by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
Archbishop Raymond Burke, prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, said a document issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) caused confusion among the faithful and is partly responsible for the huge support Obama received from Catholics in November.
According to LifeSiteNews.com, Archbishop Burke said the faithful were misled by the USCCB document, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” that said, under certain circumstances, a Catholic could in good conscience vote for a candidate who supports abortion because of “other grave reasons,” as long as they do not intend to support that pro-abortion position.
“While it stated that the issue of life was the first and most important issue, it went on in some specific areas to say ‘but there are other issues’ that are of comparable importance without making necessary distinctions,” he said.
Archbishop Burke went on to cite an article written by Msgr. Kevin McMahon, an ethics expert of the St. Louis archdiocese, who analyzed the document and described how it contributed to Obama’s election. Msgr. McMahon said the document’s reference to other evils worthy of the same consideration as abortion was “a kind of false thinking.”
“The economic situation, or opposition to the war in Iraq, or whatever it may be, those things don’t rise to the same level as something that is always and everywhere evil, namely the killing of innocent and defenceless human life,” Archbishop Burke said.
The Archbishop also blamed the work of the Catholic News Service, the official news service of the USCCB, that many pro-life observers complained soft-pedaled the newly elected president’s opposition to traditional morality.
“The bishops need to look also at our Catholic News Service. They need to review their coverage of the whole thing and give some new direction, in my judgment,” he said.
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