Memo to Bishops: No One Is Listening

[FightingIrish]

Here's a great Op Ed piece from a Jesuit at Georgetown University.

"During the 2008 presidential campaign, there was a steady drumbeat of opposition to Barack Obama from some U.S. Catholic bishops, which only increased after his election. But despite the attention these attacks received in the media and on Internet blogs, polls show that the Catholic people are not listening."

-snip-

"The bishops are being egged on by Republican activists whose presidential candidate lost the election. There is clearly a conservative conspiracy to do whatever is possible (including lying about ambassadorial candidates) to create conflict between the Catholic Church and the Obama administration. They want the Catholic Church to be the Republican Party at prayer. Some bishops are falling for this."

-snip-

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/georgetown/2009/05/memo_to_bishops_no_one_is_listening.html?hpid=talkbox1

Meanwhile, In Italy, the Catholic Bishops are ganging up on Silvio Berlusconi for his much publicized womanizing. Why don't the American bishops get together and praise Obama for being the perfect role model of a caring husband and father?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6232180.ece

[MADem]

1. The Bishops are "on" Berlusconi because he's a Catholic. Obama isn't a Catholic.

It's why they crawled up Kerry's ass--because Kerry is a Catholic.

What they need to do is stay out of politics entirely, or pay the IRS a hefty tax bill and have at it as a Religious/Political Party.

[HelenWheels]

3. Didn't "crawl up Kerry's ass"

The Catholic church was refusing Kerry communion during his campaign so he didn't get a pass from the church.

[MADem]

4. No, they just crawled up his ass. No one denied him communion.

A few fuckers (two cardinals, one now the pope, and a couple of archbishops) threatened it in a general sort of way. They backed off.

Here's Kerry taking communion at a papal mass just last year (the caption is included in the capture of the pic):



Ted Kennedy "received" as well. It pissed off a few busybodies, but I'll bet their church donations aren't a hundredth of Ted's. I dislike linking to these particular fuckers, but they're the ones with the pics: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/apr/08041707.html

It was Cardinal Francis Arinze who lit this thing off and shot off his mouth--Pope JP never said "He's OUT!!" like Heidi Klum in a mitre. http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2004-04/a-2004-04-23-35-1.cfm?moddate=2004-04-23

Some reading on the subject: http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-04-25-kerry-communion_x.htm

BOSTON (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry received communion from a Catholic priest Saturday, one day after a top Vatican cardinal said politicians who support abortion rights should be denied the Eucharist.
Kerry took communion during the 6 p.m. mass at Boston's Paulist Center, where campaign spokesman David Wade said the candidate regularly worships. The church is close to the Beacon Hill home Kerry shares with his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry.

"We're following the directive of our archdiocese," said Father Joe Ciccone, who gave Kerry the Eucharist. "They have said we should give him communion." ....The Archdiocese of Boston "does not hold to the practice of publicly refusing Communion to anyone," said archdiocese spokesman Rev. Christopher Coyne. He said it was up to the individual to decide whether to receive Communion.




Now, the rightwing took a memo that "the Rat" (now Pope, then a cardinal) put out and twisted it to imply it was saying "Kerry is banned." In fact, the Rat did not do that. He put out a load of general guidance, but at the end of the day (and buried in the rightwing story, which uses quotes judiciously to suggest that the subject of "Kerry" was addressed, when it wasn't), the Pope left it up to the INDIVIDUAL who was actually RECEIVING the communion to make up their own mind if they were worthy, and the priest to also make the decision. The idea is this--don't go to a church with an asshole priest--that's probably why Kerry went to the Paulist Center. See, he's not stupid--and neither is the Rat or the archbishop, at the end of the day. I'm guessing Teresa Heinz isn't cheap with her donations, but she would be if her husband got the back of the hand at the altar rail. How would the Universal Church pay their molestation legal fees, then?

Here's a link to the "lie in the headline, truth buried way down in the story:" http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/7/6/152916.shtml

[stevenleser]

2. Thanks for this...

I have an article coming out that actually takes this a step further. Stay tuned...

[AspenRose]

5. Jesuits rock.

That is all :-)

[falcon97]

6. They are the ONLY reason

that I still attend church. Was that way when I lived in Detroit and now in Cincinnati. No parishes run by Jesuits in Indianapolis, so I didn't go.

[jbnow]

7. Obama did better with Catholics than Kerry (or Gore)

In 2008 Catholics voted 54% Obama and 44% McCain, Obama by 10%
In 2004 it was 52% Bush and 47% Kerry, bush by 5%
In 2000 it was 50% Gore and 47% Bush that year, Gore by 3%

White Catholics voted republican every time, much to the disgust of Jesus.

Still they think the bishops had some effect because research states where McCain did better with Catholic voters than he did the rest of the voters in the state. They mention Missouri, a 50-50 split but among Catholics McCain got 55 percent and Pennsylvania where Obama won 55% overall but Catholic vote was 52%. Those were states where bishops "issued statements that leaned strongly toward telling voters they should vote only for candidates of the party that supports overturning Roe v. Wade..."

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0805649.htm