# Pro-choice Senator Tom Daschle may no longer call himself a Catholic **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 17, 2003, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-choice-senator-tom-daschle-may-no-longer-call-himself-a-catholic/169406 "2003-04-17T20:42:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2003, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-choice-senator-tom-daschle-may-no-longer-call-himself-a-catholic/169406/41 "2003-04-19T21:48:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Icerigger \* > \*\*Does the Catholic hierarchy really expect Catholic legislators to impose Catholic doctrine upon a multi denominational society by force of law? \*\* What do you think the whole abortion debate is about, anyway? The Catholic Church has ALWAYS had the authority to tell its adherents that they could not have abortions. And they have done so. The whole Catholic stand on abortion has always been that they did not think NON-CATHOLICS are entitled to abortion, either, and they want their opinions enforced against others by law. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2003, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-choice-senator-tom-daschle-may-no-longer-call-himself-a-catholic/169406/42 "2003-04-19T21:51:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spectrum \* > \*\*And the anti-Catholics with only one poorly-made drum to bang crawl out of the woodwork in order to add absolutely nothing substantive to the debate. \*\* Hey, payback’s a bitch, ain’t it? ---
**Author:** ![spectrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@spectrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spectrum)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2003, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-choice-senator-tom-daschle-may-no-longer-call-himself-a-catholic/169406/43 "2003-04-19T21:51:36Z")
Actually, the Church, while it abhors abortion no matter who it is who has the abortion, mainly opposes legalized abortion because it makes it easier for Catholics get abortions. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2003, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-choice-senator-tom-daschle-may-no-longer-call-himself-a-catholic/169406/44 "2003-04-19T21:57:54Z")
**Evil Captor** , unless you have something constructive to say, take it to the Pit. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2003, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-choice-senator-tom-daschle-may-no-longer-call-himself-a-catholic/169406/45 "2003-04-19T22:10:43Z")
With the exception of “Payback’s a bitch” all my comments are on point, and even that is on point, with an explanation which I will now provide. The Catholic hierarchy has engaged in hypocrisy on a massive scale. Their habit of defending and supporting child molesting priests – almost FEEDING the children of their members to them – has almost totally destroyed any moral authority they may have to speak on ANY subject, including abortion. Those who wish to defend the Catholic hierarchy’s viewpoints must now cope with that diminished moral authority. Payback is, indeed, a bitch. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2003, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-choice-senator-tom-daschle-may-no-longer-call-himself-a-catholic/169406/46 "2003-04-20T04:09:47Z")
Except, **Evil Captor** , that I don’t see to whom, exactly, is directed your “pay-back”. No-one here seems to be even close to defending Bishop Carlson, Cardinal Ratzinger and the sadly ascendant hardline solipsistic wing of the RCC, but at best warning that this power-grab is contrary to the best traditions of the modern Church. As long as that Church faction continues to do this, it will indeed continue to erode the institution’s moral authority and they deserve it. OTOH, to take that as an opportunity to use something that wrecked the lives of so many children as an excuse to make quick put-down comments? That _does_ “add nothing substantive”. If you search the threads from about a year ago, many of these same people probably were quite vigorously condemning the US Conference of Bishops and Rome in general (and the Boston Archdiocese in particular) for their arse-backward attitude at facing the atrocities commited against children. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2003, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-choice-senator-tom-daschle-may-no-longer-call-himself-a-catholic/169406/47 "2003-04-20T12:17:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jr8 \* > \*\*Why is this disingenuous? Hypothetically speaking, Kennedy (or the politician of your choice) could personally oppose abortion but vote for more permissive legislation because he felt that it represented the wishes of his core constituency, which is _his job_. It does not necessarily constitute a personal endorsement. \*\* Well, one can personally oppose abortion and support a different public policy. People on this board have said so, and I believe them. But IMO, one cannot say one understands and accepts the Church’s teaching on abortion and simultaneously support abortion rights; it’s just incompatible, in the same way one couldn’t allow a public policy that allows murder. That teaching does not permit room for interpretation, it seems to me. Folks like Daschle should have the fortitude to say they do not accept the Church’s teaching, as it exists. That’s all. That doesn’t mean this particular salvo wasn’t politically motivated. And, **spectrum** , I appreciate your response to my post. It was thought-provoking and reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2003, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-choice-senator-tom-daschle-may-no-longer-call-himself-a-catholic/169406/48 "2003-04-20T15:18:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spectrum \* > \*\*And the anti-Catholics with only one poorly-made drum to bang crawl out of the woodwork in order to add absolutely nothing substantive to the debate. \*\* “Anti-Catholic”? I AM a Catholic. There’s a point here, which is that a good Christian knows when to shut his fat yap where yanking splinters out of other people’s eyes is concerned. It’s utterly ridiculous for a bishop to be wasting his time and energy sending such missives to public officials. I was under the impression the Church had put this sort of thing behind it. The point here isn’t whether or not Daschle can support his constituents in a fashion contradictory to his religious beliefs; it’s whether or not a bishop should be sending such letters to people, especially with such nonsensical diatribes as what Daschle can “call himself.” Who’s being inconsistent here; Daschle, or the Church? Why is the Church jumping on some twit for voting pro-choice, of all the sins and inconsistencies you could find among millions of Catholics? Why Daschle and not Kennedy? This is **pure politics.** And brazenly hypocritical. ---
**Author:** ![spectrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@spectrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spectrum)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2003, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-choice-senator-tom-daschle-may-no-longer-call-himself-a-catholic/169406/49 "2003-04-20T19:05:48Z")
Your child molestation non-sequitor was not germane to the discussion and sounded like just a retread of Evil Captor’s anti-Catholic screed. I’ve already said that I consider the Church’s position on this matter hypocritical, and in bad form in the light of recent Church willingness to allow oft-contentious debate over issues of morality. However, the Kennedy thing is another non-sequitor. A bishop in South Dakota has no more authority over Ted Kennedy than he has over Protestants living in Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2003, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-choice-senator-tom-daschle-may-no-longer-call-himself-a-catholic/169406/50 "2003-04-20T20:35:47Z")
Seems silly for Catholics to be against the death penalty when (A) their holy book repeatedly calls for it and (B) their religion would not exist if it weren’t for the death penalty. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-choice-senator-tom-daschle-may-no-longer-call-himself-a-catholic/169406.md?page=2)