Posted on 11/29/2013 7:33:39 AM PST by SatinDoll
The second President of the U. S., John Adams, a signer of the Constitution, in his First Inaugural's closing paragraph, laid out his understanding of the qualifications for the Office of President.
Philadelphia, March 4, 1797
“. . . as something may be expected, the occasion, I hope, will be admitted as an apology if I venture to say that
- if a preference, upon principle, of a free republican government, formed upon long and serious reflection, after a diligent and impartial inquiry after truth;
- if an attachment to the Constitution of the United States, and a conscientious determination to support it until it shall be altered by the judgments and wishes of the people, expressed in the mode prescribed in it;
- if a respectful attention to the constitutions of the individual States and a constant caution and delicacy toward the State governments;
- if an equal and impartial regard to the rights, interest, honor, and happiness of all the States in the Union, without preference or regard to a northern or southern, an eastern or western, position, their various political opinions on unessential points or their personal attachments;
- if a love of virtuous men of all parties and denominations;
- if a love of science and letters and a wish to patronize every rational effort to encourage schools, colleges, universities, academies, and every institution for propagating knowledge, virtue, and religion among all classes of the people, not only for their benign influence on the happiness of life in all its stages and classes, and of society in all its forms, but as the only means of preserving our Constitution from its natural enemies, the spirit of sophistry, the spirit of party, the spirit of intrigue, the profligacy of corruption, and the pestilence of foreign influence, which is the angel of destruction to elective governments;
- if a love of equal laws, of justice, and humanity in the interior administration;
- if an inclination to improve agriculture, commerce, and manufacturers for necessity, convenience, and defense;
- if a spirit of equity and humanity toward the aboriginal nations of America, and a disposition to meliorate their condition by inclining them to be more friendly to us, and our citizens to be more friendly to them;
- if an inflexible determination to maintain peace and inviolable faith with all nations, and that system of neutrality and impartiality among the belligerent powers of Europe which has been adopted by this Government and so solemnly sanctioned by both Houses of Congress and applauded by the legislatures of the States and the public opinion, until it shall be otherwise ordained by Congress;
- if a personal esteem for the French nation, formed in a residence of seven years chiefly among them, and a sincere desire to preserve the friendship which has been so much for the honor and interest of both nations;
- if, while the conscious honor and integrity of the people of America and the internal sentiment of their own power and energies must be preserved, an earnest endeavor to investigate every just cause and remove every colorable pretense of complaint;
- if an intention to pursue by amicable negotiation a reparation for the injuries that have been committed on the commerce of our fellow-citizens by whatever nation, and if success can not be obtained, to lay the facts before the Legislature, that they may consider what further measures the honor and interest of the Government and its constituents demand;
- if a resolution to do justice as far as may depend upon me, at all times and to all nations, and maintain peace, friendship, and benevolence with all the world;
- if an unshaken confidence in the honor, spirit, and resources of the American people, on which I have so often hazarded my all and never been deceived;
- if elevated ideas of the high destinies of this country and of my own duties toward it, founded on a knowledge of the moral principles and intellectual improvements of the people deeply engraven on my mind in early life, and not obscured but exalted by experience and age;
and, with humble reverence, I feel it to be my duty to add, if a veneration for the religion of a people who profess and call themselves Christians, and a fixed resolution to consider a decent respect for Christianity among the best recommendations for the public service, can enable me in any degree to comply with your wishes, it shall be my strenuous endeavor that this sagacious injunction of the two Houses shall not be without effect.
With this great example before me, with the sense and spirit, the faith and honor, the duty and interest, of the same American people pledged to support the Constitution of the United States, I entertain no doubt of its continuance in all its energy, and my mind is prepared without hesitation to lay myself under the most solemn obligations to support it to the utmost of my power.
And may that Being who is supreme over all, the Patron of Order, the Fountain of Justice, and the Protector in all ages of the world of virtuous liberty, continue His blessing upon this nation and its Government and give it all possible success and duration consistent with the ends of His providence.” - John Adams, First Inaugural
If we shoot the messenger, who will deliver the message?
Nature, as in God?
Did I read the entire document? He didn’t write it.
Have you ever listened to him speak? The man is a verbally wandering and inarticulate boob. I sincerely doubt he could have written the Apostolic Exhortation by himself.
What we have in the White House we now have in the Vatican - a puppet controlled by evil men.
I am always amused by this proposal. Who would BUY the Vatican's "treasures"? Some billionaire, of course. Would this billionaire make the treasures available for viewing by the public, as the Vatican does?
And the moment Mr. Billionaire bought the stuff, wouldn't the cries start immediately: "Mr. Gotrocks should sell the treasures he bought from the Vatican, and give the money to the poor!"
And suppose Mr. Warbucks buys the Vatican treasures from Mr. Gotrocks? Well, then. "Mr. Warbucks should sell the treasures he bought from Mr. Gotrocks and give the money to the poor!"
Ad infinitum.
The only solution to the problem created by the existence of treasures like the "Pieta" and the Sistine Chapel is to smash them.
“Since his coronation, Pope Francis has made waves throughout the Catholic community, often shunning generally accepted Papal tradition for a more modern and progressive world.”
So we know for sure now that this Pope is a collectivist of the Progressive variety. And everything collectivism touches it destroys.
“...turning Catholic dogma on its head by suggesting it’s OK to be gay...”
“Petrus Romanus is to be the final pope, who will oversee not only the destruction of the Catholic Church, but the world as we know it:”
God doesn’t agree at all with homosexuality. We can look at the example of Sodom and Gomorrah as an example. Plus, we can look at the collectivist movements of the 20th century (fascism, nazism, communism, et al) that were mostly led by homosexuals, caused the murder of about 250 million people and untold suffering.
Should we be surprised to see Rome destroyed?
I bet he was thinking of Venezuela.
The only problem I have with that is, those properties-the bishops' and other church properties-we're largely paid for by parishioners. Just as property taxes would be on those houses--those too, would also be paid for by parishioners, and that's a tax that hits at our ability to worship and freely exercise our First Amendment rights.
As a Catholic, I like this Pope, and consider him to be a holy man, but he knows nothing about economics. It is through the bounties of capitalism that missions are funded throughout the world. The capitalist' economic system has done more to improve the lives of impoverished people than any other system in the world. Replacing it with something more "equitable" will only bring us an equal share of misery.
No. I’m expecting that destruction.
But this is a false take on his exhortation. Have you read it? Have you cross-referenced it? Have you read the footnotes?
And the “encyclical” is not an encyclical, it’s an Apostolic Exhortation.
Sloppy. Sloppy. No credibility.
And I say this as someone who has NOT been won over by the new Pope. Not hostile, but not won over.
Have you ever investigated subsidiarity?
Interesting to see people go insane over a couple of sentences in a 200+ page letter from Pope Francis.
As we watch people fight over toys and TVs on viral videos of Black Friday shopping... is it really a great time to worship consumerism?
Seriously... do you think people that rushed through Thanksgiving Dinner last night to get in line at Macy’s at 6pm have their priorities in order?
Woo-hoo! So Francis is of Italian descent ... like about 230 of the preceding 263 popes. That's certainly the clincher.
The alleged "Malachy prophecies" are phony anyway; a Renaissance-era forgery intended to influence a Papal election. (They failed, BTW.)
Yes, it was a co-effort with him and Pope Benedict XVI.
The teaching of the Church has always been that the Grace of Christ is the only path to salvation. Please see... Luke 23:32-43
Hopefully you took YOUR meds this morning.
Pope Benedict XVI wrote the parts against capitalism?
I find that impossible to believe.
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