As reported by Jeff Trently, Father Ronald Cioffi ALLEGEDLY indicated that the U.S. Catholic Bishops have given a green light to "vote for a person who is pro-choice if you feel you have a moral reason to support the candidate for his stand on other issues." According to Mr. Trently, "the bishops clearly state a Catholic may vote for an abortion rights supporter, such as Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, if that candidate's views on other moral issues outweigh his abortion stand in the voter's conscience." The bishops "clearly state" no such thing!Mr. Trently lacks an understanding of Catholic conscience formation. To this reader, it also appears that he did not bother to read the document, "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship" <www.usccb.org/faithfulcitizenship/FCStatement.pdf>, about which he editorializes. His resultant comments are outrageously misleading - especially since Senator Obama is out of touch with a wide range of Catholic social concerns!
"For the more than 800,000 Catholics in the Trenton Diocese, including close to 32,000 in Mercer County, the new guidelines are a call to weigh their consciences, as well as the common good, Cioffi said." That's certainly true and needs to be coupled with forceful reminders of Catholics' grave obligation to form their consciences, according to the teaching of the Church (Catholics should also be reminded that our understanding of the "common good" varies radically from how that term is used colloquially. Absolute, uncompromising respect for the sanctity of human life is at the core of our understanding.).
Mr. Trently tells us that Father "Cioffi presented an outline of the U.S. Catholic Bishops' document 'Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship' at a meeting of about 30 staff members at the diocese's Pastoral Center." The actual document only comes to 30 pages of text. I believe that all adult Catholics - especially the clergy and those in the full time employ of the Church - have a serious duty to read the actual document.
In the actual document, the bishops eloquently remind us that "We are a nation founded on 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,' but the right to life itself is not fully protected, especially for unborn children, the most vulnerable members of the American family....In our nation, ‘abortion and euthanasia have become preeminent threats to human dignity because they directly attack life itself, the most fundamental human good and the condition for all others’ (Living the Gospel of Life, no. 5)....direct threats to the sanctity and dignity of human life, such as human cloning and destructive research on human embryos, are also intrinsically evil….
"Two temptations in public life can distort the Church’s defense of human life and dignity: The first is a moral equivalence that makes no ethical distinctions between different kinds of issues involving human life and dignity. The direct and intentional destruction of innocent human life from the moment of conception until natural death is always wrong and is not just one issue among many. It must always be opposed….Racism and other unjust discrimination, the use of the death penalty, resorting to unjust war, the use of torture, war crimes, the failure to respond to those who are suffering from hunger or a lack of health care, or an unjust immigration policy are all serious moral issues that challenge our consciences and require us to act. These are not optional concerns which can be dismissed. Catholics are urged to seriously consider Church teaching on these issues. Although choices about how best to respond to these and other compelling threats to human life and dignity are matters for principled debate and decision, this does not make them optional concerns or permit Catholics to dismiss or ignore Church teaching on these important issues" <www.usccb.org/faithfulcitizenship/FCStatement.pdf>
