http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20081113/NEWS01/811130314http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/undergod/2008/11/priest_calls_vote_for_obama_a.htmlThis is an interesting article, both sad in many ways, but also curious in how people will take it.
A Catholic priest in South Carolina has decided that the democratic act of casting a vote is, in some cases, a mortal sin. Therefore, he has decided that parishioners who voted for Barack Obama are not entitled to the grace of Jesus Christ through communion until they've done penance.
"Voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exists constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil, and those Catholics who do so place themselves outside of the full communion of Christ's Church and under the judgment of divine law," Rev. Jay Scott Newman wrote in a letter to parishioners at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville.
The idea that who you vote for strictly determines if you committed a sin is kind of... well, confusing to me. Mainly because, I feel as some of the commenters, that allowing a war in Iraq is also a form of sin, because we are killing and sending our children to go out and kill. But, somehow its more special when its children and, as some of my coworkers say, the war in Iraq is just but abortion is never just. Fluffy's father also says the same thing, which makes some interesting conversations.
Priests have a lot of power in their community, but more so when they feel that they have to lecture again it (though he won't refuse communion, but he will lecture until everyone gives penance for voting for this murderer). Its also interesting in that Obama probably will never commit an abortion, nor does he really have that much power, but somehow his belief that it is acceptable (though even he doesn't believe in casual abortion as far as I know) makes everyone who voted for him a sin.
The part that makes me the saddest is that someone feels so strongly about the issue, and is basically telling his parishioners that they were wrong and they don't deserve communion because of it. And, when you have a religion that tells you that you need a priest to talk to god for you (at least in some ways), that is a terrible blow. My respect for McCain increased a lot with his concession speech. It was... beautiful and honorable. He is not a terrible man, but I don't like his philosophy. I don't like his position on my hot buttons. I don't like Obama's either, but I like more of Obama's than McCains. But, the idea that we should just damn one single position (abortion), over war, gays, and everything else is sad. And just the social pressure to ask for penance for doing what you think is right is... it hurts that people do this.
