Catholics Voted For Obama Because Of 'Life Issues' Other Than Abortion, Opinion Piece Says

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 07 Nov 2008 - 6:00 PDT

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Pre-election polls showed that more than half of Catholics intended to vote for Barack Obama in Tuesday's election, despite the fact that "some bishops came pretty close to" directing Roman Catholics to vote for Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) because of his opposition to abortion rights, Chicago Sun-Times columnist and Roman Catholic priest Andrew Greeley writes in an opinion piece. However, he adds, "Most bishops were content with a somewhat obscure statement about the evil of abortion, which urged Catholics to consider all items on the Catholic pro-life agenda."

"Some bishops and priests argue that abortion is such a horrible evil that there can be no proportionate reason" to vote for a candidate who favors abortion rights, such as Obama, Greeley writes. However, "[o]pposition to abortion does not by itself exhaust the moral obligations of the Catholic social ethic," he says. Although abortion "certainly violates Catholic respect for life, ... so do many other actions that are common in many modern societies -- like torture, the death penalty, unjust war, cruelty to the elderly, abuse of children, racial injustice," Greeley writes. He continues, "If McCain were elected, we were told, he would have appointed judges who would have reversed Roe v. Wade. Perhaps that would have happened, but we kid ourselves if we think that the present court would in fact do that." He adds, "Moreover, if it did, state laws would continue to apply."

Greeley writes that people's minds are not changed by "ranting at others because they are 'killing babies,'" adding that "one needs to build a coalition to change people's minds on such an issue." Greeley concludes, "Only living the whole Catholic social ethic, as difficult as that may be, will provide examples that may change the anti-Catholic prejudice that the most fanatical pro-lifers create. It will not be an easy task. But Catholics can only achieve any progress against abortion by the good example of their lives" (Greeley, Chicago Sun-Times, 11/5).

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