Bishop Anthony Taylor has posted the text of a recent homily he delivered that touched on the upcoming election. I do not know Bishop Taylor, but I have very fond memories of worshipping at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock for the four months I lived just down the street. (They even let me play the organ once or twice!) I am not sure I agree with the bishop's ranking of the issues, nor exactly with the way he addresses them individually, but I think anyone sitting in the pews that day would not feel like they were being told exactly how to vote, and they would grasp that neither party has a lock on Catholic Social Teaching. For example, he writes, "Consider carefully which candidates will eliminate this illicit mandate while still working to provide universal health care for those who are presently uninsured." Well, that leaves precisely nobody as Obama will not eliminate the mandate and Romney has no plan to provide insurance for those who lack it.
Again, there are ways to discuss elections that are not "over-the-top." We as a Church have nothing to gain if we are seen as the ecclesiastical arm of either or any party. Taylor's homily gets a gentlemen's B.
