Obama: Splitting Catholics

Jay-Z, Obama and Springsteen

This morning I woke to a mixed Twitter timeline... messages of joy that Barack Obama had been re-elected, mixed with pure rage and hatred. Both came from Catholic Tweeters. Indeed just last week, I made a comment about Obama and was criticised at supporting him as a 'supposed Catholic'.

Why?

There several key reasons including those at both federal and state law:

1) His new healthcare law (dubbed 'Obamacare') requires private employers, including most religious private institutions, to provide workers with health insurance that covers contraceptives. There for Catholic employers (hospitals, schools, universities etc) will, by law, be paying for contraceptives.

2) Obama has voiced his opinion that women's rights should allow abortion within legal limits. Legalised abortion will not end in the US under Obama;s presidency.

2) In Alabama, state law has been passed that prevent Catholics from serving undocumented immigrants, even with basics like food, shelter, and medical services. Gospel values emphasise the commitment to the poor.

3) In Connecticut, legislators have proposed a bill that would force the Catholic Church to change how it is structured and governed—allowing the State to remake the Church in its own image.

Indeed the Bishops Conference of the US have set up a website addressing these issues: www.firstamericanfreedom.com

There are also concerns about the increasingly legalisation of same-sex marriage and discrimination against Catholic adoption agencies.

In his speech on being re-elected he said:

“Despite all our differences, most of us share certain hopes for America's future,”

“We want our children to live in an America not burdened by debt, weakened by inequality...that isn't threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet. We want to pass on a country that's safe, and respected, and admired around the world.”

A country “built on the promise of freedom and dignity for every human being,” the president added. “We believe in generous, compassionate, tolerant America.”

It seems that despite the vocal opposition by pro-life groups and high profile campaigning by the US Bishops, Catholics were still voting for Obama. However a number of bishops seemed to be relenting and admitting that Obama may still be the better overall choice as they encouraged Catholics to, "vote with informed Catholic consciences."

The Catholic vote was divided, much as was the rest of the nation's voters, leaning slightly in favour of Obama. A final Gallup poll, reflecting tracking from Nov. 1 to 4, showed Catholics favouring Obama by 52 to 45 percent.

Do you think that Catholics should be influenced by Obama's pro-choice stance? Is this enough of a reason to not vote Democrat? Are Republicans really more Christian despite being pro-life?


Read more: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/americans-share-same-hopes-for-future-president-obama-says/

How to Win Votes: FREE FUNERALS (but at what cost?)

"Honduras murders: Where life is cheap and funerals are free"

The accolade for the highest murder rate in the world belongs to Honduras, an award I am sure that they are not happy to receive. It is also a country where many live in poverty and when a family loses a loved one, they can often not afford the funeral. The mayor of Tegucigalpa, Ricardo Alvarez (pictured below) said: "I found that people were being buried in plastic garbage bags”.

One recent politician decided that a main focus of his campaign would be to offer free funerals for anyone unable to give their family member a dignifed burial. This vote-winning promise worked! It raises questions in the value and importance of a dignified burial in a country where financial resources could be better spent.

When a family needs help, they phone the city's mortuary where there is a stack of brand new coffins. They send out a black pickup truck with "Funeraria del Pueblo" painted on the side which takes the coffin, plus a stand, curtains and candles. The funeral is then held in the local church and afterwards buried in a plot provided by the People's Funeral Service.

One of the reasons this service is so important to the people of Honduras is because the murder rate is staggeringly high:

The National Commission for Human Rights has worked out that there is a violent death every 74 minutes in this small nation of about eight million people (not much bigger than the population of London). In the UK there is just over 1 person killed per 100,000 each year, it is 86 in Honduras.

Many of these deaths are violent, and usually involving a gun. The reasons for the murders are complex though:

• The 2009 coup brought a wave of political killings
•  Mexican drugs cartels now operate in Honduras
•  It's estimated that 79% of all cocaine flights from South America to the US stop in Honduras
•  There is one gun in Honduras for every 10 people, according to the UN
•  Police corruption allows violent crime to go unpunished
•  Two-thirds of Hondurans live in poverty

Due to poverty and poor medical care there are many deaths that are also from natural causes which means that the state-provided funeral service is kept very busy. On average it would cost $1,000 (£620) for a private funeral service.

Yoni Alexander Osorio Hernandez, works at the People's Funeral Service. He said:
"We also hurt for the families - especially because there is so much violence in our country. Most of the families who come to La Funeraria del Pueblo are very poor indeed. This is a service based on solidarity - solidarity with those families at a very difficult time for them."

Is the value of life being forgotten for some in Honduras? What can be done to change the violent mindset of some
people in Honduras? Do you think that providing this service should have been an important priority for the Honduras government? The cost of this service will no doubt affect budgets for things such as education and health, is this right? What is the importance of a dignified burial?

Read full article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17870673 including links to listen to original BBC Radio 4 broadcast