This from Lifenews.com New York Catholic Bishops: Make Pro-Life Issues First Priority When Voting
Edward Cardinal Egan and the Catholic Bishops of New York issued the appeal in statement entitled Our Cherished Right, Our Solemn Duty.
The bishops warn against voting solely out of party loyalty or self interest and say voters should be guided by the pro-life teachings of the Catholic Church.
While noting that there are many issues of great importance facing the country, the protection of human life rises above all other issues, the bishops said.
"We Catholics are called to look at politics as we are called to look at everything – through the lens of our faith," they wrote.
"It is the rare candidate who will agree with the Church on every issue. But as the U.S. Bishops’ recent document Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship makes clear, not every issue is of equal moral gravity," they explain.
"The inalienable right to life of every innocent human person outweighs other concerns where Catholics may use prudential judgment, such as how best to meet the needs of the poor or to increase access to health care for all," they add.
“The right to life is the right through which all others flow,” they wrote. “To the extent candidates reject this fundamental right by supporting an objective evil, such as legal abortion, euthanasia or embryonic stem cell research, Catholic should consider them less acceptable for public office.”
Go here the full statement, which was issued today:
What a breath of fresh air.
Finally, we hear from those
who lead us in understanding our faith on the basic considerations
in our decision making. There is nothing more important than the sacredness of the life we are given from our creator.
Posted by: Joy Dechiario | October 02, 2008 at 09:38 AM