chasm -- between church doctrine and the practices of the faithful
.... has left the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops flummoxed
Catholic doctrine is adamantly, unequivocally opposed to abortion, which the church regards as the taking of an innocent life.
Many Catholic bishops interpret this to mean that no good Catholic can vote for a pro-choice candidate. The bishops of Dallas and Fort Worth, for example, all but said that when they distributed a pastoral letter before the election in which they wrote that it is "morally impermissible" to vote for a candidate "who supports the intrinsic evil of abortion or 'abortion rights' when there is a morally acceptable alternative."
And yet, in Tuesday's election, 54 percent of Catholics who voted cast their ballots for Barack Obama and Joe Biden, according to exit polls. Both men support the right of a woman to have an abortion -- notwithstanding that Biden is Catholic.
This gap -- no, chasm -- between church doctrine and the practices of the faithful has left the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops flummoxed, as this story by Daniel Burke of Religion News Service makes clear.
Catholic doctrine is adamantly, unequivocally opposed to abortion, which the church regards as the taking of an innocent life.
Many Catholic bishops interpret this to mean that no good Catholic can vote for a pro-choice candidate. The bishops of Dallas and Fort Worth, for example, all but said that when they distributed a pastoral letter before the election in which they wrote that it is "morally impermissible" to vote for a candidate "who supports the intrinsic evil of abortion or 'abortion rights' when there is a morally acceptable alternative."
And yet, in Tuesday's election, 54 percent of Catholics who voted cast their ballots for Barack Obama and Joe Biden, according to exit polls. Both men support the right of a woman to have an abortion -- notwithstanding that Biden is Catholic.
This gap -- no, chasm -- between church doctrine and the practices of the faithful has left the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops flummoxed, as this story by Daniel Burke of Religion News Service makes clear.
.jpeg)
Comments