And it begins: I emailed Bill Allen. He is listed as a volunteer for the Oregon Catholic Conference www.archdpdx.org (OCC). He was the only contact. Bishop Peter Smith was listed as Secretary/Tresurer.
Here is the response.
Sent: Monday, August 29, 2016 1:27 PM
To: Allen, Bill
Subject: Election
Hello,
I was wondering if there was anything from the Archdiocese to help Oregon Catholics who to vote for President this election?
There are certain things that Catholics need from the Archdiocese to make a decision.
The "seamless garment" thought/heresy as it makes giving money to the less fortunate as critical as abortion a child.
We really don't have much time to educate on this issue.
The
Peace and Justice Ministry is pushing this "heresy" in equating some
issues that are not the issues of abortion and euthanasia in protecting
our brothers and
sisters against.
Please let me know if there is any movement at all. Maybe I'm just missing something.
Thanks,
Carolyn Wendell
"Dear Carolyn,
Thank you for your e-mail.
The U.S. Bishops recently revised the document
“Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship”. The document lays out
the primary principles that Catholics should consider when voting. You
can find it online, along with other good resources
at: http://www.usccb.org/issues-
Please let me know if you have additional questions.
In the peace of Christ,
Todd Cooper
Department Director
Special Ministries of the Archbishop
Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon
Representative, Oregon Catholic Conference
www.archdpdx.org"
Having more questions I continued:
Todd,
Thanks
for getting back to me. Just for point of inquiry, are you telling me
that there is no Oregon Catholic Conference and that you and Matt Cato
are the only ones that speak for the OCC and not Bill Allen or Bishop
Smith?
The
Faithful Citizenship info on the USCCB website is very confusing.
Wouldn't it be better to mention on "our" website the guidelines of not
voting for intrinsic evils of abortion or euthanasia? Feeding the
hungry are not equal with these, even if there was a candidate, let's
say, for President.
Pointing out those qualities of each party would be very helpful since people's souls are a stake. Don't you agree?
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| PATRON SAINT OF POLITICIANS |
Thanks,
Carolyn Here is his response. Many people have said that Matt Cato as agent had a "seamless garment" attitude and paraphrasing an Oregon Catholic, Matt Cato said regarding the Life issues, "Oregon Right to Life can do the life issues". Just ask him about them he is totally "Peace and Justice". The "Life" was added, in my opinion the make pro-lifers, "feel good". And also save money. We need transparency and justice for the pro-lifers. But I digress.
Since Todd Cooper and Matt Cato are agents of the Bishops, he continues:
Dear Carolyn,
The
Oregon Catholic Conference is made up of the bishops in Oregon,
including Archbishop Sample, Bishop Cary, and Bishop Smith. I serve as
representative of
the OCC. Matt Cato is on the OCC advisory committee. Bill Allen works
as a volunteer, assisting me with the work of the OCC and with other
projects. It is the bishops who speak for the OCC. The rest of us
serve as their agents.
Regarding
the information on the USCCB website, if you find it confusing, I
recommend reading in its entirety the recently revised edition of
Forming Consciences
for Faithful Citizenship. The document lays out the principles by
which Catholics can form their consciences and faithfully exercise their
political responsibility. This includes voting in good conscience.
A
Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who supports a policy that
promotes intrinsic evil – if the voter’s intent is to support that
position. At the same time,
a Catholic should not use a candidate’s opposition to an intrinsic evil
to justify indifference to other important moral issues related to
human life and dignity.
The
challenge for Catholics is to allow their Catholic faith to inform
their politics. In the case of many, it is their politics that inform
their Catholic faith.
The
Church respects freedom of conscience. The US bishops do not tell
Catholics which candidates or parties to support. They simply give
guidelines that help
Catholics develop a well-formed conscience so that they can make well
informed decisions and participate responsibly in political life.
Hope these thoughts are helpful.
In the peace of Christ,
Todd
Todd Cooper
Representative
Oregon Catholic Conference
The response will be posted soon. Any comments from you would be welcome.
