Catholics can decide the 2012 election, expert says

By Hillary Senour, CNA
9/7/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

As the presidential election draws closer, political expert Brian Burch is telling Catholics that if they turn out in slightly larger numbers at the polls, they will be "the decisive vote this November."

The Catholic vote will decide the 2012 election.

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DENVER, CO (CNA/EWTN News) - Although some Catholics tend to shy away from the political sphere with the mindset that it is unrelated to their faith, Burch said that due to recent developments, "we no longer have the luxury of keeping politics separate from religion."

"Politics in the state, in our federal government in particular, is coming into our religion and we need to stand up now before it gets any worse," the founder and president of CatholicVote.org told CNA in a recent interview.

Burch noted that in light of the federal contraception mandate and the president's recent support of "gay marriage," Catholics have become increasingly aware of how politics are impacting their religion.

The federal contraception mandate, if enacted in its current form, will force employers to purchase insurance which covers sterilization, contraception and abortion-inducing drugs regardless of their deeply held religious beliefs.

On May 21, 43 Catholic organizations across the country, including dioceses, universities, hospitals and private businesses, filed lawsuits against the Obama administration, citing infringement of their First Amendment rights to religious freedom.

"We can't forget that religious freedom and the role of religion was what our founders built this country on," Burch said, noting that the colonists originally fled England in order to practice their faith "without the intrusion of the state."

The Catholic vote is not so much about "converting the Nancy Peolosis and the Joe Bidens of the world" as it is about making sure those who "love our faith and want to see it protected" turn out in larger numbers to vote in November, Burch explained.

According to statistics, "it's the people that don't vote that are actually the largest swing vote." If Catholics turn out in a few percentage points of larger numbers, "we can decide this election."

Catholic Vote had endorsed Rick Santorum while he was still a contender for the GOP nomination.

The former Pennsylvania senator dropped his campaign on April 10, but has since endorsed his former rival, Mitt Romney, after a meeting in which both men agreed on many issues such as traditional marriage and reining in government spending.

Catholic Vote has yet to formally endorse any other candidate, but Burch said his movement is working with their volunteers and subscribers on the decision and will announce "something very soon."

EDITOR'S NOTE: Since the original publication of this article, CatholicVote.org has officially endorsed the Romney/Ryan ticket.

� 2012, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

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1 - 10 of 10 Comments

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7 months ago
"Catholics need to stand up before things get any worse" "The Worse" has already arrived. I am active getting out the Catholic Vote. I see clergy and laity in La La Land. Some have a sense that things are bad but they haven't quite awakened. When the Gestapo Government levies a heavy fine that the church cannot pay, they will closed down Catholic operations and churches and perhaps priests and lay persons go to jail. When that happens, it's too late to wake up.
Nicole
8 months ago
It's true Catholics will decide for sure and it will be for Obama, especially when our priests are telling us the republicans don't care about helping poor people.
techwreck
8 months ago
Jo Ann, "Hi" to you too. I agree with you that all will be judged at the end of their lives by thier own actions, not the work of the Church. However, I believe that those who don't know the faith because it was not presented to them by their parents or the Church (while they were busy doing "other things") will not be unfairly judged for what they did not know. Our God is a just and merciful God!
DLL
8 months ago
Jim: the poor to me are the poor in spirit.
tech wreck: many act like HINO'S (human in name only) they vote! They are culture of death citizens. CINO'S never learned the faith,( true they vote)!
Tom: I live in Massachusetts they are automatic straight line Democratic Party voters,Catholic,many Protestant,atheist,whatever. They don't have to think about the issues. Just say the name Kennedy and they are signed,sealed and delivered. I am poking a little fun at my State actually,but it is not far from the truth,Liberal Democratic state! Democrats never lose here. It seems futile to vote here but vote we must.
Jo-Ann: Christ is within us if we select political candidates wisely to begin with we will recognise Christ from without us. With out God no one could breathe.God is the breath of life. The spirit of God infiltrates all of creation.
Esther m Ferencz
8 months ago
@Tom McGuire...no the Catholic Church does NOT tell You explictly not to vote obama...obvious you did in 08.. just saying....................what it does say is we the Catholic Church have tenants of faith and doctrine, and IF you wish to be in Faithfullness to Holy Mother Church...and to Christ you shall never put anything before the PRIMACY OF LIFE....meaning killing babies via fiat is a sin against God and his Church, SO simple yet so many just dont get it or just dont care......................God will explain much better when you meet him~ go ahead and vote that monster back in......YOU will please your GOD and his laws. NOT! Dont care how faithful you are in anyyyyyyyyyyyyyy other ways, iTS a no brainer yet so many just dont get or want to get it...pathetic people wandering as lost sheep.
Jim
8 months ago
The problem is that a lot of priests and nuns ares CINO's. There are a lot of people that get hyper emotional about "the poor" that they make gods out of them. Don't get me wrong, I believe in the preference of the poor but "the poor" is a very broad term. I think a child that is about to be aborted is very poor or as Mother Teresa said "the poorest of poor" since no one will give them a voice. Many nuns and priests only care about the poor they can see and talk to. I think it is a case of "preference for the poor" taken to an extreme and people see Obama as the "savior of the poor."
JoAnn
8 months ago
techwreck: Hi, where you been my friend? I respectfully disagree with you. We have to stop blaming the Church because of the Apostates. If people want to know what their Faith is all about bad enough, they will see to it. Jesus said "Seek and ye shall find." He wants us to seek Him. Then He will know that we love Him. Besides Mass, there are 100's of resources out here that they can utilize. Books, DVD's, pamphlets in gathering areas of the churches, RCIA, Bible studies, EWTN, Catholic radio and on and on. Let's be honest about this. Apostates DON'T want to know. That way they can live the life they want, all the while saying, "I didn't know. Sorry, I don't buy it. There is NO EXCUSE for Catholics to not know their Faith. We are in the age of the "Great Apostasy" which occurs before and during the final days. It's all been prophesied. We have a country that is now intolerant at the mere mention of God. We have a country that is murdering the unborn and living babies as if they were a disease. Not to mention the sick fanatics that snuff out life as if they were pesty bugs. We have a country that says gay marriage is fine with them. And on and on. Since we have been living in the Great Apostacy, we had better buckle up for the "GREAT CHASTIZEMENT" that is coming because it's going to be a very bumpy, ugly ride. God bless.
Tom McGuire
8 months ago
Why do people always assume that those of us who are devoted Catholics, pray every day, participate in Liturgy every Sunday, support the Church in her mission and seek mercy for our sins are in favor of abortion? No the Catholic vote is not a good predictor of the results of this election. The Catholic Church does not tell us who to vote for!
techwreck
8 months ago
Nicole, you are right. Protecting our freedom of religion is not just a question of "getting out the Catholic vote" because of the CINO's (Catholics In Name Only) who reserve the right to decide which Church teachings they accept and which they reject. If 100% of those who call themselves "Catholic" voted, there is a good chance that President Obama would get the majority of votes despite his stands on killing unborn (and born) children as well as limiting freedom of religion to "freedom to worship". ... "Catholics" now look just like the rest of America when it comes to voting preferences, showing the secular culture has converted "Catholics" instead of the Church converting the secular culture as Christ told us to do. However, in fairness, the reluctance of Church leadership and clergy to speak out on controversial teachings (as Cardinal Dolan has said) and the abandonment of adult education by the Church have contributed to the secularization of the Catholic Church in America.
Nicole L.
8 months ago
Good luck. I have a lot of so called good catholics friends. They are very involved in the church, they volunteer, they are those one would think, would upheld the catholic teaching. Many of them teach CCDs, teach in regular schools and some are nurses. When discussing the coming election almost all don't seem to see anything wrong with gay marriage, abortion etc. Some told me, "so what people are having abortion every day. so what. and If two people want to be married so what. Some told me even God took their babies away by causing miscarriage. I was shocked and I realize those people don't care about the church. They have their own belief. Most catholics are just like Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi etc. They are living in the modern world and Obama"s action does not affect them. Attacking their supposedly church it's not a problem for the. By the way some told they are democrats "it's sad that people cannot see the good that our president is trying to do for the world." This is the loyalty of our catholics brothers .

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