As a Catholic, the results of the presidential election have been difficult for me to process.
Catholics chose Obama over Mitt Romney.
The fact is Mitt Romney acts like a better Catholic than most Catholics in America.
Overwhelmingly, Hispanic Catholics voted for the most radical pro-abortion president in American history.
In spite of Obama's assault on the BILL OF RIGHTS and religious liberty, targeting Catholics, Hispanic Catholics voted for Obama.
Although Romney won among white Catholics, many of them also ignored Obama's stunning extremism on abortion and his attack on one of our fundamental freedoms, choosing to vote for Obama.
Obama waged war on the Catholic Church in America and he still won the Catholic vote.
He bet on the fact that most Catholics' faith is not a priority in their lives, and he won. He was right.
I'm shaken by that.
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Reuters/Ipsos exit polling found that 51 percent of Catholics favored President Barack Obama, compared with 48 percent for Republican contender Mitt Romney. A report by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life had a similar finding, with 50 percent of Catholics for Obama and 48 percent for Romney, the same as the popular vote in the general population.Liberal John Gehring believes the Republican Party and Catholic leaders need to bend to fit his agenda, one that does not include respect for LIFE and respect for the CONSTITUTION, religious liberty.
Hispanic Catholics were far more likely to favor Obama - by 76 percent to 23 percent - than white Catholics, who favored Romney by 56 percent to 43 percent, according to the Reuters poll. Black Protestants favored Obama by 97 percent to 3 percent, while white Protestants favored Romney by 69 percent compared to 29 percent for Obama.
"When you talk about Catholics, there are really two Catholic votes, the white vote and the Hispanic vote, which look starkly different," said Robert Jones, chief executive of the Public Religion Research Institute. He said exit polls found that overall, voters were focused mainly on economic issues.
This election year saw strong advocacy on the conservative side of some issues by Catholic bishops, which caused discomfort for liberal Catholics. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops protested the Obama administration's health care mandate which requires Catholic hospitals and colleges to carry insurance that provides free contraception as a violation of religious liberty.
...The bishops' stands did not seem to have much influence on the vote, said Jones. Catholic attitudes on the healthcare mandate were unchanged in March and September polls, despite advocacy by church leaders.
"If the (Republican Party) has some reflecting to do about its inability to reach an increasingly multicultural country, Catholic leaders could benefit from similar soul searching when it comes to their own diverse flock," said John Gehring, Catholic program director at Faith in Public Life, a liberal advocacy group.
I completely disagree.
Catholic leaders are failing, but not because they need to "soul search" their way to mirroring the majority of voters self-identified as Catholics. The leaders are failing because they aren't communicating as they should. So much of Catholic teaching is ignored.
It seems many priests are comfortable with that, avoiding issues that are controversial.
Yes, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops did take on Obama and his abuse of Catholics' freedom. They are to be commended for that. They issued strong statements expressing their concerns and organized efforts to raise of awareness of Obama's abuse.
But that's pretty much where it stopped.
While at Mass this weekend, I was thinking about how little is said by priests to guide Church members when it comes to practicing our faith in a way that reflects Catholic teaching.
There seems to be a great effort not to offend, a lot of sitting on the fence. There's a certain cowardice that is disturbing.
I was sitting in the pew, truly troubled about the lack of backbone, the weekly sins of omission that occur at Mass during the homily.
I'm still really upset about the results of the election. I'm fearful about the future. I was hoping for change, for things to get better for my family and friends, to get back on track. Adding to my uncertainty is how I feel about my Church.
To say I'm disillusioned is an understatement.
1 comment:
Like you, I was troubled by the results of the election and the Catholic vote. It's just another step in my continuing disillusionment with the political process in this nation. But the political winds simply reflect the culture - and our culture is becoming increasingly secular and out of touch with faith values. After this election, I have given up on the political process as a way to change the direction of this nation. We need to work on the culture. I'll vote, and speak out, but I will invest no more hope in elections or politicians.
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