Luminous
A Catholic Woman and Her Thoughts on Life, the Universe, and Everything
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Over 110 Bishops Say Abortion/Life Issues Defining Issues of Election
Over 110 Bishops Say Abortion/Life Issues are the Defining Issues of the Election
By Tim Waggoner
 
WASHINGTON, October 27, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A comprehensive list compiled by InsideCatholic.com reveals that more than 110 U.S. bishops have proclaimed abortion and the life issues to be the defining issues in the upcoming election, including 22 bishops who signed on to a joint statement by the New York bishops, and another 16 bishops who signed on to a Pennsylvania joint statement.
 
Just three days ago, LifeSiteNews.com reported that popular Catholic writer and blogger Rocco Palmo had calculated that approximately 50 bishops have proclaimed abortion and the life issues to be the defining issues in the election; but according to InsideCatholic.com the number is significantly greater than that.
 
Increasingly, and with increasing urgency, the shepherds of the U.S. Church are encouraging their flock to see the gift of life as the most important election issue - even in the midst of a war and a struggling economy. As the New York bishops write, "The inalienable right to life of every innocent human person outweighs other concerns where Catholics may use prudential judgment, such as how best to meet the needs of the poor or to increase access to health care for all."
 
Many of the bishops have also observed that abortion is not the only violation against the right to life that voters must consider, but have urged Catholics to consider the candidate's positions on euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, and other violations against the human embryo.
 
With one presidential candidate promising to promote a culture of life and the other vowing to put as one of his highest priorities the extreme pro-abortion Freedom of Choice Act, this election has seen an increasing number of bishops courageously defending life.
 
After listing several offenses against life, the Most Reverend Joseph F. Naumann and the Most Reverend Robert W. Finn, only two of the 80 plus bishops to highlight the life issues as the most urgent issues currently facing America, said in a joint statement, "A properly formed conscience must give such issues priority even over other matters with important moral dimensions."
 
U.S. Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, prefect of the Vatican's highest court, said the Democratic Party "risks transforming itself definitively into a 'party of death."
 
The determination of these bishops to reach Catholic voters appears to be paying off.
 
Investor's Business Daily and the TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics (IBD/TIPP) has released a tracking poll that shows a dramatic shift in opinion that may be a result of the bishops' guidance to their flocks.
 
IBD/TIPP reported on Thursday that John McCain has gone from an 11-point deficit to a 9-point lead over Barack Obama among Catholic voters. According to the Drudge Report, IBD/TIPP was the most accurate pollster for the 2004 election.
 
 
InsideCatholic.com's list of bishops proclaiming abortion as the main election issue:
 
 
Among the over 110 bishops who have spoken out in this election in defense of Church teaching are 63 ordinaries (bishops who head dioceses). That's nearly a third of the 197 dioceses and archdioceses in the United States. There are also 5 cardinals and 9 archbishops on the list.
 
The regional dispersion is rather even: South 7, Southeast 7, Southwest 10, West 5, Northeast 19, MidWest 27, and Northwest 3. The "red state, blue state" representation is close to even as well: Red 37, Blue 36.
 
(Note that numbers 69, 70, and 71 encompass 22, 16, 4, and 9 bishops respectively, who are included in joint statements issued by the bishops of New York, Pennsylvania, Kansas, and Florida.)
 
1. Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver
2. Bishop James Conley, auxiliary of Denver
3. Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C.
4. Justin Cardinal Rigali of Philadelphia, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities
5. Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, chairman of the Committee on Doctrine
6. Edward Cardinal Egan of New York
7. Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo
8. Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh
9. Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs
10. Archbishop Jose Gomez of San Antonio
11. Bishop Oscar Cantu, auxiliary of San Antonio
12. Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre
13. Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa
14. Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas
15. Bishop Gregory Aymond of Austin
16. Sean Cardinal O'Malley of Boston, MA
17. Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando
18. Archbishop John Nienstedt of Saint Paul/Minneapolis
19. Francis Cardinal George of Chicago, President of the USCCB
20. Bishop Robert Vasa of Baker
21. Bishop Jerome Listecki of La Crosse
22. Bishop Richard Lennon of Cleveland
23. Bishop Ralph Nickless of Sioux City
24. Archbishop George Niederauer of San Francisco
25. Bishop Glen Provost of Lake Charles, LA
26. Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn
27. Bishop Joseph F. Martino of Scranton
28. Archbishop Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura
30. Bishop Peter J. Jugis of Charlotte
31. Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Raleigh
32. Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, KS
33. Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, MO
34. Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison, WS
35. Bishop Ronald Gilmore of Dodge City, KS
36. Bishop Paul Coakley of Salina, KS
37. Bishop Michael Jackels of Wichita
38. Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito of Palm Beach
39. Bishop Kevin W. Vann of Fort Worth
40. Bishop Rene H. Gracida, retired, of Corpus Christi
41. Daniel Cardinal DiNardo of Houston
42. Bishop Paul S. Loverde of Arlington
43. Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo of Richmond
44. Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Center
45. Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester, MA 
46. Bishop Arthur Serratelli of Patterson
47. Bishop Robert Herrmann of St. Louis
48. Archbishop Edwin O'Brien of Baltimore
49. Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix
50. Bishop Thomas D. Doran of Rockford
51. Bishop Joseph A. Galante of Camden
52. Bishop Robert J. Baker of Birmingham
53. Archbishop Alexander J. Brunett of Seattle
54. Bishop J. Peter Sartain of Joliet
55. Bishop John M. Smith of Trenton
56. Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing
57. Bishop Leonard R. Blair of Toledo
58. Bishop Francis J. Dewane of Venice
59. Bishop W. Frances Malooly of Wilmington
60. Bishop John Yanta, retired, of Amarillo
61. Bishop James V. Johnston of Springfield-Cape Girardeau
62. Archbishop John Vlazny of Portland
63. Bishop Blase J. Cupich of Rapid City
64. Bishop Lawrence Brandt of Greensburg
65. Bishop Dennis M. Schnurr of Cincinatti
66. Bishop Larry Silva of Honolulu
67. Bishop Paul Swain of Sioux Falls
68. Bishop Michael J. Sheehan of Santa Fe
69. Bishop Eusebius Beltran of Oklahoma City
70. Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Harrisburg
71. Archbishop Daniel Buechlein of Indianapolis
72. Bishop Alexander Sample of Marquette
73. Bishop Timothy McDonnell of Springfield, MA
74. Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee
75. Joint Statement by the bishops of New York State (22 bishops)
76. Joint Statement by the bishops of Pennsylvania (16 bishops)
77. Joint Statement by the bishops of Kansas (4 bishops)
78. Joint Statement by the bishops of Florida (9 bishops)
 
 
Written at 10:59 AM by Luminaria2112.
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