Posted on 04/15/2008 8:07:25 AM PDT by NYer
Daniel Burke at the Washington Post thinks that President Bush might be pulling a Tony Blair. Burke tells of the Catholic based culture that rules the west wing and some other lingering suspicions.
Shortly after Pope Benedict XVI's election in 2005, President Bush met with a small circle of advisers in the Oval Office. As some mentioned their own religious backgrounds, the president remarked that he had read one of the new pontiff's books about faith and culture in Western Europe.While this concept of a Catholic run White House may be humorous to some, Fr. Richard John Neuhaus says that it is not so far fetched.
Save for one other soul, Bush was the only non-Catholic in the room. But his interest in the pope's writings was no surprise to those around him. As the White House prepares to welcome Benedict on Tuesday, many in Bush's inner circle expect the pontiff to find a kindred spirit in the president. Because if Bill Clinton can be called America's first black president, some say, then George W. Bush could well be the nation's first Catholic president.
***
"I don't think there's any question about it," says Rick Santorum, former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania and a devout Catholic, who was the first to give Bush the "Catholic president" label. "He's certainly much more Catholic than Kennedy."
Bush has also placed Catholics in prominent roles in the federal government and relied on Catholic tradition to make a public case for everything from his faith-based initiative to antiabortion legislation. He has wedded Catholic intellectualism with evangelical political savvy to forge a powerful electoral coalition.Finally, Burke hints that some close to the President might not be suprised if he pulled a Tony Blair one day by converting after leaving office.
"There is an awareness in the White House that the rich Catholic intellectual tradition is a resource for making the links between Christian faith, religiously grounded moral judgments and public policy," says Richard John Neuhaus, a Catholic priest and editor of the journal First Things who has tutored Bush in the church's social doctrines for nearly a decade.
Moreover, people close to Bush say that he has professed a not-so-secret admiration for the church's discipline and is personally attracted to the breadth and unity of its teachings. A New York priest who has befriended the president said that Bush respects the way Catholicism starts at the foundation -- with the notion that the papacy is willed by God and that the pope is Peter's successor. "I think what fascinates him about Catholicism is its historical plausibility," says this priest. "He does appreciate the systematic theology of the church, its intellectual cogency and stability." The priest also says that Bush "is not unaware of how evangelicalism -- by comparison with Catholicism -- may seem more limited both theologically and historically."Color me skeptical, but I don't think so.
Former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson, another evangelical with an affinity for Catholic teaching, says that the key to understanding Bush's domestic policy is to view it through the lens of Rome. Others go a step further.
Paul Weyrich, an architect of the religious right, detects in Bush shades of former British prime minister Tony Blair, who converted to Catholicism last year. "I think he is a secret believer," Weyrich says of Bush. Similarly, John DiIulio, Bush's first director of faith-based initiatives, has called the president a "closet Catholic." And he was only half-kidding.
The pope also makes ZOMBIES!
Agreed! And look at what they accomplished - they brought down the Berlin Wall and the end of communism. Imagine if Bush and Benedict could end jihad.
I am a 4th Degree Knight, Grand Knight of my Council, and a State Council Director. I am also on the team that performs the ceremony that welcomes other Knights into the 4th Degree. While we do not have an oath per se, we do have initiations that welcome members into the individual degrees. We are not allowed to make those initiations public. I can tell you that there is nothing ominous about anything in those ceremonies. If there were, I would not be a Knight.
The Knight’s ceremonies are focused on four things: Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism.
I once had a running online conversation with someone who believed that in the 4th Degree initiation we supported the killing of Protestants. Yeah, uh-huh. He said he had seen the text that demonstrated it. Yeah, sure. Nothing I could do or say would dissuade him.
The Knights are not a “secret society” either. Our founder, a Catholic Priest, made sure of that.
For more detailed information, I suggest you read the book “Parish Priest” which is about Fr. Michael McGivney and the formation of the Knights, and try the Knights web site at: http://www.kofc.org/un/eb/en/about/index.html
If you have more specific questions I can answer, I’d be glad to do so.
“Andy are you a K of C?”
I am.
“I’d like to find an official copy of your oath. Can you provide it here?”
If you wish, the oaths of the Degrees of the Knights of Columbus are copyrighted material, and thus are available at the Library of Congress, in Washington, DC.
S/K sitetest, GK
President Bush has repeatedly stated that Christians and Muslims worship the same God - sounds more like a Roman Catholic than any stripe of protestant.
no, but you certainly make me, and others, think much less of you.
The fact that this is tacitly endorsed by Free Republic is equally reprehensible. Were there similar insults to Jews and references to the equally fraud Protocols of the Elders of Zion there would have been posts removed by moderators and posters banned.
Shhhhh! They know where you live!
(Don’t forget to hate people who aren’t like you and oppose immigration. And I’d better call my brother and remind him - he hasn’t lived in small-town Pa. very long :-).
Vivat Jesus!
I hope that you and your Council have been enjoying a successful Fraternal Year! I assume that you'll be attending your State Convention soon? Ours is in May at Ocean City, MD. This is an election year, so the sessions will be longer, but the parties more fun.
;-)
sitetest
I really doubt God condones the molestation of kids and the church’s subsequent coverup of the crime.
“The fact that this is tacitly endorsed by Free Republic is equally reprehensible.”
Does it “offend” you and create an environment of fear? Maybe you need a Hate Crime law to protect you from comments against your church. It would be really sad if you were made to feel “uncomfortable” and “intimidated”.
I;ve seen plenty of criticism of the Methodist Church and I have never thought to silence it. I guess we are a hardier lot.
“We are not allowed to make those initiations public”
Does it have anything to do with putting a cross & dagger to your heart? (The answer, of course, has to be no.)
You insulted the Pope who has been adament about cleaning out the child molesters....sad for you that you expose your ingnorance of the man. This article shows that our President has read his book and shows some esteem for him. You, also, insult the beautiful art, or icons, that Catholics enjoy.
You continue to post insulting commments that add to the ingnorance of your original post. You should have quit while you were ahead.
Thanks, xs, for watching my back.
LOL Classic!!!!!!
i believe it makes more sense to worry more about my own soul than the souls of the molestors. Perhaps you should do the same? i believe God has their fate in His hands. you don’t offend me, nor do i bear you any illwill. you will answer to God also for your Catholic bashing. i just wonder why you get off on it so?
I found this:
"The Oath of the Knights of Columbus, Knights of Malta and Rhodes Scholars is based upon the Oath of the Jesuits (This is an extract of the Congressional Record of the House of Representatives dated February 15, 1913, where the oath is entered as purported to be of the Knights of Columbus).
That's a fraud. A forgery. A lie.
It is banned on the FR Religion Forum.
IMO, your "biblebelievers" site should also be banned for promoting hate and false witness.
“You insulted the Pope “
You are a liar. I never mentioned the Pope. I said a Bishop.
I’m sorry if I offended you. I didn’t realize you guys were so sensitive. Please don’t sue me or have me arrested for creating an envionment of fear where you were made to feel uncomfortable. I promise not to make light of anything Catholic so you don’t have to relive the horror of this day.
i guess i just find it odd how erstwhile Christians prefer to bash the faith of others, than to promote the love of Christ in their own lives, by their example. Who, anywhere, would read appypappy’s posts on these religion threads and say to themselves, what a godly man, i wish i could walk the walk of Christ as he does?
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