Catholics for McCain

This should be identified as an advertisement--what other purpose does it serve?

I'd invite Catholics to review the Bishops's Statement on Faithful Citizenship and also review Catholic Social Teaching. As Catholics we must protect the unborn and the born. We have a responsibility to create a society that pursues non-violence, addresses poverty (at home and around the globe), seeks peaceful rather than violent means to resolve conflict, stewards the environment, treats the widow, orphan and stranger (read undocumented workers) with dignity and care, cares for the sick. It is a scandal that so many of our own in this country go hungry unemployed or underemployed, uninsured, homeless, outcast. The choice is clear for me. I'm voting for Obama. Check it out for yourself. Don't just believe it when people tell you that you don't have a choice. Look up ''Letter from the Bishops: Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.'' http://www.usccb.org/faithfulcitizenship/FCStatement.pdf Check sections 34-37 for yourselves to see what our choices are. 34. A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism, if the voter's intent is to support that position. In such cases a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil. At the same time, a voter should not use a candidate's opposition to an intrinsic evil to justify indifference or inattentiveness to other important moral issues involving human life and dignity. And, 35. There may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate's unacceptable position may decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons. Voting in this way would be permissible only for truly grave moral reasons, not to advance narrow interests or partisan preferences or to ignore a fundamental moral evil.

I was surprised by the advertisement for John McCain. I am not voting for Mr. Empty Charisma or Mr. Let's Bomb the Entire Middle East. They both forward the culture of death. My vote will not be "thrown away" when I cast it for Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party. He is genuinely pro-life across the spectrum and believes in adhering to the rule of law, our Constitution, that blessed document without which there would be no America.

Well that was a surprising advertisement. Is America now playing politics and making endorsements? - And in reply to Mary Ann from St. Louis: that's a very relevant quote, especially since it shows why a faithful Catholic /must not/ vote for McCain. His wholehearted support of war, and domestic measures that hurt the most needy and defenseless among us, are evidence of cooperation with grave evil which Catholics must oppose. Such is the beauty of litmus tests: you can always find one you like. :)

For those who are wondering about our pariisan "advertisement" for Senator McCain, see our partisan "advertisement" for Senator Obama below. Both sites are important for Catholic voters to review as they prepare for the election.

First of all, I applaud America for being fair and giving the information for this AND the Obama site. Secondly, Laurie, who commented above, missed two things. First, Fr. Keane simply supplied the text from the McCain website. Second, I am pro-life and I am voting for Obama. I completely disapprove of Obama's support for abortion, but I cannot base my vote one ONE issue. I am convinced that the only way for us to end abortion in this country is to change peoples minds, not pass laws or constitutional amendments.

I agree with Fr. Keane's viewpoint. What baffles me is the number of Catholics who are backing Obama. What does that tell you about our faith? Why aren't all Catholics pro life and supportive of the candidate who is protective of the unborn?

This Catholic will never support John McCain. His unwavering support of this unjust war, his continuation of Bush's economic policies that greatly hurt the poor and vulnerable in favor of corporate greed and his backsliding on torture can never be justified. As far as his stance on abortion, he has offered no real solutions for reducing the amount of abortions. Barack Obama supports programs that help our mothers that will significantly reduce abortions. When you have the even Antonin Scalia commenting that it is very unlikely that Roe v Wade will ever be overturned, clinging to the criminalization of abortion is meaningless for any real solution to reducing abortion.

This is enough to cancel my subscription to AMERICA and to think less highly of Jesuits! You have a warmongering liar in chief, a person who justifies torture, and then this violence-prone, flip-flopping fool (he was among the worst students in the Academy not necessariuly because he was just a rebel- that is a ''war'' story!) who wants to succeed him! How do you equate abortion with mass murder? What about all our dead as well as the many maimed and forever injured Americans and Iraquis? Where have these ''Catholics'' been the last eight years? Long live the spirit of Vatican II! Enough of yes-men and yes-women, Grow up and get real!

"Both sites are important for Catholic voters to review as they prepare for the election." If you really felt that way, you would have posted both sites together in one blog, instead of posting your Obama 'ad' and then expecting your readers to supply a link to McCain's. Endorsements are still endorsements, even Jesuitical ones.

Carol Crawford, Three days before this post, America's blog posted a similar one presenting "Catholics for Obama." Jim Keane, SJ

I am going to write more clearly than I did in the prior comment... by writing in my candidate--who supports ALL Catholic teaching, I will not be contributing to MY sin and the sins of others. I already do enough of that--inadvertently or otherwise, which is shameful enough. Our culture is also becoming non-accustomed to the use of the word "sin"--although there is more and more of it around. This is NOT to enhance "guilt" feelings--but, indeed, to "call a spade a spade." We are also running so hard away from feelings that feel bad we don't have the experience of the feelings that are positive, either--like LOVE.

Ron D. Me thinks you must be drinking the Kool Aid. There is no way you can twist the just war theory to support a preemptive/preventative war in Iraq. Our "ready, fire, aim" President failed to exhaust all remedies short of war before invading and occupying Iraq. Second, Iraq was not direct threat to America. Third, the destruction and carnage is not proportionate to alleged injustice. Pope John Paul II was pictured with his head in his hands in obvious despair after the invasion was launched. He had pleaded with the President not to engage in an immoral war. All other pretexts aside--WMDS etc--this is a war for oil, water (Israel badly needs water), and hegemony in the Middle East. The results--thousands of our troops have died, thousands more have been maimed physically and/or psychologically, 5 million Iraqis are now refugees, and hundreds of thousands (mostly noncombatants)of Iraqis died as a result of both wars and the embargo. It is fortunate that the victors write history and dictate the outcomes. Otherwise, George Bush and his puppeteers would be standing trial for war crimes at some point in time.

i support neither candidate. I favor all Church teachings--and do not see either one of them as able to do what the Church teaches. Neither one of them will be able to do what is going to have to be done to get this country out of the mess it is in. We are in a fix. I will write in "Dennis Kucinich" because I am an American and need to vote. That way I will vote honestly--and not be led to do what I do not want to do.

Lisa, Lisa, Truly you are an Obama kool aid drinker. First, look up ''just war'' theology and you will find this war qualifies as a just war. Having been to Iraq several times for government work I will tell you what we are involved in there is more humanitarian in nature than warfare, and it has been that way for sometime. Creating schools, restoring public services, health care systems, and teaching people about freedom of religion and speech, has been our mission for a long time. All CST issues! But Lisa, by only getting your news from CNN,ABC,CBS, you are missing what is happening there.All you are doing is listening for a body count. And BTW if that is all you are interested in, maybe you should support an end to our ''unjust highways system'' where 55,000 people will die this year, or swimming pools, where over 13000 people will drown. We are also involved in preventing the continued slaughter of Kurds(genocide), and a governement that paid suicide bombersi n Israels $35,000.00 for becoming a martyr. You should look up Obama's postion on abortion, the UN Resolution on what defines ''genocide''. Obama by being an abortion supporter and referring to an unborn child, as having ''that thing'' removed from his daughter womb in a recent speech, qualifies as supporting genocide(abortion) as defined by UN Resolution 92.

I just love to watch all these die hard liberals twist themselves into all kinds of positions to defend their supporting someone who is so strongly pro abortion. The only was Roe v Wade will be overturned is through the Supreme Court. An Obama president will make being pro abortion a litmus test for selecting anyone for nomiation to the court.

Like Mary Ann, I am disappointed in the group Catholics for McCain in that they identify the pro-life agenda with abortion only. Our Catholic tradition of social teachings is too rich to be ignored in this or any other election, and it embraces far more than one issue. I am also disappointed with America Magazine for making this advertisement (with all due respect to Father Martin) readily available on your Newsletter. Where is the readily available link to anything about Obama?

Catholics care about socially conservative issues. Abortion is murder, same-sex marriage is a sin, birth control use is sinful, etc. Unlike "evangelicals" Catholics generally arent single issue voters. Poverty, immigration, human dignity are also important issues. It's just where the particular faithful decide to place their vote. That said, the US Bishops' "Faithful Citizen" piece clearly states that voting for a pro-choice candidate is morally dangerous and I do not question their teaching readily. Scripture and Tradition are clear that abortion and termination of innocent children is a grave sin. These claims that a Catholic vote is going to Obama is irresponsible. People site the war as an issue, but fail to realize that Obama has supported the invasion of Pakistan and Afghanistan to fight terror. There is no such thing as an "anti-war" candidate. He has also come out as supporting the death penalty for rapists and for Osama Bin Ladin. Please read your facts before you make decisions. I am a church-going Catholic and I plan to vote for McCain in '08.

he is the best we have and he will do a great job as president.