Catholic voters ignored the instructions of a group of vocal bishops and delivered 54% of their vote for Barack Obama as president of the United States.These bishops, led by Archbishops Charles Chaput and Raymond Burke, argued that abortion was the most important issue in the election and that no other issues outweighed it.
As a result, they argued, Catholics could not vote for a pro-choice candidate.
Although these bishops were a minority of the U.S. bishops, they received much attention in the media because other bishops kept silent or simply referred people to their 2007 document, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.
The silence of the majority gave the impression that the vocal bishops were speaking for all the bishops.
Some media outlets estimated the number of vocal anti-Obama bishops at 50 or more. I do not trust these numbers.
Some of the bishops included in the tally only spoke out against Nancy Pelosi when she gave an interpretation of Catholic teaching, with which they disagreed. Others simply repeated what Faithful Citizenship said, that abortion "is not just one issue among many."
The document also said, "As Catholics we are not single-issue voters."
Most Catholics ignored the bishops who told them not to vote for a pro-choice candidate. Hispanic Catholics, who are touted as the future of the church in the United States, voted overwhelmingly for Obama and white Catholics split their vote between the two candidates.
The laity repudiated Archbishop Burke's description of the Democratic Party as the party of death.
They clearly agree with what the bishops said in Faithful Citizenship: "Church's leaders are to avoid endorsing or opposing candidates or telling people how to vote."
For Catholics, as for other Americans, the economy became the dominant issue in the election. Few said that abortion was the most important issue.
In addition, the anti-immigrant rhetoric from the Republican base chased Hispanics away from the Republican Party.
Joe Biden, an experienced Catholic senator with working-class roots, helped top of the ticket with Catholics much more than did Sarah Palin, the ex-Catholic evangelical governor of Alaska.
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Sotto Voce
(Source: CTHUS)
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