Catholic Converts - Robert H. Bork , American Jurist (Catholic Caucus)

LRC ^ | February 19, 2007

[NYer]

SOURCES:

Bork, Robert H. Slouching Towards Gomorrah: Modern Liberalism and American Decline. New York: Regan Books, 1996.

"Judge Bork Converts to the Catholic Faith," National Catholic Register, 20-26 July, 2003.

"Gay Marriage Debate: Enough Already," Jonah Goldberg, Tribune Media Services, 20 February 2004.

"The State Should Get Out of the Marriage Business," Larry Elder, Creators Syndicate, 26 February 2004.

"Debating Marriage," Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, 27 February 2004

"Bishop to Lawyers: Stop Gay Marriage" Boston Herald, 12 January 2004.

[mockingbyrd]

How did I miss him swimming the Tiber?

Then again, my first daughter was born in 2003, the next several months were quite the fog.

[fkabuckeyesrule]

This country is a lesser country because Bork was not on the Supreme Court.

[NYer]

*How did I miss him swimming the Tiber? *

Just wait ... there are plenty more 'surprises' to come :-)

Congratulations on the birth of your first (and may I presume your second) daughter.

[mockingbyrd]

Why thank you...twice. The first one was born a week into the Iraq War, the second the day after Pope Benedict was elected.

So before the third one, God willing, makes an appearence, I'll give everyone a heads up. Something big will undoubtedly be about to go down.

[Nihil Obstat]

it's a shame that Robert Bork isn't on the Supreme Court, but it's a crying shame that Fr. C. John McCloskey isn't a bishop or Cardinal by now.

[NYer]

it's a shame that Robert Bork isn't on the Supreme Court, but it's a crying shame that Fr. C. John McCloskey isn't a bishop or Cardinal by now.

Lent is the season for conversion of heart. That is why these conversion stories are being posted and will continue to be posted throughout this great season. It is a time for purification and reconciliation.

In his homily this evening (it's Ash Monday in the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Churches), Father spoke about fasting. He commented that the admonition not to eat meat dates back to the early centuries when meat was a luxury enjoyed by the wealthiest individuals. Giving up meat, for them, was indeed a sacrifice. He carried the thought through to contemporary times, noting that we often begin Lent with the best of intentions but sometimes fail along the way. Essentially, he said, we make promises to our Lord that we fail to keep.

Father focused us on the sacrifice of 'giving to others'. When we relinquish those items to which we are most attached, (fill in the blank), we should take the money normally spent on them and give this to the needy. It is especially important to look on those in need and see Christ. He expounded at great length about the sense of community - be it at home, the parish, or the worldwide level.

This is the time to focus your prayers and energies on praying for those in need but be willing to accept God's plan for them. Why not make that your lenten offering.

[Victoria Delsoul]

I love Bork - one of the greatest minds alive.

[STARWISE]

Excellent article. Thanks for posting. To each, ephiphany when the time is right. Father McCloskey must be so impressive .. he's the catalyst for the conversion to Catholicism of Novak, Brownback, Lawrence Kudlow, Bork and former abortionist, Bernard Nathanson, and I think all originally Jewish. God love him for his faith and generously given gifts.

Here's an article about him:

Father John, DC evangelist

WASHINGTON -- In a matter of days, Father C. John McCloskey III will quietly perform rites in which two more converts enter the Roman Catholic Church.

This latest ceremony at Catholic Information Center will not draw the attention of the Washington Post. But that happened last year when Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas entered the fold. Some of McCloskey's earlier converts also caused chatter inside the Beltway -- columnist Robert Novak, economist Lawrence Kudlow and former abortion activist Bernard Nathanson.

"All I am doing is what Catholic priests must do," said McCloskey. "I'm sharing the Gospel of Christ, offering people spiritual direction and, when they are ready, bringing them into the church. ... It's a matter of always proposing, never imposing, never coercing and merely proclaiming that we have something to offer to all Christians and to all people.

"Call it evangelism. Call it evangelization. It's just what we're supposed to do."

But words like "conversion" and "evangelism" draw attention when a priest's pulpit is located on K Street, only two blocks from the White House. The flock that flows into the center's 100-seat chapel for daily Mass includes scores of lobbyists, politicians, journalists, activists and executives.

So it's no surprise that McCloskey's views have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today and elsewhere. His feisty defense of Catholic orthodoxy has landed him on broadcasts with Tim Russert, Bill O'Reilly, Paula Zahn, Greta Van Susteren and others.

This is a classic case of location, location, location.

McCloskey feels right at home. The 49-year-old priest is a native of the nation's capital, has an Ivy League education and worked for Merrill Lynch and Citibank on Wall Street before seeking the priesthood through the often-controversial Opus Dei movement. He arrived at the Washington center in 1998.

In addition to winning prominent converts, McCloskey has bluntly criticized the American Catholic establishment's powerful progressive wing, tossing out quotations like this zinger: "A liberal Catholic is oxymoronic. The definition of a person who disagrees with what the Catholic church is teaching is called a Protestant."

Many disagree. Slate.com commentator Chris Suellentrop bluntly said that while the urbane priest's style appeals to many Washingtonians, ultimately he is offering "an anti-intellectual approach. All members of the church take a leap of faith, but McCloskey wants them to do it with their eyes closed and their hands over their ears."

It is also crucial that McCloskey openly embraces evangelism and the conversion of adults from Judaism, Islam and other world religions. For many modern Catholics this implies coercion, manipulation, mind control and, thus, a kind of "proselytism" that preys on the weak. In recent discussions of overseas missionary work many Catholics have suggested that they no longer see the need to share the faith with others and invite them to become Christians.

The bottom line: Protestants do evangelism. Protestants try to convert others. In the wake of Vatican II, Catholics have outgrown this kind of work.

"That's pure trash. That's a false ecumenism," said McCloskey. "That's simply not Catholic teaching. The Catholic church makes exclusive truth claims about itself and cannot deny them. It doesn't deny that there are other forms of religion. It doesn't deny that these other forms of religion have some elements of truth in them. ...

"But we are proclaiming Jesus Christ and where we believe he can be most fully found and that's the Catholic church. We cannot deny that." This issue will become even more controversial as America grows more diverse.

Meanwhile, the number of nominally Christian adults who have not been baptized is rising. The children and grandchildren of what McCloskey calls the "bourgeoisie Catholics" are poised to leave the church. Soon, their fading ethnic ties will not be enough. Their love of old schools and sanctuaries will not be enough.

"This country is turning into Europe," he said. "People have gotten to the point where they are saying, 'Why bother even being baptized? We don't believe any of this stuff anymore.' I am encountering more people that I need to baptize, because their parent's didn't bother to do that, even though they were nominal Christians.

"In Europe that is normal and this is what is headed our way."

~~~~~~~~~~~

After the death of Pope John Paul II

[ventana]

I moved more and more steadily to rock solid conservatism during my early twenties, and after marriage. But it was working in New York City and being called to Jury Duty in Newark, NJ that gave me an opportunity to solidify my position. I had the time to listen en route to duty to the Bork hearings. Listening for great lengths at a time, I became quite piqued at the beligerant rants and musing of the likes of Ted Kennedy during examination of Bork.

How do we get a hold of the tapes of those hearings and make them public. They would continue to win converts. V's wife.

[livius]

Actually, I didn't realize that he wasn't a Catholic. I saw him once at a dinner given by a Catholic group, about 10 years ago in New York City. I sat at a table with his wife.

Somebody later told me that he had been left very embittered by that horrible confirmation episode, which I can certainly understand. I'm really happy to hear that he has become a Catholic (like Justice Thomas!) and I hope he has been able to achieve peace and the understanding that he was right and he was being persecuted, essentially. And then that he has been able to unite his sufferings with those of Our Savior.

[Mad Dawg]

Let me keep this simple:

Bork is da BOMB!

[Coleus]

robert novak and dick morris too.

[Quick or Dead]

At a recent meeting of the Catholic Lawyers Guild in Boston, Bork joined with Archbishop Sean O'Malley in urging Catholic jurists to fight the lemmings' march toward gay marriage.

I am waiting for one state legislature or one Governor in America with the stones to stand up to the black-robed oligarchs who believe "Judicial Review" actually means "Judicial Fiat" and tell them to take a flying leap.

[Eisenhower]

Not to mention being a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute (where I worked in the fall) and a professor at Ave Maria School of Law (where I recently applied).

[Salvation]

Definitely a convert. There are others.........

[trisham]

Another wonderful and inspiring article. Thanks, NYer.

[trisham]

Very interesting. Thanks!