President's Remarks
viewPosted on 04/07/2006 8:26:07 PM PDT by Coleus
President Attends National Catholic Prayer Breakfast
Washington Hilton Hotel
Washington, D.C.
8:30 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. Gracias Mi Tejano. Thank you, sir, for your kind words. Thanks for inviting a Methodist. (Laughter.) When I first came out here and saw how comfortable these chairs looked, I was a little worried you thought I might be giving quite a long speech. (Laughter.) I'm so thrilled to be here with the cardinals of the church. Cardinal McCarrick I know is here, and Cardinal Bevilacqua -- must make you feel good to see there's not a slice of bacon around. (Laughter and applause.) My spirits are always uplifted when I'm in the presence of Their Excellencies, and it's great to see you both.
I've been looking forward to this breakfast, but I've got to tell you, I was slightly concerned when I saw the draft of the program went like this: "We will mark the conclusion of the President's speech with the hymn, 'Now Thank We All Our God.'" (Laughter.) Laura sends her love and her best. (Applause.) I want to thank the leadership of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast for having me, and, more importantly, having this chance for all to worship together. I appreciate so very much the Chief Justice joining us. I'm proud you're here, Chief Justice. (Applause.) I haven't got to the best part of the family yet. (Laughter.) And Jane. (Applause.)
Secretary Nicholson, I appreciate you being here. Jim Nicholson and Suzanne, as you might recall, he was our Ambassador to the Vatican, and he did a fantastic job. (Applause.) Other members of the administration, thanks for coming. Don't tarry too long. (Laughter.) Get back to work. (Laughter.) Looking around, I see members of the United States Senate -- Santorum; members of the House of Representatives. Thank you all for coming. Proud you're here. Thanks for taking time out of your day. (Applause.) Smith, Beauprez, Lungren, I can't -- I don't dare name them all. We needed a hopeful moment for this world of ours. It's a time when more people have a chance to claim freedom that God intended for us all. It's also a time of great challenge. In some of the most advanced parts of our world, some people no longer believe that the desire for liberty is universal. Some people believe you cannot distinguish between right and wrong. The Catholic Church rejects such a pessimistic view of human nature -- (applause) -- and offers a vision of human freedom and dignity rooted in the same self-evident truths of America's founding. This morning we ask God to guide us as we work together to live up to these timeless truths. When our founders wrote the Declaration of Independence, they called liberty an unalienable right. An unalienable right means that freedom is a right that no government can take away because freedom is not government's to give. (Applause.)
Freedom is a gift from the Almighty because it is -- and because it is universal, our Creator has written it into all nature. To maintain this freedom, societies need high moral standards. And the Catholic Church and its institutions play a vital role in helping our citizens acquire the character we need to live as free people. In the last part of the 20th century, we saw the appeal of freedom in the hands of a priest from Poland. When Pope John Paul II ascended to the chair of St. Peter, the Berlin Wall was still standing. His native Poland was occupied by a communist power. And the division of Europe looked like a permanent scar across the continent. Yet Pope John Paul told us, "Be not afraid," because he knew that an empire built on lies was ultimately destined to fail. By reminding us that our freedom and dignity rests on truths about man and his nature, Pope John Paul II set off one of the greatest revolutions for freedom the world has ever known. Pope John Paul has now been succeeded by one of his closest friends and colleagues, Pope Benedict XVI. Pope Benedict, when he was a Cardinal, and recently -- when he was a Cardinal, Laura and I had a chance to meet him, and recently she went back to Rome to see him again. He was such a gracious host, wonderfully kind man.
Like his predecessor, Pope Benedict understands that the measure of a free society is how it treats the weakest and most vulnerable among us. In his Christmas homily, the Pope noted that the Savior came to earth as a "defenseless child," and said that the splendor of that Christmas shines upon every child, born and unborn. (Applause.) Here in the United States, we work to strengthen a culture of life, through many state and federal initiatives that expand the protections of the unborn. These initiatives reflect the consensus of the American people acting through their elected representatives, and we will continue to work for the day when every child is welcome in life and protected in law. (Applause.) I appreciate the leading role that the Catholic faith-based organizations play in our nation's armies of compassion. (Applause.) And one of the many ways that Catholic faith-based organizations serve their neighbors is by welcoming newcomers and helping them become good citizens. (Applause.)
This nation of ours is having an important debate about immigration, and it is vitally important that this debate be conducted in a civil tone. I believe that the American Dream is open to all who work hard and play by the rules, and that America does not have to choose between being a compassionate society and a society of law. (Applause.) An immigration system that forces people into the shadows of our society, or leaves them prey to criminals is a system that needs to be changed. (Applause.) I'm confident that we can change -- change our immigration system in ways that secures our border, respects the rule of law, and, as importantly, upholds the decency of our country. (Applause.) As the Congress continues this debate, its members must remember we are a nation of immigrants. And immigration has helped restore our soul on a regular basis. (Applause.) In this young century, our nation has been called to great duties. I'm confident we'll meet our responsibilities so long as we continue to trust in God's purposes. During our time in the White House, Laura and I have been blessed by the prayers of countless Americans, including many in this room. It's really an amazing country where people walk up to you, say, Mr. President, I pray for you -- expecting to say, Mr. President, I'd like a bridge. (Laughter.) But instead, they say, I pray for you and your family. It uplifts us, and I want to thank you for that from the bottom of our hearts.
I ask for your prayers again, that our nation may always be an inspiration to those who believe that God made every man, woman and child for freedom. It is such an honor to be here. May God bless you all, and may God continue to bless our country. (Applause.) END 8:41 A.M. EDT
At Catholic prayer breakfast, bishop urges battling moral relativism
By Patricia Zapor
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- From commonly used language to societal priorities, the "moral relativism" decried by Pope Benedict XVI often seems to be the only way to cope with modern times, said Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison, Wis., urging participants at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast April 7 to work against that tide.
In a program that also included remarks by President George W. Bush, the Vatican's representative in Washington and the priest who is supervising the reconstruction of Catholic schools in New Orleans, Bishop Morlino's keynote address warned about the "dictatorship of relativism" and described what he said are the "members of the junta" and the enforcement mechanisms they employ in maintaining that dictatorship.
He said the mass media and "those who pander to polls" keep society focused on relativism. They employ inconsistency between civil laws and practices and the use of language which hides the true meaning of certain activities to keep people from applying the moral standards of natural law to everyday life, he said. Bishop Morlino gave the example of protests by some people against surveillance without warrants by government agencies in pursuit of information about terrorism, while at the same time other U.S. groups encourage "warrantless surveillance" of people's garbage bins, to ensure they are following local laws about recycling.
One type of surveillance is considered "politically incorrect," he said, while the other is "politically correct" and accepted by the same people who decry the other type of surveillance. "Redefinitions, euphemisms and anomalies" are among the language games he said people use to make what under natural law would be morally unacceptable to everyone become an accepted part of the normal life, Bishop Morlino said. For example, he said, Supreme Court justices are urged to be "uniters not dividers" by upholding Roe v. Wade, the decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
Yet it is the Roe decision itself that divides the country in the first place, he said.
"Language games are very dangerous," Bishop Morlino said, citing the confusing use of the word "mother" in situations where a child is conceived by in-vitro fertilization, or an embryo is implanted in a woman with no biological connection to it, or a newborn baby is adopted by another woman. He encouraged the audience of about 1,600 people from around the country to try to encourage the acceptance of natural law as the prevailing moral principle of society and to come up with a "catchy sound bite" that would help get the philosophy into general public usage.
Bishop Morlino described natural law as the innate understandings that humans of all backgrounds come to -- that God exists, that human beings have unique dignity and that a union of one man and one woman for a lifetime is the way nature intended. In his remarks, Bush expressed appreciation for the Catholic Church's role in encouraging "a vision of human freedom and dignity rooted in the same self-evident truths of America's founding." He also acknowledged the church's role in providing social services, and in "welcoming neighbors and helping them become good citizens."
Referring to the ongoing legislative battle to craft an immigration bill, Bush repeated his call for changes to "an immigration system that forces people into the shadows of our society, or leaves them prey to criminals." As Congress continues the debate, he said, its members must remember "we are a nation of immigrants. And immigration has helped restore our soul on a regular basis." Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Vatican's diplomatic representative to Washington, and Dominican Father Neal McDermott, who is in charge of school reconstruction in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, also made brief remarks.
Among those attending the third such Catholic prayer breakfast were Chief Justice John Roberts, Republican Sens. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Sam Brownback of Kansas, a handful of Republican members of Congress and one Democratic member, Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, as well as several current and former officials of the Bush administration. Cardinals Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington and Anthony J. Bevilacqua, retired archbishop of Philadelphia, were joined by Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of San Antonio, Bishop Paul S. Loverde of Arlington, Va., and Auxiliary Bishop Martin D. Holley of Washington.
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Pretty classy to come on a thread about the Catholic Prayer Breakfast and start calling the President a liar. I don't suppose you ever heard the phrase "a time and a place for everything."
Proud of that post are you?
I see you have SPAMMED five threads with it.
Thanks for the posting.
Pray for this person. He/she has anger issues.
I would add that President Bush was not correct when he said "We are a nation of immigrants".
I am not an immigrant and neither is anybody I know.
This oft-repeated cliche is very inaccurate, and it is used to justify the breaking of our laws by arrogant and leftist-funded criminals.
We are a nation of law-abiding citizens and we wish to tell our government to keep it that way.
BTTT
Some excellent comments there by Bp. Morlino.
A very mixed speech. As Christians, Catholics believe in hospitality and compassion, so the appeal of immigration is strong.
But this is, essentially a PRUDENTIAL matter. It is good to extend hospitality to strangers, but you also have to protect your own family and take care whom you invite into your house.
The right to life, on which the President spends less time, is not merely a prudential matter, it is a fundamental religious right and also a fundamental constitutional right. There's no prudential choice involved. It is prudent to consider how many immigrants you will welcome in, and who you will choose to welcome. It is not prudent to consider whether or not to murder someone because you don't like him, or to abort a child because he is inconvenient. That's the difference between basic religous and moral law and prudential choice.
Bush does say one thing that deserves emphasis. "Some people believe you cannot distinguish between right and wrong. The Catholic Church rejects such a pessimistic view of human nature -- (applause) -- and offers a vision of human freedom and dignity rooted in the same self-evident truths of America's founding."
True, very true. And not just the Catholic Church, but any faithful Christian believes the same thing. Freedom is a product of Christian belief over the centuries spilling into the political systems. Yes, the ancients had Republics and Democracies, but lacked the means to keep them. Christianity forms moral citizens, when it is widely followed, and as de Tocquevilles noticed, America needs Christians with moral self-discipline, or others who follow that basic model, in order to survive.
I don't think class has anything to do with this. I am a Catholic. And, I am outraged by the stance of the bishops that condone illegal immigration as they just have.
I am equally outraged that a Republican president would do the same thing.
The timing of his getting together with Catholic Church leaders is an interesting coincidence and disconcerting. Let's just hope they don't concoct something new to go in cahoots on.
He never said that
Oh and nice job in hijacking the thread
In other words, our immigration system forces people into the shadows and leaves them prey to criminals.
That is a lie.
We lawful and orderly process for immigrants to come to America. Those who violate it are engaging in criminal activity.
We need immigrants who want to follow our laws and become Americans, not change our laws accommodate criminals.
He never said that
"More than 1,000 people--including 30 pilots with their private planes--have volunteered for what they call their "Minuteman Project", seeking to monitor the movement of illegal aliens during April and report them to the Border patrol.
"Bush said after yesterday's summit with Mexican President Vicente Fox and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin at Baylor University that he finds such actions unacceptable. ""I am against vigilantes in the united States of America," Bush said at a joint press conference."
Source: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1370468/posts
"WACO, Texas -- President Bush yesterday said he opposes a civilian project to monitor illegal aliens crossing the border, characterizing them as "vigilantes." He said he would pressure Congress to further loosen immigration law. More than 1,000 people -- including 30 pilots and their private planes -- have volunteered for the Minuteman Project..."
Source: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1369694/posts
This is not the thread for it ... hence my comment of hijacking the thread
Bump that.
He's not hijacking anything. And, your opinion to that effect does not justify you to post inaccurate information.
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