Nebraska Catholic Bishop Curtiss: No Reason to Vote for Pro-Abortion Pols
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
November 2, 2008
Omaha, NE (LifeNews.com) — Yet another Catholic bishop has drawn the line on how Catholics should vote in the upcoming election and Catholic Archbishop Elden Curtiss of Obama, Nebraska says Catholics should vote pro-life. He says there is no reason to support a pro-abortion candidate, like Barack Obama.
In a statement issued today, Archbishop Curtiss called abortion the number one issue voters should consider this election.
"At the core of Catholic moral and social teaching is respect for the sacred dignity of every human life," Curtiss said. "In this election, like many before it, we are faced with a conflict of values in candidates. There are many serious issues at stake in this election, but none is more important than abortion."
"Almost 50 million babies have been aborted in the United States since 1973, an unfathomable loss of human life that increases by more than a million every year," he added.
Curtiss said Pope Benedict XVI has made it clear that Catholics can’t vote for candidates specifically because they favor legalized abortion.
He also tackles the caveat that many Catholic voters have misused to justify a vote for Obama and says there is no justification for voting for a pro-abortion candidate.
"It is also true that if a Catholic does not share a candidate’s stand in favor of abortion and/or euthanasia, a vote for that candidate could be permitted ‘in the presence of proportionate reasons,’" he explains. "However, I cannot conceive of a proportionate reason that could outweigh the deaths of nearly 50 million children killed by abortion."
Curtiss finishes his statement by appearing to respond to the pro-Obama Catholics who criticize pro-life Catholics as single issue voters.
The archbishop also refers to Obama’s position against bills in the Illinois legislature that would have provided medical care for newborns who survive failed abortions.
"We are surely not one-issue people because we have to be concerned about the well-being of everyone in our society, and especially those who are hurting and in need. We have to be concerned about women with unplanned pregnancies who are without the resources to give birth or to care for their babies," the archbishop said.
"We are rightfully concerned about candidates for public office who do not seem to care about babies after they are born," he said. "Those who do not understand or accept this basic human right are unworthy of our trust."
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