Bishops winning support, Obama winning votes

The intersection of politics and religion can sometimes resemble one of those spaghetti freeway interchanges. Cars go in and cars go out, but not always in ways you might expect.

Take the recent case of the fight between President Obama and the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops. A new poll has found that Catholics who are familiar with the issue tend to side overwhelmingly with the bishops. That is, they agree that the Obama administration is threatening their religious liberty by mandating that some church-affiliated institutions, such as schools and hospitals, provide free contraceptive services to their employees, in violation of church teachings.

So Obama must be in trouble with Catholic voters, right?

Well, no.

Actually, after an initial dip, Catholic support for Obama has been steadily rising for the last several months as the bishops have strenuously pressed their case against the president’s policy, according to the poll released Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. The poll release was timed to coincide with the contraception mandate, which went into effect Wednesday.

Continue reading at www.latimes.com

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Evermyrtle

While I don't particularly this believe this and hope it is not true, with these bishops, priest,etc records of treatment of boys, anything may be possible.
http://twitter.com/BradNova Brad Nova

Mr. Romney's lack of concern for the least among us should worry all Christians .
- MrDrapes
  
  Surely you can't be implying that the Obumer cares about the LEAST among us. Check (deeply) his voting record record and stance on abortion … it is barbaric.
Tom

As a Roman Catholic,and a teacher of 8th grade young cathloics for over 30 years, I have always been amazed that my Catholic brethren will go to Washington and march to get rid of the killing of innocent babies, BUT when they go to the polls, the record shows they VOTE OVERWHELMINGLY for the Democrat candidates who are against the very things the Catholics say they are for! It also goes for the clergy, who like their flocks, vote OVERWELMINGLY for the Democrats who are opposed to the Catholic view on most subjects, the most important of which is the slaughter of millions of babies. What a disgrace! Tom
- Wesley
  
  i think the reason for such a disconnect between American catholics and the way they vote is from the large number of nominal catholics. if you read the detail of the article you would find that among the faithful who understand the issues Romney has basically a two to one advantage over obama. the writer points out that obama would have not had their vote in the first place.
Chris P

Why should Catholic Bishops get ANY consideration whatsoever. This is NOT a Roman Catholic country. We do not cowtow to crazy religions. Stay out women's wombs. Take your gay hating Knights of Columbus out of politics. The whole religion is about misogyny.
- http://profile.yahoo.com/HM63OD3M3DCXW4RFTETVMJBMOM Shell
  
  You are filled with venom according to your comment, ie., you hate those whom you say "hate!" I am not Roman CAtholic, but I am a CHRISTIAN and this is about belief and in what we believe. I personally believe in the Holy, Almighty, Sovereign Word of the Holy, Almighty, Sovereign GOD and his SON, JESUS. Of course I would like for you and anyone else to believe it as well, but there are some things beyond our "likes!" Perhaps if you tried reading and studying HIS WORD you just may love more and hate less.
- d rash
  
  Chris P, you are missing the whole point. You may disagree with the Catholic religion, and that is OK, what is not OK, is the government attacking the basic tenets of ANY religion. Catholics do not believe in abortion or birth control. Catholics are also the largest denomination of any religious sect in the USA. Obama picked this fight carefully. If he can attack the most sacred tenet, of the largest denomination of all the churches in America, AND PREVAIL , then he, AND THE GOVERNMENT can attack ANY religion, anytime, anyplace, on any issue and win. It is for Obama, "a test case" to see if he can smash Christianity in America. Obama does not give two squats about your womb. This is NOT about birth control with Obama, It is simply about "control". A months supply of the average birth control ill is $9.00. When did it become the employers, ANY employers job to provide your birth control. Even the poorest of "welfare mama's can get bitrh control through Planed Parenthood, or some other such organization. And, if your well off enough to not qualify for planned parenthood, you can afford $9.00 bucks a month.
  - Bighoss
    
    You say, "
    Catholics do not believe in abortion or birth control." Where do you get that? Surveys consistently show that over 95 percent of married Catholics approve of and USE artificial birth control. Perhaps the grizzled old celibates in the Vatican believe in birth control. The priestly pedophiles have no dog in the fight, since it is not possible to conceive a child as a consequence of having sex with young boys. But where the rubber (pun intended) hits the road, Catholics, in large majority, most certainly believe in–and practice–artificial birth control!
- Myrtle
  
  Whatever they may be or may not be, what is theirs is, should be theirs to use as they please. When the government can come and dictate to them, what they have to do with what is theirs you can depend that sooner or later they will be at your door, with the same or similar demands.
  
  By the way I do not agree with the Catholics, myself but the fact remains, they have just as much right to believe as they do, as I have to believe as I do, or even as you believe. We have no more right to dictate to them, than they have to dectate to us.
Wordman

Here is where we see the disconnect between the Roman Catholic priesthood and her laity. The lack of Bible teaching, or much of any regular teaching at all, to the RC rank and file has made the Roman Catholic church vulnerable as we now see (Obama and crew have gleefully expressed their understanding of this and intend to joyfully exploit it! They hope to tear the American branch of the Roman Catholic Church to pieces if they can.). Evangelicals are not faring a great deal better lately, but still have a much richer tradition of regular instruction (preaching and application of God's Word) than the RC's, who banned translation of the Bible into the vernacular and long insisted on giving the mass only in Latin. The result is that most Roman Catholics have a poor grasp of what their church believes and why and are therefore easily led astray by popular secular culture including and, in this case, especially the rantings of the DNC.
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Andrew-Patton/592034163 Andrew Patton
  
  We've had vernacular mass for about 50 years now, and it's only been since then that there has been this great rebellion. "Contraception is licit" is a doctrine of demons that has been poisoning Christianity for 82 years. The Catholics and the Orthodox, together with a small contingent of Protestants, have rejected this lie, but many of our so-called brethren present themselves as Catholics but are not, but do lie, because they take contraception and disbelieve articles of faith.
Oscar Dar

AMERICA:
OBAMA, is a man who wants to CONTROL THE WORLD, under his thumb. HE WANTS to be the KING, RULER, EMPEROR OF THE WORLD. If we continue to sleep, he will continue to ROB our COUNTRY and steal this election, so he can proclaim himself the one and only OWNER OF AMERICA AND THE WORLD. He wants to issue executive orders and bypass Congress and ignore the laws of the land. THE TIME TO IMPEACH OBAMA HAS BEEN OVER DUE. What are we WAITING FOR ?….IF HE SURVIVES IMPEACHMENT, ELECTION ON NOVEMBER IS OUR LAST CALL TO SEND HIM OUT FOREVER .
- Evermyrtle
  
  It appears that nobody can touch him, sounds like what the anti-CHRIST or the beast as described in the WORD OF GOD.
Bighoss

Over 95 percent of married Catholics use artificial birth control, contrary to the dictates of the Roman Catholic Church. Why, then, should it surprise anyone to learn that Catholic voters are not turned against President Obama because of health care legislation that makes artificial birth control more easily available to them and others?

Can you say "NO BRAINER"?
Sama

I don't believe a WORD of this article. My ear is very close to the Catholic Voters. This is bogus.
Hurricane

Oh please, a poll from the LA Times? The media will always try to twist everything to the left – we all will know the truth on election day.

God bless His one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church!
Fireboatman

As I had read elsewhere, "You
cannot be Christian and Liberal". That is based on believing the
Holy Scriptures and the Holy Scriptures are full of does and don'ts
and as Christians we are liable on how we address those edicts and
how we vote is as important as how we act and do. So called Catholics
who do knowingly vote against the Written Word are condemning
themselves as Balazar had done. For years the Bishops ignored or kept
quiet about these issues but finally Obama has forced their hand as
it got out of hand and personal and with the support of the Holy
Father that gave them some backbone. I say to you die hard Democrats
who claim to be Catholic you had better rethink of what you are doing
and act accordingly. "Blaspheme the Holy Spirit is an
unforgivable sin".