Recommended by Fr. Pisut
Bp. Morlino (D. Madison, WI) defends Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI1) reputation
Rep. Paul Ryan’s (GOP VP candidate – R-WI1) congressional district overlaps with the Diocese of Madison, where His Excellency Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino is the local ordinary bishop.
On the site of the Diocese of Madison Bp. Morlino has published a comment about Rep. Ryan, who, in terms of the Church, is his subject.
Let’s have a look with some detail in order to get this whole thing clear:
Subsidiarity, solidarity, and the lay mission
Bishop’s Column
Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012
Bishop’s Column
Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012
Dear friends,
It was no shock at all for me to learn that our diocesan native son, Paul Ryan, had been chosen to be a candidate for the Vice Presidency of the United States. I am proud of his accomplishments as a native son, and a brother in the faith, and my prayers go with him and especially with his family as they endure the unbelievable demands of a presidential campaign here in the United States. It is not for the bishop or priests to endorse particular candidates or political parties. Any efforts on the part of any bishop or priest to do so should be set aside. And you can be assured that no priest who promotes a partisan agenda is acting in union with me or with the Universal Church. [A new definition of "nano second" could be the interval between when a liberal reads this and then accuses Morlino of meddling in politics.]
It is the role of bishops and priests to teach principles of our faith, such that those who seek elected offices, if they are Catholics, are to form their consciences according to these principles about particular policy issues.
However, the formation of conscience regarding particular policy issues is different depending on how fundamental to the ecology of human nature [interesting starting point: ecology... ecological anthropology? anthropological ecology? ecological theo-anthropology?] or the Catholic faith a particular issue is. Some of the most fundamental issues for the formation of a Catholic conscience are as follows: sacredness of human life from conception to natural death, marriage, religious freedom and freedom of conscience, and a right to private property. [Which all happen to be burning issues in public debate and in the political campaign.]
Violations of the above involve intrinsic evil — that is, an evil which cannot be justified by any circumstances whatsoever. [It seems to me that some might bring in "eminent domain" when dealing with the right to property, but the principle remains: we have a right to property. ] These evils are examples of direct pollution of the ecology of human nature and can be discerned as such by human reason alone. [Good.] Thus, all people of good will who wish to follow human reason should deplore any and all violations in the above areas, without exception. The violations would be: abortion, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, same-sex marriage, government-coerced secularism, and socialism. [Since the starting point of the argument is human reason, we cannot be accused fairly of pushing "religious views" on the public when we defend life from a natural law stance.]
Where intrinsic evil is not involved
In these most fundamental matters, a well-formed Catholic conscience, or the well-formed conscience of a person of good will, simply follows the conclusions demanded by the ecology of human nature and the reasoning process. A Catholic conscience can never take exception to the prohibition of actions which are intrinsically evil. [You cannot be... cannot be... pro-choice and a faithful Catholic.] Nor may a conscience well-formed by reason or the Catholic faith [WATCH THIS...] ever choose to vote for someone who clearly, consistently, persistently promotes that which is intrinsically evil. [Some who are truth-deficient will claim that that was a political statement. It. Was. Not.]
For the rest of the article click here: WDTPRS