“I do know what inconsistency is when I see it.”

you mean when you look in the mirror.

I’m absolutely sure there are plenty of folks in any Church who have sinned. I can pretty confidently assume that each and every person who is a member of a Christian church, including Catholics, have sinned. I hope they repent, pledge to do their best to change, and join their brothers and sisters in Christ in a congregation that supports each other in leading God-pleasing lives.

Benton, I can understand if from the outside this all seems strange and unfamiliar, and you’re making assumptions about how Christians act that seem to make no sense at all. When you find yourself in that position again, see if you can ask someone who does understand and can explain what’s going on. I think you’d feel a lot better understanding that Christians are pretty far from a bunch of close-minded hypocrites who lead stupid and pointless lives. Even if you’re not part of that community, understanding how good it can be can be pretty reassuring.

Agree completely Greg you can’t pick and choose what to agree with and what not to agree with and you shouldn’t violate the tenets of faith. That would be a cafeteria Catholic. The Catholic Church teaches against - remarriage, pre-marital sex as well. I am axiously awaiting Mr. Royse’s call for those who support anyone or has who has divorced and re-married without benefit of annulment or engaged in pre-marital sex to be denied communion.

The Church is not a democracy and not poll-driven. Sorry, but you are not a “good Catholic” when you support anti-life issues. This type of thinking is what B16 addressed at the beginning of his pontificate: moral relativism. Principi is not “in the Church” if he publicly supports pro-choice candidates, even if he *believes* he still is. He is duplicitous at best and one more reason to throw him off the BOCS.

I personally have little regard for the Catholic Church - it preaches one doctrine about morality while still sweeping its own sins under the expensive hand woven carpets.

Personal feelings are best kept that way. You sound very predjudiced and uninformed.

In every single election.

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In his interview, he said: “In Saturday’s News & Messenger, Chris Royse, under the guise of wishing residents a Merry Christmas, indicated that I supported a pro-choice agenda and called upon church officials in the Arlington Catholic Diocese to deny me communion. Although I normally keep my personal and religious life private, I felt it necessary to respond to his letter.

First I would like to state that I am a pro-life, Knight of Columbus, practicing Catholic who believes in the separation of church and state. My faith has always been a very important part of my life.

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As an FYI: CatholicNewsAgency.com reported:

Washington DC, Oct 8, 2008 / 11:48 pm (CNA).- A new poll of Americans ages 18-34 has surveyed the faith, politics, and issue positions of young adults before the 2008 election. The poll claims about 60 percent of younger self-identified Catholics say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 44 percent reportedly support same-sex marriage, a number which rises to 64 percent when religious liberty protections are emphasized.

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75 percent of Catholics believe that a person can be a “good Catholic” even if they use birth control.

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Obviously, even the majority of Catholics don’t want politicians peering into their private lives, yet respect their right to practice their religion in their PERSONAL lives.

Principi has made it very clear that abortion is not an option in his PERSONAL life. If he lives by these values, then he has deceived no one.

Now, I don’t care for the man’s political platform and wouldn’t vote for him for that reason - if I were able to vote in PWC.

I would take far more offense to Principi campaigning for Connolly.

Ever see someone campaign that their a life-long NRA member, and then they turn around and support gun control? Or say what they need to in order to get an endorsement by the National Taxpayers Union and then vote for tax increases? It’s incredibly frustrating when a candidate or an elected official claims one set of beliefs and then fails to rely on them when it comes time to make a decision.

Principi can’t be a pro-life Catholic and then expect no one is going to raise issues when he goes out and campaigns for Gerry Connolly. He can pick one or the other, but both doesn’t compute at all.

I personally have little regard for the Catholic Church - it preaches one doctrine about morality while still sweeping its own sins under the expensive hand woven carpets.

Far Right Reaching Republicans are the cause for the downfall of the party. Venting so much anger on an individual who supports a woman’s right to choose is hypocricy at its worst when many Republican “christian” families aren’t doing such a great job in the “morality teachings” at home.

If Republicans REALLY want to make a change for the better, they should lean more to the center and focus on PREVENTING pregnancy.

VIRGINIA STATUTE FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

[Sec. 1] Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free; that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the Holy author of our religion, who being Lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as it was in his Almighty power to do; that the impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who being themselves but fallible and uninspired men, have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavouring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world, and through all time; that to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical; that even the forcing him to support this or that teacher of his own religious persuasion, is depriving him of the comfortable liberty of giving his contributions to the particular pastor, whose morals he would make his pattern, and whose powers he feels most persuasive to righteousness, and is withdrawing from the ministry those temporary rewards, which proceeding from an approbation of their personal conduct, are an additional incitement to earnest and unremitting labours for the instruction of mankind; that our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions, any more than our opinions in physics or geometry; that therefore the proscribing any citizen as unworthy the public confidence by laying upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument, unless he profess or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those privileges and advantages to which in common with his fellow-citizens he has a natural right; that it tends only to corrupt the principles of that religion it is meant to encourage, by bribing with a monopoly of worldly honours and emoluments, those who will externally profess and conform to it; that though indeed these are criminal who do not withstand such temptation, yet neither are those innocent who lay the bait in their way; that to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion, and to restrain the profession or propagation of principles on supposition of their ill tendency, is a dangerous fallacy, which at once destroys all religious liberty, because he being of course judge of that tendency will make his opinions the rule of judgment, and approve or condemn the sentiments of others only as they shall square with or differ from his own; that it is time enough for the rightful purposes of civil government, for its officers to interfere when principles break out into overt acts against peace and good order; and finally, that truth is great and will prevail if left to herself, that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them:

[Sec. 2] Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burdened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.

[Sec. 3] And though we well know that this assembly elected by the people for the ordinary purposes of legislation only, have no power to restrain the acts of succeeding assemblies, constituted with powers equal to our own, and that therefore to declare this act to be irrevocable would be of no effect in law; yet we are free to declare, and do declare, that the rights hereby asserted are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if any act shall be hereafter passed to repeal the present, or to narrow its operation, such act shall be an infringement of natural right.

Here’s a summary, for those who may be too busy to spend a lot of time trying to understand what they may be espousing:

http://www.heritage.org/research/politicalphilosophy/fp6.cfm

But don’t get all hung up on “facts” and “truth,” Greg.

You have me confused with someone else. I’m a middle-aged male who hasn’t posted cartoons anywhere.