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Voting and sin
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Responding to Scott Matthew's Nov. 18 letter ("The Bishops' War") on Bishop David Zubik's Nov. 11 Forum piece, Mr. Matthews pointed out that Catholics supported the president by a 50-48 margin. He failed to mention that Catholics who are active in their faith supported Mitt Romney at 57 percent.
He implied that the bishop's main problem was support for Obamacare's contraceptive mandate. He pointed to the exemption for religious institutions but failed to mention that the exemption for religious institutions was left to the president's discretion; he could, in fact, change it without Congress' consent. He failed to mention that RU 486, an abortifacient, was included as a contraceptive. It's up to the president alone to decide whether to force religious institutions to give contraceptives and abortifacients
Other prominent reasons the bishop encouraged the faithful in voting: 3,300 children lose their lives to abortion daily. We believe a child in the womb has the same right to live as one already born. Would it affect Mr. Matthews' vote if the unwanted child was a year old?
Mr. Matthews concluded by saying God has given him freedom to vote how he sees fit; he's right. We may exchange the word "vote" for "sin" to see a similar perspective. Mr. Matthews' conclusion would read; "In the end, I 'sinned' with a clear conscience as a Catholic in supporting my own religious freedom. This freedom, given to me by God, allows to make my own choices. If in the future my God asks why I 'sinned' in this way, I will reply 'because you loved me enough to let me do so.' "
REV. SEAN FRANCIS
Parochial Vicar, St. Bonaventure
Shaler
First Published November 28, 2012 12:00 am
