According to the New York Times "A struggle within the church over just how Catholic voters should think about abortion is once again flaring up just as political partisans prepare an all-out battle for the votes of Mass-going Catholics."
Archbishop Chaput weighs into this battle, taking on the thorny issue of where to draw the line between church and state, particularly for Catholics.
The archbishop also answers critics who speak of misbegotten forays by the church into other political battles as well as the challenges the Catholic Church faces as its influence declines in American life- Hoover Institution
Bio
Reverend Charles J. Chaput
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput was born September 26, 1944, in Concordia, Kansas, the son of Joseph and Marian DeMarais Chaput. He attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help Grade School in Concordia and St. Francis Seminary High School in Victoria, Kansas. He joined the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, St. Augustine Province, in 1965.
After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from St. Fidelis College Seminary in Herman, Pennsylvania, in 1967, Archbishop Chaput completed Studies in Psychology at Catholic University in Washington D.C., in 1969. He earned a Master of Arts in Religious Education from Capuchin College in Washington D.C., in 1970 and was ordained to the priesthood on August 29, 1970.
Archbishop Chaput received a Master of Arts in Theology from the University of San Francisco in 1971. He served as an instructor in theology and spiritual director at St. Fidelis from 1971-1974 and as executive secretary and director of communications for the Capuchin Province of St. Augustine in Pittsburgh from 1974-1977.
In 1977, Archbishop Chaput became pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Thornton, Colorado, and vicar provincial for the Capuchin Province of Mid-America. He was named secretary and treasurer for the province in 1980, and he became chief executive and provincial minister three years later.
Archbishop Chaput was ordained Bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota, on July 26, 1988. Pope John Paul II appointed him Archbishop of Denver on February 18, 1997.
Peter Robinson
Peter M. Robinson is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, where he writes about business and politics, edits the Hoover Institution's quarterly journal, the Hoover Digest, and hosts Hoover's television program, "Uncommon Knowledge."
Robinson is also the author of three books: How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life; It's My Party: A Republican's Messy Love Affair with the GOP; and the best-selling business book Snapshots from Hell: The Making of an MBA.
Largest denomination of Christianity, with more than one billion members. The Roman Catholic Church has had a profound effect on the development of Western civilization and has been responsible for introducing Christianity in many parts of the world. It regards itself as the only legitimate inheritor of the ministry of Jesus, by virtue of an unbroken succession of leaders beginning with St. Peter the Apostle and continuing to the present day. It holds that the pope is the infallible interpreter of divine revelation. Church organization is strictly hierarchical. The pope appoints and presides over the cardinals, whose numbers grew dramatically in the late 20th century, reaching 182 under John Paul II (1978–2005). Each of the church's 500 archbishops is the head of an archdiocese. These in turn are divided into about 1,800 dioceses, each headed by a bishop. Within dioceses are parishes, each served by a church and a priest. Only men can enter the priesthood, but women who wish to enter holy orders can become nuns, who are organized into orders and convents. The basic form of worship is the mass, which celebrates the sacrament of the Eucharist. Theologically, Roman Catholicism differs from Protestantism with regard to its understanding of the sources of revelation and the channels of grace. With Eastern Orthodoxy it asserts that both scripture and church tradition are revelatory of the basis of Christian belief and church polity. It sets the number of sacraments at seven (baptism, reconciliation [formerly known as penance], the Eucharist, matrimony, ordination, confirmation, and anointing of the sick); its rich sacramental life is supplemented by other devotions, chiefly eucharistic services and devotions to the saints. The Second Vatican Council (1962–65) promoted the role of the laity in the church, approved the use of the vernacular in the mass, and strove to improve relations with other religions. Pope John Paul II actively pursued better relations with other faiths, especially Judaism, and remained popular despite various controversies. Although faced with many challenges, the church remained one of the largest and most significant religious bodies in the world at the start of its third millennium.
An old comment is still very true: you don't play the game, you don't make the rules. The catholic church puts women in a subservient position: any women priests? It is free to put forward any position it wishes to defend, not to impose its views to the people of this country or any other for that matter
anti-abortion does not mean anti-woman. Abortion hurts women very badly. It is abortion which is anti-woman. Many young women who find themselves pregnant are persuaded by others to have an abortion that they don't really want. The information regarding abortion and the effects of having an abortion are witheld from them. Assistance in managing the pregnancy, birth and care for the new child seems hard to get.
Pregnancy does not ruin a life - it changes a life.
But abortion ruins two lives.
I feel that the background to this anti-life mentality involves an attitude which sees children as a burden, instead of a blessing.
So those who have more than 3 or 4 children get looked at as if they had done something odd or even bad!
Some people look at a country's natural resources like coal, iron, oil and so on.
They forget that the greatest resource is new life.
Without new life the coal remains in the ground.
Agreed, great conversation. However, Anti-abortion is anti-woman. Lets see him raise 4 children on minimum wage and see if he still agrees. Unfortunately, he is not a woman. lol
member. 
