Preacher Urges Obama Supporters into Confession

Rev. Joseph Illo, pastor of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, is apparently not thrilled with Obama's pro-choice stance on abortion.

Illo is urging his parishioners to hit the confessional if they voted for Barack Obama, according to sources. Sources say that his warning came via a letter dated Nov. 21 concerning Obama's pro-choice stance concerning abortion. The letter said that if you were one of the 54 percent of Catholics who voted for a pro-abortion candidate than you were clear of his position and you knew the gravity of the question. The letter goes on and urges the reader to go to confession before receiving communion. It ends by saying don't risk losing your state of grace by receiving sacrilegiously. The letter was reportedly sent to over 15,000 members of St. Joseph's parish and was delivered by him in a homily. Catholics who don't feel the need to confess should not necessarily feel guilty though according to Rev. Stephen Blaire, bishop of the Stockton Diocese, who says catholics should not start running for the confessional unnecessarily. Catholics who don’t feel the need to confess shouldn’t necessarily feel guilty though. Blaire said that someone should go to confession only if they voted for a pro-choice candidate- if that was the only reason they voted for them. Blaire continued and said that their position on pro-life is very important but there are other issues. He said that no one candidate reflects everything that they stand for and he said that he is sure most catholics who voted were voting on economic issues. Blaire also said that he is sure that there were probably priests and bishops who voted for Obama as well. That is the joy of living in America, The freedom to vote for whoever you want regardless of what a candidate stands for.