This election season, Catholic issues have begun to take center stage. With Gov. Sarah Palin's strong stance on life, Nancy Pelosi's quotation of the doctors of the Church, Joe Biden's "private conviction on abortion, and the Catholic bishops unequivocal public statements, things are just heating up.
It is important to reflect on where candidates stand on the issues important to Catholics.There's a great comparison of John McCain and Barack Obama on the five non-negotiable issues for Catholics at eCatholicHub.net. They examine the candidates positions on abortion, euthanasia, embyronic stem-cell research, human cloning and homosexual "marriage.
First of all: abortion. Barack Obama has affirmed time and again his support for abortion and even infanticide, if his record in the Illinois State Senate is considered. Mr. Obama has stated that he does not considered unborn infants to be persons "entitled to the kinds of protections found in the Constitution. The National Association the Repeal Abortion Laws has stated they look forward to working with a "pro-choice Obama White House. John McCain, on the other hand has taken a pro-life stance on the abortion issue. In the 2000 primary campaign for president, he advocated changing the platform of the Republican party to insist on exceptions from an abortion ban for cases of rape and incest—which disagrees with Catholic teaching. But Mr. McCain has stated that Roe v. Wade ought to be overturned and famously, that life begins "at the moment of conception. John McCain has staked out for himself the pro-life real estate in America for the 2008 election, while Mr. Obama has done the opposite.
Second, euthanasia. Barack Obama stated that he regretted his vote to allow the family of Terri Schiavo to take their case to the federal courts to prevent her imminent death. He also stated that he thinks the state Oregon "did a service fo
r the country by passing a pro-assisted suicide referendum. Mr. Obama's position directly opposes the Catholic teaching that euthanasia or "mercy-killing is wrong in all cases. Mr. McCain also expressed regret about the way the Senate handled the Terri Schiavo case. However, he has yet to stake out a firm position on this issue.
Third, embryonic stem cell research. Both Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain voted "yes on Senate Bill 5, which provided federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. President Bush vetoed this bill. The Catholic Church has repeatedly issued teachings against embryonic stem cell research because it holds that human life begins at conception.Fourth, human cloning. Barack Obama co-sponsored a Senate Bill 1520 that would allow for human cloning of embryos, but would not allow the embryos to be maintained alive for more than 14 days. But John McCain has stated again and again that he is "strongly opposed to human cloning. McCain's view lines up with Church teaching on this issue.
Finally, homosexual "marriage. Barack Obama voted against the Marriage Protection Amendment and has stated that he would oppose any efforts banning gay marriage. John McCain stated his support for marriage between one man and one woman, yet he is open to allowing gay couples to enter into some type of civil unions or partnerships. The Catholic bishops in the United States have made many public statements that marriage between a man and a woman is the fundamental building block of society and ought not to be re-defined by political bodies.
After briefly noting each of these five important Catholic issues, neither Barack Obama nor John McCain shines as a "Catholic candidate. However, Obama's consistent opposition to Church teaching on every one of these issues make him less worthy of the Catholic vote. But John McCain will stand with Catholics in opposing abortion, euthanasia, human cloning and gay marriage. John McCain is the best choice of the two for American Catholics voting in 2008.For more information see http://johnmccainisprolife.com
