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Catholics Get Voting Tips Across ND - Valley News Live - KVLY/KXJB - Fargo/Grand Forks

Catholics Get Voting Tips Across ND

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People attending mass at Catholic churches across North Dakota heard the same message resounding from the pulpit today. Bishop David Kagan sent out a letter that urges Catholics to vote the Catholic way. No candidates were mentioned, but did the bishop go too far... Basically telling people who to vote for?

At Saints Anne and Joachim Catholic Church in south Fargo. Folks filing in for Sunday morning's mass had an idea of what would be touched on during the priests sermon. Beth Hoselton of Fargo had gotten wind about bishop Kagan's message, "I knew that a letter had recently come from the bishop but I didn't read it or know any of the specifics."

What was touched on specifically inside was Catholics, should vote the Catholic way. That's up to the individual interpretation of course. But Catholics were urged by the bishop to not support abortion, stem cell research or same sex marriage in the upcoming election.

Hoselton says the message she heard wasn't over the top. But rather a message any Catholic could translate to mean: keep the catholic teachings in mind when you go to the polls, "keep your catholic values in mind. We grow up learning all those important things about being a good person and leading a good life. He just kind of reminded us gently to keep those in mind when we go out to vote."

Democratic North Dakota Senator Tim Mathern saw it as a shot at democrats though. Saying the language used indirectly endorses the republican candidate Rick Berg over democrat Heidi Heitkamp. But no names were ever mentioned, just ideologies.

Hoselton thinks the whole letter from the bishop was blown out of proportion, "there was a lot of stink when it came out I think people just had the wrong impression about what it was. I think people thought it would be endorsing a certain candidate or telling you who to vote for and that's not what it was at all."

The Director of North Dakota's Catholic Conference told the Huffington Post earlier this week that the letter merely shares Catholic doctrine on political responsibility and it didn't tell parishioners how to vote.

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