For Catholics, pro-life is not solely defined by abortion. It makes no sense to support only anti-abortion candidate when they are so wrong on every other pro-life issue.
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Especially when those candidates use the abortion issue to gain votes and lose all interest once in office. Well at least until the next election cyle…….

Because their pocketbooks are more important than the issue of life.

Steve, you make quite a leap in your final question when you said “disregard their Bishops”. These “religious Catholics” as you call them, might not have “disregarded” their bishops, but in fact listened to them and then respectfully disagreed.
I would assume that a “religious” Catholics is one who prays for his bishop, respectfully listens to him, and learns from him. It is certainly possible that an individual bishop might make a mistake while he is teaching, in which case one could legitimately disagree. But if a “religious Catholic” is going to go down the path of disagreeing with his bishop, he had better make quite certain that he knows what the Church teaches — and then prays for his bishop to teach what the Church teaches.

Bill, that’s a fair point. I originally “ignored” but then changed it because of the very point you made. I’d hoped that ‘disregard’ could include those who listened but decided to go a different way

This pro-life Catholic, who voted for Obama, said to the Republican Party: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me Three Times??? No way, no how!

I am a cradle catholic. Stopped going to church when I was a teenager and could say I’m not going anymore. I grew up in the south and the church was segregated. This was a big issue to me as an older child and teenager. One of our parish priests was an bad alcoholic and caused scandal. Over the years, I’ve become a Buddhist, a Bahai, and a Lutheran. But now, I am drawn back to the church. It’s about the Mass, the intellectual heritage, monasticism and the ritual. I could not find that satisfaction elsewhere. I disagree with the church hierarchy on some isssues, I don’t really follow the bishops pronouncements. I live my faith from the heart and the mind. As one philosophical entertainer (Alan Watts, and british born Episopal priest from the 60′s)said. America fought a revolution to become an independent, democratic nation. And yet we supposedly long to die and go to heaven, where we will be back in a monarchy. So, I’m a cafeteria catholic, but the church is more than the Pope and bishops. It’s all of us. And if you look at the example of history (recently gay, pedophile, etc.) plus the inquisition etc. There is no compelling need to follow every pronouncement from the Vatican or bishops, duh, they are sometimes wrong. We are all just people trying to figure out our way in life. Even the Pope. The church is all of us. I love the Catholic church and hope that all faiths can learn to at least respect one another. By the way, I think abortion and capital punishment are wrong (sanctity of life, possibility of redemption), but we live in a secular society with a separation of church and state, as it should be. Abortion is only one of the evils in our society (human trafficing, genocide, extreme materialism that has brought our great nation to the point of collapse. We should do what we can, but only God can intervene and really change things. This is a fallen world and we do not have the capacity to save it ourselves.

I just posted the above comment at 4:05, but my name didn’t get on it. Crazy software.

I would call those Catholics that voted for Obama, “thinking” Catholics, not “sheep” Catholics, in other words, following Benny and friends mindlessly. The thinking includes realizing that the election wasn’t about just one subject…abortion…and that they have a right as an American to vote they way they want. My guess that even some of them use (gasp) artificial birth control. I also speculate that they feel it isn’t their business to tell other women what to do with their bodies.

Pagansister. I saved my wife the hassle and got a vasectomy after our second child. My wife was 40 then. I’ve studied comparative religion for the last 40 years (58 if you include my Catholic upbringing) and I have respect for most, including Pagan and Wicca. I think what’s important though is the basic, “treat others as you want to be treated”. If you stray too far from that, there’s a problem. No matter what tradition you follow, Paramahansa Yoganada said this. “There was a man who needed a well. He began digging, but when he didn’t find water after a day or so, he gave up and moved to a different location and began to dig again. He did this over and over and never found water. You should dig in one place and not give up and you will eventually find the water”. That’s not an exact quote, but almost. I’ve been the impatient well digger, so been there done that. I hate that everyone is fighting over religion. The reality is no one knows the truth (it’s faith and belief and hope) and anyone who tells you they do these days is lying.

First, sorry for the double post above! It told me the scramble had expired! Guess not, went in.
Your Name at 4:42 PM 25 Nov. :
Admire your consideration for your wife…my husband did the same thing after our 2nd. What a relief! I agree with your version of what some call “the Golden Rule”. And you’re right…no one knows the truth when it comes to religion. However there are unfortunately a lot of folks who think they do!!

“It seems to me that, from a Catholic perspective, one of the central questions from this election was why did so many of the most religious Catholics disregard their Bishops?”
Because of the decades of disrespect their Bishops have earned for themselves. The best and brightest of Catholics are not welcome in spiritual vocations.

“It seems to me that, from a Catholic perspective, one of the central questions from this election was why did so many of the most religious Catholics disregard their Bishops?”
Could it be because, for decades, the Bishops disregarded the Catholic laity who were bringing them complaints about abusive priests?

I believe most catholics just looked and heard obama and that he attended a catholic church and also that he supposedly is a catholic and believed that a good enough reason to vote for him…in my run ins with catholics there is usually very little reason that goes into there thinking involving their religion but mainly that it is just their way of life..so yes many follow blindly..

john k ….with catholics there is …..
I concur. I have found that to be true. Having relatives who are catholic, I find them to be that way. Blindly following like sheep.

I like it very much, thank you