Sarah Palin is an Ex-Catholic

I think being baptized as a baby when her parents were still Catholics, but being raised mainly in an Assemblies of God church is a stretch to be called an ex-Catholic. Not being raised in the faith and never being catechized in it all all makes her an ex-Catholic only in the weakest sense. Plus as canonist Ed Peters notes there is certainly no formal act of defection in her case. So I doubt this matters to Catholics other than they want everyone in the one true faith. More problematic is Catholic Sen. Joe Biden and his culture of death voting record for the most part.

Ahem, she is still a Catholic--you know, once a Catholic, always...

It is very worthwhile to read John Allen's article not just to understand Sarah Palin's spiritual path but the whole "post denominational" phenonmenon that sweeps acroos the nation. It will also be instructive to see how our prelates react. In the not-too-distant past, her moving away from Catholicism would be met with the spectrum of silence to outright condemnation by clergy and many faithful. Now, in this era -- statements about "responsible cizenship" and political neutrality not withstanding -- the abortion issue litmus test may well trump any other concerns for many bishops and conservative Catholics. There is the anomaly also of Bristol's boyfriend. While I agree that families should be off-limits, when one parades one's family forward in citing those bound for or in Iraq, it is at least odd to see this last week unknown 18 year old who is the father of a 17 year old's unborn child to be sitting with the family and receiving the group accolades from an "abstinence only" promtoting assembly! I doubt that many priests-- or bishops -- would support the marriage of these two young people with this pressure at this time, but somehow the statement that they "intend to marry" is supposedly sufficient to assuage all other concerns. It is a strange mix of "pro-life" issues indeed!

DaveP: And if the kids were hidden away, Palin and company would be accused of being "ashamed" and "hiding the truth." Guarantee it. And oh - if only priests and bishops would refuse to marry couples who are cohabitating or are pregnant. But they don't - ever.

Re: Chris's response to me I was in no way implying that she should hide away her daughter on this very special night, but it truly makes it seems very questionabale at best and expoliticve at worst to present them as a couple and to drag boyfriend Levi (who reportedly said he doesn't want children!) onto the national scene at this point except to somehow explain her daughter's pregnancy and assure the nation that they are really a "family values" family becuase they are going to marry. They are 17 and 18! Most parents I know who want to support their daughters at this time would hardly counsel that marriage at this point is an appropriate step. Today's NY Times points out that 48% of teen marriages fail. That is one of the many reasons why most Catholic clergy would discourage it at this time. And that is extremely different from the case of cohabiting couples of more mature ages. I am not at all for stigmatizing Bristol, but to present the idea that "all is well" with this-- especially given her abstinence-only stance - is yet an anomaly that seems unfair to both youth who I'm sure would have preferred to work out their relationship off the national stage.

Calling Sarah Palin Catholic is like calling Billy Graham a papist. Its absurd. Catholics need to look at what her view is of Catholicism now. What is the view of Catholicism from the church she now attends. Many of these pentacostal/'nondenominational' churches view Catholics as going to hell. They view Catholicism as a cult. (Go to a LifeWay bookstore). They don't believe in infant baptism. That's why Palin had to be 'rebaptized' when she left the church. We Catholics believe in one baptism for the forgivness of sins. I do agree with her stand on abortion but to me that would be a moot point if she feels I'm going to hell because I'm Catholic. I want to know more before I jump on the Sarah Palin bandwagon.

Sarah's heart is good and sincere. She speaks with spirit as a servant of Our Lord. She is in favor of life -- the unborn and those born with a physical imperfection. As Hans Kung suggested many years ago, the Church is wider than the walls. Indeed, ''Once a Catholic, always a Catholic.'' Dominus Vobiscum, Dr. Ed Cooper Walking beside God's Atlantic Ocean after Hanna passed by yesterday.

Oh, please Fr. Martin. Most people would see "ex-Catholic" as a statement about a conscious religious choice. Palin's parents - or mother, more specifically - left Catholicism when Palin was a child. That is not an "ex-Catholic." Desperate times, I suppose.

I submit for your consideration the REAL Sarah Palin, and the exact views of her church. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-wilson/sarah-palins-churches-and_b_124611.html

Have you seen the rallies where Sarah Palin incites the crowd to yell things like, “He’s a traitor,” And “Kill him.” Do you really think these are the people that Jesus would stand with? Does “Love your enemies. Do good to those who persecute you.” not mean anything anymore?

I live in Naples, FL, and this fact seems to be giving people one more reason to LIKE her. I've found it interesting for years that the same group screaming 'cafeteria Catholic' at those who are anti-abortion (abortion is morally wrong) but pro-choice (throwing women and doctors in prison for abortion is not a good public policy) are the very ones who reject our bishops' teachings on immigration, labor unions, death penalty, just war, and in particular the economic justice and excesses of capitalism issues! I'm grateful that our bishop here in the Diocese of Venice is educating our priests on the immigration issue, at least, and pray that these litmus tests takes a back seat to a more educated approach to our shared Catholic values. Shouldn't more of our Church bulletins refer people to the Platform for the Common Good?

I'm not a Catholic but belonged to a church that held much the same beliefs about Catholics that the Assembiles of God hold. I'm posting this message to say this: Catholics are fooling themselves if you don't think that modern fundamental Protestants don't continue to cling to pre-JFK views on Catholicism. The Assemblies of God are a LONG way from figuring out the meaning of 'Judge not, lest ye be judged.' I don't know any more about Palin's fiath than what she has revealed. But I do know many ex-Catholics who have ended up in Fundamental Christian denominations, and ALL of them (to my memory) are anti-Catholic and especially anti-Rome. Many have very specific beliefs about what role the Catholic Church and the Vatican play in Apocalyptic prophecy--and it's not a good one! If someone is in the Pentecostal church ... in this case meaning the Assemblies of God, they do NOT take a lenient view of what God has in store for those who ignore the parts of the Bible that they hold dear. To be blunt: No resurrection to eternity for Catholics who don't first break away from the power and sway of Rome ... effectively becoming a Protestant!--and that stance would be true for MOST Fundamentalist Christian Churches that believe the hierarchy of the Catholic church places a barrier between man and Savior, therefore, between man and God, man and Grace, man and salvation. Simple. They believe that EITHER you ''eliminate the middle man'' or you get sifted out of the saving process because you failed to make the right connection--which is a direct one ... Luther's ''Preisthood of Believers,'' etc. I'm saying this is to tell Catholics: Don't be naive ... the fact that Palin professes to be a ''Christian'' does NOT make her similar to Catholics. In fact, her particular brand of Protestantism classifies you are unsaved. It would be foolish for you to make the assumption that just because she also opposes abortion, that she is somehow a Christian ''just like us.'' Curtis

CF: I have worked with poor immigrants all my professional life and they will tell you one thing; their children are their greatest treasures. I know that they would agree with me when I say we do them no injustice to seek to protect the lives of innocent babies in the womb first. Desperate times call for single issue voting.Abortion is the single biggest killer of children today. We are in crisis. Would you have been proud to oppose the Nazi's death camps, or to have worked for the Abolition movement? Then sign on to the prolife movement; 50 million lives have been lost in America alone to abortion; if this isn't a crisis then what is?!