Archbishop
of Omaha Issues Voting Statement
To Be Read At All Parishes This
Sunday
By
Thaddeus M. Baklinski
OMAHA,
Nebraska, October 30, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com)
- The Archbishop of Omaha, Most
Reverend Elden F. Curtiss, has
provided the people of his diocese
with a clear directive on the
"serious moral obligation
to promote the common good by
exercising our right to vote,"
which he has asked pastors to
make available to parishioners
this weekend.
Explaining
that "the
core of Catholic moral and social
teaching is respect for the
sacred dignity of every human
life,"
the Archbishop joined the more
than 80 Catholic prelates who
have said that
abortion and right to life are
the defining issues in this
election.
"In
this election, like many before
it, we are faced with a conflict
of values in candidates. There
are many serious issues at stake
in this election, but none is
more important than abortion,"
he wrote.
The
archbishop quotes Mother Teresa
who once pointed out, "abortion
has pitted mothers against their
children and women against men.
It has sown violence and discord
at the heart of the most intimate
human relationships ... It has
portrayed the greatest of gifts
- a child - as a competitor,
an intrusion, and an inconvenience"
(Letter to US Supreme Court,
February, 1994).
Stating
the need to show concern for
the well-being of those in society
who are hurting and in need,
and especially to give help
to women with unplanned pregnancies
who are without the resources
to give birth or to care for
their babies, Archbishop Curtiss
again stresses "the very
first right we must protect,
if all human rights are to be
protected, is the right to life
for the unborn. Those who do
not understand or accept this
basic human right are unworthy
of our trust."
The
Archbishop concludes, "The
stakes are high for all of us
in this coming general election.
It is up to us as individual
voters to study the issues,
examine the position of the
candidates, pray before we enter
the voting booth, and then cast
our ballot in accord with consciences
that are formed by the values
and principles of our Catholic
faith."
In
a related statement, Bishop
Robert W. Finn of Kansas City-St.
Joseph, already having proclaimed
abortion and the life issues
to be the defining issues in
the upcoming election, has requested,
together with the other Bishops
of Missouri, a week of prayer
leading up to the election -
"a week of prayer for the
protection of Human Life."
Bishop
Finn also touched on Sen. Obama's
support for the Freedom of Choice
Act (FOCA).
"Our
Catholic moral principles teach
that a candidate's promise of
economic prosperity is insufficient
to justify their constant support
of abortion laws, including
partial-birth abortion, and
infanticide for born-alive infants,"
the Bishop writes.
"Promotion
of the Freedom of Choice Act
is a pledge to eliminate every
single limit on abortions achieved
over the last thirty-five years.
The real freedom that is ours
in Jesus Christ compels us,
not to take life, but to defend
it."
The
Bishop asks that the faithful
to "pray and make some
sacrifices for our country,"
especially invoking "the
Guardian Angels of 47 million
babies lost through abortion
in our country in the last thirty-five
years. This horrendous loss
of life remains one of the greatest
threats to human civilization
we have ever faced."
Link
to text of Archbishop Curtiss'
statement:
Link
to Bishop Finn's request for
prayer:
Read
related LSN coverage:
Over
80 Bishops Say Abortion/Life
Issues Defining Issues of Election
U.S.
Bishops Come out Swinging against
Abortion, Pro-Abort Politicians
"For to me life is Christ,
and death is gain." (Phil
1:21)
