So, do you believe this swing state will be decided by the consciences of the many Catholic voters in the state of Ohio?
Bishop Thomas John Paprocki from Springfield, Illinois, is getting attention after making some strongly-worded comments about those Americans who opt to vote for President Barack Obama in November. In a column and video that was posted by Catholic Times, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Springfield, Paprocki targeted portions of the Democratic platform that “explicitly endorse intrinsic evils.†He also warned that supporting certain politicians could place peoples’ “eternal salvation…in jeopardy.â€
While he noted that it’s not his job to to tell people who do vote for, the faith leader said that he has a duty to speak out about moral issues. Despite his stated problems with the Democratic Party platform — the initial removal of God, its stance abortion and its support of gay marriage – Paprocki spoke relatively favorably of the Republican platform.
Photo Credit: Catholic Times
“I have read the Republican Party platform and there is nothing in it that supports or promotes an intrinsic evil or a serious sin,†he proclaimed.
While the bishop didn’t overtly name President Barack Obama as a poor candidate for people of faith to support, he invoked religious themes and warned of spiritual damnation if religious voters stand in support of politicians who “promote actions of behaviors that are intrinsically evil.â€
“I am not telling you which party or which candidates to vote for or against. What I am saying is that you need to think and pray very carefully about your vote,†Paprocki said. “Because a vote for a candidate who promotes actions or behaviors that are intrinsically evil and gravely sinful makes you morally complicit and places the eternal salvation of your own soul in serious jeopardy.â€