Report # 3 on David Carlin's Book, "Can a Catholic Be a Democrat?"

Can a Catholic Be a Democrat?

Preface: There is anguish in the heart and mind of the author as he bares his soul on this matter. He quotes Aristotle, “We love our friends, but we love the truth more.” David Carlin walks in the footsteps of today’s historic Saint Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr, Dec. 29, 2006.

He believes that the great “Culture War” currently going between old-fashioned Christians and anti-Christian secularists, over issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage, euthanasia, and the role of religion in society, his Democratic Party has opted to the side of the secularists. He wrote this book as a Catholic who fears for the future of Christianity, but also as a Democrat who fears for the future of the Democratic Party. And if they continue to alienate religious and moral-conservatives, they will remain the number two party for a long time.

Historically, as the Civil War approached the Democrats took the wrong position on slavery. And then during the Great Depression, the Republicans took the wrong position on the social and economic welfare responsibilities of the federal government. Today, the Democrats are taking the wrong position on morality and religion.

Old-fashioned Christians are his kind of people. They are not perfect. But a world dominated by secularist would be worse. He sees a pattern in America which others may have missed and he is like a detective putting it all together. He wants the reader of his book to concentrate on the five appendices where the essential arguments are presented.

The story that he tells could be told by millions of others. He has knowledge of the party from the inside and is not a galvanized Republican but an authentic Democrat.

Now let us take a look at a contemporary bishop who also walks in the footsteps of today’s Saint. We focus on CINOPs. (Catholic in name only Politicians) What should we do about those who claim to be in full communion with the Church yet promote gravely unjust and scandalous policies that expose the unborn to the violence and injustice of abortion?

Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis offered an answer. He declared that public officials who support abortion and other unjust attacks against innocent human life may not be admitted to Holy Communion, the preeminent Sacrament of Unity. (This bishop has the complete support of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II Encyclicals.)

“The archbishop said he acted for two reasons. One was to warn Catholic legislators that their unjust acts were spiritually harmful to them – ‘grave sins.’ The other was to prevent ‘scandal’ that is weakening the faith and moral resolution of others by one’s bad example… p. 97.

“I wish to close with a word to liberals who have expressed anger, even outrage, at those bishops, such as Archbishop Burke, who teach that Catholics must never implicate themselves in unjust killing by supporting legal abortion and embryonic-destructive research. Many liberals these days insist that ‘separation of church and state’ means that no religious leader may presume to tell public officials what their positions may or not be on matters of public policy. But if we shift the focus from abortion to, say genocide, slavery or segregation we see how implausible such a view is. When Archbishop Rummel excommunicated the segregationist politicians in the 1950’s, liberals rightly applauded. They were right then, they are wrong now.” p. 101 *
*Robert P. George, “Moral Issues, Political Candidates, and the Vocation of Public Service,” from the book, The Great Life, edited by M. Aquilina and K. Ogorek, Emmaus Road Publishing, 2003.
{It seems to me that Catholic ‘liberals’ would see the light if all the CINOPs were Republicans.}

George H. Kubeck, (appropriate for today, published Dec. 29th, 2006)