Archives for August 2016

Elsewhere: voting for abortion

Elsewhere

I have stayed out of commenting on particular political candidates this round. That is not changing. Our choices are truly horrid. They are not much better in congressional and other races. Horrid.

Yet, at the end of the “process,” the presidency and every one of these offices will be filled by people acting in our name. Their occupants will, for better or worse, make decisions which are binding on all citizens in both the near and long term. We should all be able to agree with this statement of fact.

What if I told you that some candidates support parental “rights” to terminate their newborns up until the age of 1. It would be a deeply personal, difficult choice, but would allow them not to be punished with a child they recognize as a mistake. Perhaps a woman might be abandoned by the child’s father. Perhaps the child was less than perfect. 100,000 would be erased per year in this way, with a societal benefit of lowering health care and education costs.

Do you support that? Would you reluctantly ignore that position of a candidate if you felt there were counter-balancing economic and structural positions? Could you tolerate it if the candidate supporting it was far less detestable to you than the alternative?

While this evolution is not yet on the table, abortion is and it is more than 10 times worse. People – Catholics – are struggling with this moral dilemma. That is so, so sad. This should not be a struggle at all for faithful Catholics. Choosing against innocent life is moral depravity. At this magnitude it is history’s greatest holocaust. Abortion is always an intrinsic evil (never justified) of the greatest gravity (life itself). Weighing this against prudential choices of economic policy or candidate likability is possible only by putting politics ahead of God.

Carl Anderson, head of the Knights of Columbus, spoke on this exact issue recently at the annual international gathering of Knights held in Canada.

“We need to end the political manipulation of Catholic voters by abortion advocates,” he said. “It is time to end the entanglement of Catholic people with abortion killing. It is time to stop creating excuses for voting for pro-abortion politicians.”

“Abortion is the killing of the innocent on a massive scale,” he added.

Anderson said politics does not mean partisanship, but a stand for the common good and for moral and religious values that make free, democratic institutions possible.

Foremost among these values, he said, is “the equal dignity of every human life and the right of every person to freely practice their religion.”

“We will never succeed in building a culture of life if we continue to vote for politicians who support a culture of death.”

He reflected on the political question of whether one should support a candidate attractive for many reasons but who supports abortion.

“Some partisan advocates have sought to excuse support for pro-abortion candidates through a complex balancing act. They claim other issues are important enough to offset a candidate’s support for abortion,” he said.

“But the right to abortion is not just another political issue,” Anderson said. “It is, in reality, a legal regime that has resulted in more than 40 million deaths.”

He noted that 40 million is a figure greater than the entire population of Canada.

“What political issue could possibly outweigh this human devastation?” he asked. “The answer, of course, is that there is none.”

Anderson’s comments are reported in the National Catholic Register: Carl Anderson to Voters: ‘Stop Creating Excuses for Voting for Pro-Abortion Politicians’.

Please, please reconsider your support of anyone you know is going to continue the tragedy of abortion (even if they disingenuously claim to be “personally against it”).

7 Quick Takes Friday (set #203)

7 Quick Takes Friday

This week: The latest issue of New Evangelists Monthly awaits your perusal. Grassroots Films is releasing a wonderful new film on the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. One 90 year old man has been single-handedly building a cathedral for the last 53 years. Lutheran Satire pokes fun at the absurdity of radical feminism. Video snap-shots from World Youth Day. Why does God let bad things happen? Which causes more selfishness: socialism or capitalism?

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New Evangelists Monthly

Issue #44, August 2016, of New Evangelists Monthly is ready for your enjoyment! Scores of faithful Catholic bloggers have contributed their very best pieces from July. Contributing authors this month include: Matthew Coffin, Chris Capolino, Nancy Ward, Birgit Jones, Tracy Smith, Matthew Plese, Joseph Shaw, Denise Hunnell, Stephen Korsman, Dave Wanat, Kathleen Laplante, Roxane Salonen, Tony Agnesi, Nancy Shuman, Carissa Douglas, Larry T, Rick Becker, Blythe Kaufman, Michael Seagriff, Vijaya Bodach, Frank Rega, Bartimaeus Timeo, Elizabeth Reardon, Larry Peterson, Ellen Gable Hrkach, Allen Hebert, Barbara Hosbach, Mike Landry, Rich Maffeo, Fr. Stephen Morris, Mary Keane, Kirby Hoberg, Alicia, Leslie Klinger, John Schroeder, Carolyn Astfalk, David Wong, Ellen Kolb, Thomas and Deborah Richard, Fr. Adrian Danker, Christina Nagy, Fr. Errol Fernandes, Robert Collins, Claire McGarry, James Milliken, Jenn Tatum, Fr. Richard DeLillio, David Cooney, Sr. Maresa Lilley, Pat and Nicole Padley, Jeff Walker, Catherine Prady, Tom Perna, Bonnie Way, Tom Zampino, Rick Rice, Katie O’Keefe, John Russell, Virginia Lieto, Amy Wiggin, Jennifer Elia, Justin Soutar, Margaret Felice, Susan Stabile and Ebeth Weidner.

This monthly “meta-magazine” showcases faithful Catholicism from theology to family life and “everything in between.” Enjoy it now at NewEvangelists.org.

Read Now

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Grassroots Films will release a new documentary film next month: Outcasts. It follows the ministry of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, taking 10 years to produce. Here is the trailer:

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The movie Field of Dreams popularized following a crazy dream, promising “if you build it, he will come”. That could also be the motto of Don Justo (Justo Gallego Martínez) who has been building Nuestra Señora del Pilar, a cathedral outside of Madrid — by himself — for 53 years.

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The wacky folks at Lutheran Satire have produced another wonderful video! This one is entitled A Christian and a Feminist Almost Agree on Stuff:

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Ascension Presents has about two dozen on-the-ground videos covering World Youth Day. Here is a sample:

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Does God really make bad things happen, even in order to bring a greater good? Fr. Mike Schmitz looks at this common misunderstanding:

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Dennis Prager looks at selfishness, comparing socialism and capitalism.


Some random thoughts or bits of information are worthy of sharing but don’t warrant their own full post. This idea was begun by Jennifer Fulwiler and is now continued by Kelly Mantoan. So, some Fridays I too participate when I have accumulated 7 worthy items. Thank you Kelly for hosting this project!

New Evangelists Monthly – August 2016, Issue #44

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