Catholic bishops issue 2012 voter guidance

[Katiebug]

I can honestly say that in my ELCA (Lutheran, mainline) congregations we have never had "voter guidance". Maybe if you read the synod newsletter or something like that, but I've never been told in any way in church how I should vote, what issues I should concern myself with, etc. There hasn't been any sort of "This is our position on these issues" document.

The overwhelming majority of Catholics who I know IRL use birth control - including the moms of 3, 4, 5 kids who use NFP or barrier methods in between pregnancies to space their children. I know the fine folks at Catholic Answers are probably foaming at the mouth at the thought of it, but statistically speaking most Catholics in the US have no issue with using birth control, or the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV.

[dawbs]

I always go to my parent's house to borrow their church's voter's guide when I'm doing my research.

it's INCREDIBLY instructional on who not to vote for.

(Dad hands it over every year, knowing what I use it for)

[CanticleoftheTurning]

It applies Catholic moral principles to a range

of important issues and warns against misguided appeals to “conscience†to ignore

fundamental moral claims, to reduce Catholic moral concerns to one or two

matters, or to justify choices simply to advance partisan, ideological, or personal

interests.

I wish I could show this to my former friend who is totally a fundie Catholic, when she touting the party line, mixing up Church teachings with Republican teachings when we got into a big argument about health care >.<

And yes, Catholic Answers wouldn't be terribly happy about people using various methods of birth control. I still get their shitting snail mail regularly, from when I signed up on their mailing list some years ago while I was still drinking the koolaid.

NFP is pretty common for the couples who can use it--and it's actually a mandatory class for engaged couples in most dioceses. And yes, included in the number of Catholics taking the BCP of various kinds are those who have to take the pill for medical reasons. Fibroids, PCOS, and so on...just to keep women from getting cancerous uterine linings or ovaries, or to keep them from becoming anemic. Even my fundie-lite Catholic mom used the Pill for a while. Birth control is just a side effect of the medical treatment.

[emmiedahl]

The Catholic Church is traditionally a left-leaning voter block because of what the church teaches. I mean, that booklet mentioned abortion and Catholic charities, but also social justice for the poor, ending wars in the Middle East, immigration policies, etc. I think many Catholics will read this and vote Democrat.

[TheBuddha]

The Catholic Church is traditionally a left-leaning voter block because of what the church teaches. I mean, that booklet mentioned abortion and Catholic charities, but also social justice for the poor, ending wars in the Middle East, immigration policies, etc. I think many Catholics will read this and vote Democrat.

lesser of two evils, is still evil :)

[teddybear]

The Catholic Church is rapidly losing it's people in the west. They are grabbing at all the straws they can to make the world believe they still run things. This has happened every time in history when the church has lost power.