Posted on 04/08/2005 3:30:50 PM PDT by CHARLITE
On Wednesday something very special happened at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. For the first time in US history – for the first time in all of history for that matter – a sitting president of the United States led a delegation from the US to The Vatican to pay their last respects to a great spiritual leader and honor the legacy of a visionary whose calling lead him to the reverence and preservation of human dignity.
The US delegation, led by the president, included First Lady Laura Bush, the president’s father President George H.W. Bush, President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the president’s chief of staff, Andrew Card. The group entered St. Peter’s Basilica, paid their respects and then departed. Out of consideration for the multitude of pilgrims from all over the world, waiting in lines for more than twelve hours to pay their respects to their Holy Father, the president and his delegation spent an appropriate and dignified amount of time in their viewing of Pope John Paul II.
Some will say that President Bush chose to attend this most solemn event to show his respect for the position or perhaps to exemplify his overall respect for religion. Others will say that he attended because of John Paul II’s greatness. Still others more cynical will suggest that he did it to curry favor with the Catholic voters or because it was a safe, media friendly, politically motivated move. While the first three thoughts merit consideration the last is simply revolting, although some will still say it out of undisguised hatred for the president. Of course they would be hard pressed to explain the political benefits to Clinton and Bush the elder.
It was appropriate that President Bush made the journey to pay his respects in memoriam to Pope John Paul II. The Pope is a world leader. With over a billion Catholics worldwide mourning the loss of their spiritual guide, acknowledging his passing and his life is a reverent thing to do.
George W. Bush, whether acting as president, father, husband or friend, is a man of compassion. It is impossible to believe otherwise if you pay attention during remarkable events. When he introduced an Iraqi woman during the State of the Union Address, her finger still stained purple, he struggled to maintain his composure. When he spoke to workers digging for non-existent survivors at ‘Ground Zero’ his frustration and conviction could be felt. On the campaign trail he embraced a young girl who had lost her mother on September 11th with such honest emotion that we could feel the tender compassion of his embrace and sense a fierce paternal instinct for protection. And in Rome, seated in St. Peter’s Basilica beside his wife Laura, we witnessed the humility of perhaps the most powerful man in the world as he paid tribute to the fragile mortal life of a great global and spiritual leader.
Some will accuse George W. Bush of using the illusion of compassion to erect a facade intended to deceive the gullible and the less informed. They will question his motives and perhaps even condemn this journey to pay homage as a political tactic. But those would be the same people who deal in budget-busting, pork barrel spending, securing funding for ridiculous projects like ground hog and rodeo museums, duplicate urban transportation systems and tropical biospheres in the middle of the farm belt. They are the same ones who ignore the benefits of the FAIR Tax while trying to “reform” more money out of our wallets for Social Security. They are the proverbial pots that call the kettle black. They constantly point the finger of scorn at the president rather than accepting responsibility for their less than compassionate legislation and spending because it is easier for the populace to focus their ire on a single person rather than on a conglomerate of spendthrifts content on misappropriating taxpayer monies. They will accuse to divert attention and at this point in time, in light of the event that the president is attending, we should ignore them completely.
History was made Wednesday, April 06, 2005 and I am proud of that fact. We have elected a man to the office of president who has the conviction and the resulting sense to recognize and hold in the highest esteem this Pope, so devoted to the service of mankind through his devotion to and contemplation of God and humanity.
President Bush went to St. Peter’s Basilica to pay his respects because he has a soul and I am thankful for that. I bet Pope John Paul II, as he ascends to the right hand of the Father, is thankful for that as well.
Just for the record, and to head off the tasteless Catholic-bashers, what is our president's religion?
The replies to this one should be "interesting". I'm holding my fire in order to not sound like a Bush basher - although I've grown some deep concerns as of late. Better to watch some more actions rather than listening to words for now.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
He was raised Episcopal, went to a First Methodist church after he married Laura (she is Methodist), and now attends St. John's Episcopal Church near the White House.
He's a Protestant of some denomination. They all look alike to me ;)
GOOD article, particularly paragraphs 5 & 7. Thank you!
Like Alan Keyes and other great conservatives, President Bush is a Man of Principle.
If I had a 2nd FR user name, it might be AllWayzBinConservative!
Char :)
The great humility President Bush showed in his manner and attention to the reason he was there was visable to everyone. The contrast of President Bush's actions to those of Slick Willie were totally obvious. Clinton let every press person he saw and talked to that he was among those who the Pope saw and had conversations with. As usual, it was all about Clinton. He is a vile stain on the history of the United States. Amazingly, even after being President, Clinton just doesn't get it.
For the first time in all of history (which, as relates to US presidents, is coextensive with US history, BTW) a pope has died who was head of a state with which the US government had diplomatic relations (established during the Reagan Administration, when John Paul II was already the pope).
Since Pope John Paul II the Great was the first pope ever to visit the White House, it was fitting that President Bush was the first sitting president to attend the funeral of the pope
It is obvious that he is a Christian. Any questions?
His denomination may be Methodist. His religion is Christian.
Good for you!! I was raised in a family that worked hard for JFK to be elected. Someway, somewhere, somehow I made the shift. In this election, my MOTHER even voted for President Bush! (Yes, I am a nag!)
Sadly that is exactly what Slick Willie left on the history of the Presidency of the United States. He never understood his position in our history when he was President. It always was all about him. This showed he didn't care. His legacy.....lying to a Grand Jury, and showing every school child in our country what oral sex is all about.
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