New Catholic Action: CatholicVote Produces Commercial Supporting Rick Santorum

Informed and morally coherent Catholics can make a huge contribution

We will not be stifled by "political correctness". For example, we will proclaim without equivocation or compromise of any kind the objective truth that every single human person, from conception, throughout every age and stage, up to and including natural death, has a Fundamental Human Right to life. This is not a Democratic or Republican "position", not a conservative or liberal position, it is a human rights position. It is not a "single issue"; it is the lens through which all issues must be considered.

P>WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - As the South Carolina Republican Primary vote approaches the vital role of well catechized and morally coherent Catholic voters becomes increasingly clear. I have written for years concerning the pressing need for building a New Catholic Action. I have also spent those years helping to build such a needed movement.

I know that Catholic Social Teaching provides principles for action addressed to the citizens of every Nation, concerning how to live with one another in a manner that promotes the fullness of social life for the entire human community. These are not just "religious" ideas, in the sense of being offered only for religious people. Rather, they find their origins in the Natural Law and are confirmed by Revelation.

This Social teaching is not only for Catholics, other Christians or even just "religious people". It is for all people, offered by the Church to all who seek to build a truly just society. It is called "social" because it speaks to human society and to the formation, role and rightful place of social institutions, beginning with the family as the first society and first mediating institution.

Catholic Social teaching proclaims that there are some unchangeable truths, such as the dignity of every human person and the right to life, from conception to natural death; the primacy of authentic marriage and the family and society founded upon it; and our obligation in solidarity to one another, and, most especially, to the poor and needy in our midst.

It presents an understanding of human freedom as being properly exercised only with reference to the truth and at the service of our obligations to one another. It also proposes social ordering principles such as the principle of subsidiarity which helps in structuring governance in a manner which respects the family fiorst and looks to mediating institutions first.

This principle also has application in helping to build a truly just economic order where participation is continually expanded; an economic order which is at the service of the human person, the family, human flourishing and the true common good.

At the root of every social question, there are fundamental norms of morality which should inform our life together.The idea that "social" and "economic" issues can be separated fails to understand the primacy of the human person in the social question. When candidates claim such a mistaken notion, they reveal a moral incoherence. 

The motto of Catholic Online reflects our mission, "Inform, Inspire and Ignite". We will do everything we can in the coming months to mobilize Catholics, other Christians, other people of faith and people of good will to build a new culture of life and civilization of love.  We will do all we can to help ensure that Catholics take their place in serving the common good through effective and faithful citizenship.

Catholic Online will help facilitate the spread of a New Catholic Action as we approach the critical fall election in the United States. We will help fellow Catholics, other Christians, and other people of faith and good will throughout the world in their efforts toward achieving the same goal.

One way in which we will do this is to call attention to effective efforts put forth by Catholics who take their call to faithful citizenship seriously. One such group is CatholicVote.  These enthusiastic and sincere Catholic men and women have shown the kind of courage and creativity which is so desperately needed from lay men and women in this urgent hour.

Here is but an excerpt from their mission statement: "CatholicVote.org is a lay movement, foremost, of committed Catholics who are passionate about living out the truths proclaimed by Christ and His Church in the modern world. We are joined by many individuals of other faith traditions (and no faith tradition) because the common good we seek is universal to all men and women of good will."

"CatholicVote.org is also a community of patriotic Americans who believe our nation's founding principles are good and true, and worth fighting for. Most of all, we believe in the dignity of the human person from conception until natural death, in the traditional definition of marriage as between one man and one woman, and in religious freedom for all people."

"CatholicVote.org also aspires to better apply the principle of subsidiarity in addressing the needs of our fellow citizens. We believe that an authentic Catholic approach to truly helping the needy of our country is best achieved by encouraging private armies of charity, healthier marriages and families, and the flourishing of religion in our culture."

"CatholicVote.org believes in communicating our message with creativity. For this reason, we have pioneered innovative approaches to Internet activism, employing a broad spectrum of multimedia (high-quality Internet videos) and social media (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter) initiatives. Timeless principles + 21st century technology = the CatholicVote.org approach."

"At CatholicVote.org, we understand that we are living in challenging times. Far too many Catholics in the public eye today are known not for their acceptance of Catholic principles, but for their rejection of them. We believe Americans deserve better. Americans stand to benefit greatly from committed Catholics who are active in our cities, in our state houses, and in Washington, DC, as well."

You can read it all and explore their good work here

One of the reasons Catholic online is legally structured as a "for profit" company is so that we can engage in this kind of effort without the limitations often wielded against nonprofit entities. As a Constitutional lawyer I believe efforts to restrict the free speech and political participation of non-profits are unconstitutional.

However, organizing as a "for profit" company removes limitations on our political participation. These are urgent times which require that we be free to speak the truth and mobilize the faithful. This must be done free from efforts to restrict the expression of the truth through the misapplication of the Internal Revenue Code as a tool of censorship in a "politically correct" age. 

We will not be stifled by "political correctness" and we will not be intimidated by wrongful efforts to marginalize the full message that must be delivered. For example, we will proclaim, without equivocation or compromise of any kind, the objective truth that every single human person, from conception, throughout every age and stage, up to and including natural death, has a Fundamental Human Right to life.

This is not a Democratic or Republican "position", it is not a conservative or liberal position, it is a human rights position. It is not a "single issue" at all. It is the the lens through all issues must be considered. The Right to Life position is also not only a "religious belief". Allowing the Anti-Life proponents to make this argument feeds their effort to compel us to hide our positions within the four walls of a Church building.

The Right to Life is an objective truth; the child in the womb is our neighbor. Science has confirmed what our conscience long ago told us. All of the deceptive efforts and the sophistry used to hide the evil we have allowed to go on - nearly unchecked in this Nation - must be exposed for what it is and brought to an end.

The Right to Life is also the foundation for every other human right. There is no "Abortion Right" - even if the "choice" to do what is always evil is temporarily protected by the positive law of the State. This is an unjust law. The Right that is real is the fundamental Human Right to Life. Abortions do not have rights, only human persons have rights. That includes our youngest neighbors in the first home of the whole human race.

We are way past the specious arguments of days past that these children are not human persons. We regularly operate on them in the womb; we prosecute criminals who in the course of the commission of another crime take their life. We all know what we are doing! That is what makes it all the more evil. The veneer of "rights talk" surrounding legal abortion has been exposed for what it is, a lie.

The Natural Law should be the foundation of our positive or civil law. However, we have decided to make it somehow "legal" that an entire group of persons, children in the womb, can be killed as a matter of "choice"? Are they not our neighbors? What other class of people can be killed without consequences because someone chooses to do so?

The American founders got it right. There are truths which are self evident. They give rise to inalienable and Fundamental Human Rights which are not given to us by Government but by God, whether we acknowledge His existence or not. The role of a just government is to recognize, respect and protect those inalienable rights.

Those inalienable rights cannot be taken away by Government either. Every procured abortion violates the fundamental Human Right to Life. Legalized abortion violates the Natural Law which can be known by all men and women through the exercise of reason.It is an unjust law. 

CatholicVote, through their Political Action wing, has become very active in this current Presidential campaign. In fact, they have endorsed a candidate, former Senator Rick Santorum. Their recent commercial for the candidate can be viewed here:

In the weeks ahead we will be featuring other groups which have also undertaken the challenge to build a New Catholic Action. We will make our readers aware of their good work. We will also help our readers to inform their own consciences so they can effectively participate in the political arena as faithful citizens.

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