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Says pamphlet sent by Hooker oversimplifies Catholic positions
Wow that sentence sent me for a loop until I read the rest.
ALBANY — A Roman Catholic official has admonished Assemblyman Daniel Hooker for distributing what he called a "right-wing" and "simplistic" voter’s guide for church members.
Hooker, R-Saugerties, recently mailed about 150 copies of the "Voter’s Guide for Serious Catholics," published by a conservative California group, to priests and deacons in his Assembly district.
The pamphlet urges Catholics to avoid voting for candidates who "endorse or promote intrinsically evil policies" such as abortion, embryonic stem-cell research and same-sex marriage.
In a letter to Hooker, the Very Rev. Thomas Berardi, dean of the Schoharie Deanery, said the pamphlet presents a "narrow and simplistic" view of Catholic morality. The pamphlet does not deal with other life-related issues, such as those who die from war, capital punishment and inadequate health care, he said. [Source]
It is amazing just how much animosity Catholic Answer’s Voter’s Guide for Serious Catholics has stirred up. But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that whenever an orthodox point of view is expressed that it upsets the apple cart of political thinking. I remember once reading a book called Flawed Expectations: The Reception of the Catechism of the Catholic Church by Msgr. Michael Wrenn and Kenneth Whitehead. At the time it surprised me just how much opposition there was to the CCC and how groups of theologians and religious educators fought to undermine it and actually told people that it was not for the laity. The same types of criticisms that I have seen of Catholic Answer’s guide were also applied to the Catechism.
"If you are going to present yourself to Catholics as a politician who is a Catholic, then I strongly suggest that you be better-informed and provide balanced material that reflects the church’s social teachings across the board and the diverse thinking of the Catholic people, theologians and pastoral ministers," Berardi wrote.
As a public service I will translate the last paragraph for you. "Stop talking about abortion already. After all we support increasing the minimum wage you know."
I have a suggestion for pro-life politicians that they present a new bill called The Minimum Age Act. The minimum age for life will be set at zero (conception) with everybody who reaches that age receive the protection of the Constitution. Then they can always talk about supporting the minimum age whereas Democrats don’t. Of course some things would never change. Democrats will be seeking to raise the minimum age first from 0 to 9 months.
Hooker said he respects Berardi, who was once his parish priest, as a man of God, but he said they have different political perspectives.
6 comments
I think the notion among most Catholics is that the Catholic Answers Voting Guide is superior to the voting guide published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It isn’t. Why not? Because the bishops have moral authority to tell us these things, and Catholic Answers does not. It is a very Protestant approach to accept the “fundamentalist” voter guide of Catholic Answers over the comprehensive voter guide of the bishops, which is more in line with Catholic tradition.
Fr. Berardi also has more moral authority than Catholic Answers. Sorry.
Are you sure the article is saying that Beradi is an ex-priest? Or just that he was formerly Hooker’s pastor? If he is not a priest, what is indicated by the title, “Very Rev. Thomas Berardi?”
Not that any of that excuses his distraction tactic, of course.
Mark,
Your right and I updated the post.
Until the U.S. Bishops clean up the Voter Guides they send out (which are notoriously ambiguious about abortion), you’ll always have this. It looks like the US Bishops are moving in the right direction, though. Much prayer is needed.
God bless,
Jay
Utterly amazing.
Abortion is *always* a moral evil.
War and even capital punishment may be just, according to the catechism.
“Social Justice” may be argued by people of good will to be an individual rather than a state obligation.
Yet these latter teachings – grey areas – are to trump black and white doctrine? The disbelief of which is, as I recall, heresy?
Again. Amazing. And this guy is allegedly a priest? What dark days we live in.
Re: ‘…which is more in line with Catholic tradition….’
Huh? What tradition would that be? Please cite where in all Church teaching it says that abortion is an acceptable end, and where it says that war or capital punishment are NEVER permissible. I obviously have the same Catechism as The Gonz Man.
Moral authority or no, if my priest (or bishop) teaches something that appears to go against the teachings of the Church, the teachings of the Church will trump that one man. And until someone shows me where I have completely misunderstood Church teaching, I would say it is a very Protestant approach to give more moral weight to the teachings of one (or even a group of) priest(s), at the expense of Tradition.
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