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Orlando Bishop Refutes Article, Reaffirms "Destruction of Innocent Human Life" Is Always Wrong
Orlando, Aug 18, 2008 (CNA).- Bishop of Orlando, Most Rev. Thomas Wenski has responded to an “inaccurate” article in the Orlando Sentinel which claims that Catholic and evangelical leaders “hailed new language for the Democratic Party's platform that calls for reducing abortion” to create “common ground” with Republican voters.

In the disputed article, “Evangelical: We Can Back Dems, Obama,” the Orlando Sentinel quoted one evangelical pastor, Rev. Joel Hunter, who praised the new wording. “From my perspective as a conservative evangelical, Barack Obama's campaign and the Democratic Party have taken a historic and courageous step toward empowering women for an expanded range of choices and saving babies' lives.”

Bishop Wenski wrote to the editor in a letter published on August 16 clarifying that Catholic leaders are not in agreement with Rev. Hunter’s position.

In his letter, Bishop Wenski wrote that the Sentinel article, “inaccurately implied that Catholic leaders shared the positive assessment the Rev. Joel Hunter gave the ‘abortion plank’ of the Democratic Party's platform.”

The bishop continued explaining that “The bishops have gone on record stating just the opposite. And they are the ones who speak as the leaders of the Catholic Church in the United States -- and not political operatives for one party or another who happen to be Catholic.”

“In ‘Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,’ the bishops wrote that ‘opposing intrinsically evil acts has a special claim on our consciences and our actions’ and warned against a ‘moral equivalence’ that would make no ethical distinctions between different kinds of issues involving human life and dignity.”

Bishop Wenski concluded his letter by quoting Faithful Citizenship. “The direct and intentional destruction of innocent human life from the moment of conception until natural death is always wrong and is not just one issue among many. It must always be opposed." MORE
 

Operation Rescue's New Flyer: "Is it Immoral to Vote for Obama for President?"
Denver, Aug 18, 2008 (CNA).- The founder of Operation Rescue, Randall Terry is in Denver today to distribute his organization’s new flyer, “Is it Immoral to Vote for Obama for President?”

His mission for the visit is simple: “hand out 100,000 copies of the brochure, ‘Is it Immoral to Vote for Obama for President?’ to Catholics and Evangelicals. It has a profoundly jolting effect on readers, explained Mr. Terry.

Mr. Terry and his staff are recruiting volunteers to help with the distribution from Tuesday 8/19 – to Sunday 8/24. They will go to malls, shopping centers, streets, and churches to hand out the brochure.

“It is mind boggling that millions of Catholics are considering voting for Obama – in spite of the fact that he is the most pro-death candidate in history,” remarked Mr. Terry.

“Worse yet is that they attempt to justify this abandonment of the unborn by citing ‘the common good.’ John Paul II specifically said such reasoning was against the teaching of the Church.”

“This new flyer will clear up any doubt for the open-hearted who will be consistent with their faith. I hope we can get a lot of volunteers; this could really make a difference.” MORE