The Church in the United States has done a poor job of forming the faith and conscience of Catholics for more than 40 years. And now we’re harvesting the results — in the public square, in our families, and in the confusion of our personal lives. . . . And unless Catholics have a conversion of heart that helps us see what we’ve become — that we haven’t just “assimilated” to American culture, but that we’ve also been absorbed and bleached and digested by it — then we’ll fail in our duties to a new generation and a new electorate. And a real Catholic presence in American life will continue to weaken and disappear. . . — Archbishop Charles J. Chaput
How many Obama bumper stickers did you see on cars parked in front of your church on Sundays during the election season? Are the owners out of their minds? It’s certainly true that the Church has done a miserable job of formation over the last several decades, but doesn’t every Catholic have an obligation to learn and live his faith? Can a Catholic’s vote for Obama really be attributed to confusion? Doesn’t it really indicate an utter disregard for the unborn, an affection for the lies and thievery of socialism, a monumental self-absorption?