaps?

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

I listened the speech by Anderson the supreme Knight of Columbus - it was pretty impressive. What great work they do.

He said that there were 150 000 000 Catholics in North America. If that is accurate and if these Catholics were mature and politicised imagine how they could influence the elections. I realise he said North America of which Canada and Alaska are part. Well if we look at the US alone, how many Catholics are there? 62 000 000 perhaps?

On the other hand, the Knights of Columbus can’t even get their own members to vote pro-life.

According to Concerned Roman Catholics of America (crcoa.com/kofc/)), members of Congress who are also Knights of Columbus include pro-choice politicians such as Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Christopher Dodd, Joe Biden, and Mario Cuomo.

So much for leading by example.

 

[mothom]

Ronald Reagan ran on a pro-life ticket against two characters who ran on pro-abortion tickets and trounced both. The first George Bush ran on a pro-life ticket and trounced his first pro-abortion opponent, losing to the second one only because a disaffected conservative diluted the conservative vote. The pro-abortion Clinton beat the pro-life Dole, arguably, because the same disaffected conservative diluted the conservative vote in that election, among other reasons. The second George Bush ran on a pro-life platform and beat both of his pro-abortion opponents. So don’t say that a pro-life presidential candidate can’t win. It’s been proven over and over again that they can. And don’t say that no candidate for nationwide office will run on a pro-life ticket because if he does he will lose. That is proven wrong every four years in the GOP. No GOP candidate for president who is for abortion has ever won his/her party’s nomination since Gerald Ford. And I don’t remember if abortion was an issue in that nomination cycle. 5 out of the last 7 presidential elections have been won by pro-lifers. And I don’t see why a pro-life Catholic can’t win either. Look at Henry Hyde and Bob Dornan.

 

[Cinette]

On the other hand, the Knights of Columbus can’t even get their own members to vote pro-life.

According to Concerned Roman Catholics of America (crcoa.com/kofc/)), members of Congress who are also Knights of Columbus include pro-choice politicians such as Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Christopher Dodd, Joe Biden, and Mario Cuomo.

So much for leading by example.

I cannot understand how you can be a seriously devoted Catholic and be pro-choice. I can’t think of the title and my bookshelf is packed with books and I can’t find it right now but Dr Bernard Nathanson wrote a book about abortion. He was the most prominent advocate of abortion and performed thousands. He supported and helped the abortion movement for years…and then he began to see the great error (and SIN)He wasa Jew and later converted. We have to pray for all Christians, that they will see that it is the antithesis of Christianity to believe in abortion.

Thing about it - if we respect life we must respect it from its very inception. We were all embryos once.

The BIG problem these days is that we feel POWERFUL. We are FREE to decided what is right and wrong. WE make our OWN CHOICES…bla, bla, bla…

What we must realise is that we have to follow our leader on earth the Pope. We have to follow the precepts laid out in the Bible. The Ten Commandments to begin with… When God said Thou shall not Kill he meant it.

What really makes me mad is when people say I am a Catholic but I don’t agree with this and with that. Your Faith is not a matter of opinion for goodness sake!!! Nobody said being Christian was easy! It is thru trials and tribulations that we often seek God. Suffering is good for us. If we believe, if we have Faith we must OBEY like it or not! :yup:

We just have to keep praying for all these people who say this and mean that!

 

[emeraldcoast]

I was wondering this while reading another thread about the extreme nature of some of the Catholics on this forum.

Around the turn of the 20th century and even before, in the USA, there were WASP politicians who exploited the nativist, anti-Catholic fears of the ruling Protestant majority. The Al Smith presidential campaign was affected to a degree by this as well.

I’m wondering: since, as some said here, the RCC is getting rid its liberalism from the past 40 or so years, and is headed back toward traditionalism in doctrine and practice, does this mean the old anti-Catholicism will arise again? I realize it still exists now, but it is largely impotent politically.

Do you think that, as Catholics become more dogmatic and orthodox in their faith, non-Catholic reactions will rise as well?

Fantastic question, Sepharad!

Yes, I do believe that there will be a rise in anti-Catholicism.

For instance, the Pope is a pretty conservative Catholic , and I cringe when I hear him talk about his beliefs on the War on Terrorism in Iraq for starters. If a Catholic was running for President and held close the Pope’s views which I believe the Pope believes correctly goes along with the Catholic Church Just War Theory, he would not get my vote.

For those that don’t know, I have been a military wife for 18 years. My dh has been on 8 deployments not including his last one that was a year in Iraq. I believe that the War on Terrorism is a Just War!

Peace!

 

[Cinette]

Fantastic question, Sepharad!

Yes, I do believe that there will be a rise in anti-Catholicism.

For instance, the Pope is a pretty conservative Catholic , and I cringe when I hear him talk about his beliefs on the War on Terrorism in Iraq for starters. If a Catholic was running for President and held close the Pope’s views which I believe the Pope believes correctly goes along with the Catholic Church Just War Theory, he would not get my vote.

For those that don’t know, I have been a military wife for 18 years. My dh has been on 8 deployments not including his last one that was a year in Iraq. I believe that the War on Terrorism is a Just War!

I believe that it is a just war when it is in defence. You are attacked and you defend yourself. I don’t think it was just to wage war on Iraq the way the USA did.

You say the Pope is a conservative Catholic. I suppose that if you are orthodox you can be called conservative… I have been liberal all my life (leftist) but I find myself changing with age. I think it was George Bernard Shaw who said that “Liberals want things to change so that they can remain the same”. I even defended communism at one time. I find that so-called liberals tend to think that by being liberal it means you must maintain a “laissez faire” attitude - its OK - Actually I have come to the conclusion that I am “religiously” orthodox and socially to the left. I always supported the Democrats and wouldn’t dream of voting Republican but now for the first time I think that I would vote Republican.

Obama is charming, intelligent, excellent orator, etc. etc. but I cannot understand how he can call himself a Christian and approve (he voted) of partial birth abortion. Also, for 20 years or so he listened to Rev. Wright and thought him to be wonderful. It is not one thing you say that defines you, it is the total of what you say and express, especially over a long period of time. Only when people were outraged at Rev Wright (have you watched the man?? how can anyone take him seriously?? ) did Obama think that he better distance himself (after all he wants your vote :yup: :yup: ). ALSO, the man calls him Christian and associates with the likes of Oprah!!! Birds of a feather! Birds of a feather!.

Soooooooo… what are you left with? The Republican Party of course. What else? The lesser evil.

 

[Wyatt]

I am Catholic, yet I would still like to offer my two cents on this issue. I would not ever vote for someone because of their religious affiliation. It’s unfortunate because, ideally, the Catholic candidate SHOULD be the best candidate to choose, yet what we see is that frequently the Catholic candidates are secularists who completely buy into the culture of death. I do not know why this is, but they are in complete opposition to the Church by taking this stance. I think, as a Church, we need to become more strict on not allowing the Eucharist those who hold to beliefs completely contrary to the Church (such as murder of the innocent). Clearly many candidates are amused at the fact that they may still receive Communion despite their heretical and evil views. This must come to an end. The Church must make every effort not to commune those who are blatantly and publicly in mortal sin.

 

[Cinette]

I am Catholic, yet I would still like to offer my two cents on this issue. I would not ever vote for someone because of their religious affiliation. It’s unfortunate because, ideally, the Catholic candidate SHOULD be the best candidate to choose, yet what we see is that frequently the Catholic candidates are secularists who completely buy into the culture of death. I do not know why this is, but they are in complete opposition to the Church by taking this stance. I think, as a Church, we need to become more strict on not allowing the Eucharist those who hold to beliefs completely contrary to the Church (such as murder of the innocent). Clearly many candidates are amused at the fact that they may still receive Communion despite their heretical and evil views. This must come to an end. The Church must make every effort not to commune those who are blatantly and publicly in mortal sin.

I agree with you. If a very wellknown person like Ted Kennedy were to approach the alter for communion I think the priest should make a cross on his forehead instead. However at the end of the day the sinner is the communicant because the priest may not recognise him/her. In Corinthians it says “…For any one who eats and drinks *without discerning the body *eats and drinks judgment upon himself…” So the responsibility effectively is the individual’s.

The Priest has a duty to teach effectively and fully what it means to be Catholic. If the individual does not accept the teachings then he/she should look for another church. One cannot continue to call oneself Catholic and receive the sacraments if one does not accept the teachings of the church. It is as simple as that.

The priest can point at the truth but at the end of the day the individual is responsible for himself.

It is not each to be a Catholic Christian

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

Obama…

Just so you know, there is no discussion of candidates permitted on this forum due to their tax-exempt status. Issues yes, candidates no.