Posted on 05/18/2009 8:40:55 PM PDT by Steelfish
May 18, 2009
Obama and the Real Catholics The president inserts himself into a religious debate.
By George Weigel
Passionate debates over doctrine, identity, and the boundaries of communion have been a staple of the American religious landscape for centuries: Trinitarians vs. Unitarians in 19th-century New England; Modernists vs. Fundamentalists in early-20th-century Presbyterianism; Missouri Synod Lutherans vs. Wisconsin Synod Lutherans vs. Other Sorts of Lutherans down to today.
Yet never in our history has a president of the United States, in the exercise of his public office, intervened in such disputes in order to secure a political advantage.
Until yesterday, at the University of Notre Dame.
The principal themes of President Obamas Notre Dame commencement address were entirely predictable; indeed, in some offices I know, betting pools were forming last week on how many of the Catholic Left hot buttons Obama would hit.
In the event, he hit for the cycle several times over, mentioning common ground; tolerance and reconciliation amid diversity; Father Hesburgh; respect for those with whose moral judgments we disagree; problem-solving over ideology; Father Hesburgh; saving Gods creation from climate change; pulling together; Father Hesburgh; open hearts; open minds; fair-minded words; Father Hesburgh. None of this was surprising, and most of it was said with the presidents usual smooth eloquence.
(Excerpt) Read more at article.nationalreview.com ...
OK.....everybody pony up ten bucks and let’s get this FReepathon over....
Thanks.
This guy could use an editor.
I'm game. Let's do it.
Thank you!!
yeah, weigel’s so sloppy..../snark
this White House is beyond the pale. And so are the clergy that are complicit in all this.
The hubris of That One truly knows no bounds. Now that he's laid down the gauntlet, I hope the Bishops will come out swinging. This is not an election year, so their opinions need not be couched in the language of 'some politicians'. I hope they go after him, and his liberal Catholic buddies, hammer and tong. We need to do the same, and especially NOT let the Democrats and liberal Catholics get away with their moral equivalence arguments about Capital Punishment and Abortion.
The Catholic Church has NEVER denounced participation in Capital Punishment as being a mortal sin, even though the USCCB stated their own opinion against it. But the Catholic Church has consistently, for almost two thousand years, without wavering, taught that procuring or helping someone to procure and abortion is a most grievous sin.
There is NO moral equivalence between the two issues, so the argument being made that conservatives are hypocrites because we didn't protest George W. Bush speaking at ND, and being offered an Honorary Degree, is simply being made to throw us off. DON'T be fooled by it, and argue against it with anyone who tries to bring it up to defend That One or Notre Dame.
Which raises the interesting question of who first called whom about that honorary degree...
It doesn't make any difference. The conversation was between allies.
Obama failed to address religious people who oppose abortion on NON-religious grounds and atheists and agnostics who oppose abortion. But so did the Notre Dame dissenters and the pro-abortion lobby.
By making the issue completely about religion a great deal of ‘common ground’ was lost by all sides.
Obama saw a chance to use liberal “Catholics” as a way to divide the Catholic vote and to claim the support of some Catholic clergy for his phony “common ground” appeal on the abortion issue and he took advantage of the opportunity.
He was smart enough to let these “willing idiots” give him false credibility in the eyes of those looking for a way to rationalize their pro-abortion stance in violation of Catholic doctrine.
Who would have thought that even highly placed Catholic clergy would turn out to be nothing more than slobbering Obamabots?
They can use lofty sounding arguments to fool themselves but those who haven’t been drinking the Obama Kool-Aid see them cleary for the fools that they are.
marking
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