Morality and Politics

Hello friends. I’m Thom, the new Emily. I’m excited to be writing for this blog and I look forward to meeting many of its readers in the near future. Also, my friend and co-worker Karen Courtney is new to the blog. But, I’ll leave it to her to introduce herself to all our reader. We will do our best to follow Nicole and Emily’s excellent and informative writings.

Whether not you vote or you’re old enough to vote, consider familiarizing yourself with the presidential candidates. Even if you’re not casting your vote, you can influence others that do.

As my first post, I would like to paste a paragraph from Cincinnati Right Life’s most recent newsletter. It concerns Barack Obama’s position on abortion:
“OBAMA SUPPORTS ABORTION: Senator Barack Obama has firmly stated that if elected president, and if on his desk his first day in office, he would sign the Freedom of Choice Act. This would completely reverse any and all pro-life laws passed by Congress in the last twenty years. It would cancel the Hyde Amendment, and have government pay for all abortions. It would eliminate any conscientious objection clauses. It would cancel any requirements for parental notification or consent, and for informed consent for the woman. It would once again allow killing a baby during delivery by partial birth abortions. It would cancel out the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, allowing abortionists to smother or otherwise kill babies "accidentally" born alive from late abortions. The list goes on and on. All of this would come if the Freedom of Choice Act is passed as proposed, and if there were not enough votes to filibuster and stop its passage” (http://www.cincinnatirighttolife.org/newsletters/aug2008.pdf).

The bishops teach us that Catholics must mind the “five non-negotiables” when supporting a political candidate. They are as follows: 1. Abortion 2. Euthanasia 3. Stem-cell research 4. Human Cloning 5. Homosexual “marriage.” If the candidate supports any or all of those issues, a Catholic is strongly advised not vote for that candidate.

One might ask, “What if the candidate supports stem-cell research but is against abortion? Who do I support?” In this case, the faithful voter must recall that there is a hierarchy of sin. That is, some sins are graver than others. While all of the “five non-negotiables” are serious, serious sins- I’d argue that abortion is the worst. Every year there are approximately 1.2 million unborn children murdered. Right to life issues are directly related to a candidate’s entire platform. As Emily, the former administrator and contributor to this blog, asked me in one of our loving debates: “Do you think that a politician that doesn’t respect the rights of a defenseless child will respect your rights?” Well said Emily. (Thank you for reminding me that the end does not justify the means.)

So, I hope that all of you don’t stop here. Take some time to check out the candidates’ site, why don’t ya? Here are the links: http://www.barackobama.com/splash/ and www.johnmccain.com . Remember, whether or not you are voting or old enough to vote, it is important to inform yourself on some of these issues.
God Bless.