The Naperville Sun reports:

Gov. Pat Quinn said Thursday he considers it “the proper, Christian thing to do” to present an abortion-rights group’s leadership award, sloughing off criticism from Cardinal Francis George and other Roman Catholic bishops.

So at what point would we the bishops consider dialogue a waste of time? This Catholic governor not only supports legal abortion, he celebrates it. He not only signs a law on civil unions, he enforces it so that Catholic agencies can essentially no longer participate in adoption or foster care.

I mean, with friends like this…

New York Times blogger and number-cruncher Nate Silver, who is a liberal respected on both sides of the aisle for his election projections, says that “Obama has gone from a modest favorite to win re-election to, probably, a slight underdog.” http://cvote.to/7Q

Canon lawyer Ed Peters has some comments on the Illinois Bishops’ statement on Gov. Pat Quinn’s decision to help a pro-abortion group. http://cvote.to/7J

More teenagers are delaying sex. http://cvote.to/7K

Sen. Patty Murray, head of the Senate Democrats’ campaign efforts, says the 2012 elections will be local, not a national election. http://cvote.to/7L

The South, the “last bastion of civility,” sees a decline in manners. http://cvote.to/7M

Noted education reformer Michelle Rhees says teachers aren’t paid enough. Not so fast, says Andrew Biggs of AEI. http://cvote.to/7N

A whistleblower alleges that Planned Parenthood of Texas was engaged in massive Medicaid fraud. http://cvote.to/7O

Presidential candidate Rick Santorum has now traveled to all 99 counties in Iowa. http://cvote.to/7P

We have recently been made aware of Governor Quinn’s decision to present a Pro-Choice Leadership Award at an upcoming event for a political organization known as Personal PAC. This organization describes itself as a “political action committee (PAC) dedicated to electing pro-choice candidates to state and local office in Illinois.” Personal PAC has raised and spent millions of dollars in this effort and supports the lobbying efforts of Planned Parenthood in Springfield.

We deeply regret the Governor’s decision to present this award, which so closely associates him with a political action group whose purpose is contrary to the common good. With this action, Governor Quinn has gone beyond a political alignment with those supporting the legal right to kill children in their mother’s wombs to rewarding those deemed most successful in this terrible work.

The next two paragraphs are even stronger (emphasis mine):

Pope John Paul II asked in his Letter to Families (1994), “How can one morally accept laws that permit the killing of a human being not yet born, but already alive in the mother’s womb?” Governor Quinn not only accepts these laws, he promotes them and publicly presents awards to their advocates. This approach is irreconcilable with any honest profession of the Catholic faith. While we deeply regret and oppose his actions, we continue to pray for his conversion and the protection of unborn human life.

To our Catholic institutions statewide, we reaffirm our desire and policies that those acting in the manner of the Governor should not be given special recognition on Church property or at functions held in support of Church ministry.

A local reporter followed up with the Archdiocese about whether this statement means Gov. Quinn is now barred from receiving Communion. A spokesperson responded (again, emphasis mine):

The Catholic dioceses in the state have policies prohibiting any politician who has voted in favor of policies that go against the Church’s teaching from speaking at or receiving an award from a Catholic institution, like at a school.

The bishops have not banned Quinn from receiving Communion. An individual priest could make the decision not to give Quinn Communion.

I’m curious to see how canon lawyers react to this statement. My simple question is, what more could Gov. Quinn possibly do for the bishops to officially bar him from receiving Communion? (UPDATE — my father, canon lawyer Ed Peters, has posted his comment.)

Governor Quinn also has signed into law Illinois’ bad same-sex civil unions bill which is directly responsible for excluding Catholic adoption agencies in the state from caring for foster kids. So when it comes to the Church’s fundamental teachings, he’s a repeat offender.

Good for the bishops of Illinois!

Mitt Romney and Rick Perry scrapped just hours before the GOP debate in Orlando tonight on Fox News at 9 pm ET. Picking up on the concern that Perry might have a tough time winning suburban voters, Tim Pawlenty wrote an op-ed for Politico with the not-so-subtle title: “Romney is electable.” http://cvote.to/4C It’s still early, but Mitt Romney is running away with it in New Hampshire with a commanding 41%, with Ron Paul in second place at 14%, Jon Huntsman in third at 10%, and Perry in fourth with 8%. http://cvote.to/4D The margin of error on the poll is +/- 4.9%. But in Florida, Rick Perry is on top with 31% to Romney’s 22%. Then it’s Gingrich and Cain each at 8%, with Bachmann at fifth with 7%. http://cvote.to/4E Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback will be Rick Perry’s guest at the debate tonight. Brownback, a convert to Catholicism, endorsed Perry this morning. http://cvote.to/4F

The heavily-gerrymandered new Congressional map drawn up by the Illinois Legislature and signed into law by Democrat Gov. Pat Quinn is now under attack by three black Democratic Congressmen. Reps. Jesse Jackson Jr., Bobby Rush, and Danny Davis have concerns that the new map does not adequately adhere to the Voting Rights Act, which prevents large ethnic populations from being splintered in many different districts through the creation of majority-minority districts. Under the new map, there are three districts which have a black majority, but only one district that is majority Hispanic. This despite the fact that there are more Latinos in Illinois than blacks. One remedy would be the addition of another Latino-majority district. Republicans would support that plan because they believe it would help them keep suburban districts. If the current plan remains unchanged, the GOP could lose as many as five seats in Illinois. http://cvote.to/4G

Pope Benedict XVI returns to his native Germany. If you do nothing else, quickly read his speech to the German Parliament. Quick excerpt: “Unlike other great religions, Christianity has never proposed a revealed body of law to the State and to society, that is to say a juridical order derived from revelation. Instead, it has pointed to nature and reason as the true sources of law – and to the harmony of objective and subjective reason, which naturally presupposes that both spheres are rooted in the creative reason of God.” I thank God every day he is our Shepherd. http://cvote.to/4H

Other articles of interest:

A state-by-state analysis of how unemployment might affect the presidential race in 2012. http://cvote.to/4I

A limited, means-tested voucher bill passed the Ohio Senate last night 12-10, setting the stage for a full House vote this fall. If the measure passes the House, Republican Gov. John Kasich is expected to sign the bill into law. http://cvote.to/4J

Read a great profile on Father Robert Barron’s exciting new DVD series “Catholicism” by Tim Drake over at the National Catholic Register. http://cvote.to/4K

Former employees of the now bankrupt Solyndra say the company went hog wild on spending as soon as they received $535 million grant from the Obama administration. http://cvote.to/4L

A human rights activist is glad that Congress is holding hearings on how China’s one-child policy is brutally enforced. http://cvote.to/4M

This happened as a direct result of the bad same-sex civil unions bill that went into law this June. A law that catholics (and other people) warned would result in, among other things, exactly this — Catholic Charities being forced out of the adoption business.

I called on catholics to oppose the bill before it was eventually passed, writing at the time (quoting the IL Catholic Conference) that the “Language in the bill offers little protection in the context of litigation that religious institutions and individuals will face if this bill is adopted.”

267 days later, here we are.

Furthermore, Catholic Charities being forced to shut down in yet another state was not an “unintended consequence” of the legislation. There are people who wanted this to happen and opposed efforts to improve the language to provide protection for religious groups and individuals. And right now they’re winning the fight to curtail religious freedom because catholics are not standing up for our rights.

Luckily, two bishops in Illinois (so far) are calling it like it is.

Bishop Daniel Jenky of the Diocese of Peoria, IL wrote (underlining mine):

“Catholic Charities is one of the lead providers of foster care services in the state. They have been valued partners for decades. Clearly the intent of the civil union law was not to force the state to end these contracts and force the transfer of thousands of children’s cases.” He continued by stating, “We continue to believe we can adhere to our religious principles and operate within Illinois law.”

The Bishop, his Priests and the faithful of the Diocese of Peoria, are simply astonished that the politicians of the state of Illinois seem to be unwilling to grant the same kind of religious accommodations that have been granted in the states of New York and Rhode Island regarding their establishment of civil unions. Bishop Jenky is sad to observe that important elements of the political establishment in the state of Illinois are now basically at war with the Catholic community and seem to be destroying their institutions. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Peoria will be reviewing the judge’s written ruling to determine their next steps.

Bishop Thomas Paprocki joined him in saying:

The State of Illinois is actively taking steps to push Catholic Charities of the Dioceses of Belleville, Joliet, Peoria and Springfield out of foster care services, which would end a partnership that dates back to the mid-1960s with the creation of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. The message from the state of Illinois is simple: Organizations that only place children in accord with their religious beliefs are barred from state contracts – Catholics need not apply.

Catholic Charities has been caring for vulnerable children for more than 100 years, leading to DCFS’ current success rate.

As we consider the next steps in our course of action, we pray for the children and for our dedicated employees who may be so adversely affected by this decision.

I quibble about only one thing: this decision “may” not adversely effect children and those who work for and with Catholic Charities. It will adversely effect them. Parents who foster kids placed with them by Catholic Charities are already signaling that they will be forced to cease doing so:

Casey Teckenbrock, of Herrin, said he and his wife expect any transition to delay the adoption of their foster daughter. But after that is complete, they likely will cease to be foster parents for Catholic Social Services of Southern Illinois in the Diocese of Belleville.

“If the state doesn’t respect our morals, then we don’t want to do work for them,” Casey Teckenbrock said. “This will be a disaster for the 2,000 kids in foster care.”

And they aren’t alone:

“[Same-sex adoption is] a very small issue to shut an entire agency down that’s doing so much good in a community,” said Becky Wilhoit, an evangelical Christian who is not Catholic. “We specifically chose Catholic Charities as the agency we wanted to work with knowing they were religious and that they had resources to provide what we needed for our family. We know other agencies in the town can’t provide that for us. It becomes an issue for us to continue fostering.”

In other words, Catholic Charities does not represent simply “the Church” being forced to stop doing adoptions and foster care. It represents good men and women unable to help kids through Catholic Charities. It means kids not being helped by Catholic Charities. And why? David French explains it well:

Same-sex marriage advocates have long minimized its impact on religious liberty, but as this and other examples show, both religious liberty and child welfare are ultimately subordinate to sexual freedom.

In other words, political pressure exerted by gay rights groups and their political sympathizers in pursuit of establishing their right to absolute sexual freedom is squashing the right of the Church and fair-minded people to provide needy kids with a mom and dad — with care fitting the dignity of the babies and young people they serve, in other words.

And what do we do in response to this struggle between absolute sexual “freedom” and religious freedom? Which side are we on?

If we want to be on the side of the Church and supportive of the rights of Catholics and other Christians to serve vulnerable kids in the way our faith outlines there are several things we can concretely do:

1. If you live in Illinois, make a mental note to vote against every House (PDF) and Senate (PDF) member who voted for this bad civil unions bill. The Catholic Governor of Illinois Pat Quinn signed the bill. Vote him out too next time around.

2. If you live in Illinois, call your elected officials in the IL House and Senate and ask them to become a co-sponsor of the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act of 2011 (which could help this situation some).

3. For the rest of us, follow and support the Thomas More Society (which is working on behalf of Catholic Charities in IL) to learn more about the lawsuits currently pending and to discover ways you can help.

4. Help nip these problems in the bud by supporting effective pro-marriage organizations like the National Organization for Marriage (who I work with). This post on the NOM blog explains 4 easy (and free) ways you can help their efforts to protect marriage and religious liberty nationwide.

5. As always, stay informed about current Catholic news and activism opportunities here at CatholicVote.

With the stroke of the governor’s pen, the cardinal has been posthumously vindicated on at least one piece of that seamless garment. In doing so, Mr. Quinn, a Democrat, also ratified the cardinal’s belief that religious thought has a place in the formulation of law, a premise the governor’s fellow liberals generally resist.

“I think it’s indispensable,” Mr. Quinn said in a telephone interview this week. “When you’re elected and sworn into office, that oath really involves your whole life experience, your religious experience. You bring that to bear on all the issues.”

That cardinal was Joseph Bernadin. But in referencing a “consistent ethic of life,” the Times leaves out the fact that Quinn is a supporter of legal abortion.

The Times explains:

Well before Cardinal Bernardin was named Chicago’s archbishop in 1982, Mr. Quinn was receiving a complete Catholic education — from the sisters of St. Isaac Jogues Elementary School, the Dominicans of Fenwick High School and the Jesuits of Georgetown University. His brother, John, teaches history at Fenwick.

Unfortunately for the most innocent among us, it’s not-so complete in practice.