Oh, wait...some more "Yeah, buts..."

Following up on my earlier post regarding the recent letter issued by the bishops of Dallas and Fort Worth: apparently there are a number of people who say that they are Catholic but strongly disagree with the bishops. The Dallas Morning News covered the reactions of DFW area Catholics in its October 14 article "Catholic bishops' letter on voting causes a stir, with critics likening it to an endorsement of McCain". Several of the dissenters are, unfortunately, from my parish, which sits across the street from the Dallas Diocese offices.

Excerpts:

"I was personally offended," said Phillip Archer of Dallas. "My bishop basically told me that if I vote for Barack Obama, I will go to hell."

and

Nicole LeBlanc said several people at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Dallas walked out during the 11 a.m. Sunday Mass when the letter was read at the time usually reserved for a homily.

"As a Catholic, we're taught about being independent moral agents with free will," she said. "That letter from the bishops is basically telling us that if we vote for a candidate who supports abortion rights, we are basically immoral and our souls are imperiled."

On a positive note:

"I don't think it's an endorsement or a condemnation of a specific candidate," said Rick Nyman, a Frisco Catholic who applauded the letter. "I think it's a reminder of what church dogma is. If you like it, fine. If you don't like it, that's not so fine, but we love you anyhow."

Ms. Taylor said the letter was not an endorsement of any political candidate but sought to clarify Catholic teachings, particularly a document issued by U.S. bishops called "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship." She said the bishops felt the document was being misunderstood by some in their dioceses.

I'll admit that I missed the fact that Fr. Tony was reading the bishops' letter; I blame that on trying to keep a toddler relatively quiet and off the floor. But I did catch bits and pieces and thought "Good job for speaking about the Church's teaching on abortion."