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People and Politics by Patrick Roberts

Why Catholics should vote for Mitt Romney for president in 2012 - A vote for Mitt makes Catholicism more relevant than ever

Posted on Sunday, November 04, 2012 at 07:16 AM

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Mitt Romeny

How should Catholics vote this presidential election?

It depends on how you define your faith. If it is a matter of anti- abortion sentiment and adherence to church teaching then the choice is obvious.

Mitt Romney deserves your vote.

The abortion issue is very real. New technology shows that fetuses are sentient at 12 weeks now, can feel pain, are one third of the way to being human beings.

Aborting them has become less and less popular because of this new medical evidence. It is becoming less and less tolerable for fair-minded people to accept abortion.

If however, you believe in a lot of feelgood social justice issues, the rights of the government to interfere with your right to not pay for contraception as part of your health plan, then vote Barack Obama.

There has been a lot of criticism of the church this election period.
Sure, the Catholic Church is not a perfect vessel. It has more flaws than a cracked pitcher and more problems than a busy New York psychiatrist to deal with.

But it is still a magnificent vessel, and almost alone among contemporary religions, it is holding its own and even gaining in America.

The reason for it that is simple. It stands for something, for a value system thousands of years old that has retained its essential inner core irrespective of the ebb and flow of contemporary events.

There have been more splits in the church and schisms over the generation that we can count.

Yet despite all that Catholicism has continued to prosper and expand.

It is only a few generations back that Catholicism was the focus of the Know Nothings and Catholics, especially Irish ones, were considered the devil incarnate.

Now six of the Supreme Court are Catholic, as are the two vice presidential candidates.

If you want an example of Catholic power look no further than the Al Smith dinner a few weeks back in New York when Romney and Obama came together in a true moment of Christian charity to raise funds for needy causes, overseen by Cardinal Timothy Dolan,a true prince of the church

It was an inspirational moment and no other religion could have pulled it off.

So why at this high point of our influence should we turn our back on our church, our faith, the faith our fathers bore and passed on to us?

Romney recognizes and acknowledges that power and his responsibility to it far more than Obama does.

Which is why Catholics should vote for him.

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EphraimKibbey | Nov 05, 2012, 04:37 PM EST

eiriamach - you beat me to the punch again, that will teach me to take a lunch break! Sorry about the misspelling of your name the last time I quoted you. From the small tax sample that Magical Mitt the Mendacious of the Many Positions has given us, weren't all of his gifts given to the Church of Latter Day Saints and are members not REQUIRED to give a tenth? Maybe he won't release the other years because he was skimping on his REQUIRED tenth and does not want to be kicked out.

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eiriamach | Nov 05, 2012, 02:49 PM EST

@Pecos, where is your documentation? From Paul Solman, PBS. for 2010: "the Obamas reported an adjusted gross income of $1,728,096, about $3.78 million less than the year before (thanks to lower earnings related to book sales). They paid $506,297 in federal, state and local taxes. And they donated a little over $245,000 to charity- about 14 percent of their income." That's more of the Obama's money going to charity than Romney-- with what? 20 times the Obamas' income?-- paid in taxes the one year for which he has released his returns. Not that money is the measure of charity, but the truth is important.

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Pecos Kid | Nov 05, 2012, 11:38 AM EST

Who really cares about his fellow man? Hummm, Mitt gives millions every year to various charities. Obama?$ 2-3000. I guess it depends on whose money you want to use. Some will use their own money (Mitt), others (Obama) want to use yours!Which one truly cares about his fellow man?

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norinalundy | Nov 05, 2012, 11:33 AM EST

Why should I, as a Catholic, worry about voting for Romney because HE does not believe in abortion? I'll answer that later. We as Americans believe in the separation of Church and State. Therefore, if I vote, I vote on issues, and one issue I will oppose until my death, is that the government stay out of women's control over their own bodies, especially in the case of rape. There are many issues that I do not agree with when it comes to Romney and his team. They are listed in the multitude of comments below; no need to reiterate. However, again, my faith and my politics are separate, as will be my vote. If a woman makes a decision with regard to abortion, the decision is between God and herself and has nothing to do with the government. The decision is tough enough. So, to answer my own question, I will vote against Romney so that he does not make it a law along with all the other scary things he wants to control.

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pilib04 | Nov 05, 2012, 10:56 AM EST

A wee scrap of paper 2"x2" was placed under my wife's windshield wiper this weekend. It read: "I believe Mitt Romney is a good and decent man... In the past he has taken sensible positions on Climate Change, immigration, illegal guns, abortion rights and health care. But he has reversed course on all of them, and is even running against the health care model he turned into law in Massachusetts." Michael R. Bloomberg VIEW, November 1, 2012

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eiriamach | Nov 05, 2012, 10:52 AM EST

There's a whacked-out kind of truth to this article. Roberts writes, "Yet despite all that, Catholicism has continued to prosper and expand." Right, the Vatican is the wealthiest city-state on earth, ever. Its prosperity shows us that crime does pay. Right, RC has expanded--its political power--by silencing debate, censoring priests, sending in bishops to manage nuns, shedding universities that don't toe the magisterial line, promulgating lies about a US president using public money to fund abortions, lobbying against equal rights for gays and lesbians, seeking to deprive women of control over their reproductive lives, spending millions of dollars to enshrine papal anti-science in US law, while complaining-- get this! --about loss of religious liberty--their 'liberty' to deprive us of our liberty! Roberts writes, "Romney recognizes and acknowledges that power and his responsibility to it far more than Obama does." Right again, that's why a vote for Romney endangers freedom. Maybe Roberts intended to write a satire?

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TommyJoe | Nov 05, 2012, 10:47 AM EST

As a lifelong resident of Massachusetts, I want people to know what a dangerous fraud Mitt Romney is. He is a heartless venture capitalist who could care less about the vulnerable in society. As an Irish-American, Massachusetts native and Roman Catholic, I will proudly vote for Barack Obama and Elizabeth Warren (US Senate) tomorrow.

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JimmyJK | Nov 05, 2012, 10:33 AM EST

Faith in God and love for God is equal to faith in humanity, earth, good will and always trying to be a better being... Romney/Ryan do not want want to be better humans they want to be powerful humans. They want to reduce and eliminate aid to the elderly (medicare), poor (medicaid) and those in need (FEMA, food stamps. As a side note the largest recipients of food stamps are in Republican voting districts. There is room for reform but I can not cast aside those in need, can you? Pray, please pray for Good to prevail

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Arthur Cola | Nov 05, 2012, 10:29 AM EST

Since the days of our pre-civil wars years, Catholics have been an important thread in the fabric of our nation. Not all of us adhere to every doctrine of the Church at a 100% level. Nevertheless, faith, which is being degraded and ridiculed under the notion of separation of Church and State, is still important to most Americans. The Catholic population can and should swing this election in favor of Romney and here's why. We a a religion based on love not revenge. So vote for candidates who espouse a vote for Love of Country. And that is Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.

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MarybethC.P. | Nov 05, 2012, 10:18 AM EST

This headline and this story are the very most irresponsible thing I've ever seen published in IrishCentral.com! There has NEVER been any Republican office-holder who has ever done anything to make life livable or at least viable for the poor, the working class, the middle class - and certainly unborn babies! Few people could possibly be more "pro-life" than I, but I will NOT make this one non-issue of a red herring the deciding factor in my vote for Obama. As the Sisters of the Holy Child taught me, "Actions - Not Words" are all that count. And Republicans have never performed ANY action that could save a struggling infant, whether that's keeping their parent's utility bills down, making affordable housing available, or preserving the lives of our grown children, whom they use as cannon-fodder for their wars - from which they profit hugely on every level! And yes, this country NEEDS to keep Church and State separate, not just the Catholic Church!

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NYCsheridan | Nov 05, 2012, 09:53 AM EST

The Catholic church is "holding it's own and even gaining in America"? What are you smoking? Of course, there are many Latinos coming here, but many are illegals and don't vote...and the ones who are here legally or are American citizens are voting overwhelmingly for Obama.

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NYCsheridan | Nov 05, 2012, 09:50 AM EST

Why would I vote for a Mormon and his faux-Catholic stooge sidekick? They display nothing but hatred and disdain for the poor and the weak.

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seanfer7 | Nov 05, 2012, 08:06 AM EST

Because republicanism is contrary to catholic dogma wherein we are all in it together "I am my brothers keeper" not You're on your own.

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Fall River | Nov 05, 2012, 03:58 AM EST

If the premise was not so sad, I'd just consider your position as silly. Or are you trying to make Catholicism irrelevant?

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christinao't | Nov 05, 2012, 01:38 AM EST

Vote for freedom of religion. Vote for justice for those in Benghazi and Afganistan killed by callous negligence, and for the 50,000,000 babies killed by abortion by Obama and his pals in planned parenthood.

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