Bush Talking Like the Pope

SeaMax News ^ | 4/1/2004 | Fr. Michael Reilly

[Hugenot]

"Catholic involvement in political life cannot compromise on" the principle of "respect for the human person," because "otherwise the witness of the Christian faith in the world, as well as the unity and interior coherence of the faithful, would be non-existent," says the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in a January 2003 document approved by Pope John Paul II.

"In this context, it must be noted also that a well-formed Christian conscience does not permit one to vote for a political program or an individual law which contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals," the document continues.

"This is the case with laws concerning abortion and euthanasia (not to be confused with the decision to forgo extraordinary treatments, which is morally legitimate). Such laws must defend the basic right to life from conception to natural death. In the same way, it is necessary to recall the duty to respect and protect the rights of the human embryo. Analogously, the family needs to be safeguarded and promoted, based on monogamous marriage between a man and a woman, and protected in its unity and stability in the face of modern laws on divorce: in no way can other forms of cohabitation be placed on the same level as marriage, nor can they receive legal recognition as such. The same is true for the freedom of parents regarding the education of their children; it is an inalienable right recognized also by the Universal Declaration on Human Rights."

Where does this leave John Kerry, a "Catholic" Senator who supports abortion on demand, opposese school choice, voted against the partial birth abortion ban, voted against the Defense of Marriage Act, and opposes a constitutional definition of marriage?

In the summer of 2003, Kerry responded to Vatican efforts to oppose gay marriage by stating, "I believe in the Church and I care about it enormously, but I think that it's important to not have the Church instructing politicians. That is an inappropriate crossing of the line in America."

The Vatican had already explained clearly that to promote "the common good of society, according to one's conscience," has nothing to do with "confessionalism" or "religious intolerance."

Meanwhile, as President Bush signed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, he mused that by this action "we reaffirm that the United States of America is building a culture of life."

The culture of life is a central theme in the preaching of Pope John Paul II and is becoming a central theme of the Bush presidency.

Bush has also banned American financial support to international groups which support abortion, signed the partial birth abortion ban, extended legal protection to babies who survive abortions, and increased funding for abstinence education and alternatives to abortion.

So now, several leading Republicans are referring to Bush as a Catholic President. Once again, where does that leave John Kerry?

[SuziQ]

"I believe in the Church and I care about it enormously, but I think that it's important to not have the Church instructing politicians."

It's not a matter of "the Church" instructing politicians; it's a matter of GOD instructing politicians through a little thing called the TEN COMMANDMENTS!

[SuziQ]

How else to deal with the baby-killer propaganda (concerning the Iraq war) that these Catholic schoolkids hear from their socialist-educated friends from the public schools?

Unfortunately they don't have to go THAT far to get this tripe. Sometimes they get it from their 'social justice' oriented religion teachers!

[Reader of news]

Yes, the President and the Pope share Christian values.

[OPS4]

Kerry is a Jew who became a Catholic and changed his name,
so his allegience to Christianity is short lived.

Ops4 God Bless America!

[SuziQ]

if you limited these polls to Catholics who have been to mass at least once a month (other than weddings, christenings, funerals) in the past six months (or used some other measure to assess their attention to the faith), I suspect you might get a different result

I believe your contention was borne out by polls conducted after the 2000 elections. Catholics and evangelical Protestants who attended services regularly tended to vote Republican. Folks who didn't attend any church, or attended only infrequently tended to vote Democrat.

[SuziQ]

Kerry is a Jew who became a Catholic and changed his name, so his allegience to Christianity is short lived.

Kerry was never Jewish; he was raised Catholic. He found out a year or two ago that his grandfather was Jewish, but converted when he moved to America.

[Coleus]

you can go to http://www.catholicvote.org and ask them for the statistics. They went for Clinton and then Gore Big Time. Let's face it, many Catholics were brought up as FDR & JFK Democrats, pro-union and still vote that way and now with the influx of so many Hispanic Immigrants the Catholic Vote will remain Democrat.

In 1992, 44 percent of Catholics voted for Clinton, while only 34 percent of Protestants did so. In 1996, 53 percent of Catholics voted for Clinton and only 35 percent of Protestants did so.

The voting record for Catholic women is even more remarkable, showing both a religious gap and a gender gap. In 1992, 44 percent of Catholic women voted for Clinton, while 39 percent of Protestant women voted the same way. In 1996, 59 percent of Catholic women supported Clinton, while only 47 percent of Protestant women did so.

http://www.americamagazine.org/articles/weber-catholic-vote.htm

[OPS4]

So he says, I have the story he was born a Jew, this guy has flip flopped even on this story. Give us all a break and realize hell be Muslim if it gets him elected.
Ops4 God Bless America!

[onedoug]

We have a moral obligation to be happy, because happy people do more good in the world.

Who seems happier? Kerry, or Bush?

[Dr. Scarpetta]

So now, several leading Republicans are referring to Bush as a Catholic President. Once again, where does that leave John Kerry?

Kerry is a Pagan, like most Democrats.

[findingtruth]

Bush Talking Like the Pope

To my knowledge, the Pope has not signed a $15 billion foreign aid bill granting funds to abortion providers.

[hunter112]

Unfortunately they don't have to go THAT far to get this tripe. Sometimes they get it from their 'social justice' oriented religion teachers!

Quite true. I think Clinton fooled a lot of Catholics in 92 and 96, but the ensuing Monica years probably opened a few eyes as to what you get with Democrats. I still know Catholics who either deny or minimize the fooling around that JFK did, but they can't rationalize away that blue dress.

The biggest "naughtiness" scandal of the Bush Administration has been the twins' drinking problems, and the Bush family handled it properly. I think Catholic families are happy to have had a break from explaining bizarre sexual behavior in the Oval Office to their kids and grandkids, if there's a Kerry sex scandal prior to the election, it might remind them of the tawdriness of the Clinton years.

Also, I would suppose that Catholic educators would have focused properly on the meaning of defense in the current age. It was easy for a bunch of ivory tower bishops to condemn Reagan's buildup that ultimately ended the Cold War, but it's much harder to ignore the Islamofacist religious nature of the attack that has visited our shores on 9/11.

Here's hoping that a large group of Catholics finds it in their hearts to see GWB as being more in line with their beliefs and values than they do Kerry, in the upcoming election.

[Polycarp IV]

	Bush	Gore
Catholics who attend mass weekly or more often	57%	43%
Catholics who attend mass less than weekly	41%	59%

Source: Third National Survey of Religion and Politics, University of Akron

[pax_et_bonum]

ping

[Polycarp IV]

ping to post 33

[Coleus]

thanks, but don't you think percentages or ratios really don't reflect how many votes cast in raw numbers?

If 100 people attended mass and 57% voted for Bush then you can say 57 people voted for Bush

and if 200 people who don't attend mass at 41% would reflect 80 votes for Bush.

then one can say that those who don't attend mass regularly cast more votes for Bush than those who attended mass.

Percentages don't mean a whole lot since one doesn't have the raw numbers of total registered Catholics who do and do not attend mass.

[cowtowney]

"you can go to http://www.catholicvote.org and ask them for the statistics."

I went there and there was no such statistic that I could see. The claim that "About 50% of all American Catholics don't really care what the Pope thinks about Jesus or morality" is highly doubtful and different than the info about politics that are at that website.

I would like this claim documented by that poster.

[Pippin]

Where does that leave Jean Kerri?

I would say Bush is MORE Catholic than that sleazeball Massachusettes liberal.

[jojodamofo]

A historic figure who has such impact must command all the skills of the spoken word. That is the case with President Bush. He speaks as confidently before factory workers as before scientists. His words strike deep into the hearts of farmers and city-dwellers. When he speaks to children, they are deeply moved.

The magic of his voice reaches men's secret feelings. He translates historical philosophy into the language of the people. He has the ability to call up long forgotten history and make those who hear him feel as if they had always known about it.

There is no element of superiority in his speaking, the kind of thing one sees in the speeches of the educated.

[jojodamofo]

>>>> Kerry was never Jewish; he was raised Catholic. He found out a year or two ago that his grandfather was Jewish, but converted when he moved to America.


But he is still a Jew.