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Posted on 04/16/2009 5:26:33 AM PDT by IrishMike
Perhaps Notre Dame and its leadership think that they are being "courageous" in honoring one who has so publicly spit in the eye of Mother Church.
In the 1960s, the American Catholic Church, like the rest of the nation, underwent a period of tremendous upheaval. Proceeding from, though not limited to, the willful misinterpretation of the Second Vatican Council by some in the clergy, thousands upon thousands left the Church; older members who could not withstand the confusion, and the younger ones who could not perceive an enduring faith amid the calamitous changes.
But as has happened countless times in her long history, the Church has, by the grace of God, seen good priests and bishops arise to bring her back. Yet still today, far too many American Catholics are like far too many other citizens of their country: they have a vague notion of their history or of the tenets on which they were founded, but not much more. Sadly, many of them get serious about the faith a few times a year, much like Americans who recall our founding principles only briefly on the Fourth of July, if at all.
Faithful, practicing Catholics are already painfully aware that, in addition to having to defend their faith to others, they must also sometimes explain it to their fellow Catholics. And, just as knowledge and respect for the U.S. Constitution and Capitalism — which were ingrained upon the American psyche for decades — have faded into the past, so too it seems incomprehensible that today's Catholics need to be reminded that adultery, euthanasia and the murder of the unborn constitute grave sin.
Upon this scene comes Barack Obama, the first American president to embrace abortion both personally and politically. Not only does he support a "right" that seeks to cut short innocent life, he has made the case that such life might be the "punishment" for sexual "mistakes." This goes beyond what even some of the most strident advocates of abortion have been willing to say in public, but such is the sorry state of morality in our country.
Now given Barack Obama's radical support of abortion — even to the extent that he has voted that the lives of the survivors of this heinous act should also be snuffed — you'd think that he would be wary of alienating the great majority of practicing American Catholics. Yet, spurred on by exit polling which suggests that he won the overall Catholic vote by a slim margin, he has managed to elevate some of the most notoriously pro-abortion Catholics to important posts in his administration.
He has even reportedly gone so far as to try and nominate such nominal Catholics as Caroline Kennedy as ambassador to the Vatican. These choices, of course have been rejected. Try this stinging rebuke from a Vatican source:
The Holy See has always set a very simple standard: the person should not be in opposition to fundamental teachings of the Church that belong to our common shared humanity. He or she may not believe in Catholic dogma if he or she is not a Catholic, but we could not accept someone who is in favor of abortion, or (human) cloning or same-sex unions equated to marriage. That is a fairly simple principle that governments like, say, Spain and Cuba, or Mr. Clinton's administration, have been able to understand without a problem.
Unfortunately, Obama's reward for all this is that he will be the sixth president to speak at Notre Dame and the ninth to receive an honorary degree from that formerly venerated institution. This despite the fiat from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that: "[C]atholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."
No doubt Notre Dame and its leadership think that they are being courageous in honoring one who has so publicly spit in the eye of Mother Church, but it's hard to imagine why. In reality, true courage lies in opposing popular opinion in defense of principle. As Jesus explained: If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. (John 15:19)
And here is where we find that God does indeed continue to work in mysterious ways. Notre Dame and Barack Obama have combined to supply the Church with an opportunity to exercise one of its fundamental missions; to provide the faithful with a true teaching moment. Dozens of American Bishops have issued statements condemning the Obama invitation and other indiscretions at Notre Dame, perhaps none more eloquently than Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Nebraska:
Permit me to add my name as well to the long list of Bishops of the Catholic Church who are utterly appalled at your dedication to immorality and wrong-doing represented by your support for the obscenity called "The Vagina Monologues" and your absolute indifference to the murderous abortion program and beliefs of this President of the United States . . . I can assure you of my prayers for your conversion, and for the conversion of your formerly Catholic University.
Harsh words indeed, but most welcome to the ears of faithful Catholics everywhere. Let us hope that more and more of our brethren will heed the voices of these brave Bishops who understand that one's faith cannot be checked at the church door. And let us all pray together with Pope Benedict XVI who said in America last year:
Praying fervently for the coming of the Kingdom also means . . . rejecting a false dichotomy between faith and political life, since, as the Second Vatican Council put it, "there is no human activity — even in secular affairs — which can be withdrawn from God's dominion.
I know why Notre Dame is doing this, it has to do with the color of the skin again. “Look, we’re not racist, the Catholics aren’t racists. Aren’t we so diverse and understanding to accept such a person here despite his conflicting views.”
Yep, the article’s right. It is a teachable moment.
“Georgetown University says it covered over the monogram “IHS”—symbolizing the name of Jesus Christ—because it was inscribed on a pediment on the stage where President Obama spoke at the university on Tuesday and the White House had asked Georgetown to cover up all signs and symbols there.”
So what’s up with Notre Dame after this leaked out?
I said this just last night on a post. I am glad this is happening. Barack is the event that will sepearate the sheep from the goats in the Catholic Church. You cannot support intrinsic evils and not be guilty of grave sin. Any “catholic” that voted for him is guilty of grave sin, and needs to be told that, unequivocly, by the Pope, Bishops, and priests.
I hope the Catholic bishops continue to come out swinging, our Church is at stake, and the faithful are ready for battle on this issue!
I couldn't read another word past that statement.
Okay ... after looking over it again, I’ll give it a read. Apparently it’s not what I expected.
If I had seen the title on most sites I wouldn’t have read it either...........
Intellectual Conservative is a little different.
I am convinced that we need a much smaller Church. Those who do not agree with the teachings of the Church should go start their own church- it’s been done before.
But how many bishops voted for pres. O.? Raymond Arroyo supposedly talked to one bishop who guestimated half of his brother bishops voted O.
Freegards
IF they do, I can guaranty Notre Dame hasn't seen nothin yet in the way of protests. That would be the straw that breaks the alums back forever.
ig Class of '78
I agree with you. After 20 years of fuzzy wuzzy teaching, Church leaders need to be strong and clear about what it really means to be a practicing Catholic. My children are so impressed when a homily is actually about sin and living as a Catholic in today’s world. Unfortunately, they only hear a homily like that a few times a year— 95% of homilies are about “Jesus loves you, so let’s all love each other” and other insipid platitudes.
The faithful are starving for spiritual nourishment and leadership, not a long string of platitudes. It will be a painful winnowing since half of today’s Catholics don’t really have a proper faith formation. But it has to be done.
you can’t know good unless you can recognize evil first
So true!
The “O” has already declared himself and his administration to be pro-murder thru abortion. He has thereby proclaimed himself to be anti-God/anti-Catholic. Now he is driving in the nails into what was previously thought to be Catholic institutions. By doing this, he is trying to cause a major rift within the Church.
When the Church wakes up and sees the harm he is doing it may be too late.
They don’t have to. They can just become Episcopalian. Same pretty robes, better music, and no theology to get in the way of hopeychangeyness.
Yes, exactly- he is trying to undermine the authentic teaching authority of the Catholic bishops by appointing so many pro-abortion Catholics to positions of authority. Now is the time for every single Catholic bishop in this country to speak up. Sadly, mine has chosen to stay quiet.
bump!
As a former Catholic (Fed up with the Politics of the Catholic Church Branch in the United States). This can be a good thing as the article says. Maybe an event where the Catholic church cleans house.
The Catholic Church needs to clean up it’s own act as well. I am not talking about the sex scandals, but the power base.
I grew up in small town where they closed the Catholic High School, Not because of any real money reasons, But because they weren’t pulling in enough money in for the Bishop in our area. A very successful businessman who is based in our hometown even offered up a blank check to the Diocese to keep the school open and they turned him down. THEY TURNED DOWN A BLANK CHECK TO KEEP THE SCHOOL OPEN!!!!!
This was a Catholic school that had plenty of attendance and even Lutheran and other Christians were sending their kids there over the public school because the quality of education was so much better than the public school. About 1/3 the students were not Catholics and they had to pay TWICE as much as Catholic students. The school was lauded as the best school in the county by many people.
The Bishop closed it down by having a priest who was his “Hatchet Man” go from town to town with school, staying there and getting acquainted with people for a year and then closing out the school with no warning. Father Scott was his name and he was not a very nice or friendly priest.
They ended up closing the school and they sold the school building to the Public school system for a mere pittance, 50,000 for the whole school building complex !!!!!
One year later they broke ground for a multi-million dollar “Community Center”.
A lot of people drove 15 or more miles out of their way every sunday to neighboring towns to go to Church. The community still has scars to this day.
This is why I am no longer a Catholic.
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