To the Young Catholic Voters

The Presidential election is today and what a crazy event it will be! Today will be the very first Presidential election that I get the chance to be a part of. Looking back on the Presidential race as a young voter, it was a very interesting experience looking at candidates, researching what their beliefs about how the country should be run and how they can bring peace and stability to a country hurting after violent events and economic troubles.

As a young Catholic voter it was always intriguing to hear how other first time Catholic voters tried to decide who they would vote for. Some liked candidates because of their appearance, others because of certain candidates views on the legalization of illegal drugs. What was surprising to me however was the how the issue of abortion and pro-life and religious freedom was so distorted by young adult Catholics. Every place I went that issue of abortion was brought up, I was surprised that so many Catholics my age were so misguided about the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It bothered me that young Catholics do not realize that without laws concerning life, no other laws even matter. I think out of any issues right now, the pro-life stance and the defense against the HHS Mandate are the most important for young Catholics to look at while preparing to vote. I feel it it extremely important to look at church teaching, morals and how we want our Catholic church to be run in the future. I urge young people to make good sound moral decisions, not only considering your own life, but also the lives of others. Catholic means universal indicating that we are meant to bring all people together. This being said, we need to work together to protect the sanctity of human life, unite all people and the protect the freedom of religion. The only way we can make sure all these things happen is by voting and by voting particularly as Catholics. 

As the election draws near, I pray that the Holy Spirit may guide the hearts and minds of all those who are voting today that we may grow more closely together as one nation under God.

"God Bless America!"- Cardinal Dolan's Benediction at The Al Smith Dinner

A great benediction given by a great leader of our church, Timothy Cardinal Dolan at the 67th Annual Al Smith Dinner last night. Not only should we look at him as a great leader of the church, but we should be encouraged to live with a zest for God, life and the pursuit of happiness just as he does. May we all bring people together just as he did, even if it means bringing those from different government parties. May we also be encouraged to never stop living out our faith.

Mistake or Lie? Why is Truth So Uncommon When It Comes To Life?

Listening to President Obama talk about Planned Parenthood during the Presidential Debate, I decided to see if what he said was true about Planned Parenthood and  mammograms. Here is what I found on another blog---

La Bocca della Verita on February 6th, 2012-

How Many Mammograms Does Planned Parenthood Perform Each Year?

It turns out the answer is... zero! No one was going to lose access to mammograms because Komen stopped giving Planned Parenthood money, because Planned Parenthood doesn't do any mammograms. There won't be any "sections" of the country where women can no longer get mammograms if Planned Parenthood lacks Komen funding, because Planned Parenthood doesn't do any mammograms

Oops.

UPDATE: Title changed from "provide" to "perform," because Planned Parenthood "provides" screening in that it refers for and may help pay for mammograms. But obviously Komen could just fund the people who are getting the referrals directly without diminishing the availability of screening.----

I found this surprising that our President does not even know what Planned Parent does and then once he finds out, he continues to give the same argument about them. When can people learn to tell the truth?

One Nation Under God: A Response to an Article Written by the Huffington Post about Cardinal Dolan

 

We are fast approaching the Presidential Election and without really diving too deeply into politics I wanted to reflect upon one thing that really struck me as we are preparing to vote this November. This past week, both the Republican and Democratic parties held their conventions, continuing to jockey for the people's support, often bringing on celebrities and comedians. It seems like a vain approach to get voters. In my opinion, just because a candidate brings out a comedian or celebrity doesn't always mean you should vote for that candidate. The celebrity does not make the candidate anymore valid then he is. This did not really impress me.

What did impress me was the action of an outside source. This outside source was of course, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, who accepted an invitation to pray at the Republican Convention and as a result offered to close the Democratic Convention with a prayer as well. Some people see this as the Cardinal telling Catholics that its okay to vote for Obama or Romney. This is not the case. The Cardinal is not telling you who to vote for or giving his stamp of approval to either candidate. Some people might have gotten confused about that, specifically Michele Somerville, a journalist from the Huffinton Post who published a snarky article today claiming that because of the Cardinal's gracious offer to pray at both conventions, people will assume that it's ok to vote for President Obama and that his anti-life, anti-marriage platform is truly the most respectful pro-life stance! It is hilarious to think that the author believes that the Democratic party actually respects life and believes that they will receive the Catholic vote thanks to the Cardinal. Obviously she has an axe to grind against the Cardinal and is missing the point of his offer to lead the prayer at both of the conventions.

In my opinion, the whole point of Cardinal Dolan offering to pray with both conventions is not to swing the people's vote to either candidate, but to show how important it is to work with one another. It is time to put aside our differences and work toward becoming a country striving to do the Lord's will. It is truly appalling that the author of this article assumes that this beautiful act of love, kindness and acceptance is just a way for men and women to justify their vote for either candidate. Although the prayer occurs at each convention, its purpose is not to sway votes for either candidate, but rather to pray for our nation as a whole. Regardless of which man takes office, the Cardinal's prayer is that he will respect the human dignity of every person, will help those less fortunate and will work to sustain the very freedoms that this country was built upon. I applaud Cardinal Dolan for his gracious prayer and for striving to make sure God's will is done not only in each of us as individuals, but as a whole country. I join Cardinal Dolan in his prayer and hope that we truly become one nation under God without division.