July 11, 2009 8:59 AM
Newsweek: Obama represents American Catholics better than the Pope
Yea, verily, Newsweek - first to bring us the news that We Are All Socialists Now - hath decreed:
Without a Doubt
Why Barack Obama represents American Catholics better than the pope does.Tomorrow Pope Benedict XVI and President Barack Obama meet for the first time, an affair much anticipated and in some circles frowned upon by American Catholics in the wake of Obama's controversial Notre Dame commencement speech in May. Conservatives in the church denounced Obama's appearance as a nod by the premier Catholic university to a conciliatory politics that heralds the start of a slippery moral slope.
In truth, though, Obama's pragmatic approach to divisive policy (his notion that we should acknowledge the good faith underlying opposing viewpoints) and his social-justice agenda reflect the views of American Catholic laity much more closely than those vocal bishops and pro-life activists. When Obama meets the pope tomorrow, they'll politely disagree about reproductive freedoms and homosexuality, but Catholics back home won't care, because they know Obama's on their side. In fact, Obama's agenda is closer to their views than even the pope's.
Full story here.
btw - and especially for nonCatholics - please be aware that the spin you are getting in the American press about the Pope's encyclical "Caritas in Veritate" - is just that: SPIN. Look to Catholic sources for truthful summaries and explications.
I have said before that I think one of the reasons God is calling many Protestants and evangelicals to the Catholic Church is because this is where the line in the sand is being drawn. Obama is strategizing and manipulating - and with the help of the American press - doing his best to destroy the very firm foundation of the Catholic Church. The Church has never wavered on issues of marriage, family, reproduction and the purpose of our lives here on earth.
Just because individual Catholics choose to ignore the tenets of their faith does not mean those tenets should change. That is the beauty of the Church - that it goes on unchanging and confident despite the temporal clamor.
Posted in Catholicism, Obama Nation | Permalink
Comments
I'm not even Catholic, but this article makes me want to scream. His "pragmatic approach to divisive policy (his notion that we should acknowledge the good faith underlying opposing viewpoints) and his social-justice agenda reflect the views of American Catholic laity much more closely than those vocal bishops and pro-life activists."
Pragmatic?! I don't call voting 3 times to allow children born alive after an abortion to die alone in a soild utility room "pramatic," nor do I see it as unifiying.
My blood is boiling.
Posted by: Lauren | July 11, 2009 9:46 AM
Unbelieveable! Next thing we'll read is how our famed President is working to bring the Vatican more in line with dissenting Catholics! Let's remember, Obama doesn't even attend any Christian church on a regular basis. I feel sorry for his beautiful daughters. Julie K.
Posted by: Julie K | July 11, 2009 11:15 AM
I'm Catholic. It's interesting to note that the author of the Newsweek article is Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland, and eldest child of Robert F. Kennedy. The Kennedy family long ago compromised their Catholicism for the sake of Politics, and none of them speak for me as an American Catholic, that is for sure!
Posted by: Donica | July 11, 2009 11:20 AM
I believe Obama does in fact represent American Catholics more than the Holy Father does. But to understand this phenomenon more clearly, I think we need to change the name from "American Catholics" to a more appropriate term; "Pagan Catholics" who so heavily dominate the American political spectrum...like the Pelosis, Kennedys, Kerrys, et al....
The good, holy men and women who attend Mass regularly and pray the Rosary ever day are now in the minority in America.
Please pray like there's no tomorrow! If we don't, then there really won't be a tomorrow...
Posted by: Fra Chris | July 11, 2009 12:38 PM
That article was truly sickening. What is so beautiful about the Church is that it is based on Truth, not the latest polls.
Posted by: Elissa | July 11, 2009 2:13 PM
I agree with Fra Chris. I think he does represent "Cafeteria" Catholics more than the Pope. Breaks my heart, too.
Posted by: Sue from Buffalo | July 11, 2009 7:29 PM
It's an old heresy - choosing one's nation over one's faith. I'm an American first, then a Catholic.
Of course, saints tend to choose faith over nationality.
Posted by: Lee | July 11, 2009 8:53 PM
I have said before that I think one of the reasons God is calling many Protestants and evangelicals to the Catholic Church is because this is where the line in the sand is being drawn.
I have a number of deal-breaking disagreements with Catholic doctrine (as well as the Protestants and evangelicals), but have greatly appreciated studying the scholarship of the Church on abortion, sex and marriage.
Posted by: Amy K. | July 12, 2009 2:54 AM
The article sickened me so that I could not bear to read the second half of it. Since when did being Catholic have to do with the opinions of the poorly catechised? We have many problems within the Church now with the "CEO" (Christmas and Easter Only) crowd that calls themselves Catholic, but understand very little about what that means.
Lord help us!
Posted by: Sarah | July 13, 2009 8:25 AM
There was a similar story with the same spin on NPR the other morning. In my mind you cannot legitimately separate abortion from the social justice issues, as so many Catholics seem to do. The call for social justice relies on an understanding of truth that acknowledges all human beings are created equal before God. Abortion disregards this truth, which in turns leaves the arguments about social justice with no foundation.
I,too, am not Catholic, but have tremendous respect for the Catholic Church's unwavering stance on life, sex, and marriage.
Posted by: Michele | July 13, 2009 2:26 PM
