Vatican says: However, when a Catholic does not share a candidate’s stand in favor of abortion and/or euthanasia, but votes for that candidate for other reasons, it is considered remote material cooperation, which can be permitted if there are proportionate reasons.

You conclude that.. Essentially, the Vatican's official position is that abortion IS NOT an issue that trumps every other issue politically.

I understand the Vatican's statement to say something like "if there's something bigger than abortion going on, voting in terms of that is reasonable". Note the IF. They could still very well be saying that there is nothing proportional right now.

Archbishop Raymond Burke has some thoughts about that proportionality. I'm sure you know he's not alone in thinking this:

The Archbishop said he is often asked about other human life issues and their importance, such as the death penalty and euthanasia. "This is ridiculous," he said, noting that the Church does care deeply about other life issues. But unless the unborn are defended, "what is the point of the other issues?" he asked.

Unless we can stop to tide of war in the middle
east, abortion and euthanasia won't really matter
at all themselves, don't you think? Could it be
that catholics might support a pro-choice
candidate if they, maybe, lacked confidence in
our current leaders ability to advance the cause
of peace? After all, peace is the central tenet
of our faith. At least that is what Jesus said.
He had many more interesting things to say about
war, wealth, and morality that would probably
interest you and the Archbishop, and possibly
convince you that war is ALWAYS the greatest
"life issue."

Some praise bush’s moral clarity. Morality seems relative; I happen to think bush’s repeated lying, and his sanctioning of barbarism is extremely immoral. It’s a race to the bottom with bush; as if “not as bad as Saddam” is a measurement. The Geneva Conventions define a minimum decency and bush bounces hard on that barrier. That’s us; scraping the bottom of world leadership!

Bush bragged about killing in his State Speech - he leaned forward and he gloated. He’s the killingest governor ever; mocking one woman’s appeal.

All of a sudden, the Catholic Church wants Kerry to win. I wonder if the Catholic Church would support a candidate who is an ardent supporter of mind-control too. Plain and simple, Abortion is murder. The Catholic Church is historically the most fickle organized religion the world will ever see; but then again, I already knew that.

I am guessing that the 9-11 commission decided to suppress the information that those hijackers who wanted to be with the "Virgins" in heaven, were in cohoots with the Catholic Church. Can you say "Whitewash?"

The Catholic Church simply has an irrational position on abortion: that it does not respect human life because it terminates a pregnancy at some point between fertilization and birth. This is based on the argument that there MAY BE a soul from the time of fertilization. Note that the church does not affirm the even-more-irrational position that there IS a soul from fertilization -- they are too wily to affirm a position that would lead to such positions as: (1) much of human life is naturally terminated before implantation; (2) identical twins (and multuplets) share a soul; (3) chimeras (those with DNA from more than one sperm, potentially from more than one father, as a result of the fusing of more than one fertilized ovum) have more than one soul; and so on. Instead the RC Church says it doesn't know when ensoulment occurs, but bans all abortion 'just in case.' Worse, they seek to impose this moral rule not just on their own members but on all of society, including those who do not believe in the existence of souls, as well as believers who think ensoulment occurs at a later point -- such as at the traditional point of 'quickening,' the point the Church used to preach was the time of ensoulment. This has led a few bishops to try to impose their views on American politics by fiat: most recently, by trying to restrict access to communion. Their efforts have been met with derision among Catholics just as among the populace at large -- but they still hope to sway enough votes to throw some elections to politicians who will tow their line. The Vatican is wilier than that, and as warned them that this may not be prudent.

But is there a moral position that can be accepted on abortion that is not simply the religious fiat of one faith or another? I argue that one need consider the development of the brain -- until there is a functioning brain, there cannot be a human person. Brain birth occurs at about 22 weeks gestational, when the brain 'boots up' and starts the electrical activity that will persist until its death. No one knows what this means to the fetus, whether sentience and self-awareness begins then, or is a later development of a functioning brain -- but cannot exist before this point. Thus, we might give the brain-born fetus the benefit of the doubt. And guess what? That is largely what the SCOTUS did in Roe v. Wade, by allowing states to greatly restrict abortion in the third trimester -- in effect, giving the fetus some moral weight, to be balanced against the life and health (including mental health) of the mother.

Oh yes, religions, including the Catholic Church, can preach what moral principles they wish. But the morality reflected in public law must not be subject to the pronouncements of some one sect or another.

James, do you have a grudge against Catholicism, or is there some other reason for your venom?

The RC position is that all human life is sacred. You shouldn't kill people, except maybe to defend others. That one statement logically covers abortion, euthanasia, death penalty, offensive war, etc. I fail to see what is inconsistent or irrational about it.

(maybe HeLa cells, which are sufficiently bizarre to justify a Godelian exemption)

If you look beyond the Christian-Taliban crowd, you might discover there really are people who believe and follow that simple precept. The ones who I know personally all support Kerry.