Nestled amid prayer reminders and a Mass schedule in the Sunday bulletin from San Diego's Immaculate Conception Catholic Church was this dire advice about the upcoming election: "It is a mortal sin to vote Democrat." The Oct. 16 bulletin went on to explain that "immediately after death, the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell." The flier noted five positions Democrats embraced that conflict with those of the Catholic Church, including "abortion, same-sex marriage, euthanasia, human cloning, and embryonic stem-cell research," Time reported.
In the next bulletin, on Oct. 30, the warnings got a bit more specific. The message in that handout "mentioned Hillary Clinton, linking her to the famed late community organizer Saul David Alinsky, whom it described as a tool of 'Satan' and 'the devil,'" The Washington Post reported.
Officials at the San Diego church have denied the fliers were released "in any official capacity" and clarified that a vote for Clinton would not actually condemn someone to eternal damnation, Time said. "It's not a mortal sin to vote for Democrats," said diocese spokesman Kevin Eckery. He added, "for all I know someone thought they were doing a service" by putting that in the bulletin.
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