They say three topics are off limits at dinner parties and other social situations: your host’s extramarital affair, politics and religion. I have an easy time avoiding two of those topics. The other? If it’s on my mind, it’s on my tongue.

That said, a South Carolina Catholic priest has managed to compose a letter to his parish and basically condemned the entire Democratic sector of his church to hell unless they repent for voting for the wrong presidential candidate.

I find it hard to believe any American voter who participates in the voting process has ever cast a vote for a candidate he or she is in total agreement with. Many, if not most, Republicans disagree with the Bush policy on stem cell research. Many Democrats abhor the “across the board” abortion laws many candidates want to see passed into law. In fact, I can’t find five potential presidential candidates who combined would build the “perfect” president in my eyes. I say this because Reverend Jay Newman is assuming those who voted for Obama are in agreement with his views on abortion. I understand the passion with the abortion debate - trust me, I get it. But do two wrongs make a right? Is this priest condemning others to hell for the wrong reasons? He’s gone so far as to refuse Communion to his parishioners who voted for Obama. His letter reads, in part:

“Voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exists constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil, and those Catholics who do so place themselves outside of the full communion of Christ’s Church and under the judgment of divine law. Persons in this condition should not receive Holy Communion until and unless they are reconciled to God in the Sacrament of Penance, lest they eat and drink their own condemnation.”

That’s a pretty powerful statement, yes? I just feel as though there’s a better way for him to guide his parish without alienating them or refusing what Catholics worldwide hold so tightly to. No one gets through this life unscathed. It’s that simple. Those who are faithful in their religious practices cling to their beliefs, especially in difficult times. It’s almost as though he’s drawn lines within his own church. He sees his parish as those who are worthy and those who had the misfortune to choose the wrong candidate in the presidential election. That also makes me wonder how many attending Mass following the elections revealed their political beliefs.

Catholicism teaches a zero tolerance on abortion, as do most faiths. Still, bishops disagree on whether those who vote against the Church’s views must forgo Communion. Some of the more liberal groups that believe a “Catholic Democrat” isn’t an oxymoron say this letter was way too harsh. We’ll have to see how his parish feels. In the meantime, I’m happily planning the holiday social events and I’ll be avoiding politics and religion during the festive parties, but that third topic? It’s wide open.