A vote for a candidate who supports gay marriage or abortion rights is a vote that could “put your soul in jeopardy," a Roman Catholic bishop in swing state Wisconsin has told his flock.
Bishop David Ricken, the Bishop of Green Bay, called both abortion and same sex unions “intrinsically evil” positions in a letter to parishioners.
"A well-formed Christian conscience does not permit one to vote for a political program that contradicts fundamental contents of faith and morals,” Ricken said in the letter, according to the
Green Bay Press-Gazette.
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As well as abortion and gay marriage, Ricken listed euthanasia, embryonic stem-cell research and human cloning in his list of "non-negotiables" which he said "cannot be supported by anyone who is a believer in God or the common good of the dignity of the human person."
Ricken, 59, did not specifically tell the faithful which candidates they should support in the Oct. 24 letter, although he was clearly urging a Republican vote.
“Some candidates and one party have even chosen some of these as their party’s or their personal political platform. To vote for someone in favor of these positions means that you could be morally ‘complicit’ with these choices which are intrinsically evil. This could put your own soul in jeopardy.”
The Gazette said the bishop carries a lot of weight as Catholics make up more than a quarter of the population of Wisconsin.
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