Posted on 05/22/2009 1:56:18 PM PDT by NYer
.- The Vatican daily newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, facing criticism from many pro-life U.S. Catholics for its positive assessment of Barack Obama’s presidency, finally reported today on the objection of U.S. bishops to both Obama’s pro-abortion record as well as to Notre Dame’s decision to invite him to its commencement speech.
In the article titled "U.S. Bishops and ethical questions," L’Osservatore quotes the strongly-worded statement from the Archbishop of Denver, Charles J. Chaput which comments on Father John Jenkins’ commencement speech that justified his decision to invite the President of the U.S. to Notre Dame.
The Vatican newspaper does not mention that Chaput’s words were addressed to Fr. Jenkins, but quotes the Denver Archbishop saying that "the most vital thing faithful Catholics can do now is to insist – by their words, actions and financial support – that institutions claiming to be ‘Catholic’ actually live the faith with courage and consistency."
L’ Osservatore then explains that Archbishop Chaput "criticized the decision of the University of Notre Dame to honor someone who has demonstrated the willingness" to uphold Roe v. Wade.
"Other U.S. bishops recently," the Vatican newspaper continues, "have recalled the non-negotiable terms in which (Catholics) must confront ethical issues such as abortion, embryonic stem cell research and the right to conscientious objection of health workers."
L’Osservatore still seemed to defend Obama by saying that the President promised during the commencement speech at Notre Dame that "such a right must be defended," but concluded with the article quoting the Bishop of Kansas City - St. Joseph, Robert W. Finn, saying that "Obama has closed any door to dialogue, affirming that he will not change his position on abortion."
It’s time for them to change the man at the helm.
They threw the US bishops under the bus for the sake of what the Secretary of State (Bertone) perceived as the needs of diplomacy with Obama. See
http://wdtprs.com/blog/2009/05/rodari-interviews-vian-on-what-he-is-up-to-with-losservatore-romano/
The key passage is one that Fr. Zuhlsdorf did not excerpt in English but it’s present at the above url in Italian:
L’«aspettiamo e vediamo» vaticano, comunque, potrebbe avere anche una motivazione pratica. È, infatti, in vista del G8 di luglio che le diplomazie vaticana e americana stanno lavorando per organizzare un incontro tra Obama e Benedetto XVI.
In other words, the practical motivation for this Vatican perspective, in light of the G8 meetings in July in Rome is that the Vatican and American diplomats are trying to arrange a face-to-face meeting between Obama and Benedict XVI and being too hard on Obama now would jeopardize that-because the real dispute is between the bishops and the Catholic universities, not the bishops and Obama.
I don’ know that it would have to jeopardize such a meeting and even if it did, I don’t think it justifies pulling the rug out from under those bishops who stood up against Jenkins.
But be that as it is, the source of the problem seems to lie in the Vatican diplomatic corps.
Sorry, what I just sent was garbled. Here’s what I intended:
They threw the US bishops under the bus for the sake of what the Secretary of State (Bertone) perceived as the needs of diplomacy with Obama. See
http://wdtprs.com/blog/2009/05/rodari-interviews-vian-on-what-he-is-up-to-with-losservatore-romano/
The key passage is one that Fr. Zuhlsdorf did not excerpt in English but it’s present at the above url in Italian:
L’«aspettiamo e vediamo» vaticano, comunque, potrebbe avere anche una motivazione pratica. È, infatti, in vista del G8 di luglio che le diplomazie vaticana e americana stanno lavorando per organizzare un incontro tra Obama e Benedetto XVI.
In other words, the practical motivation for this Vatican perspective, in light of the G8 meetings in July in Rome is that the Vatican and American diplomats are trying to arrange a face-to-face meeting between Obama and Benedict XVI and being too hard on Obama now would jeopardize that.
I don’t know that it would have to jeopardize such a meeting because the real dispute is between the bishops and the Catholic universities, not the bishops and Obama. But even if it did, I don’t think it justifies pulling the rug out from under those bishops who stood up against Jenkins.
But be that as it is, the source of the problem seems to lie in the Vatican diplomatic corps.
The US bishops have been ignoring responsibilities on universities for a long time. They do next to nothing (in concrete actions) other than giving lip service. I for one, have no sympathy for the companymen.
Essentially, they are taking a "wait and see" approach in anticipation of the G8 meeting. According to a recent news article, if I recall correctly, it stated that Obama has made no plans to meet with the pope. L'Osservatore is suffering from the delusional notion that Obama will concede in which case they can can pat themselves on the back. What they fail to understand is that a leopard does not change its spots. They are naive if they believe otherwise.
Like diplomacy sure fixed that problem with King Henry VIII!
They have a point. If the Vatican feels abortion is a central issue, then why are they so silent on these politicians?
The Pope leaves things up to the local bishops, and very, very rarely intervenes. Normally, the Pope will provide a statement of the teachings of the Church, and it is up to the bishops to enforce it.
The Vatican is a nest of bureaucrats who in theory simply do whatever their job is to make sure that the Pope communicates with the world and the bishops. However, like any bureaucracy, it has a life of its own, and one of the great problems of popes throughout history has been trying to achieve unity and fidelity in the bureaucratic ranks.
This has become much worse in recent decades, because Vatican II significantly loosened the ties to authority, the Magisterium, and a host of other things that kept the bureaucracies (and individuals) working in the same direction.
One of the few good things to come out of this is that perhaps the internal structure of the Vatican bureaucracy has attracted so much attention by its missteps now that it might encourage a serious review and reform. I hope the Pope has someone tasting his food...
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