“I knew that this might turn into a very ugly brawl designed to make me look like a raving lunatic seeking to coerce voters through spiritual blackmail rather than a shepherd warning his flock about the spiritual danger of supporting abortion, whether directly or indirectly,” he wrote. “And my suspicion proved well-founded.”

Knight Errant points out that probably half of the bishops voted for Obama, so no wonder this priest gets hammered.  Now they will wring their hands concerning what to do about the Catholic hospitals and then when its too late make some meaningless compromise.  Just wait.

A priest in the pulpit always risks being too nuanced or too general when it comes to correcting error.  If you say its a mortal sin to vote for Obama, then people will accuse you of holding everyone who voted for him in bad faith.  If you say that in my opinion it is so, or that my conscience would not allow me to vote for him, then listeners will conclude that there is no objective evil in voting for Obama.

It may be that this or that person is in good faith and concludes that under the circumstances his choice is justified and thus that person may not be guilty of formal sin, but this can be resolved between penitent and priest in the confessional.  It is still the responsibility of the priest to speak clearly about the objective nature of the act and not mince words.

The mealy-mouthed response from the diocese only reflects the support of Obama by those who should be protecting the lives of those whom their new messiah will destroy.  Implicit apostasy.

Update:

Here is an excerpt from the statement of Monsignor Martin T. Laughlin Administrator of the Diocese of Charleston, responding to Father Newman’s clear moral teaching on voting pro-abortion:

Christ gives us freedom to explore our own conscience and to make our own decisions while adhering to the law of God and the teachings of the faith. Therefore, if a person has formed his or her conscience well, he or she should not be denied Communion, nor be told to go to confession before receiving Communion.

The pulpit is reserved for the Word of God. Sometimes God’s truth, as is the Church’s teaching on abortion, is unpopular. All Catholics must be aware of and follow the teachings of the Church.

We should all come together to support the President-elect and all elected officials with a view to influencing policy in favor of the protection of the unborn child. Let us pray for them and ask God to guide them as they take the mantle of leadership on January 20, 2009.

According to this “if a person has formed his or her conscience well,” no matter what conclusion he or she has come to, then the Church bestows her blessing upon that person’s choice. “Yes, one must accept the Church’s teaching on abortion, but that does not mean you can’t support a pro-abortion candidate if you think its alright.”  This kind of thinking is precisely why we find ourselves in this mess.

Just as I said:  wait for the crowd of church leaders to use this logic to sell what’s left of our public institutions, especially our hospitals, to Satan himself.  It will be no surprise.

Doug Kmiec and his crowd have used this logic to argue that Obama is really pro-life.  It is like a cancer on the body politic. This is exactly why this good priest chose not to dilly-dally with the spiritual welfare of his flock.  God bless him.