It is tragic that it qualifies as national news when one Catholic bishop in Green Bay unabashedly urges his flock to vote according to the Church’s teachings on abortion and gay marriage: clearly stating that it’s sinful to vote for those who support those atrocities.
To quote Bishop David Ricken: “This could put your own soul in jeopardy.”
I think every bishop and priest in the United States would do well to follow Bishop Ricken’s example in moral clarity for their flocks:
(This story was picked-up nationally, but I didn’t even see it in the Catholic Review… No surprise there, sadly.)
I don’t know what most of our priests and bishops are thinking .. while they’re cheerfully rearranging the deck chairs from their pulpits while we ride on our national moral Titanic.
I wish I were in Green Bay in Bishop Ricken’s diocese this coming weekend before the election! Instead, I’ll be sitting in my local pew, watching the deck chairs being rearranged from the pulpit in all likelihood. I continue to pray that I’m wrong and that I’ll be pleasantly surprised this Sunday. I can dream.
There’s a part of me that wonders: Just how valuable is the Catholic Church as a moral compass if that compass is substantially silenced by the mere “threat” of losing its tax-exempt status? Thankfully, Jesus wasn’t afraid of that! In this respect, the American Catholic Church sadly appears to have become more “sheep” than “shepherd.”
Fortunately for some non-Catholic Christians in San Diego and elsewhere, there are still some pastors who aren’t afraid:
https://finance.townhall.com/columnists/ginaloudon/2012/10/05/pastor_to_taunt_irs_over_free_speech
Emil Hatfalvi
Ellicott City