Today I wear black

Today I wear black.

We are the nation of:

1. legalized and state-funded contraception
2. legalized and state-funded embryo destruction
3. legalized and homosexual “marriage”
4. legalized no-fault divorce
5. mandatory income redistribution (to fund the items above in large part)
6. and our elected president is a man who fought for legislation stating that babies that survive botched abortion should be killed by a doctor

This is what the United States has become. I mourn.

When I finish mourning I will do everything that I can do to reverse these evils in our land.

If God’s wrath comes, we can only blame ourselves. We voted for it.

               

Prayer for National Elections

O God, we acknowledge You today as Lord, Not only of individuals, but of nations and governments.

We thank You for the privilege Of being able to organize ourselves politically And of knowing that political loyalty Does not have to mean disloyalty to You.

We thank You for Your law, Which our Founding Fathers acknowledged And recognized as higher than any human law.

We thank You for the opportunity that this election year puts before us, To exercise our solemn duty not only to vote, But to influence countless others to vote, And to vote correctly.

Lord, we pray that Your people may be awakened. Let them realize that while politics is not their salvation, Their response to You requires that they be politically active.

Awaken Your people to know that they are not called to be a sect fleeing the world But rather a community of faith renewing the world.

Awaken them that the same hands lifted up to You in prayer Are the hands that pull the lever in the voting booth; That the same eyes that read Your Word Are the eyes that read the names on the ballot, And that they do not cease to be Christians When they enter the voting booth.

Awaken Your people to a commitment to justice, To the sanctity of marriage and the family, To the dignity of each individual human life, And to the truth that human rights begin when Human Lives Begin, And not one moment later.

Lord, we rejoice today That we are citizens of Your kingdom.

May that make us all the more committed To being faithful citizens on earth.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

(This prayer was written by the Reverend Frank Pavone.)

               

Is it okay to be a one issue voter when it comes to abortion?

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This post is back by popular demand:

A reader of this blog has recently left a comment appealing to the other readers with the following words about single issue voting:

Please, please…don’t let one single issue [abortion] be your deciding factor. I don’t believe in abortion either, but this election is truly about much, much more than that.

I’ve been hearing this a lot from the left. For some reason “single issue” voting is seen as being shallow. Well, let me put it this way: Would it be okay for Germans to vote for Hitler because his “election was truly about much, much more than that” when his platform included the state-supported murder of Jews? Would it be okay to vote against Hitler simply because one objected to killing people based on creed or race? What if you agree with Hitler on national pride, unity, health care, tax structures, schooling, etc. Should one ignore the one important issue and vote for Hitler because “we agree on everything else?”

Barack Obama says it’s okay to kill infants and wants to use my tax money to assist in that diabolical practice. This one issue – the right for a human being to have life – is the one issue that supports all other rights. If a child does not have the right to life, then he or she doesn’t have the right to education, healthcare, etc.

How can any issue in this election be “much more” important than that?

Think about all the babies that have been killed. Can a war in a Iraq, gas prices, health care, or mortgages be more important than a single issue when that issue is the fundamental issue for all human beings?

We’re looking into the eyes of manifest evil. You have a vote. Vote to end the evil.

               

Two African American bishops and abortion

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An interesting juxtaposition emerged this week from the statements of two African American bishops on the abortion issue. First, Bishop Martin Holley, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington, released a statement last week responding to a Guttmacher Institute (named for Alan Guttmacher, former president of Planned Parenthood and former vice-president of the American Eugenics Society) survey which found black women in the U.S. abort pregnancies at a rate five times that of white women.

Bishop Holley, who is chair of the African American Subcommittee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), wrote,

As an African American, I am saddened by evidence that Black women continue to be targeted by the abortion industry. The loss of any child from abortion is a tragedy, but we must ask: Why are minority children being aborted at such disproportionate rates?

Many African Americans are not aware that since the Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion throughout all 9 months of pregnancy, the number one cause of death in the African American community has been abortion. We have lost over 13 million lives. To put that in   perspective, it is one third of our present Black population. Since 1973, twice as many Black Americans have died from abortion than from AIDS, accidents, violent crimes, cancer, and heart disease combined.

These fact are particularly alarming given the roots of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s number one abortion provider, which sprung from the American Eugenics Movement in the early 20th Century. Eugenicists, like the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, sought to prevent the procreation of “unfit” and “undesirable” elements of society, which for these racists, included African Americans and immigrants.

Although most Americans have forgotten the sinister aims of the birth control and abortion movements, the Guttmacher study – the research arm of Margaret Sanger’s Planned Parenthood – reveals they are succeeding in their mission of “racial betterment.”

Counseling the African American community, Bishop Holley writes further, “our legitimate commitment to other social concerns must not push the primary moral issue of abortion onto the back burner. It clearly must be at the heart and center of our discussion of the survival of African American people.

Compare this very clear statement about the urgency with which Catholics must address the issue of legalized abortion in the United States with remarks made by Bishop Terry Steib of Memphis, who stated “we [Catholics] cannot be a one issue people.” This statement was heralded by the liberal newspaper the National Catholic Reporter as a rejection of the teaching promoted by many American bishops that faithful Catholics must not vote for pro-abortion candidates.

However, a careful reading of Bishop Steib’s remarks reveals his point is more nuanced than the Reporter and other liberal Catholic groups would like. One might interpret his statement is intended to counsel black Catholics against voting for Sen. Barack Obama simply because he is black. For example, Bishop Steib writes,

“according to our Holy Father, we disciples of Jesus cannot remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice; this means that we must be part of the game. However, politics is not just a game; it is instead a part of the commonwealth of our lives…But if we are to be involved in the political process by voting, then we must have formed our consciences well.”

Bishop Steib further cautions that “it is much easier to choose because of personality rather than the content of character. It is easier to say ‘I just like him or her; he or she is one of us’ rather than to ponder, reflect, and pray for our choice prudently.”

Quoting the USCCB’s Faithful Citizenship document, he advises the faithful that

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.

Catholics believe abortion to be a fundamental moral evil and Sen. Obama has promised to make abortion a civil right, if elected, and expand access to abortions. Is Sen. McCain completely in line with all Church teachings? Clearly not, but he does support the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which made abortion legal throughout all nine months of pregnancy in all 50 states.

Eric writes a column for the Washington, D.C. version of Examiner.com to read his other writing, visit http://www.examiner.com/x-970-DC-Catholic-Examiner.

               

Cardinal Rigali warns against voting for Pro-Abortion candidate

Another Catholic bishop has spoken out against Catholics voting for pro-abortion candidates, this time its a cardinal!

The Catholic hierarchy is teaching with a united voice that faithful Catholics cannot and must not vote for “pro-choice” candidates for political office. The Pope has stated it and the American bishops are repeating it. To vote for a “pro-choice” candidate is to deny the fundamental doctrine of Catholicism: that man is made in the image of God and as such has a right to life from the moment of conception.

Justin Cardinal Rigali is the Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia. You can read his full statement here: Faithful Citizenship and Respect for Life.

Excerpt:

At this moment in our country’s history, defense of innocent human life is a moral responsibility for all of us. The same God who thundered from Mount Sinai: “Thou shalt not kill,” thunders still. When life in the womb is destroyed, God thunders: “This is a child!” When by the most barbaric means, unworthy of any civilized people, the brain of a child is sucked out of his or her head by a vacuum, God thunders: “This is a child!” When a baby is left to die of exposure on a shelf because of a failed abortion, and this is considered a “right” by any leader, God, the Source of all law and authority, thunders: “This is a child!” When we are faced with every modern means of education and communication, in addition to the law placed in our hearts at creation, no one, and most especially, no Catholic, can ever say: “I did not know.”

Hat tip: Clint Rain

               

Catholic bishops taking aim at Obama

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Americans of all religious traditions are becoming interested in the backlash of Catholic bishops against the “unnamed Presidential candidate who supports abortion”. Guess which candidate this is.

Barack Obama.

Catholic Archbishop of Denver Charles Chaput described Barack Obama as the “most committed” abortion-rights candidate from a major party in 35 years. Archbishop Chaput also stated that Catholic groups supporting Obama were doing a “disservice to the church.” The Bishop of Fort Worth Kevin Vann, Texas and the Bishop of Dallas Kevin Farrell issued a joint statement instructing the faithful that Catholic moral teaching obliges Catholic Christians to not vote for a pro-abortion candidate.

[Read: Joint Statement from Bishop Farrell and Bishop Vann to the Faithful of the Dioceses of Dallas and Fort Worth]

Other bishops are across America are also warning the faithful that a vote for Obama is a vote for the culture of death.

Raymond Arroyo of EWTN’s “The World Over” appeared on Fox News last week explaining this phenomenon. Arroyo predicts that in the weeks to come, certain states could shift away from Barack Obama by the great numbers of Catholic reevaluating their consciences with regard to the issue of abortion in this election.

Related news:

Archbishop Chaput in Denver criticizes Barack Obama by name

Catholics Against Joe Biden: Bishop Morlino and Archbishop Chaput…

               

Joe the Plumber vs. Barack Obama: Thou shalt not steal!

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Everyone is talking about “Joe the Plumber”, also known as Joseph Wurzelbacher.

Joe the Plumber has a goal: He wants to purchase the small plumbing business for which he works and then expand it by hiring more people. Joe wants to create more jobs. Joe is the kind of person who will help America. As such, Joe the Plumber represents the entrepreneurial type that forms the back bone of this nation’s economy.

Several days ago, this Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher publicly confronted Obama. He accused Obama of wanting to raise his taxes so that it would be impossible for him to establish his business and thereby expand America’s economy.

Barack Obama responded by saying that “spreading the wealth around” would help all Americans!

Thus comes the revolution. The Democratic party no longer believes that wealth should be created by citizens. No, wealth must be spread around. That’s another way of saying, “Government is Robin Hood – We steal from the rich and give to the poor.”

Why is this dangerous. It is dangerous because the Government currently takes our money to fund abortion, wars, and pork barrel projects for which “Joe the Plumber” has no interest. Now Barack Obama says that he’s going to take more and do more.

Joe the Plumber who works hard for living will not be able to fulfill his dream as a small business owner, because Barack Obama wants to fund abortions, nationalize health care, and dog-ear billions for the liberal institutions that he favors.

If this election swings to McCain, it won’t be because of McCain; rather, it will be because Joe the Plumber and his friends have seen the light.

               

Would Jesus redistribute wealth or support abortion?

Many Christians have bought into Barack Obama’s rhetoric because it sounds Christian. Heck – sometimes it even sounds like Jesus! How can that be a bad thing?

The problem is simple. It’s that Barack Obama is a representative of an institution that is fundamentally different from (and many times at odds with) the institution that Jesus founded: the Church.

Is the Church supposed to reach out to the poor? Of course. Are Christians supposed to be concerned with the “least of these”? Undoubtedly. Are we therefore supposed to look to the Government to mandate these things from the general public? Absolutely not.

There is such a thing as “personal property”. The Ten Commandments presuppose it (or else “Thou shalt not steal,” would be meaningless). When the government uses its power to force a hard-working family to relinquish more and more of its resources (on penalty of imprisonment) so that the Government can redistribute the money as they see fit – there’s a name for that. Theft. (There are other names for that too – socialism, communism, Marxism, etc….) The point is: is that something Jesus would want? For the government to set itself up as a parody of the Body of Christ? (a much less-effective one, at that).

A perfect example is how government interventionist policies have created millions of dependent families – the majority of which, ironically, are low-income, inner-city black families. The Government has replaced the role of the father to the extent that now around 80% of black families have no father in the home. If Democrats cared one bit about the people they claim to serve, they would care about the long-term negative effects of the welfare state – and how to fix it. They don’t want to fix it. They want to expand it. Make no mistake – it is about keeping people dependent and keeping politicians in power. (Sadly, Republicans lately have not been much better in this area. The bad news is you can vote for McCain and get much of this too – to a lesser degree. He, at least, does want to lower taxes, lower Government wasteful spending, etc.)

Here’s the point: Government mandated financial redistribution is not Christ-like. But unfortunately, many are skilled at making it sound “just like Jesus”. But Christ, Sacred Scripture, the Church Fathers, et al. equally emphasized personal responsibility. The priority placed on helping the poor was not a prescription for the government to do it on behalf of Christians. Instead, the Body of Christ is called upon to give freely and assist the poor. It’s easy to vote for the guy who says that the government will do all things for all people. It’s harder (and much more compassionate) to actually obey the words of Christ – and do so freely ourselves.

Then there’s the demonstrable fact that Obama cannot be supported by anyone claiming to be Pro-Life. In 1999, an Illinois hospital was discovered to have been “shelving” babies to die in a soiled utility room who had survived their abortions. The Illinois Born Alive Infants Protection Act was introduced in 2001 to give legal protection to all born babies, wanted or not, including the right to medical care. Then-state Senator Barack Obama voted against the bill and was the sole senator to speak against it on the Senate floor (in a room full of liberal state senators!) Obama voted against this law not once, not twice…but four times! This is not a smear from Obama’s opponents. This is simply a matter of public record.

Anyone who would argue, regardless of the circumstances, that a doctor should be allowed to kill a baby who’d survived an abortion is so morally confused, they are not fit to lead the United States.  Period. 

Then consider this: Obama co-sponsored a bill called The Freedom of Choice Act – aimed at overturning a ban on partial-birth abortion and other pro-life laws nationwide (partial-birth abortion is the act of partially delivering the baby feet-first and using scissors to puncture the skull and suck out the brains, killing the child instantly). The law would also guarantee abortion as a federal right and would keep abortion legal even if Roe v. Wade is overturned. In a 2007 speech, Obama said the “first thing” he’d do as President is sign the bill.

Obama clearly doesn’t believe partial-birth abortion (let alone abortion in general) is evil. Ask yourself, what do you think Jesus would say about partial-birth abortion? Unborn babies. Aren’t they “the least of these” too?

These are issues of which the mainstream media steers clear. The only public forum in which Obama will be asked about abortion, for example, is at the Saddleback Church event (the moment his poll numbers began to go DOWN). Reporters, pundits and journalists are nakedly campaigning for this man. Totally in the tank. They polish him off – present him as mainstream, and are actively packaging him as a compassionate, mainstream, presidential, patriotic man.

One could go on and on about Obama – his lack of experience, his dangerous appeasement-approach to foreign policy, his dubious alliances with less-than-savory characters (racist pastor Wright, domestic terrorist Ayers…) But his radical abortion stance and redistributionist economic policies should be deal-killers for thinking Christians who are tempted to vote for this man. A man who, when you read the fine print, is the most liberal candidate for President in the history of the United States.
David

               

“Christians for Obama” (and “McCain Haters for McCain”)

I’ve been really troubled by how many people (including some close friends) have said that you can’t be a Christian and vote for Obama.  Yeah, Obama is wrong on abortion.  But as important as the abortion issue is, it’s not the ONLY issue. I can understand how some Christians may weigh all of the issues (including the war, poverty, etc.) and decide to vote for Obama.  

For example, on Thursday the New York Times (I promise I read other stuff, too) ran an article with a picture of three small children who were killed by American bombs in Afghanistan, along with at least 30 other civilians.  It’s heart-wrenching–you can see it here.  I’m not trying to equate abortion victims with civilian victims of war–on the contrary, I think that there are significant differences there.  But I do think that the war is one of many examples of important issues (along with abortion) that Christians must weigh when choosing a candidate.  I can see how Christians, who value life, might weigh all of the issues in this election and end up voting for Obama–even without agreeing with (or trying to rationalize) his flawed position on abortion.

Even though I’ll probably vote for McCain (do they have bumper stickers that say “McCain Haters for McCain”?), I think it’s reckless and misguided to label someone as a heretic simply because he or she decides to vote another way (especially considering that neither of our choices in this election is all that appealing).  Since both parties’ platforms are significantly deficient, shouldn’t Christians have grace for other Christians who come to a different decision when selecting whom to vote for?  Do we really want to tie the Gospel so closely to a single candidate or political party?

Curious for your thoughts.

               

Obama and the Freedom of Choice Act

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What is the “Freedom of Choice Act”? You need to know because it’s part of Barack Obama’s pro-abortion agenda:

“One component of the Obama abortion agenda, the so-called ‘Freedom of Choice Act’ (FOCA, S. 1173), is coming under increased scrutiny from many quarters. The FOCA is the most sweeping piece of pro-abortion legislation ever proposed in Congress. It is a bill that would establish a federal “abortion right” broader than Roe v. Wade and, in the words of the National Organization for Women, ’sweep away hundreds of anti-abortion laws [and] policies.’”

- Douglas Johnson, “Unholy Messaging: Obama’s faith-based try vs. his positions,” National Review, 10/7/08

“…there is one thing absolutely everyone should be able to agree on: We can’t reduce abortions by promoting abortion. No one who sponsors or supports legislation like FOCA [Freedom of Choice Act] can credibly claim to be part of a good-faith discussion on how to reduce abortions.”

- Cardinal Justin Rigali in a letter to Congress concerning the Freedom of Choice Act, which Barack Obama told Planned Parenthood is the first thing he would sign into law if elected president.

               

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