The
basic issue in this election
is crystal clear. It is about
the culture of life versus the
culture of death. The positions
of the two Presidential and
Vice-Presidential candidates
are also very clear. One is
rabidly pro-abortion while the
other is very pro-life.
As
such, the choice for Catholics
is also very clear. A Catholic
cannot side with the party of
death.
God
bless.
frank
Over
80 Bishops Say Abortion/Life Issues
Defining Issues of Election
By
Tim Waggoner
WASHINGTON,
October 27, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com)
– A comprehensive list
compiled by InsideCatholic.com
reveals that more than 80 U.S.
bishops have proclaimed abortion
and the life issues to be the
defining issues in the upcoming
election, including
22 bishops who signed on to
a joint statement by the New
York bishops, and another 10
bishops who signed on to a Pennsylvania
joint statement.
Just
three days ago, LifeSiteNews.com
reported that popular Catholic
writer and blogger Rocco Palmo
had calculated that approximately
50 bishops have proclaimed abortion
and the life issues to be the
defining issues in the election;
but according to InsideCatholic
the number is significantly
greater than that.
Increasingly,
and with increasing urgency,
the shepherds of the U.S. Church
are encouraging their flock
to see the
gift of life as the most important
election issue
– even in the midst of
a war and a struggling economy.
As the New York bishops write,
"The inalienable right
to life of every innocent human
person outweighs other concerns
where Catholics may use prudential
judgment, such as how best to
meet the needs of the poor or
to increase access to health
care for all."
Many
of the bishops have also observed
that abortion is not the only
violation against the right
to life that voters must consider,
but have urged Catholics to
consider the candidate's positions
on euthanasia, embryonic stem
cell research, and other violations
against the human embryo.
With
one presidential candidate promising
to promote a culture of life
and the other vowing to put
as one of his highest priorities
the extreme pro-abortion Freedom
of Choice Act, this election
has seen an increasing number
of bishops courageously defending
life.
After
listing several offenses against
life, the Most Reverend Joseph
F. Naumann and the Most Reverend
Robert W. Finn, only two of
the 80 plus bishops to highlight
the life issues as the most
urgent issues currently facing
America, said in a joint statement,
"A properly formed conscience
must give such issues priority
even over other matters with
important moral dimensions."
U.S.
Archbishop Raymond L. Burke,
prefect of the Vatican's highest
court, said the
Democratic Party "risks
transforming itself definitively
into a 'party of death."
The
determination of these bishops
to reach Catholic voters appears
to be paying off.
Investor's
Business Daily and the TechnoMetrica
Institute of Policy and Politics
(IBD/TIPP) has released a tracking
poll that shows a dramatic shift
in opinion that may be a result
of the bishops' guidance to
their flocks.
IBD/TIPP
reported on Thursday that John
McCain has gone from an 11-point
de cit to a 9-point lead over
Barack Obama among Catholic
voters.
According
to the Drudge Report, IBD/TIPP
was the most accurate pollster
for the 2004 election.
See
InsideCatholic.com's article
here:
InsideCatholic.com's
list of bishops proclaiming
abortion as the main election
issue:
(Note
that numbers 58 and 59 encompass
22 and 10 bishops respectively,
who are included in joint statements
issued by the bishops of New
York and Pennsylvania)
1.
Archbishop Charles Chaput of
Denver
2. Bishop James Conley, auxiliary
of Denver
3. Archbishop Donald Wuerl of
Washington, D.C.
4. Justin Cardinal Rigali of
Philadelphia, chairman of the
Committee on Pro-Life Activities
5. Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport,
chairman of the Committee on
Doctrine
6. Edward Cardinal Egan of New
York
7. Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo
8. Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh
9. Bishop Michael Sheridan of
Colorado Springs
10. Archbishop Jose Gomez of
San Antonio
11. Bishop Oscar Cantu, auxiliary
of San Antonio
12. Bishop William Murphy of
Rockville
13. Bishop Edward Slattery of
Tulsa
14. Bishop Kevin Farrell of
Dallas
15. Bishop Gregory Aymond of
Austin
16. Sean Cardinal O'Malley of
Boston
17. Bishop Thomas Wenski of
Orlando
18. Archbishop John Nienstedt
of Saint Paul/Minneapolis
19. Francis Cardinal George
of Chicago, President of the
USCCB
20. Bishop Robert Vasa of Baker
21. Bishop Jerome Listecki of
La Crosse
22. Bishop Richard Lennon of
Cleveland
23. Bishop Ralph Nickless of
Sioux City
24. Archbishop George Niederauer
of San Francisco
25. Bishop Glen Provost of Lake
Charles, LA
26. Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio
of Brooklyn
27. Bishop Joseph F. Martino
of Scranton
28. Archbishop Raymond Burke,
Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura
30. Bishop Peter J. Jugis of
Charlotte
31. Bishop Michael F. Burbidge
of Raleigh
32. Archbishop Joseph Naumann
of Kansas City, KS
33. Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas
City-St. Joseph, MO
34. Bishop Robert C. Morlino
of Madison, WS
35. Bishop Ronald Gilmore of
Dodge City, KS
36. Bishop Paul Coakley of Salina,
KS
37. Bishop Michael Jackels of
Wichita
38. Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito
of Palm Beach
39. Bishop Kevin W. Vann of
Fort Worth
40. Bishop Rene H. Gracida,
retired, of Corpus Christi
41. Daniel Cardinal DiNardo
of Houston
42. Bishop Paul S. Loverde of
Arlington
43. Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo
of Richmond
44. Bishop William Murphy of
Rockville Center
45. Bishop Robert McManus of
Worcester
46. Bishop Arthur Serratelli
of Patterson
47. Bishop Robert Herrmann of
St. Louis
48. Archbishop Edwin O'Brien
of Baltimore
49. Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted
of Phoenix
50. Bishop Thomas D. Doran of
Rockford
51. Bishop Joseph A. Galante
of Camden
52. Bishop Robert J. Baker of
Birmingham
53. Archbishop Alexander J.
Brunett of Seattle
54. Bishop J. Peter Sartain
of Joliet
55. Bishop John M. Smith of
Trenton
56. Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing
57. Bishop Leonard R. Blair
of Toledo
58. Joint Statement by the bishops
of New York State (22 bishops)
59. Joint Statement by the bishops
of Pennsylvania (10 bishops)
"For to me life is Christ,
and death is gain." (Phil
1:21)