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On Tuesday August 31, Catholic
Answers ran a full-page
ad in USA Today in several major markets advising Catholics how to
vote, in light of Church teaching, on five key, non-negotiable issues. The
ad contained the text of the "Voter's
Guide for Serious Catholics," created and produced by Catholic Answers.
Although entirely legal (the Voter's Guide does not promote or advocate
any party or candidate), the ad and the Voter's Guide have been considered
controversial, especially to some Catholics opposed to the Magisterial
teaching of the Catholic Church.
On September 20, 2004, Francis Kissling, President of Catholics
for a Free Choice (CFFC), filed a "complaint" with the IRS, claiming
that Voter's Guide produced by Catholic Answers violates tax rules governing
non-profit charitable organizations.
In a statement,
Catholic Answers' founder and president Karl Keating said:
"In a brazen attempt to silence anyone who opposes legalized child-killing
in America, the nation's leading pro-abortion Catholic-Frances Kissling
of Catholics For a Free Choice-has launched a full-scale attack on Catholic
Answers for publishing the Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics. ...
In fact, our Voter's Guide does not violate any tax rules. We had it thoroughly
checked out by legal experts, and we're well within the law. In the Voter's
Guide, we don't mention any candidates, any specific election, or any
party, and we don't endorse or oppose anyone. We merely state the principles
that real Catholics are obligated to abide by when voting."
On Thursday, September 23, IgnatiusInsight.com interviewed Jimmy
Akin, Catholic Answers Director of Apologetics and Evangelization,
about the controversy, the attacks by Catholics for a Free Choice, and
the Voter's Guide.
IgnatiusInsight.com: Why do you think Catholics for a Free Choice is
trying to get the IRS to go after Catholic Answers?
Jimmy Akin: Frances Kissling's complaint is completely frivolous.
It therefore appears that the reason she is doing this is intimidation.
It's an attempt to get us to back down. But she doesn't know who she's
messing with. Catholic Answers will not be intimidated.
IgnatiusInsight.com: What is Catholic Answers' goal in writing and
distributing its Voter's Guide?
Akin: The purpose is to educate Catholics on Church teaching regarding
their moral obligations when involved in the political process, an educational
goal that has been neglected for far too long, leaving Catholics vulnerable
to manipulation regarding what their faith requires.
IgnatiusInsight.com: How do you respond to the charge that Catholic
Answers' Voter Guide is partisan?
Akin: The Voter's Guide endorses no party or candidate. In fact,
it explicitly makes the point that one must not just vote based on party
affiliation but must consider the Church's teachings regarding vital moral
issues. By definition, it can't be partisan if it's telling people not
to vote based on party.
IgnatiusInsight.com: Thus far, how has the Catholic response been to
the Voter's Guide?
Akin: The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Since we first
introduced the Voter's Guide earlier this year, we have sold over two
million copies, with approximately a hundred and fifty thousand moving
each week now. People are incredibly excited to see a dynamic presentation
of the importance of the five non-negotiables that the guide covers.
IgnatiusInsight.com: What are the five non-negotiables? How were they
selected?
Akin: The guide identifies five issues on which Church teaching
has been adamant: No Catholic can in principle support abortion, euthanasia,
embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, or homosexual "marriage."
These issues were selected because there are currently under discussion
in American politics and there are clear Magisterial statements indicating
that Catholics can never support these issues.
IgnatiusInsight.com: Are these the only such issues?
Akin: Those are the issues in American politics in our day that
the Holy See has indicated are non-negotiable. Had the guide been written
in a different age, when different issues were under discussion or different
Magisterial statements were available, a different set of non-negotiables
would emerge. For example, if U.S. leaders were presently advocating the
targeting of innocent civilians--as happened at places like Hiroshima,
Nagasaki, and Dresden--then the guide would cover the fact that you can
never deliberately target civilians and must seek to minimize civilian
casualties. But government leaders today aren't advocating the targeting
of civilians.
IgnatiusInsight.com: What if there is no candidate who is "right" on
all the issues?
Akin: The guide covers this. It points out that there are situations
where one must seek to limit the damage done to society by voting for
"the lesser of two evils" when there is no perfect candidate.
IgnatiusInsight.com: You're a Catholic apologist and the author of
articles and books on apologetics. Catholic Answers is an apologetics
apostolate. How would you respond to claims that publishing a Voter's
Guide is outside the purview of your organization's mission?
Akin: I would say someone making such a claim does not understand
what Catholic apologetics is: It is the defense of Catholic teaching and
practice. To make a defense of these, you have to explain clearly what
they are. I can't defend the doctrine of the Trinity against Mormon misrepresentation
if I don't clearly articulate the doctrine of the Trinity. Today Catholic
moral teaching has come under attack, both by individuals outside the
Church and even by some within it, who want to confuse and mislead Catholics
about what their faith requires. It is my job as an apologist to defend
the Church's teaching, including its moral teachings regarding political
involvement, by clearly articulating what those teachings are and by answering
challenges to them.
IgnatiusInsight.com: How is the Voter's Guide being disseminated?
Akin: Catholic Answers is distributing the Voter's Guide in a variety
of ways. We are giving away individual copies, selling copies in bulk,
making it available for reading on our web site, publishing it in newspapers
and enabling others who contact us to do so. Any way we can get the Church's
teachings out, we want to.
IgnatiusInsight.com: How can people find out more about Catholic Answers'
efforts?
Akin: One of the easiest ways is by visiting our web site, www.catholic.com.
They also can call us at 888-291-8000 to get basic information about the
ministry.
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G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) was one of the finest Christian authors and apologists
of the past two hundred years. Raised as an agnostic, he embraced Christianity as a young man, ultimately entering the Catholic Church
in 1922. He wrote hundreds of essays, as well as novels, short stories, poetry, apologetics, literary
criticism, and nearly everything else imaginable. Dale Ahlquist, president and co-founder of the American
Chesterton Society and author of
G.K Chesterton: Apostle of Common Sense, writes, "Chesterton was equally at ease with literary and social criticism,
history, politics, economics, philosophy, and theology. His style is unmistakable, always marked
by humility, consistency, paradox, wit, and wonder. His writing remains as timely and as timeless
today as when it first appeared, even though much of it was published in throw away paper." Read more
about the life and work of this remarkable thinker, author, and apologist.
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Nothing To Hide: Secrecy, Communication and Communion in the Catholic Church
by Russell Shaw
Shaw, the former communications director for the U.S. Bishops, discusses the abuse of secrecy in the Church, the scandals it has caused and the serious
problem of mistrust that exists in the credibility of the Church. He is not concerned with the legitimate secrecy that is necessary to protect confidentiality and people's reputations, but
with the stifling, deadening misuse of secrecy that has done immense harm to communion and community in the Church in America. Shaw raises such questions as: What kind of Church do we want our Church to be, open or closed? What kind of Church should it be? And how much secrecy is compatible with having
such a Church? As Pope Benedict XVI has stated, "The consequence is clear: we cannot communicate with the Lord if we do not communicate with one another." The Church is a communion, not a political
democracy, and thus openness and accountability are even more crucial for the life of the Church than they are in a democracy. In a talk he gave many years before he became the current Pope,
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had this to say about the reality of ecclesial communion: "Fellowship in the Body of Christ and receiving the Body of Christ means fellowship with one another. This
of its very nature includes mutual acceptance, giving and receiving on both sides, and readiness to share one's goods ... In this sense, the social question is given quite a central place
in the theological heart of the concept of communion." This is a beautiful vision of the Church. Shaw's aim in his book is to make a contribution to realizing this vision in the concrete circumstances
of the present day, by helping to end the culture of secrecy, especially within American Catholicism, and replacing the destructive culture with an open, accountable community of faith.
Read more about Nothing to Hide.
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