Vice-president elect Joe Biden
Posted on 11/22/2008 3:51:20 PM PST by NYer
.- Following the Fall meeting of the U.S. Catholic bishops in Baltimore, where they pledged not to yield ground to the incoming Obama administration on the issue of abortion, Bishop Samuel Aquila has revealed that vice president-elect Joe Biden is struggling with his conscience over his support for abortion.
Bishop Michael Hoeppner of Crookston, Minnesota and Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo, North Dakota are just two of the bishops who have increased their efforts to speak more forcefully and clearly on the issue of abortion over the last year.
In an interview with the Grand Forks Herald on Friday, Bishop Hoeppner explained the situation, saying, “We bishops are united in our teaching and our belief in the sanctity of all life. That’s not new, and it’s across the board, and some politicians have missed that.”
One particular threat to the unborn that the bishops are worried about is the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), which President-elect Obama said he would sign into law as his first act as president.
Bishop Aquila criticized Obama’s willingness to sign the Act in his most recent column for the Diocese of Fargo newspaper, writing that Obama “directly opposes the divine law of God concerning the dignity of each human life, and so he strongly disagrees with the position of the Catholic Church.”
Given the serious threats posed by FOCA and by Catholics with poorly formed consciences who vote in favor of keeping abortion legal, the U.S. bishops are redoubling their efforts to explain the Church’s teaching.
In interviews with the Herald, both Aquila and Hoeppner pointed to vice president-elect Joe Biden, as an example of how some Catholics have become compromised on abortion.
During the recent presidential campaign, Joe Biden said that while he believes as a matter of faith that life begins at conception, he cannot impose his belief on others through law, and therefore can vote in favor of abortion.
Biden’s comments on NBC’s Meet the Press elicited reactionss from several bishops, one of whom was Charles Chaput of Denver.
“If, as Sen. Biden said, ‘I’m prepared as a matter of faith [emphasis added] to accept that life begins at the moment of conception,’ then he is not merely wrong about the science of new life; he also fails to defend the innocent life he already knows is there,” the archbishop said.
“Resistance to abortion is a matter of human rights, not religious opinion,” he added, arguing that law by nature involves imposing “some people’s convictions on everyone else.”
In his interview with the Grand Forks Herald on Friday, Bishop Aquila revealed that the soon-to-be vice president is experiencing pangs of conscience for his compromise.
“The nice thing about Biden, at least he says his conscience bothers him, which is good,” Aquila said.
Bishop Aquila argues that this stirring in their conscience needs to go further. “But they really should not be presenting themselves for Holy Communion because it is a scandal. And by us giving them Holy Communion, essentially what is communicated to them is that their position is fine.”
The Bishop of Tallahassee-Pensacola agrees with this as well. After a visit to his diocese by Biden during the presidential campaign, Bishop John Richard wrote to the politician and told him to examine his conscience about his support for laws that “fail to protect the unborn” before going to Communion.
It appears that most of the Bishops will do or say anything to put off taking a stand.
I don’t know what makes the good bishop think Biden is “struggling” with anything; he’s certainly given no indication of any struggle whatsoever in his many years in Congress, busy voting for pro-abortion legislature whenever he can.
He won’t “struggle” until there are some consequences - that is, earthly, visible, and potentially politically costly - for his continued defiance of Church teaching. Then he might be forced to give it some thought. But now? Nah.
I personally don’t care whether he struggles with his conscience or not. He still supports abortion on demand. IMO this makes it worse not better.
It is ridiculous to think that somehow our sins are less serious if we feel guilty about them. All this indicates is that a person has been properly educated in church teaching, yet has disregarded it for the purpose of political benefit.
Pray for their conversion from cafeteria Catholicism to real Catholicism.
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Obama Says A Baby Is A Punishment
Obama: “If they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.”
He is lying and playing a game; and in the process making a mockery of the genocide of 50+ million babies slaughtered since Roe.
He and the thousands of wicked “Catholic” politicians around the world should be publicly and formally excommunicated post haste.
They should be regularly condemned as the heretical barbarians that they are.
They should never be allowed to set foot on ANY Catholic property, especially not desecrating Churches with their unholy presence, until they repent.
They are mortal enemies of the Church, The State and of Humankind itself.
One day Christendom will have to come to the realization that the time for diplomacy ended when the first baby was ripped apart under Roe v Wade. This is a war; with more real blood and guts than all the wars in history combined.
ONE NATION UNDER GOD
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Obama Says A Baby Is A Punishment
Obama: “If they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.”
Yes, no priest would do that, except if asked to do so. Maybe Joe knows something we don’t know.
It is important to pray for their conversion.
The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
(Proverbs 21:1 KJV)
Confessions are sealed, while political discussions may not be. I am sure that Biden agreed to having some of the talk ‘leaked’.
If God gave St. Paul an opportunity for ‘change’, he can surely do it for Biden.
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