Catholic Voting Guide for Maryland

[Anonymous]

http://www.cathstan.org/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=4074

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to imagine the reaction if an Muslim Voting Guide were to be published.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to imagine the reaction if an Muslim Voting Guide were to be published.

How do you know for certain one isn't published? For that matter, how do you know there isn't a Southern Baptist voting guide. I didn't read the article but then I am able to make up my own mind about how to vote.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to imagine the reaction if an Muslim Voting Guide were to be published.

Just for fun, someone should publish a Muslim Voting Guide that endorses all the Tea Party candidates. That would cause a lot of heads to explode

[Anonymous]

The Catholic Church has been issuing a voter’s guide for decades; this is nothing new. The Southern Baptists do issue voters guides as do many other Christian denominations. The guide does not endorse any candidate or political party (unlike labor unions, newspapers, etc.). It simply presents the Church’s position on various public policy issues. The Church’s positions on various issues cross party lines and individual Catholic voters are left to make their own decisions on the candidates. While the Church’s stance on issues such as those of life and stem cell research align with a conservative or Republican perspective, the issues of poverty, immigration and their opposition to the death penalty align with liberal or Democratic values. Catholic voting trends on most issues tend to be no different from those of the general public. Many prominent Democratic leaders are Catholic such as Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden and their voting behavior and beliefs deviate substantially from the Church’s positions. A Catholic is able to exercise their vote at their own discretion just like any other citizen.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, PP, for a well-thought out and measured response. I see nothing offensive about the guide. It doesn't endorse specific candidates and simply explains the church's values. OP, were you expecting the church to suddenly be pro-choice and support stem cell research or something? The Catholic church places value on all life -- from the unborn to those on death row.

[Anonymous]

When I think of Catholic politicians I'm reminded of Newt Gingrich, Ken Cuccinelli and Rick Santorum. They really care about all life.

[Anonymous]

AARP has a voting guide - they poll candidates on their positions on privatizing Social Security, etc..., and publish the answers. In MoCo the teachers endorse certain candidates and at the polls they hand out the names on a brochure with a big apple.

None of this is unusual or anti-democratic.

[Anonymous]

thanks!

[Anonymous]

OP, can you answer a question: did you start the private school thread, "I've always found this weird about catholic schools?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, can you answer a question: did you start the private school thread, "I've always found this weird about catholic schools?"

I am not the OP, but I think this post should stand on its own. Suspicion of the poster's motives are irrelevant. The Catholic voting guide is not meant to be a secret, and its contents are worth discussing. We are not a secret society, and we do not hide the tenets of our faith from anyone.

I am a Catholic who is unhappy by the frequent accusations of posts as "anti-Catholic". We are 24% of the population in the United States. We have two thousand years of history, not all admirable. We have one billion adherents worldwide. We are not a fringe minority getting kicked around. The time where our religion was a source of genuine persecution in the United States has long passed. Catholics now make up 30% of Congress, so we are bigger in Congress than in the population. Six of the nine justices on the Supreme Court are Catholic. I know of no work places where Catholics are banned, nor do I know of property deeds / landowners who will not sell to Catholics. I am not saying that individuals do not have biases, but we are at a point where it is reasonable for people to have and discuss favorable or unfavorable opinions about our religion without someone pulling the discrimination card.

We are large enough, old enough, and important enough to be worthy of discussion and critique. Let the ideas stand on their merit.

[Anonymous]

Wow 10:43...I am impressed (really). Thanks for your post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow 10:43...I am impressed (really). Thanks for your post.

Thanks, but there are millions of us who have no problem with fresh air.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, can you answer a question: did you start the private school thread, "I've always found this weird about catholic schools?"

I am not the OP, but I think this post should stand on its own. Suspicion of the poster's motives are irrelevant. The Catholic voting guide is not meant to be a secret, and its contents are worth discussing. We are not a secret society, and we do not hide the tenets of our faith from anyone.

I am a Catholic who is unhappy by the frequent accusations of posts as "anti-Catholic". We are 24% of the population in the United States. We have two thousand years of history, not all admirable. We have one billion adherents worldwide. We are not a fringe minority getting kicked around. The time where our religion was a source of genuine persecution in the United States has long passed. Catholics now make up 30% of Congress, so we are bigger in Congress than in the population. Six of the nine justices on the Supreme Court are Catholic. I know of no work places where Catholics are banned, nor do I know of property deeds / landowners who will not sell to Catholics. I am not saying that individuals do not have biases, but we are at a point where it is reasonable for people to have and discuss favorable or unfavorable opinions about our religion without someone pulling the discrimination card.

We are large enough, old enough, and important enough to be worthy of discussion and critique. Let the ideas stand on their merit.

So, what do you think the motive of the OP was in posting the thread?

[Anonymous]

I don't care. She could be publicizing it to fellow catholics. She could be posting it because she thinks that many readers will disagree with it, and she wants to make them aware of the Church's stand.

But what difference does it make? She is taking the exact, unedited words of the Church and giving it an audience. It seems to me that if the Archbishop read it at the pulpit or during a televised mass, or whether that sermon was covered by WaPo or reprinted in this forum, it does not matter.