Posted on 11/13/2008 6:27:56 AM PST by NYer
It has emerged that US President-elect Barack Obama held his first telephone conversation with Pope Benedict XVI yesterday, the day a senior Vatican official made clear the Holy See would oppose any changes by Mr Obama in US policy on embryonic stem cell research.
The Vatican said the conversation on Tuesday formed part of the "normal exchanges" between a new American President and other world leaders. Father Federico Lombardi, the Pope's spokesman, said neither the Pope nor Mr Obama had made any reference to the stem cell issue during the call, in which Mr Obama had responded to the Pope's message congratulating him on his election win.
At a press conference on Tuesday the Vatican on infant mortality, Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan of Mexico, the Pope's "health minister", strongly reiterated the Vatican's opposition to using embryos for research purposes when asked about signs that Mr Obama might reverse or relax the Bush administration's executive order banning the use of embryos and limiting federal spending for stem cell research. He said embryonic stem cell research "served no purpose".
Monsignor W. Francis Malooly, the Catholic bishop of Wilmington in Delaware, said he would not ban Joe Biden, the Vice President elect and a Roman Catholic, from taking Communion because of his stand on issues such as stem cell research and abortion. Mr Biden, a Senator from Delaware, lives in the Wilmington diocese.
The bishop was quoted as saying that "the Eucharist must not be politicised". He added that the job of a Catholic prelate was not to "alienate people" but rather to "change their hearts and minds". A number of Catholics in the senior ranks of the US Democratic Party take a liberal pro-choice stand on abortion, including Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, and John Kerry,
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
What’s your point exactly ?
ping
Do any of these things matter to the good bishop and his fellow bishops?
Burying their heads in the sand, hoping this will go away, is not going to solve anything. Meanwhile, their inaction contributes to the draining away of the faithful due to the stench of "hypocrisy" over this and similar issues. It's not "rocket science" to do the math of the state of grace. These guys need to sit down and figure out just what it means to "shepherd" a flock. The historical actions and life stories of just about any bishop of the first four centuries of the Church ought to be a good place to start reading, if they wish to get a clue.
Oy!
Very true, and one of the great things that Christians can do is to get it read by as many people as possible.
O no doubt demanded that the Pope kiss his ring.
Those who advocate for the killing of innocent babies, from conception forward, are unfaithful to Christ.
The Pope works for Heaven. Obama works for Hell.
The “Anti-Christ” and The “Vicar of Christ” Who will prevail?
Tis almost the season...
Seems that Bishop Malooly has forgotten about being a Bishop which does not mean siding with any human being not acting in a Catholic way. Being a Bishop means standing unhesitantly to his oath to Our Lord Jesus Christ to defend the Catholic Faith and save the souls of the faithful.
Wow........a hornets' net!
I guess I was attempting to parody the extreme anti-Catholic element which is hyper-sensitive to Catholic involvement in public life and views with suspicion any conversation between a US President and the Vatican. Anti-Catholic conspiracy lovers, IOW.
Didn't mean to offend Catholics, or anyone for that matter!
Oh well.......off to the general forum where it's a little less intense........
These 'yahoos' are your church leaders...Your spiritual leaders...
I don't know how you guys can bow down to a pope who condones this un-Christian/anti-Christian public policy...I mean this bishop alone sets the example for many thousands, correct???
Perhaps your pope, in his heart, agrees with the bishops who take up this position...How do you know for sure???
Press one to hold
Press two to wait for Jesus
Press three to talk to Satan
Bishop Malooly doesn't read FR. Neither do his flunkies.
His flunkies do, however, read his mail. They may even pass some of it on to him.
So don't just sit around on FR moaning ... clean it up, write it up on paper, and send it to the Bishop. Even if you're not Catholic ... I'm sure he's all into "ecumenism" ... he wants to hear from you, too.
“As I Knight” = As a Knight
/sigh
Certainly not. But the bishop is obliged to deny Communion to a person who has sinned grievously and publicly, such as a politician who votes in favors of legalized abortion. Not to put too fine a point on it, but such a person is an accessory to murder.
Weak and cowardly bishops. Some are even fellow-travelers. Yes, sad to say, Christians, even Christian leaders, can be weak and sinful.
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