Kerry advisers tell hopeful to 'keep cool' on religion

Washington Times ^ | June 18th, 2004 | Julia Duin

[FrontlinesofFreedom]

Sen. John Kerry's advisers are telling the presidential candidate to steer clear of talking about religion after running afoul of several Catholic bishops and after the campaign's new director of religious outreach was criticized this week for espousing left-wing causes.

[OXENinFLA]

Dupe post....

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1155715/posts

[gilliam]

Sounds like: "ignore it and it will go away"

[FrontlinesofFreedom]

THE STRANGE POLITICAL CAREER OF FATHER DRINAN
http://www.cathfam.org/polrec/Fr.Drinan1.html

[blanknoone]

If Sexy's boytoy gets any cooler on religion, hell will freeze over.

[JohnnyZ]

Christianity is so foreign to these people it's scary. Why can't they at least find a nice liberal Jew (like Holy Joe Lieberman) who can at least find his way to a synagogue, and can be honest about religion? Or a Hindu -- I'd take a Hindu. Instead they load up with socialist anarchy-minded Unitarians and abortion-loving heretical Jesuits, who actively oppose everything Christianity is about.

[theDentist]

At each FReep ask (shout) if Kerry should receive communion!

[mwl1]

I could be wrong, but I disagree with the premise of this article. It's high risk, but I believe Kerry will continue to be confrontational regarding the Catholic church and communion thing throughout the general election.

1. Catholics who are conservative weren't going to vote for him, anyway.

2. Catholics who are casual/marginal in their faith may feel he is a "victim" and be more inclined to support him.

3. Evangelicals who don't like Kerry but who dislike Catholicism more may drift toward Kerry.

4. Protestants who dislike the Catholic Church, particularly regarding the priest abuse scandal, will be impressed with Kerry's chutzpah.

I just don't see the downside of Kerry's provocation with the Church. He knows the Church no longer has sufficient moral authority or gonads to fight back. He will play victim to a large body of the electorate.

By way of disclosure, I am a practicing and lifelong Catholic. I'd vote communist before voting for the effette elistist snob.

[GailA]

hanoi john wears his religion like a coat he can shed at a moments notice...he does NOT live it.

[Doomonyou]

I'd vote communist before voting for the effette elistist snob.

What's the difference?

[vpintheak]

Being a democrat these days is in opposition to religion. They believe rights eminate from ther state versus the founders of this great Nation and many conservatives believe our rights are derived from God. They can't have both.

[A.A. Cunningham]

The Rev. Robert Drinan, a Jesuit priest

Whose skull will one day be used to repave the floor of hell paraphrasing St. Athanasius.

[Campion]

As to Catholics in general, I see them as fellow Christians and co-workers in this epic fight known as the "culture war." If we're gonna win and preserve the soul of our country against the evil onslaught of secular/atheist pagans, baby-killers, homosexual perverts, euthanizers, people-cloners etal., we must work together!

The people mwl1 is talking about don't see things with your equanimity, though. To them, we are slaves to a pagan system, the modern Babylon, and servants of antiChrist, not Christians or allies. I wouldn't apply the term "Evangelical" to them, though.

And some of them are crazy enough that, yes, they'd make common cause with a John Kerry if they thought it would hack off the Pope. Just yesterday, I read a webpage that said the Ronald Reagan was a Popish shill. After all, he was inaugurated on the west front of the Capitol, which faces the Washington Monument, a pagan obelisk exactly like the one in St. Peters' square in Rome. And Reagan met with the Pope, and established diplomatic relations with the Vatican. According to this webpage, the US had not had diplomatic relations with the Vatican since they were broken after the Jesuits assassinated Abraham Lincoln!

Some people actually believe junk like that.

[CFC__VRWC]

Miss Vanderslice was then recommended to the campaign by Maureen Shea, the Clinton administration's liaison to religious groups from 1997 to 2001.

Well, that explains it all.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

.

NEVER FORGET


Orange County Register
Letter to the Editor
Friday June 18, 2004


"POLITICIANS SOULS AT RISK

The Point of denying the sacrament of communion to pro-abortion Roman Catholics is not to save unborn babies. ["KERRY, the bishops and communion," The Orange Grove Column, June 17]. The church has taught for 2,000 years that a person in mortal sin should not partake in communion, because they bring judgment on themselves. The point of denying them communion is to bring them back to a state of grace.

The church teaches that to be pro-choice is a grave sin. It does not matter if a weak bishop chooses to ignore GOD's law; it is still sinful. What does it matter if Sens. JOHN KERRY, D-Mass, and TED KENNEDY, D-Mass, or Rep. NANCY PELOSI, D-San Francisco, care about aid for after-school programs if they think it is fine to kill that baby in the womb? If they want to be honest, they will deny themselves Holy Communion."

AMEN


Note:

...In his insisting on taking Holy Communion outside a State of Grace KERRY is "Honestly" pushing for the Roman Catholic Vote ..no matter what.

...The Romam Catholic Church's responsibility here is to treat JOHN KERRY just like it would any other Voter ..no matter what.



NEVER FORGET

[siunevada]

It's high risk, but I believe Kerry will continue to be confrontational regarding the Catholic church and communion thing throughout the general election.

Perhaps it's time for the laity to fulfill their role. Okay, peasants! It's time to get our pitchforks and torches and go after this guy.

[VRWCer]

In an interesting instance of serendipity, Rasmussen Reports yesterday reported their results which polled churchgoers vs. nonchurchgoers, and their political preferences. It was interesting, to say the least. There were also results posted about people who watch Fox vs. CNN and MSNBC, also very interesting (all links are on the Rasmussen home page)

Here is the link to the first report:
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/Religion%20and%20Election%202004.htm

On the left, you can click on Home to see the rest.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[VRWCer]

Thank you for posting this. What really peeves me about how the media treats this issue, is that they invariably try to spin it as "the Roman Catholic Church is trying to run American politics and tell people how to vote", when, in reality, the church's position has NOTHING to do with influencing politics, regardless of how the left tries to spin it.

The Church, in taking her position against abortion and those who promote it, is trying to run THE CHURCH, and tell HER people how to BE CATHOLIC!

It is the right and responsibility of the Church to guide her members. A HUGE part of our faith is the understanding that if you are in a state of mortal sin, you DO NOT receive Communion, unless and until you have repented and confessed, and had your sins absolved. To do so IS to condemn yourself.

I would hope that the reason some (most) American bishops, and other Catholic leaders, don't take a stronger stand about the Communion issue is because they are showing Mercy, in the hope and faith that receiving Christ's Body and Blood will bring enough grace to the recipients to change their hearts, which would be a beautiful and charitable stance (after all, even Judas was allowed to partake in the Last Supper, though Jesus knew what he was about to do).

However, I fear that this is not always the case. It is a shame that some of our Catholic leaders are so afraid of the media labeling them falsely, that they cannot bring themselves to state the Truth. After all, didn't Jesus say that those who were persecuted because of Him would be blessed? I am pretty sure (not being a theologian or anything) that it was instances like this He had in mind.