Every election year, the U.S. Catholic bishops put out a document offering guidance for Catholic Voters. This year's, document, Faithful Citizenship, caused quite a stir among the ultraconservatives, because it made it clear that the bishops were not rigidly opposed to the election of a Democratic president. There was a strong backlash in the anti-abortion movement, who felt they had been betrayed by the bishops.

The official-looking leaflets left on cars in our church parking lot were published by Randall Terry, an anti-abortion activist who does not seem like the kind of person I would like to have living next door.

One Randall Terry Website, http://www.randallterry.com/, has a brief video from the 85-yr-old retired bishop of Corpus Christi, which says that "Barack Hussein Obama" is a pro-abortion candidate, so Catholics may not vote for him.

Another Terry Website, www.ahumbleplea.com, has PDF copies of the hateful brochure titled "Is It Immoral To Vote For Obama." The other one, "Faithful Catholic Citizenship," is even more insidious because it has a title and logo very similar to the bishops' "Faithful Citizenship" documents. The last sentence of this deceptive brochure is this: "But you may not in good conscience vote for Barack Obama if you want to be a "Faithful Catholic Citizen." Please note that Randall Terry joined the Catholic Church in 2005. I wonder how he acquired so much expertise in so little time.....

-Joe-

P.S. Ake.....for centuries, the Catholic Church has taught that faith, church teachings, and moral judgments must be based on reason AND faith. There's plenty of reason in religious beliefs and practices - "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" makes a lot of rational sense. MOST religions are built on that principle.