"First They Came For The Jews, But I'm Not A Jew. Then They Came For The Trade Unionists, But I'm Not A Trade Unionist. Then They Came For The Catholics..."
"And then they came for me. And by that time there was no one left to speak up."

I guess this intrepid shepherd wants to be on "The Protected List" when they come after the Catholics. Here's some of the article from the California Catholic Daily; (Emphasis mine) “I will not tell the people of this diocese for whom to vote”
Bishop of Stockton releases statement after priest suggests those who voted for pro-abortion politicians may have sinned

Stockton Bishop Stephen Blaire has issued an official response to the suggestion by a Modesto priest that Catholics who knowingly voted for a pro-abortion candidate in the Nov. 4 General Election may need to go to confession before receiving the Blessed Sacrament.

Fr. Joseph Illo, pastor of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Modesto, explained his thinking in a Nov. 21 letter to his parishioners. California Catholic Daily published Fr. Illo’s letter in its entirety (see “A grave mistake, probably a grave sin, Dec. 1, 2008).

Bishop Blair’s response, while not directly mentioning Fr. Illo, is in apparent response to a firestorm of interest from the secular media across the U.S. on the matter. It was issued as a press release and posted on the diocesan web site. The bishop’s statement follows below:

As the Bishop of the Diocese of Stockton, I am deeply committed to the teaching of the Catholic Church, not only in modern times, but throughout history, stating clearly and consistently that abortion is an intrinsic evil. “The direct and intentional destruction of innocent human life from the moment of conception until natural death is always wrong and is not just one issue among many. It must always be opposed.” (Faithful Citizenship, page 9 # 28 www.faithfulcitizenship.org)

“Catholics must never abandon the moral requirement to seek full protection for all human life from the moment of conception until natural death.” (Faithful Citizenship, page 10 # 32) I stand with the Bishops of the United States in calling our people to the discipline of forming their consciences through the teachings of our Church as the essential background in their voting process. We must stand against all intrinsic evils, in the public forum as well as in our own consciences.

However, determining the moral culpability of an individual Catholic who votes for a candidate with a pro-abortion record is a very complicated matter. Requiring all Catholics who voted for a candidate with a pro-abortion record to go to confession is not in accord with the moral guidelines set out in “Faithful Citizenship.” Nevertheless, if a Catholic votes for a candidate with a pro-abortion record with the motivation of supporting that abortion stance, then that is a grave moral matter.

“A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism, if the voter’s intent is to support that position. In such cases a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil.” (Faithful Citizenship, page 11 #34)

“In the end, this is a decision to be made by each Catholic guided by a conscience formed by Catholic moral teaching.” (Faithful Citizenship, page 11 # 37) The bishops state that we “…do not intend to tell Catholics for whom or against whom to vote. Our purpose is to help Catholics form their consciences in accordance with God’s truth.” (Faithful Citizenship, page 2 # 7)

“There may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate’s unacceptable position may decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons.” (Faithful Citizenship, page 11 # 35)

I have not and will not tell the Catholic people of this diocese for whom to vote. We must always keep in mind the whole spectrum of life issues, weigh our decisions carefully, pray to God for guidance, and make the best choices we can for the common good.

How subtle... how nuanced... how gutless.