In Colorado, a pastoral letter issued by Catholic bishops warns Church members that anyone voting for political candidates who:
– support gay marriage
– take a ‘pro-choice’ stance on abortion
– support stem-cell research, or
– support medical euthanasia
will be denied Holy Communion.
In addition to identifying candidates church members must not vote for, the letter implies those who do vote for them must “recant” their positions and confess the sin of having supported the wrong candidate in order to be reconciled with God.
Those who refuse to vote as directed “jeopardize their salvation” and can expect to suffer “fateful consequences.”
Pointless wars, with no end in sight. Torture and dehumanization of political prisoners. And now … the Church holding a spiritual gun to the heads of its members, threatening them with eternal damnation if they refuse to vote Republican?
So much for the Land of the Free.
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