Should Catholics Vote for McCain?

That depends on whether or not Catholics believe that the Republican party can stop abortion. Now, Catholics must not vote for Obama, who is a pro-abortion politician. That much is obvious to the rank and file Catholic, although somehow there are a good deal of Catholics who feel like ending the war in Iraq is just as important as ending abortion.
To those types, let me point out that Barrack Obama is pro-war in Afghanistan, and has said "all options are on the table" regarding Iran. Obama is not anti-war. He has used an anti Iraq war stance to garner naive liberals into believing he is a peace president.
He is not.
So, back to John McCain III. Is this a man we want in office? Not really. Is the lesser of two evils a legitimate choice?
I'll leave that up to you ultimately. I don't believe the lesser of two evils is a good choice, and I'll explain. The lesser of two evils idea stems because:

1. There are only two real choices (a third party candidate will not miraculously win this election)
2. With Obama and a friendly Congress a ton of junk bills will get passed increasing government power and decreasing liberty in the United States

With regards to the first, I would like to point out that this has been said for decades. It's always the lesser of two evils we vote for in national politics. Every time. The 20th century has been a nonstop pragmatic decision. Each time we get a politician in office who doesn't deliver on their campaign promises, builds big government (yes, even Reagan did), and ultimately makes us worse off.
The less people that vote for the national candidates, the better the chance a third party candidate could make a showing. For example, approximately 60 million people voted for each of the two major party candidates. Getting another 60 million people behind a third party candidate would be an impossible endevour. But the less people who vote for the main two candidates, the more the gap is brought down to make a third party candidate more viable.

The second argument is more sound, although it is entirely possible that a rejection of John McCain and George Bush Big Government Republicans will bring about a grassroots swell of voters in the next Congressional election to bring in new blood. A hostile Congress with Obama in office might work like it did in 1994-and may bring about more sound policies.

In either scenario, abortion will not be stopped. As I have written before, it is praying the Rosary (something I've been remiss in lately) and volunteering in grassroots efforts (something I'm very remiss in) that will help end this horror. The Republican Party is not as powerful as the Catholic Church, and our loyalty is to the latter, not the former.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us

Papal Mass...and music

There is plenty that has already been said on the internet about the dreadful music at the Papal Mass. I, for one, have not heard it, but don't feel the need to either. I'm familiar enough with the junk that is played in many parishes across the U.S. and if this was bad enough to get such a huge reaction from Catholics then I'm better off without hearing it. To paraphrase Jeffrey Tucker, it's really bad when Marty Haugen saves the day.

Just in case you don't quite understand why many Catholics are upset about this, I'm happy to explain. We have almost 2000 years of the Church's existence, and Western Music has been formed by masters who wrote a large amount of their works for the Church and for God. Gregorian Chant, known to far too many young Americans as "kinda like that music from Halo", is probably the holiest sounding music ever created. Any classical piece you find titled "missa" is going to have music for a Mass, and this music was thoughtfully written by geniuses.

There has always been, alongside "high classical" music, songs that were known and sung by the people, folk tunes. Modern folk tunes in the U.S. are called commercials and tv theme songs, but I digress. These folk tunes were enjoyed at home, but never at Mass. The idea was that Mass, where we worship God and celebrate His sacrifice on the cross at Calvary, should have a certain reverence and piety.

That idea is lost on the American bishops who organized this Mass. Instead, the Mass music became a cheesy slogan, an Old Navy or Mentos ad, with BLACK MUSIC! ASIAN MUSIC! AND DON'T FORGET LATINO MUSIC! put in to show off how diverse we are.

When Mass becomes a place we go to show others who WE are, rather than to give glory to God, thanksgiving, satisfaction and repentance, and for graces and blessings, then we forget the nature of Mass and put ourselves in God's place.

It is a shame, but not a surprise, to hear of this circus of a Mass. Let us pray for our bishops and priests, and for the Holy Father. And let's remember what we're attending when we visit our churches on Sunday for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Pray the Rosary

I found a very promising story about the decline of abortion in Croatia.

Our Lady of Fatima reminded us to pray the Rosary for peace in the world. Let's not forget also how important it is to pray for an end to abortion.
George Bush, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, not even Ron Paul can end abortion. We can work to criminalize it (necessary!) but it is truly an issue of converting hearts and minds. This effort must begin and end with a lot of prayer.
If you are a pro-life Catholic, you have no excuse for not saying the Rosary at least once a week, if not more. It is far more important than any vote you will ever cast.

Why Christians Should Re-up

Earlier I wrote about LewRockwell.com, and discussed that I don't always agree with its authors but nevertheless enjoy the differing viewpoints presented. One of those authors whose views I disagree with regarding military enlistments (although I do agree with him that the Iraq war is unjust).
Mr. Vance argues that one should not enlist in the United States Military. This begins as a principled viewpoint based (it seems) on the idea that one should not cooperate with evil, and he views the war effort in Iraq as evil. He further goes on to explain that one of the big reasons the military is able to recruit so many young men and women every year (180,000 in 2007 alone!) is due to the cash bonuses offered to young recruits, and then goes on to compare their being hired to be soldiers as to those who sell drugs or their bodies on the streets.
What?
Mr. Vance seems to operate under the assumption that everybody knows/believes the Iraq war is unjust and therefore is prostituting himself.
Mr. Vance's view is FAR from a Catholic view (and Mr. Vance speaks as a Protestant, not a Catholic), which allows two Catholics in good standing to argue whether a war is just or not, but NO room for argument whether selling one's body (as if one has the right to sell it) is anything but a mortal sin.
Catholics will recognize the incongruity here, but I'll explain a little more for my non-Catholic readers. Cooperating in evil is just as evil as the person who commits the act. This is why it is not only a mortal sin (punishable by auto-excommunication) to have an abortion but it is also equally wrong and punishable to aid somebody, through counsel or physical means, to have an abortion. However, it would not be a mortal sin to vote for a pro-choice politician if he was the lesser of two evils.
Similarly, while the current and former Popes have spoken out against the Iraq war, neither have given advice or orders to soldiers and sailors that are currently deployed fighting this war. Neither did they give any advice concerning those who might be considering the career option of going military. Pope John Paul II was extremely anti-war (almost to an un-Catholic degree) but he never tried to make the point that joining the military was mortally sinful or poisonous to the soul.
Men and women in good standing with the Church may disagree on the war. Furthermore, with the huge amount of propaganda that is pro-war, anti-Islam circling in Christian communities, it is understandable that many believe that joining the military is the right Christian thing to do. There certainly is a concern about the rise of Islam in the world, and the rate at which it is growing. Regardless of his views on the military, Mr. Vance should realize if is a Christian he ought to have an interest in the rise of Islam in the world. However, he offers no alternate path to combating false religions.
Finally, Christians should re-up and spend MORE time in the military. We need more men and women who know right and wrong to be defending our nation. A good Christian voice might have been all that was necessary to stop many of the abuses that have happened in the war, whether it be prison scandals or waterboarding. Many (if not all) of the horrors that happen during war happen because somebody with an ill-formed conscience is unable to make principled decisions.
How do we combat Islam outside of joining the military? As our Lady of Fatima said, "Pray the Rosary for peace in the world". I'll cover this more in depth another time.
I shudder to imagine our military might unmitigated by decent Christians.
My comments are offered in charity, not enmity, Mr. Vance. I welcome a response.