(no subject)
I am seriously grateful that Archbishop Chaput is not my bishop
The title of this article is misleading: Catholics didn't "buck advice" from the bishops, but rather from a few who obviously have become full-time campaigners for the Republican Party. As it says way down at the bottom of the article, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops said that Catholics didn't have to vote for McCain in order to receive the Eucharist. Chaput may have forgotten about collegiality, but it is ultimately the Bishops' Conference that is the face of the Church in America rather than one individual bishop. You can find bishops who say just about anything, I'm sure there are even some who support abortion. While this issue is an important one, there are many ways in which McCain doesn't follow the teachings of the Church. Voting for a man who whole-heartedly supports the disastrous war in Iraq and other aspects of the culture of death just because he says the right things about abortion (and I seem to remember him being weak on the issue eight years ago) simply doesn't sound right to me.
Particularly frustrating is the comment toward the end, where Chaput's spokesperson claims that "faithful" Catholics voted for McCain. He may have a position of authority, but that doesn't mean that he gets to decide who is faithful and who isn't by himself and without the rest of the bishops. I'm sure that there were plenty of weekly Mass attending, bells and incense loving, "faithful" Catholics who voted for Obama because of McCain's repugnant positions on almost every issue, in fact I happen to be one of them.
The title of this article is misleading: Catholics didn't "buck advice" from the bishops, but rather from a few who obviously have become full-time campaigners for the Republican Party. As it says way down at the bottom of the article, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops said that Catholics didn't have to vote for McCain in order to receive the Eucharist. Chaput may have forgotten about collegiality, but it is ultimately the Bishops' Conference that is the face of the Church in America rather than one individual bishop. You can find bishops who say just about anything, I'm sure there are even some who support abortion. While this issue is an important one, there are many ways in which McCain doesn't follow the teachings of the Church. Voting for a man who whole-heartedly supports the disastrous war in Iraq and other aspects of the culture of death just because he says the right things about abortion (and I seem to remember him being weak on the issue eight years ago) simply doesn't sound right to me.
Particularly frustrating is the comment toward the end, where Chaput's spokesperson claims that "faithful" Catholics voted for McCain. He may have a position of authority, but that doesn't mean that he gets to decide who is faithful and who isn't by himself and without the rest of the bishops. I'm sure that there were plenty of weekly Mass attending, bells and incense loving, "faithful" Catholics who voted for Obama because of McCain's repugnant positions on almost every issue, in fact I happen to be one of them.