Saturday, November 15, 2008

The Audacity of Despair: The Obama Administration and Catholic Culpability

by Susan Fox

Why did 55% of American Catholics vote for Barack Obama?

Under the guise of voting for hope, they chose despair.

Case in point, my friend, Phoebe, goes to daily Mass in Northern California. A very shy person, the day after the election she saw a fellow Catholic with a Barack Obama pin going to the same Mass she did. She was so shocked she forgot to be shy, and she said, "How could you vote for the most pro-abortion candidate in American history?" The woman said, "Oh, we are never going to change the abortion laws in this country. He will help the poor."

Oh yes, the man (Obama) who said he was glad that gasoline was $4.50 a gallon really cares about the poor. Tell that to the young receptionist at my veterinarian's office. I looked in her sad eyes this summer as she told me how far she had to drive to work and how she was driving in 116 degree weather without the air conditioning on to save money. I told her to move a block from work. She said in fact she and her husband were looking for a rental near their jobs.
And in fact, that daily Mass going Catholic is wrong. We were only one Supreme Court Justice away from overturning Roe v. Wade.

I apologize to the poor, to the rich, to the unborn, the young people with limited job and career opportunities and the elderly of this country for the Catholics who were so poorly
Catholics chasing
false Hope and Change


catechized by our church that they thought they were free to vote for the most pro-death candidate in American history. In point of fact, they were not. Their eternal salvation is in jeopardy, and we must pray for them.


In the days before the election, Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City urged Catholics not to vote for Barack Obama.
"You make yourself a participant in the act of abortion and you must not do it because your eternal salvation is tied up with that important choice," Bishop Finn said. "I would say, 'Give consideration to your eternal salvation.' Because to vote for a person who has expressed a fanatical determination to not only support abortion as it exists now but to remove all limitations on it through the Freedom of Choice Act, and to extend it without any recourse, throwing out all of the efforts of citizens over the last 35 years to place reasonable limits on abortion, that voting for a person who has expressed his determination to do this to Planned Parenthood, to NARAL — that you make yourself a participant in the act of abortion. That’s gravely wrong, and you mustn’t do it because your eternal salvation is tied up in that important choice."

The pastor of one of our parishes in in Phoenix, informed his daily Mass goers the next day after the election that they were not free to receive communion that day if they had voted for a pro-abortion candidate. Instead, he said, they should present themselves to him for the Sacrament of Penance. That was a courageous pastor. May God give us millions more like him.

I remember telling a Catholic friend the very same thing several years ago in a diocese far, far away. He said, he'd voted for a pro-abortion candidate. I said, "Ron, go to confession." At that time, and in that diocese, I was an alien and a stranger. In a hushed voice, they called my husband and I, "fundamentalists." That means we seriously accept the teachings of the Catholic Church and every word that is written in the Bible.

(Since this article was originally written, the list of people harmed by the Catholic vote has grown. Sin spreads. The list includes the families of the four Americans killed in Benghazi and families of DEA agents and Mexicans killed in "Fast and Furious" where the Obama Administration ran assault rifles into Mexico and gave them to the drug cartels. Don't forget the poor voters in Pennsylvania on election day intimidated by the Black Panthers, who were never prosecuted for their crimes. Then there are the janitors, sales associates, stocking clerks and all non-managerial employees at Forever 21, who lost their medical insurance and 10.5 hours of work a week because of Obama (doesn't) Care. The American people are suffering also with increased taxes, lost jobs, and a several trillion dollar federal budget. We have lost our right to privacy as the NSA has a log of all our phone calls and emails. Don't forget 7 million Americans killed in abortion since Barack Obama took office on Jan. 20, 2009.)

Speaking of the Bible, St. Teresa of Avila, told us hundreds of years ago that the reason for all the ills in the world is that people will not seriously read and pray the Holy Scripture every day. If we were to adopt that practice, we would solve all the world's problems. Why? The Word of God is Alive! And it is a two-edged sword, and it never goes out without coming back bearing fruit. 

In fact, the Holy Spirit is waiting to give you a personal message on every page of the Holy Bible and a different message every day, but all of it in conformity with the Deposit of Faith handed down to us by the Holy Apostles -- that Deposit carefully preserved by the authority of the Holy Catholic Church. The Holy Spirit is not a liar. He would not tell one thing to one church and the opposite thing to another, or one thing to one person and the opposite to the Church. And Jesus said he would be with the Church for all eternity, and whatsoever Peter bound on earth would be bound in heaven, and whatever he would loose on earth would be loosed in heaven. This is not some invisible Church. It is a real earthly institution with a spiritual authority.

While the successors of Peter do have the power of binding and loosing, they have not been free to change one Truth that was handed down to them by the 12 Apostles. That is called the Deposit of Faith. And true to Christ's Word, they have not changed anything. They have upheld and preserved what was given to us from the beginning. That is why Pope John Paul II said he could not ordain women. Only the Catholic Church has preserved the truths taught to us by God through Jesus Christ.

But inside that context, try this: quietly read a favorite passage of Scripture with a close friend or family member. You will be convinced the Holy Spirit said one thing. Your friend will focus on a different message in the same passage. That is how God's Word is Alive. God is speaking uniquely to each of us all day long. Just listen. Be awake and listen.
Pick up the Bible tonight.

We may just change the politics of despair in America to the politics of real hope.

1 comment:

  1. A very good article. I converted to the Catholic Church because there are lines drawn so clear. But I think the majority of the folks are afraid to speak of these lines. Few of us say, hey that's wrong or that's right on these issues. Why are we afraid of a man's opinion, when it comes right down to it; Heaven's opinion of us is the one that counts. What can man do to us? Kill us, hey I'm outta here and on to better things, so what can they do to us? I was surprised with so much attention paid to this election by all the Parishes that the election went the way that it did. So many people attend, are their ears closed along with their hearts on these things. I know the Protestants were pushing the Republican agenda and with the Catholics combined we should have won this one. If we actually became one body in Christ, we should have defeated evil. But the scarey thing is where is the heart of all of those who voted for such a man. The Bible says something about where our treasure is, there is our heart also. What is the treasure in their lives. We need to pray for these people. The real treasure is the Eucharist. What can they be focused on. I feel like saying, WAKEUP CHURCH!! Something is getting missed in Adult teaching in the church. Maybe our prayers should be about this. Thanks for letting me comment. T-Bird

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