World News
Obama says road ahead will be tough, asks voters to stick with him
Published: September 7, 2012
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In accepting the Democratic nomination to retain his seat, President Barack Obama reminded people of progress in his agenda and cautioned that "I never said this journey would be easy, and I won't promise that now." In a Sept. 6 speech closing the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., Obama touched on many of the themes of the Catholic bishops' quadrennial document offering Catholics guidance for election decisions. On a handful of points, his positions are in contradiction to those taken by the bishops. But on others, he echoed their stance. Obama wove a theme of "we're all in this together" into outlines of his agenda and a listing of goals accomplished: U.S. troops withdrawn from Iraq and a plan to withdraw from Afghanistan; passage of a health care law; auto industry jobs saved; new fuel consumption standards for cars; doubled use of renewable energy and reduced dependence on foreign fuel; a program to defer deportation for qualified undocumented immigrants; changes in student loans to reduce costs; academic gains at poorly performing schools; and improved relationships abroad, while helping advance human rights and new democracies, while keeping terrorist organizations at bay. Many of those topics are addressed in "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship" a 45-page discussion of Catholic teaching, how people can be involved in public policy, how church teaching relates to policy issues and what positions the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops takes on those issues. Some of what Obama cited fits within the goals for public policy included in "Faithful Citizenship." Others are in contradiction to the document's goals.
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