Posted on 04/05/2009 4:11:27 PM PDT by Alex Murphy
Congressional Quarterly has posted a transcript of “Fox News Sunday,” including this exchange between Chris Wallace and Newt Gingrich about the former House speaker’s conversion to Catholicism:
WALLACE: Mr. Gingrich, you have been a Baptist most of your life, and last Sunday you converted to Catholicism. Why, sir?GINGRICH: I’m not talking about this much publicly, but let me just say that I found over the course of the last decade, attending the basilica, meeting with Monsignor Rossi, reading the literature, that there was a peace in my soul and a sense of well being in the Catholic Church, and I found the mass of conversion last Sunday one of the most powerful moments of my life.
WALLACE: You have — it’s no secret — been married and divorced twice. Will you be able to participate fully in communion and all the other rites of the Catholic Church?
GINGRICH: Yes, we have done everything within the law of the church, following all of the rules of the church over the last 10 years. And it’s been a process. It’s been a very long process and something which was deeply affected, in part, by Pope Benedict XVI’s visit and the opportunity I had to sit in — as you know, my wife, Calista, sings at the basilica every Sunday, and I was allowed as a spouse to be there as part of the vespers program when the pope came. It’s been a long process.
WALLACE: And if I might ask, just briefly, what is it about the pope’s visit that led to this?
GINGRICH: I really believe, first of all, seeing the joy in his eyes, listening to his message, and I really believe that his basic statement, Christ our hope, is right. And I think much of what’s wrong with our country and with the western world is a function of looking inside ourselves, not just looking at money or looking at our wallets.
This Rock has a pretty good summary of the case:
ONE key Scripture reference to being “born again” or “regenerated” is John 3:5, where Jesus states: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” This verse is so important that those who say baptism is just a symbol must deny that Jesus refers to baptism. “Born again” Christians claim that the water is the preached word of God. If we look at what the early Christians said about this verse, they uniformly referred to it as baptism and said this was the way in which we are born again and receive new life, a fact which can be shown elsewhere in Scripture (Rom. 6:3-4, Col. 2:12-13, Titus 3:5). It is impossible to find a Church Father who referred to John 3:5 as anything other than baptism; they are unanimous.
This Rock goes on to point out that all of the early Church Fathers agreed that this saying of Jesus refers to Baptism from Justin Martyr to St. Augustine and onward:
http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/1994/9410frs.asp
I wrote the song completely, but that recording was done by my good friend, Jack Bond. I’m going to do my own studio version soon, though, I hope.
I loved his voice.
Now I have mentally attached it to you :)
Jack does a couple of the songs I have up there - but he’s also a good conservative Catholic fellow. I think he also does “April In Tennessee”, but the rest are my own voice in what are called “writer tracks”. They’re OK as recordings but not “radio-ready”. I had quit writing for 20 years and have been a bit slow working into the performance end of things. Anyway, my real voice is in the others. Sorry, if I confused thibgs.
Not to worry. I bookmarked the site so I could go through the rest of the music.
I just know that this coming Sunday I will have a smile when I think how that rock is gonna roll. It’s an exhilarating line. Unforgettable, really.
Like any creative person, I am deeply appreciative and honored by your comments. I thank you very kindly.
Welcome to the Roman Catholic Church Newt. Isn’t it glorious?
You are so welcome. There’s much more to the lyrics than just the hook in that line, which you know since you wrote them. The whole story and its meaning gets so neatly packaged. Our part, His part. I just thought it was a pretty masterful piece of work.
That’s your own personal belief, which, incidentally, is contradicted by Scripture.
bookmark
I don’t think it’s contradicted by scripture. The Bible is very clear that faith is the key to salvation. I don’t remember anywhere in the Bible where it says that you’ve got to be a member of the right church in order to get into heaven.
As a traditionalist Catholic I find it impossible NG be married three times and be allowed full Communion.
This is the same hierarchy (well- the present or immediate past) that has allowed the annulment scandal.
stupid answer...all religions have their share of dissidents, and by the way, Hitlery is yours, she certainly isn’t a Catholic (thanks God)
nonsense...Christ established His church for a reason....the church of “what’s happening now” simply does not cut it
This conversion rings true, because I also was drawn to the Church seeing the Holy Spirit and the love of Christ shining from Pope Benedict's face on that balcony in Rome the day he was elected. I signed up for RCIA classes the next day.
When I said "so-called born again" I meant the self described hodge-podge of "faiths" that seize on isolated snips of scripture out of context and use them in their warehouse services to attack the Original and Universal Church.
Note that I said so-called born again, and I was referring to a very distinct segment of Protestants that the PREVIOUS poster was claiming membership in.
Looking at this whole situation from merely a historical point of view is another thing. Gingrich is a noted historian.
I can see him after those first moments of being touched by the Holy Spirit, getting out books and starting to read and read and read until he got back to the Early Church Fathers and then to the apostles. He is a definite researcher, and I believe this is a REAL conversion, too.
There is just something in the humility with which Gingrich speaks of it — almost a reverence. Did you pick that up, too?
Annulments are only required for a valid marriage which is still in existence.
Newt’s first wife is dead, so that marriage no longer is a problem.
His second marriage was done while the first wife was alive. It was not a valid marriage.
Only his third marriage is valid. No annulment is necessary, but I am certain he has had to confess his sins and has been instructed on the marriage sacrament and his reponsibilities to remain faithful.
I am not a canon law expert, but I have heard enough explanations on various programs that I am pretty certain I am correct.
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