Bible Our current Pope Francis said: "Defend the unborn against abortion, even if they persecute you, calumniate you, set traps for you, take your to court or kill you" (1). Our previos Pope Benedict XVI said that: "Abortion is crime against society" (2). "One can never approve of abortion; but it is above all necessary to combat its causes. This includes political action" ( Pope Paul VI)."Those who hold the reins of government should not forget that it is the duty of public authority…to defend the lives of the innocent…among whom we must mention in the first place infants hidden in the mother’s womb. And, if the public magistrates…do not defend them, but by their laws and ordinances betray them to death at the hands of doctors and others, let them remember that God is the Judge and Avenger of innocent blood which cries from earth to heaven" (Pope Pius XI Encyclical - Casti Connubii n.67).
"Thou shalt not kill" (Exodus 20:13). "This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19). The Old Testament holds that the everlasting soul is infused at the moment of conception. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you" (Jeremiah 1:5). The New Testament holds that the everlasting soul is infused at the moment of conception. "For he (John the Baptist) shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb" (Luke 1:15). Other issues such as the economy, foreign affairs, the housing crisis and immigration pale in comparison. It is important for Catholics to understand that the benefits promised by abortion Candidates come at a very high price, a price that is too high to pay. "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36). Yet there are Catholics willing to jeopardize their salvation for promises of marginal tax breaks, or withdrawing our troops from terrorist time-bomb territories before the implementation of a stable form of Government could be achieved and implemented. Utilizing our God-given common sense, what issue could possibly prevail over the slaughter of the estimated 45-50 million innocent lives in the US alone since 1973? Moreover, consider that there are 194 Countries in the world. The paramount issue is voting for abortion, which is tantamount to supporting abortion. Pope Benedict XVI, stated: "Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia. There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia." For this reason, abortion and euthanasia are threshold issues. A "threshold issue" is one which does not allow more than one moral outcome. Threshold issues are fundamental and the Church’s position is morally binding. The principles of voting Catholic are expressed in the following fundamental concepts: • Life begins at conception. Therefore, a person’s right to exist begins at conception. • Society’s duty is to protect innocent life from the moment of conception to natural death. • The Catholic Church recognizes and teaches that protection of life is the paramount issue. • The deliberate destruction of an innocent human being is a violation of the person’s rights and therefore always intrinsically wrong. • Social issues such as hunger, adequate housing and health care, while worthy, are irrelevant if the human being is not first afforded the fundamental right to exist. • Voting for a candidate based on his/her stand on social issues is unjustified if the candidate does not understand or support the person’s right to exist.
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