PropertyValue
?:author
?:datePublished
  • 2016-10-21 (xsd:date)
?:headline
  • Did the Pope Forbid Catholics from Voting for Hillary Clinton? (en)
?:inLanguage
?:itemReviewed
?:mentions
?:reviewBody
  • On 20 October 2016, the web site Tell Me Now published a constitutionally misleading article reporting that Pope Benedict XVI forbade Catholics from voting for Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee: The article was popular on social media, where users often share an article based on its headline alone. Although the headline specified Pope Benedict XVI (who resigned in early 2013), many readers inferred that a recent papal edict had been issued by Pope Francis (the current pope). But the current Pope did not forbid anything of the sort, nor did the referenced 2004 letter from Cardinal Ratzinger (written prior to his elevation to papal status). Clinton was mentioned nowhere in that letter, which said the opposite of what the rumor claimed: Cardinal Ratzinger wrote a letter (not an edict to all Catholics) in 2004 regarding ecumenical stances on politics. The letter in question pertained to worthiness to receive Holy Communion, not Hillary Clinton, and in the non-papal letter Cardinal Ratzinger asserted that although Catholics should be opposed to abortion and euthanasia, their voting for a candidate with differing stances on those issues can be permitted in the presence of proportionate reasons (i.e., if their support for that candidate is based on other issues). Pope Francis himself has issued no letter or edict barring Catholics from voting for Hillary Clinton, and no command from the Vatican prevents American Catholics from freely choosing between candidates in the 2016 presidential election for fear of going against the Church. Pope Francis specifically declined to endorse either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, directing Catholics in October only to [s]tudy the proposals well, pray, and choose in conscience. However, back in February 2016 the Pope described Trump's proposals to deport more immigrants and force Mexico to pay for a wall along the border as not Christian, a statement he later tempered when pressed. Trump accused Pope Francis of making the remarks at the behest of Mexico, a comment that elicited laughter from the Pope: (en)
?:reviewRating
rdf:type
?:url