Father,

What Happened to the Roman Catholic Vote?

It was sacrificed for money.  For all of the alleged strictness and hierarchy and the "magisterium" of the Roman Catholic Church, all bets are off when it comes to money.  In the United States, Roman Catholic Cardinals and Bishops operate under the foolish and unwarranted idea that they cannot take effective "stands" on political issues, no matter how much they offend basic moral principles. Their false logic is that if they do, they will risk losing their IRS 501(c) (3) (non-profit) status, and therefore be less able to continue doing their "good works."  This is the core reason I believe that they refuse to let their subordinate priests and deacons "preach from the pulpit" regarding candidates' stands on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage, and even prohibit the distribution of campaign  literature or "fact sheets" on their own property.

A tragically absurd example of this came this past Saturday, just before the Presidential election, when a couple of our McCain-Palin volunteers attempted to distribute literature outside the local Roman Catholic church where they were members.  They were chased away by the priest, who threatened to call the police on them.  Imagine that, a Catholic pastor threatening members of his flock with arrest for handing out pro-life materials on the church grounds!  What sin had they committed to deserve that?  Or, who, in fact was the sinner?

We are told in Scripture to "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's."  Unfortunately, to many who call themselves Christians, this goes way beyond its intended meaning (taxes and the like) and seeps into "morality" through the lens of what the godless secular state dictates NOT what Christian law and ethics demand.

Brian Burch, President of Fidelis, gives all the excuses of material secularism in his pathetic apologia for the majority of Roman Catholics voting for abortion and same-sex marriage.  It seems Catholics were  "...citing the economy as their top issue,"..."Catholic voters ignored the guidance of their bishops,"..."the bishops can only do so much,"...etc.  It is amazing that the U.S. Roman Catholic Church, which claims at least 20% of the entire U.S. population as members, does not believe that it has any power when it comes to taking a stand on these vital matters.  Why did the Catholics ignore their bishops?  BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING.  Imagine, if the cardinals and bishops had united in a serious pro-life, pro-marriage campaign from every Roman Catholic pulpit in America for weeks before the election with explanatory literature and multimedia presentations.  If national days of prayer and fasting had been called.  If a national "march for life" had been held just before the election in cities across the country.  Is it not possible -probable- that efforts such as this could have resulted in a pick up of seven percentage points?  Is it not possible -again, probable- that God would have blessed a prayerful Nation with a pro-life victory, even if some of its efforts were imperfect?

No, instead, everyone waits by the wayside, hoping not to offend, hoping to pay off the civil and criminal fines from the last barrage of sin, to stay under the radar.  And how does the Fidelis interview end?  With a hope, "that the new administration will recognize the charitable contributions of Catholic organizations..." and that there will be "new funding for social service organizations of this type."  Too bad there will be a few million less children to benefit from this government-sponsored largesse... 

An Overview of the Very Latest Reports on Obama, McCain, Palin and the Likely Huge Political Change That Would Result From an Obama Victory

* Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of LifeSiteNews.com. They are presented only for your information.

Compiled by Steve Jalsevac

Gallup Daily: Obama leads by two to seven points among likely voters

Panic Attack at Daily Kos Over Stunning New Gallup Poll With Obama Lead at Only 2 Points

OBAMA

At the U.N., Many Hope for an Obama Win - Washington Post
An informal survey of more than two dozen U.N. staff members and foreign delegates showed that the overwhelming majority would prefer that Sen. Barack Obama win the presidency, saying they think that the Democrat would usher in a new agenda of multilateralism after an era marked by Republican disdain for the world body. Obama supporters hail from Russia, Canada, France, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Indonesia and elsewhere. John R. Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations says, "What they want is the bending of the knee, and they'll get it from an Obama administration."

'Obamamania' Felt Across Europe - CBN
The presidential race may be close here in the U.S., but it's close to a landslide in Europe. Polls show Obama is favored by at least 10 to one over John McCain in Switzerland, France and Germany, and by large majorities in Belgium and Britain. ...if you sum up what many Europeans want out of this election, it's for America to become more like Europe.

Point of No Return By Mark Steyn
Across the electric wires, the hum is ceaseless: Give it up, loser. Don't go down with the ship when it's swept away by the Obama tsunami. I agree with Thomas Sowell that an Obama-Pelosi supermajority will mark what he calls "a point of no return". It would not be, as some naysayers scoff, "Jimmy Carter's second term", but something far more transformative. A vote for an Obama-Pelosi-Barney Frank-ACORN supermajority is a vote for a Europeanized domestic policy... An Obama Administration will pitch America toward EU domestic policy and UN foreign policy. Thomas Sowell is right: It would be a "point of no return", the most explicit repudiation of the animating principles of America.

Obama's First 100 Days By Patrick Buchanan
We may be looking at a reverse of 1980, when Reagan won a 10-point victory over Jimmy Carter, and Republicans took the Senate and, working with Boll Weevil Democrats, effective control of the House. Not only is Obama ahead in the state and national polls, he has more money, is running far more ads, has a superior organization on the ground, attracts larger crowds, and has greater enthusiasm and more media in camp. And new voter registrations heavily favor the Democrats.

Obama's birth certificate sealed by Hawaii governor - Says Democratic senator must make request to obtain original document

Obama Promoted Redistribution at a Socialist Group's Meeting in 1996; Media Could Easily Have Found

Sarkozy Views Obama's Stance on Iran 'Utterly Immature,' Media Mum

Call It 'The Obama Effect'
Why undecided voters will swing to McCain.

L.A. Times accused of suppressing Obama video
Said to include glowing testimonial for professor who excuses terrorism

Big Media Pull Out All Stops to Elect Obama by Phyllis Schlafly

MCCAIN

John McCain loses temper with defeatist aides as he vows to fight to the last

McCain insists polls are misleading

PALIN

The Great Palin Divide by Fred Barnes
Lorne Michaels, executive producer of Saturday Night Live said. "I think Palin will continue to be underestimated" and "I watched the way she connected with people, and you can see that she's a very powerful, very disciplined, incredibly gracious woman. This was her first time out and she's had a huge impact. People connect to her." On foreign and national security affairs, Palin has a knowledge gap. Indeed, if she knew more, she might have skewered Biden for the whoppers he told--about the Middle East, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan--in their debate on October 2. In judging Palin, it comes down to who is more credible. My advice is ignore the critics who know far less about Palin than she does about foreign policy.

Sarah Palin in jeans, rocking out to "Redneck Woman" By Michelle Malkin

Christianity Today Hits Media for 'Misunderstanding' Palin's Evangelical Christian Faith

Palin blowing off the advice of senior Republican aides, convinced they're damaging her reputation and ruining the campaign.

OTHER

Will the mainstream Media Wake up on Election Morning and Realize: "My God, What Have we Done?"

Media's Presidential Bias and Decline
Columnist Michael Malone Looks at Slanted Election Coverage and the Reasons Why The traditional media are playing a very, very dangerous game -- with their readers, with the Constitution and with their own fates. The sheer bias in the print and television coverage of this election campaign is not just bewildering, but appalling. If the current polls are correct, we are about to elect as president of the United States a man who is essentially a cipher, who has left almost no paper trail, seems to have few friends (that at least will talk) and has entire years missing out of his biography.

Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights? By Orson Scott Card, a Democrat and a newspaper columnist

Fr. Corapi:"Death Wish!" The Impending Suicide of a Once Great Nation
The United States of America seems to have a death wish, and we have traveled far down the road to having that wish realized. The exclamation point at the end of the death wish is that now there is yet another candidate for the office of president of the United States who has in an extraordinary way done everything possible to breathe life into all of the barbaric elements of the death wish. He and his party make no apologies for their support of abortion, partial-birth abortion, and even infanticide. It's hard to believe that we have degenerated to the point that we'll murder a helpless baby should it escape the violence of an abortion and be born alive. Can a Catholic vote for such persons? We are told, "yes" for a "proportionate reason." What, I might ask, is the proportionate reason so weighty as to excuse supporting those responsible for what is tantamount to genocide?

The clock is ticking. Midnight is approaching. Time is running out for our nation, a nation that once was great, and could be great again if enough of us wake up and renounce this curse of a death wish. Will God turn his friends over to His enemies as He has done multiple times in the past?

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 deficit 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: http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=What-Bishop-Is-Not-On-This-List-.html&Itemid=99999999

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)

Pattern of candidate support is similar to 2000 and 2004 elections. Obama's strengths: non-white race and ethnic groups, including blacks and Hispanics; 18-29; those with postgraduate educations; women; those with very low incomes; those who have no religious identification/for whom religion is not important/do not attend church; those who are unmarried. McCain's strengths: non-Hispanic whites; 65 and older; those who are married; white Protestants and non-Catholic Christians; whites who attend church frequently/for whom religion is important.
More here...

Voting for a pro-abortion candidate when there is an alternative option is to cooperate in evil, and therefore morally impermissible...
More...

Barack Obama's advantage over John McCain has been shrinking since the start of the Republican National Convention, and is now down to just two percentage points -- 47% to 45% -- too close to call. This is according to Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Wednesday through Friday, Sept. 3-5.

Read the article.