How do you ’surround’ something with rhetoric…especially something as nebulous as “Barak Obama’s stand on the pro-choice issue”?

And Urban Dictionary gives this definition of ‘Barage’:
A residential garage that has been converted to look like a public bar. (What this has to do with the Catholic church, I have no idea.)

All they’ve done is point out that our President-Elect is the most radically pro-abortion politician in our history, and that his stated support of the so-called ‘Freedom of Choice Act’ runs exactly counter to a fundamental teaching of the Catholic Church.

In other words, as a Democratic Party politician, Obama is doing his job, and as the trustees and teachers of Catholic doctrine, the clergy is doing theirs.

What’s the big deal?

If you’re that steamed join the U.C.C. or Episcopalians, but if you’re gonna be a Catholic, BE A CATHOLIC.

I was raised catholic and attended catholic school through seventh grade. By then, I knew it was all a lie. I made a convincing case to my parents who allowed me to transfer to public school and I have never looked back. Life is great when you can think for yourself.

Yes, honest dem, you’re right… As for the letter addressing the eroding of the line between church and state, people need to realize that there HASN’T BEEN a line between church and state. We subsidize churches with our tax money anytime they make use of a tax-supported service, such as the police or fire departments. I’m not suggesting churches pay property taxes, but they should be billed for these and similar services when they have need of them. Until then, we’re fooling ourselves into believing there’s a demarcation between these two segments of society — and to the churches’ financial benefit, on top of it all.

EJ Rotert,

You may not suggest it but I will. The church should pay property taxes. Religious institutions should receive no tax exemptions at all. The church/temple/mosque should strongly voice it’s position on political questions and candidates, just not on my tax dollar.

I do not see the church crossing that line.

I do see the church being ineffective in delivering its message.

Regina has a point. However, let’s be brutally honest here: what politician is going to go after the church’s tax exempt status? By the way, what I find most amusing about this is that people of faith tend to want those churches that espouse a political position different from theirs to loose THEIR tax exempt status.

It wasn’t all that long ago that the hard right was demanding an IRS investigation into Trinity UCC’s status. Now, the hard left is making the same demand RE the R.C. church. Pot, meet kettle.

Especially in light of how the RC church and the Mormon church blatantly encouraged their members to contribute to and vote yes on Prop. 8 in California, churches definitely need to be taxed. Any corp. has to pay tax regardless of whether it encourages its employees to vote a certain way or contribute to a political organization, so why should it be different for churches?

“….but if you’re gonna be a Catholic, BE A CATHOLIC.”….If being a Catholic means that I have to follow EXACTLY EVERYTHING they force me or want me to then no thanks…..I can think for myself on issues and can believe what I want to believe for MY spirituality. The Pope and the Catholic Church aren’t the only avenues to God. God’s table has been prepared for everyone.

There is no constitutional division between church and state as this reader claims there ought to be. Our founding fathers objective was to ensure there was religious freedom and no government-established religion.

To say that a church has no right to speak to their parisioners about political events is ridiculous.

Our nation is built on religious morals. If it were not, then we would have murder as an acceptable practice.

The Catholic Church values human life, no matter how young. When there is a candidate that does not value human life (like Barack Obama), they have every right to passionately tell the world to not vote for him. Abortion is against Catholic teaching. If you do not like that RegIna, then you are free to choose to leave the church.

But Think, you must be consistent. “Real Catholics” would have had to stay home on election day. If Mr Obama was an unacceptable candidate, so was John McCain. John McCain kills babies, and not in an abstract, legislative sense. He physically killed and maimed babies. It was his job.