BELOIT — A $5,000 grant received this past summer from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development is being used for the youth justice project of Justice Overcoming Borders (JOB) in Beloit and the state-line area.
The grant’s purpose is to organize youth and adults to address the needs and aspirations of at-risk and disadvantaged youth in the state-line area, according to Tom Boswell, Evansville, JOB community organizer.
MADISON — Theresa and Kevin Burke, the founders of Rachel’s Vineyard, were in Madison recently to offer training for priests, therapists, and other pro-life workers on the trauma of abortion and healing after abortion, and to train teams for Rachel’s Vineyard retreats.
To the editor:
I cannot understand how any practicing Catholic, in good conscience, could possible vote for Barack Obama for president. Let me count the ways he is diametrically opposed to the teachings of the Church:
This Sunday’s readings are so direct and to the point. They also bear directly on how we form our conscience in today’s complicated world.
What was said and written so long ago from the Book of Exodus is powerful and true. “You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.”
During his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, presidential nominee Barack Obama made a comment in which he attempted to appeal to both pro-life and pro-abortion voters.
“We may not agree on abortion,” Obama said. “But surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country.”
While this sound byte may sound like a good faith effort to unite Americans, it revealed a fundamental flaw in the candidate’s understanding of the sanctity of life. We can agree on reducing the number of malaria cases in Africa or the number of car accidents on our highways because malaria and car accidents are by their very nature bad. But human beings are created in the image and likeness of God — whether they are wanted or unwanted.
As Catholics we face many complex questions and challenges in regards to being involved in public and political life. We face similar questions and challenges in selecting a candidate.
I had the pleasure of attending a Theology On Tap in which Thomas Peters, an extremely articulate and funny Internet-journalist, worked hard to sell that McCain is the best choice for Catholics. His argument was that the abortion issue encapsulates and trumps all other life issues. If you get the abortion issue wrong, how can you be an advocate for life in its later stages? This seems on the onset like a salient point.
What are these other “life issues” that might motivate a Catholic voter to either pick Barack Obama or perhaps trouble a Catholic enough not to vote for John McCain? A few mentioned but not adequately discussed were the evils of “preventive war,” the death penalty, embryonic stem cell research, and the social sins of poverty and oppression in its many forms.
To the editor:
We must respond to a recent letter citing a question from Professor Douglas Kmiec: “How could a Catholic not support Barack Obama?”
To the editor:
Barack Obama has one of the most liberal voting records in the U.S. Senate. He rejects free market vision of government. His first federal Senate bill was in August 2007 about Pell grants and he cast 130 “present” votes while in the Illinos Senate. Obama said he reveres the American flag: “I don’t refuse to wear flag pins” but “fact check” said he refused to wear a flag pin in 2007 and that he voted for a non-binding tax increase on $42K income.
People with mental, physical, or cognitive disabilities face challenges from the everyday tasks of dressing and transportation to the larger challenges of interacting in a world that is not always welcoming.
During Respect Life Month, it is particularly important to remember that each person is a gift from God, in whatever guise. It is also important to recognize that each of us is differently-abled and this infinite variety is a gift too.
World Mission Sunday, which will celebrate its 82nd anniversary in 2008, affords the entire Church a focused opportunity to reflect on those who have not heard the Gospel — and to respond to Christ’s call to be missionary.
On that day, all parishes in every diocese of the world celebrate together our common vocation to preach and proclaim Christ throughout the world.
