Respect for life is a seamless garment

[ashling]

I am not Catholic, but would like to recommend a book I have been reading: Collins, Chuck & Mary Wright, The Moral Measure of the Economy, Orbis Books: Maryknoll, New York (2007)

this is a guide for Catholics as to Catholic teachings about the economy. The subject line of this post is from the introduction to this book. It goes on to make the point that "No political party, and few politicians seem able to capture such a holistic focus on life."

My point is, maybe some Catholic Bishops that are in the mood to deny comunion to Obama supporters should also start denying communion to groups that are strongly divergent from the Catholic moral principles outlined here. For example, those who support the death penalty to those who worship the market. That includes Bush supporters, obviously, and pretty much all Republicans.

"The teachings of Jesus are very clear on the matter of idolatry, whether the idolatry of the state, as under communist systems, or the idolatry of the market. The dominant secular religion in the United States today is the worship of the market, and there are many points where the Gospel values conflict with the values of the marketplace..."

Here is a blurb from my reading notes on the book:

Summary :
a guide written especially for Catholics in answer to the growing need for economic justice and a strong moral foundation in today's society. Chapters address "Catholic Teachings on Economic Life", "Global Trade and the Power of Corporations", "Solidarity in Action: Alternatives for a Just Economy". "As a society, we should not permit private actors, such as corporations, to shift their 'costs' onto the commons... " Though The Moral Measure of the Economy is written especially to Catholics, its powerful message about the need for morality and social accountability to provide guidance to economic systems. A can-do guide to incorporating fundamental human values into one's economic beliefs and actions.


Table of Contents:
PART ONE
1. Economics As if People Mattered
2. Our Best Kept Secret: Catholic Teaching on Economic Life
3. Signs of the Times #1: Life in the New Economy
PART TWO
4. Signs of the Times #2: What Kind of Country Are We Becoming?
5. Root Causes, Part I: Values, Wages, and the Role of Government
6. Root Causes II: Global Trade and the Power of Corporations
7. The Moral Measures for Our Economy
8. Solidarity in Action: Alternatives for a Just Economy
9. Preparing for Discipleship
10. Making a Difference


Reading Notes:

[shrike]

1. No one is trying to deny me communion

I have never personally heard of anyone being denied communion, or known anyone who was denied communion for political reasons. I hear stories that Kerry supporters were denied in 2004, but when I ask for specifics no one can give them to me. It's always, "someone said," or "I heard."

The right wing bishops came out of the conservative backlash after Vatican II. (Sort of like the conservative movement that grew up in this country after the sixties.) The right-wingers have a lot of power now. They've gotten all the press in recent years, along with everything else conservative. The priests in SC and California who have gotten everyone's panties in a bunch in LBN are part of this group. They sound like a bunch of sore losers to me. The progressive Catholics won this round.

Groups like Pax Christi and Catholic Democrats worked hard for Obama. I got their literature and no member has been excommunicated yet. Neither have I, and I don't expect to be. You might be interested to know that Pew Research Center states that the few conservative bishops who spoke out against Kerry only had a limited impact on the 2004 election. Seventy-two percent of Catholics disapproved of their statements and found them inappropriate.

The comments in LBN have gone off the deep end, IMHO. A poster just stated that Catholicism is incompatible with Democracy -- gee, I guess we should have thought of that before we let Obama put Biden on the ticket. And for that matter, maybe I should pack my bags.

Thank you for reaching out to us. Being denied communion is the least of my worries right now, and I'm not sure it's a good idea to deny communion to ANYONE for that matter. But the book sounds interesting; I'll try and pick it up.

[Beer Snob-50]

2. thosebishops who try to deny communion

were simply in the pockets to the rnc and other rw groups. i support a womens right to choose but i am also for ways to make abortion very very rare. i am also against the death penalty. these men (and that is what they are, thye do not have a direct line to god)are trying to influence public opinion by withholding the sacraments.