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WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's re-election campaign has drawn criticism amid allegations that its members have been making bigoted election calls to Catholics attacking the Mormon faith.
Deal Hudson, political activist and president of the Pennsylvania Catholics Network, warned that members of the Obama campaign have been making phone calls asking voters, “How can you support a Mormon who does not believe in Jesus Christ?”
On Sept. 26 and Oct. 2, Hudson reported that a campaign group known as “Catholics for Obama” was making calls directed at raising doubts about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith.
In articles posted on Catholic Online, he said that Joy Allen, co-chair of the pro-life committee at Sts. John and Paul Catholic parish in Franklin Park, Pa., received two phone calls asking for her college-age children.
In both cases, the callers identified themselves as being from the Obama campaign and said that they were practicing Catholics and Obama supporters before asking Allen how she could possibly support a Mormon, he said.
Reading from the same script, he added, the callers also tried to assert that neither President Obama nor Planned Parenthood promotes abortion and wanted to discuss the pro-Obama “Nuns on the Bus” campaign.
When questioned about the reports, an Obama campaign official told Catholic News Agency that the campaign considers a candidate’s religion to be off-limits but did not respond to questions about the alleged calls.
Hudson and Deacon Keith Fournier, editor in chief at Catholic Online, argued that the campaign is guilty of “playing the Mormon card,” which is “insulting to Catholics, with the accompanying presumption that such prejudice appeals to them.”
In an Oct. 3 article, Hudson and Fournier criticized the “eruption of bigotry on the phone lines” and called for an apology from the Obama campaign as “an extremely civilized and appropriate gesture.”
Princeton University law professor Robert George called on all Catholics to condemn “the anti-Mormon bigotry of these calls.”
“I don’t know who is behind these calls, but the Obama campaign should, in all decency, immediately try to figure it out and shut them down,” he said in an Oct. 2 post on First Thoughts, a blog sponsored by the ecumenical journal First Things.
George described the allegations as “the most egregious of many nauseating examples of the anti-Mormon bigotry that has crawled out of the swamp in relation to Governor Romney’s nomination as the Republican candidate for president.”
While other examples may be more subtle and sophisticated, they are “no less appalling,” he said.
The “extraordinary decency, generosity and patriotism” of the overwhelming majority of Mormons and their “contributions to the common good of our society” make this defamation “particularly grotesque,” George argued.
Said George, “Whether or not we happen to support Governor Romney in this campaign, we Catholics should be united in our friendship with, and high regard for, the Latter-Day Saints.”
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How can a Catholic vote for a pres. who is pro-abortion ? He is not only pro-abortion, he voted 4 times against a ban on botched abortion, where a baby is born who was supposed to be aborted. He would allow the child to die. This man is evil.
The scripted calls seem to be part of a larger trend toward a loss of religious liberty in this country.
I wasn’t aware that “Catholics for Obama” know enough about their own faith, much less that that they are so knowledgeable they can comment on another. (I am no fan of Mormon theology, and I agree that this sort of thing has no place in a campaign, but their statement, as presented, isn’t even accurate. Oh wait, if they were concerned about accuracy and truth, they wouldn’t be shilling for Obama in the first place.)
That’s plain nasty.Reminds me of how bigots treated Catholic politicians a generation or two ago.
“How can you support a Mormon who does not believe in Jesus Christ?”
Aside from the factual error in the question (and leaving aside how Mormonism’s understanding of Christ differs from the rest of Christianity), the fact of the matter is that, as a Catholic, my political choices almost always come down to which of two heretics I can stomach voting for. The question, in that context, is thus meaningless.
I am not a supporter of Obama at all but for once the enlightened ones over at Catholycz for Obama have it right. Mormons do not believe in the same Christ actual Christians do. They simply are not Christian. Its pretty dumb to bring that up though, since our current President is obviously devoid of a belief in any deity, and would like to see belief stamped out. While I am not so naive as to think Romney will put aside religion when he makes his policies (its akin to asking Obama to quit being such an arrogant secularist) I would be more inclined to believe that romney would allow for slightly more freedom of religion.
Sigh. Not that I think Romney is all that better either. He will only support us so much as we cause him trouble or if he needs our votes / money. Wish I could vote “en blanco” to show how repulsive both sides are making me. One side won’t quit mutilating babies and the other side ignores it until election year.
Take it from a Catholic who was born and raised in Utah, the seat of Mormonism and I can tell you that many of my Mormon friends think that Mitt Romney is definitely NOT the face of Mormonism. When he got his military deferment to go on his LDS mission to France, instead of living among the poor, which Mormon missionaries are supposed to do when on missions. Mitt Romney lived in a French chateau outside of Paris. Most of the Mormons I’ve known put some Catholics to shame in that their young missionaries go from door to door seeking converts and they are the first to offer help when a neighbor is facing financial hardship or there is a death in the family. They don’t care what religion you are, they are there to help. Unfortunately, I seldom ever see any Catholics come to my door offering help or wanting to sit down and discuss the our religion. Our parish priests have never come by to see us. Mormons are believe that abortion, although evil, is sometimes necessary if the pregnancy was caused from rape, incest, the mother’s life is in danger or the baby has multiple birth defects. In my years working in Maternal/Infant nursing I never saw a Mormon expectant mom ever consider abortion for whatever reason. Mormons do care about the 47%. Romney doesn’t.
I am not pro-Romney. I am against The President Obama. He said (before his first election [sic!]) that to know if a child in a womb is a person is above his pay grade. He may say the same about a child outside of a womb. And the same about a person who is very old. Can Mr Romney turn his back on the Life? Yes, he can, but I cannot know about it. But I know The President has his back turned away from these little ones, while telling people that he cares. If he cannot care for the babies then how can be caring [period]? I will ask after Mother Theresa - if killing a baby is not wrong then noting is wrong.
Although there is no proof that the president endorses this group, it is still ironic that this group of Obama supporters are accused of bigotry towards Mormons. Mormon doctrine was explicitly racist until 1978, at which point God apparently changed his mind about black people and recommended that they be granted the full range of sacraments and religious responsibilities. By this time, Romney had been an adult and an exceptionally energetic member of his church for more than a decade.
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It is one thing to believe that Jesus existed and was a remarkable human being. It is quite another to accept, as most Christians do, that he was physically resurrected and will return to earth to judge the living and the dead. It is yet another leap of faith too far to fathom, as all good Mormons must, that he will work his cosmic magic from the hallowed ground of Jackson County, Missouri. Pointing out this utter nonsense should be encouraged in any educated society, but because they are religious beliefs they are somehow strangely off-limits to rational criticism.
I rather vote for a Mormon with a Devout Catholic Vice than a baby killer, muslim president with a “name only Catholic Vice.
By the way, the name of the Mormon church is “The Church Of JESUS CHRIST Of Latter Day Saint” I am a LDS. I love my savior Jesus Christ. He suffered and died for my sins and for all mankind. All Mormons believed that JESUS CHRIST is the only Begotten Son of God and the only way to salvation and it is through Him and only him no other. You can call us non Christians or a cult but, we all came mostly from Catholics, Baptist, Seventh day Adventist, Protestants and,etc. We love everybody because we believe that everyone are God’s children and we are all brothers and sisters. We love this Country as much as you do and we are not asking to be loved or respected, just allow as to worship as you do and be a productive citizen of this Blessed Land.
Deacon Dan say’s Abortion’s is killling human life, and killing human is a crime in civil society, criminally abortion is condemned and must be punished at all cost. There’s no place in our community to accept this aboriton the concept of killing babies in the womb of a mother. The Knights of Columbus is pro-life all the way from the very beginning of our mission and catholicism.
May God Bless all the support pro-life and God will bless you for your good works.
Deacon Dan
And Obama is a devout Christian and defender of Catholic values?
This is hypocrisy writ large which goes to prove what a detestable liar Obama and the Democrats are. They borrowed Machiavelli’s playbook and tossed away the Holy Bible.
Catholics & Mormons are completely in sinc when considering family values, sanctity of marriage, right to life and freedom of religion.
I am comfortable supporting Romney for president.
I am an Italian/American convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes referred to as Mormon. We believe that Jesus Christ has restored His church and invite all to come unto Christ. If you wish, you can point to differences in theology between any two churches or denominations, and even within many churches. I have tremendous respect for the many faithful Catholics worldwide and the wonderful Christian service they give. Our two churches have worked jointly on many humanitarian projects. May we continue to work together to promote good and care for the disadvantaged. We can avoid contention, as the Lord commanded, by focussing on the many values we share. Together we have and will continue to accomplish much good.
I wish they would CALL ME. My simple answer: because this Mormon is willing to stand for and defend the Catholic principles of Life, Marriage, and Religious freedom more than all the so called Catholic democrats like Pelosi, Biden et al. It’s quite ironic, isn’t it, that this Mormom seems more Catholic than those self professed Catholics in the White house? Add to that, the fact that Romney’s running mate is a real Catholic! The Obamas are so desperate, it’s pathetic.
My next-door neighbor growing up and lifelong close friend is a member of the LDS Church. Their beliefs are very pro-family, pro-traditional marriage and pro-life. Their theology is rather odd, but the way they put their faith into action with hard work, morally upright living and caring for the needy in their churches without asking for government assistance is something we should emulate. I will vote for a practicing mormon before voting for a pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage Catholic any day.
If anyone want sto know what Mormons believe, suggest you read “Inside Mormonism” by Isaiah Bennett, who was a Catholic priest, left the church to become a Mormon, and then returned to the church. The Mormons are good people, but their beliefs would probably surprise most Catholics.
If you would like to know what the Mormon church really teaches, watch the international Mormon church general conference this weekend at http://www.lds.org/?lang=eng
That’s a not a tough call to make. There’s 3 choices…do nothing and hope the lesser of 2 evils prevail if it’s the case that some catholics happen to see both candidates in a bad light.(that can’t really be an option though for a Catholic….too risky and disasterous if the worst of the 2 candidates survives.) or decide which candidate will allow us to continue in our faith without govt interference. Are we not required to minimize any damage and defend our Catholic Church and our GOD given rights?...In this case that only allows a Catholic to vote for Romney… Obama may call himself a christian but his actions suggest something else is going on there. No need to spell them all out. His track record thus far has proven to be anti-Catholic, anti-christian and ungodly on numerous levels. The Catholic Church will still exist in peace with the Mormon church and march on with it’s mission. Both the Catholic Church and the Mormon church share some common ground. We may end up sharing something else too…we could find ourselves in the same foxhole when the tanks of this Marxist/Socialist “Hope and Change” bogus agenda that voters swallowed in 2008 is allowed to run unchecked for another 4 years.
You haven’t seen anything yet if they get another term.
Stand tall on Nov 6 and keep the faith. It’s yours to keep, not their’s to take.
NIGHT WATCHMAN
Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert.
Congress said, “Someone may steal from it at night.”
So they created a night watchman position and hired a person for the job.
Then Congress said, “How does the watchman do his job without instruction?”
So they created a planning department and hired two people, one person to write the instructions, and one person to do time studies.
Then Congress said, “How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?”
So they created a Quality Control department and hired two people. One was to do the studies and one was to write the reports.
Then Congress said, “How are these people going to get paid?”
So they created two positions: a time keeper and a payroll officer then hired two people.
Then Congress said, “Who will be accountable for all of these people?”
So they created an administrative section and hired three people, an Administrative Officer, Assistant Administrative Officer, and a Legal Secretary.
Then Congress said, “We have had this command in operation for one year and we are $918,000 over budget, we must cut back.”
So they laid-off the night watchman.
NOW slowly, let it sink in.
Quietly, we go like sheep to slaughter. Does anybody remember the reason given for the establishment of the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY during the Carter administration?
Anybody?
Anything?
No?
Didn’t think so!
Bottom line is, we’ve spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an agency, the reason for which very few people who read this can remember!
Ready??
It was very simple… and at the time, everybody thought it very appropriate.
The Department of Energy was instituted on 8/04/1977, TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.
Hey, pretty efficient, huh???
AND NOW IT’S 2012—35 YEARS LATER—AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS “NECESSARY” DEPARTMENT IS AT $24.2 BILLION A YEAR. IT HAS 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES ANDAPPROXIMATELY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES; AND LOOK AT THE JOB IT HAS DONE!
(THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD AND SAY, “WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?”)
34 years ago 30% of our oil consumption was foreign imports. Today 70% of our oil consumption is foreign imports.
Ah, yes—good old Federal bureaucracy.
NOW, WE HAVE TURNED OVER THE BANKING SYSTEM, HEALTH CARE, AND THE AUTOINDUSTRY TO THE SAME GOVERNMENT?
Hello!! Anybody Home?
Signed….The Night Watchman
Of course, LDS church members; worship, study, love and try to emulate Christ in their lives, and through their service to their families and others. Like Obama trying to paint Romney as the callous, out of touch, rich guy; others enjoy trying to paint all Mormons as nice but doctrinally confused simpletons. We know what we believe. We know why we believe it and are all too happy to share how we are able to put that belief into practice to try to create greater happiness in the world around us; in much the same way Romney is trying to tell his fellow Americans why he would be the better choice to restore American greatness; from helping people be able to provide better for their families physical needs to setting a better standard for the policies that are framed into laws that guide our culture.
Regardless of belief, the contrast between him and Obama is so strong to those humble enough to ask the good questions. For example, IF you had a thousand dollars, who would you want to invest it for you? Therefore, who would you want to invest the future of the economy? A clearly successful businessman, or a community organizer?
Ask good questions, and the answers are obvious; aren’t they?
And I feel more brotherhood with my Catholic friends doctrinally, morally and socially than with most any other religions; that seem to bend their doctrine to the whims of a morally bankrupt society. At least together, we stand for something.
If the Mormons don’t stand with the Catholics, and the Catholics with the Mormons, and all Christians together, then the strategy of divide and concur will surely succeed.
Which was obviously the objective of this crass push-poll phonebank call.
Are they going to achieve their objective? I HOPE quite the opposite and that we will have true CHANGE in Washington.
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