This is a report from small town Pennsylvania where we’re bitter and cling to our guns and religion:
At Mass yesterday our priest talked about abortion and the election. That never happens. I think once before in my entire life did I hear a priest talk about abortion and how it should affect our vote. The priest during his homily stated plainly that as Catholics we should be voting for the culture of life. We said a special prayer to stop abortion in the country as well. The Church was very solemn for those few moments.
When I came out to my car there was a pro-life brochure in the windshield asking us to vote to stop abortion. There were some graphic pictures in the brochure. At first I recoiled but then I thought that this is the truth of what’s happening. We can’t be afraid to talk about it.
And last night, I received a call from a friend who lives about ten miles away from me. He said that at Mass his priest spoke in no uncertain terms that abortion was “evil” and must be stopped. He spoke of “duty” and “responsibility.” He didn’t roar but he spoke firmly. He told them to remember this on election day. As he finished the priest stared out at the congregation for a few lingering moments to let it sink in. And then it started. Someone in back started clapping his hands. And soon the entire church echoed with the applause.
“It was absolutely amazing,” said my friend. “And I couldn’t help but think, ‘Finally!’
I’ve been hearing this a lot lately. Many people are thrilled how the priests and bishops are speaking out and in one voice on this most important issue. Now, I wonder how much it will affect tomorrow.
November 3, 2008 at 12:54 pm
What I can say is this: If it doesn’t affect tomorrow’s vote, this will be the LAST election cycle where priests will be able to speak out so.
Obama’s “national security force” will have less to do with national security and more to do with enforcing politically-correct points of view.
At Mass, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was one of the last free Sundays I’d go to Mass without an Obama administration – and his anti-life, anti-religion backers – breathing down our necks.
November 3, 2008 at 3:47 pm
There was a lady at our church, signing people up for the parish picnic, who complained about a pro-life political flyer left on her window…and then about the Bishops who are “telling us how to vote”…”Whatever happened to separation of Church and State, ya know?”
How do we correct the idea that the State was kept out of the Church business, not the other way around?
November 3, 2008 at 4:08 pm
This is so encouraging! All weekend I kept telling my family to pray for courage for our priests, particularly those in battleground states. Smells like burnt marsh-wiggle to me!
November 3, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Yet another example of why separation of Church and State is such a pernicious doctrine.
November 3, 2008 at 5:24 pm
And then it started. Someone in back started clapping his hands. And soon the entire church echoed with the applause.
I wonder if the parish will receive a letter from some progressive complaing about the liturgical accretion of hand-clapping in Mass. 🙂
November 3, 2008 at 5:26 pm
DCS – I think a lot of people don’t seem to grasp the extent or boundaries of the concept of “separation of church and state” as proposed by the founding fathers. The delegates were (with one exception I believe) Protestants of varying sects (and some of them were WAY out there). So, the fear was that one sect would win out over the rest and eventually lead to a state religion (and Catholics were always seen as the boogie-man here). But it has never meant that one should separate one’s sense of morality guided by his/her church from the public or political choices they make.
For the Catholic church to remind the faithful they should always be mindful of voting for pro-life candidates is not only necessary, but completely legitimate, given the fact that so few Catholics seem to be listening.
November 3, 2008 at 5:50 pm
FWIW, some folks talk as if an Obama victory will result in his immediate assumption of office. That won’t happen until the 20th of January.
If worst comes to worst we’ll have almost three months to stock up on bullets, beans and Bibles.
November 3, 2008 at 6:16 pm
(I posted this over at American Catholic, but I thought it was relevant to the issue here.)
There is something else behind the life issues that makes this much more than single issue voting or wedge politics. Bill Clinton said it about abortion, but what the Democratic Party really wants is that religion be safe (that is, tamed), legal (not overturning the First Amendment any time soon, but…), and rare (let’s be more like Europeans and keep the churches as museum pieces, can’t we?).
If you don’t believe this, then it’s probably because you’re not living in a place or running in the circles where this thought movement is taking shape. Obama and his allies aren’t saying this stuff in Ohio and Pennsylvania where they know it won’t play, but as the “clinging to religion and guns” soundbite captured, this kind of thing is playing well in NY, LA, and SF–in other words, in the circles of power where the platform of the Democratic Party is built.
I live in Los Angeles. I also went to an “elite” university in the Bay Area. So I know all too well what is going on inside the belly of the beast. I see the electoral maps turning blue in “heartland” places like OH and PA, and all I can think is, “They have no idea.” All of those well-intentioned, working-class people (probably of a religious bent to some degree) voting Democratic because they think the Dems are for the little guy… All the while unaware that there is a latent agenda to wipe out religious practice as we know it in this country. Never forget just how much like Europe the Left wants us to become… That includes the dismal church attendance figures, too.
It’s not going to happen overnight. It probably won’t happen in four years of an Obama administration, either. The groundwork is being laid, though. The life and family issues are the vanguard of the policy; first is the establishment of the “right” to abortion or gay marriage. Then there is the enforcement of these “rights” against religious conscience.
Unless some of those well-intentioned religious people in the flyover states wake up and realize what the Left is all about in this country, we’re going to get the government we deserve.
I can’t say it more directly: If you’re a religious person of any faith, do not vote for the Democratic Party. Doing so will eventually help them push faith to the margins of society until it is nothing more than a cheap facade.
November 3, 2008 at 6:53 pm
One more thing I’ll add: Don’t think for a minute that the Democratic Party is a big tent that can accommodate all kinds of faiths and beliefs. The Left is beholden to only one religion, and that’s the religion of tolerance, diversity, and non-judgmentalism (with a bit of pan-theistic scientific materialism to boot). It’s a religion that baptizes and catechizes through school indoctrination, government coercion, and media/entertainment thought monopolization. I should know because I’ve lived my whole life in the shadow of that contemptible “church.”
Every time a theist votes Democratic, she is tacitly advancing that religion over her own.
November 3, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Really good news.
Best wishes from Spain, in corde Iesu.
November 4, 2008 at 1:08 am
I went to daily mass this morning and the priest was speaking about being responsible with our votes and to make sure that we take the Culture of Life seriously. I’m thankful that our priests are stepping up to the plate and being true followers of Christ, of not being afraid to speak out. God Bless all our priests!!!
November 4, 2008 at 10:31 am
Congratulations from Spain
November 4, 2008 at 11:37 am
At my church the priest spoke in no uncertain terms that we could not, as Catholics, vote for the culture of death. He even named Obama by name. I went to daily mass somewhere else and when I asked the priest why they were not more outspoken, he said they are afraid of losing their 501C-3. I’d hate to stand before God and say that I didn’t speak out against this slaughter because I was afraid of losing my tax exempt status!
November 15, 2008 at 7:11 am
I can’t go into details without revealing to others who I am, and it is my wish to avoid any embarrasment to my family and friends who still reside in Derry and are actively involved in the parish. At the time of the incident, I was nearly four y/o. I vaguely remember having a blanket (or something) thrown over my head by my grandfather and being rushed away from the festival; however, I have heard various stories; so to be truthful, I don’t really know if I was there or not.
————————-
Jennysmith
pennsylvania drug rehab