Posted on 03/07/2012 10:14:16 AM PST by NYer
Cardinal Timothy Dolan sent a letter to his brother bishops earlier this week where he revealed a shocking conversation that recently took place at a meeting between White House and USCCB staff:
At a recent meeting between staff of the bishops’ conference and the White House staff, our staff members asked directly whether the broader concerns of religious freedom—that is, revisiting the straight-jacketing mandates, or broadening the maligned exemption—are all off the table. They were informed that they are. So much for “working out the wrinkles.” Instead, they advised the bishops’ conference that we should listen to the “enlightened” voices of accommodation, such as the recent, hardly surprising yet terribly unfortunate editorial in America. The White House seems to think we bishops simply do not know or understand Catholic teaching and so, taking a cue from its own definition of religious freedom, now has nominated its own handpicked official Catholic teachers
Let’s break this down so we don’t miss anything about the context or gravity of the situation:
1. This meeting was prompted because the White House decided to curtail and violate the religious freedom of the Catholic Church and individual Catholics.
2. The White House refused to consult with Catholic bishops while originally formulating and issuing this mandate. President Obama misled Cardinal Dolan when he promised the Cardinal he would be happy with the White House’s final decision.
3. The White House has continually lied about and misrepresented the opinion and position of the U.S. Bishops in this process (claiming, for instance, that they were always against Obamacare and that Catholic Charities USA supported their false accomodation). They have continued to act in bad faith.
4. The White House has also chosen to ally itself with liberal, left-wing Catholic dissenters like Sr. Carol Keehan throughout this process, thereby snubbing the U.S. Bishops and all faithful Catholics.
(Are you still there? Because now it gets really good….)
5. After all of this, when the White House finally gets around to inviting staff authorized by the USCCB to negotiate on behalf of them, the White House says what to them?! First, they issue an ultimatum saying all compromise is off the table. So what on earth are they supposed to talk about if the White House refuses from the outset to compromise in any way, shape, or form? The cynical answer is the White House, once again, simply wanted to establish the appearance of dialogue while offering zero substance.
6. Then, the White House proceeds to lecture the USCCB staff about how to interpret Catholic teaching! Can you imagine anything more offensive? Telling Catholics how to be Catholic? They show them a copy of the America editorial as if a) the staff has not already read it and b) the U.S. Bishops give a fig what the editors of America think.
7. Let’s read Cardinal Dolan’s line again:
The White House seems to think we bishops simply do not know or understand Catholic teaching and so, taking a cue from its own definition of religious freedom, now has nominated its own handpicked official Catholic teachers.
In other words, what we have here is NOT a failure to communicate. What we have here is an Administration and White House officials who believe they know Catholic teaching better than us. And who have the hubris to lecture us about what our faith teaches.
The editors of the Wall Street Journal comment:
As a study in ideology and power, the anecdote [of the White House meeting described above] is chilling, compounded by all the recent claims by Democrats and liberals that Catholics who actually abide by their faith are opposed to modernity. Such prejudice is supposedly defunct in contemporary America, except when it’s practiced against religion.
And not just any religion – Catholic religion.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t take kindly to my elected leaders lecturing me about what my faith teaches. Talk about the height of hypocrisy. Talk about an offense that cries out to the ballot box to be answered definitely.
Catholic ping!
Turning to modernity cost the Church dearly; Homosexual chickenhawk priests, seamless garment, vocations dropping through the floor, etc., billions of dollars and its reputation.
Hardly surprising, given that the Administration’s most respected authority on Catholic doctrine is Nancy Pelosi.
LOL!
These naive fools think the Catholic Church should be run like obamites are running the United States government-
Based on public opinion polls influenced by manipulated data to meet a leftist agenda
Really, I do not see the Pope Dude becoming the leader of the Church of Wazzzzuuup .....
The White House is lecturing the church religious doctrine, but the Leftists tout separation of church and state.
BS. The Left believes in domination of the church by the state.
No surprise considering the arrogance of this administration.
To Alinskyites, the Church is just another man-made institution to be subverted.
I’m surprised they didn’t ask Bishop Dolan how many divisions he had.
That didn’t work out so well for Stalin.
I hope this steels Bishop Dolan’s will. I want him to tell Catholics not to vote for Obama in November. It may backfire, but it should be done. Losing the Church’s tax-exempt status would be liberating.
It’s now or never, should Obama be reelected. If he’s not reelected, the situation will return to the status quo ante.
The more I hear of Cardinal Dolan, the more I like him.
“Turning to modernity cost the Church dearly”
Well now, let’s take a look at “who” did the “turning”.
It was NOT the Vatican!
It was in fact, pockets within the USCCB and others dissenting from Rome.
If you stick to the teachings from Rome, you can recognize the human failings and avoid falling into them yourself.
This is exactly what the Chinese Communist govt does with their `state-run catholic church`.-
White House violates First Amendment by placing Catholic Teachers in the govt.
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Just shoot the Bishops in the throat and throw the survivors in the hole.
I suspect the regime hacks are mulling what bone they need to throw to Dolan to shut him up, because the longer this continues, the more of a chance the sheeple may eventually catch on.
From the letter...
“Perhaps the courts offer the most light. In the recent Hosanna-Tabor ruling, the Supreme Court unanimously defended the right of a Church to define its own ministry and services, a dramatic rebuff to the administration, apparently unheeded by the White House. Thus, our bishops’ conference, many individual religious entities, and other people of good will are working with some top-notch law firms who feel so strongly about this that they will represent us
pro-bono. In the upcoming days, you will hear much more about this encouraging and welcome development.”- Cardinal Dolan
You are correct but the US wasn’t the only country infected; Germany, France, Italy, Britain, Ireland, Canada, South America as a special case because they moved into liberation theology.
Yup, they are unparalleled geniuses...
Shutting down drilling and "investing" in wonderful companies like Solyndra to drive energy prices down.
Poking the finger into the eyes of our allies and friends, and grovelling and apologizing to our enemies.
Focused on the economy like a fricken' laser beam, with their flagship initiative being to increase unemployment insurance ... Because nothing drives the economic recovery better than having more people on unemployment getting checks from the money tree...
A regular bunch of whiz kids. The Bishop's representatives should have bowed down in their presence as they were schooled in the intricacies of their religious beliefs...
The Chucrch needs to recognize that this is a war, not a negotiation. “Tax-Exempt Status” cannot hold them back.
1. Notify the public that Catholic facilities will be closed if HHS mandates are implemented.
2. Notify tyhe public the Catholic facilities will NOT be sold if HHS mandates are implemented.
3. Ex-communicate all political figure sympathetic to the HHS mandate. There are valid, established criteria to do so.
4. Advise Catholics to vote against this administration.
5. Advise Mexican Catholics to withhold support for this administration and point out their evil ways.
6. Seek cooperation from other religious groups.
I wonder if Bishop Dolan has “offended” 0bama as Steve Bridges and Andrew Breitbart had.
Again.. just wondering.
Did Dolan back Obmamcare originally?
These same left-wing Catholics are also trying to force through immigration reform laws under the guise of "social justice" with the meme being that they simply desire to promote "human dignity". Such forced religiously based legislation denies their fellow Americans, who are not Catholics, their First Amendment right of freedom of religion.
The Catholic Church in America is being taken over by those wishing to advance a political agenda under religious precepts.
And on a side note and purely conjecture...Islamists have hated the Catholic Church for more than a thousand year. Is this all some sort of "peace overture"? "We'll slap 'em around for you guys on the sly so ya'll don't get blamed."
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