Excerpted Election Reflections….
Bishop Paul S. Loverde of Arlington, Virginia
(From address to the Arlington Diocese Pro-Life Leader's Conference
8/5/00)
"We must support candidates who uphold the Gospel of Life. This is a
presidential election year and a year when we elect every seat in the House
of Representatives and one-third of the Senate. This presidential election
and the related Senate elections are most crucial because the next president
will probably appoint up to three justices to the Supreme Court. Now is the
time -- not the week before the elections -- to accept your responsibility
as Catholics to participate in the election process. "The Gospel of Life
must be proclaimed, and human life defended, in all places and at all
times." (Living the Gospel of Life, 33)
(From
homily given at the pro-life Mass on the Feast of St. Peter Claver, Queen of
Apostles Church, Alexandria, Virginia, 9/9/00)
"….Are the majority of Americans blind to the fact that the number of
lives lost to abortion in our country since Roe v. Wade equals the
population of thirteen of our Midwest states?
"….We are less than two months from the first national election of the
millennium. We Catholics must approach our task as faithful citizens of this
country by understanding our moral principles when listening to the political
rhetoric.
"The moral principle that every person is created in the image and likeness
of God and thus must be treated as a gift of God stands taller than any Supreme
Court decision permitting the destruction of life in the womb.
"….Let me repeat what I have said before, "It is incompatible with the
Catholic faith to support the taking of innocent life whether it is an unborn
child or someone who is sick or suffering." (Homily, 9/3/00) The Holy Father in
his ad limina speech to the Bishops of Pennsylvania and New Jersey in
1993 said, "To defend the right to life of unborn children is one of the
greatest human life issues of our day."
"We must evaluate carefully the record of the candidates running for the
House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Presidency."
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