Posted on 08/07/2004 5:23:27 AM PDT by ninenot
Citing his deep Roman Catholic roots and constitutional responsibilities, U.S. Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.) says he will not let Archbishop Raymond L. Burke "coerce" him into imposing the church's abortion teachings on America's pluralistic society.
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Obey stakes out that position in his first detailed public response to Burke in the Aug. 16-23 issue of America, a weekly Jesuit magazine that is widely read among the hierarchy, lay Catholics and journalists. An article by Obey is to appear under the headline "My Conscience, My Vote."
"In my view, Bishop Burke attempted to use his interpretations of theology to coerce me into taking specific positions on matters that I believe are matters of constitutional law," Obey writes near the end of the piece, which the magazine provided to reporters. "The difference between us is that I am not trying to force him to agree with my judgments, but he is attempting to force me to agree with his. That in conscience I cannot do."
Earlier, Obey discusses his mixed voting record on abortion: "That is why, while I detest abortion and agree with Catholic teaching that in most instances it is morally wrong, I decline to force my views into laws that, if adopted, would be unenforceable and would tear this society apart. That judgment may be wrong, but it is a judgment honestly arrived at, and one that I am obligated to make."
Tony Huenneke, a spokesman for Burke, was unaware of the article and had no comment when a reporter called him Friday.
Obey has declined requests from the Journal Sentinel to be interviewed and could not be reached for comment Friday.
Burke attracted attention last year, when it became known that he had sent letters to two state legislators and one congressman in the La Crosse Diocese to warn them that their support of "anti-life" legislation was causing grave scandal and putting their spiritual well-being at risk. Burke, now archbishop of St. Louis, was bishop of La Crosse at the time.
Without identifying them, he published a public notice in the La Crosse diocesan newspaper this year that told Catholic legislators in the diocese who support abortion rights or euthanasia not to attempt to receive Communion and ordered priests not to give it to them.
His efforts sparked a national debate, which intensified when he said in St. Louis that he would refuse Communion to Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) for his abortion-rights positions if the Catholic presidential candidate attempted to receive the sacrament while campaigning in that archdiocese.
The nation's 195 Catholic diocesan bishops are divided and have a task force developing an advisory policy on what to do about Catholic politicians whose votes do not follow church doctrine.
Several have followed Burke's lead, most recently the archbishop of Atlanta and the bishops of Charleston, S.C., and Charlotte, N.C. They issued a joint statement Wednesday that said Catholic politicians and candidates who support abortion rights "are cooperating with evil" and would be refused Communion until they publicly recant.
Obey begins the article by describing himself as a Midwestern populist progressive with Catholic values, a drive for social justice and a passion for "a square deal for the little guy."
He says, "Virtually every issue I have fought for in my 35 years of service in the Congress of the United States has been driven by the values I learned from the nuns at St. James elementary school in Wausau, Wis."
He notes his efforts to balance his religious values with U.S. Supreme Court rulings that limit what government may do to limit a woman's abortion-related choices.
"During that time, I have voted well over 60 times for limitations of one kind or another on a woman's right to choose abortion," he writes, adding later: "So I suppose it is fair to say that my record on abortion is mixed. I make no apology for that. I believe these issues are complicated."
Describing his private correspondence with the bishop over about a year, Obey says Burke was concerned about Obey's votes on five or six abortion-related issues, but that two issues "seemed especially to trouble" him: Obey's support of stem cell research and unwillingness to limit access to military hospitals.
"The bishop wanted me to vote to deny permission to female military personnel to use a military hospital for abortions," Obey writes. "I told him that I hoped that no member of the armed services would seek an abortion, but that I was simply not prepared to deny to any woman stationed in Iraq, wearing the uniform of the United States, the use of a military hospital for any purpose."
Obey cites the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Vatican's doctrinal note on the political participation of Catholics in arguing that Christians should not be single-issue people.
"That is why I believe that if the full texture and context of all my legislative actions were to be reviewed - and given the fact that at least 100 members of Congress have voting records more at variance with church wishes than my own - I firmly believe that Archbishop Burke's action says much more about him than it does about me."
Obey's spin is coached by a high-powered attorney in Madison. He's nervous because his District is "social conservative/fiscal liberal," which means that he could be upset by a reasonably crafty Republican.
He's also nervous because he's effectively been skewered by Bp. Burke. It's possible that Obey's beginning to think about the Four Last Things--he's not a kid anymore.
""In my view, Bishop Burke attempted to use his interpretations of theology to coerce me into taking specific positions on matters that I believe are matters of constitutional law," Obey writes near the end of the piece, which the magazine provided to reporters."
The Bishop is not interpreting dogma. He is stating it.
""The difference between us is that I am not trying to force him to agree with my judgments, but he is attempting to force me to agree with his. That in conscience I cannot do.""
You are trying to force your judgment upon the Bishop while rejecting his teaching. You cannot have it both ways.
If you cannot hold to the teachings, leave.
Just as long as the guy is not, you know, TOO little.
Why do politicians always think they know better than the experts?
I had no idea that Bishop Burke had invented the Catholic faith specifically to impose his judgments on others. Silly me, I assumed that the Bishop was simply defending the faith... I guess to a liberal, that means "forcing" Catholics to agree with it, and we can't have that! Obey can disagree all he wants... but then he can't claim faithful membership in the Catholic church. Why is this so hard to understand? Lately I've been doing some reading on racial issues in politics. It occurs to me how strange it is that to the liberals, a black conservative can lose his/her ethnic ancestry by not voting with the Congressional Black Caucus, but Catholicism (unlike race, apparently) is an immutable characteristic obtained by birth, Catholic school, or being an altar boy... and nothing you can do can ever change it.
As soon as America picks up on this little, but most important phrase, we might be able to re-claim our national identity.
Much of what is spoken in the seanate and the house has the "I believe" prefix, making what they do a religious dictum and not a matter of representation for which they were sent.
The law is intended for the law breaker, not the man whom seeks to do what is right and live honorably.
By removing the Ten Commandments from the minds of people, the concept of moral right is an issue, cloudy at best, left in the hands of the elected which, as recent history proves, have a 'faith' in everything else but God and the Bible that teaches us about him.
It is said, and rightly so, that school is intended to teach children how to learn, not what to learn.
The Bible does not force anyone to do anything, all it does is put before a mind, in print form, the thoughts that are intended to allow one to think in a Godly way.
We have always, in the mind of God, had the opportunity and freedom to choose or refuse that which is intended for our own good.
Every day small members of this society are being torn apart in abortion mills.
So if I were elected to Congress it's okay to ignore and disobey any congressional rules I don't like.
Oh, it's against the rules to hit Rep. Obey over the head with a chair? Hey, rules don't apply to me.
Crash!
Obey, you idiot. The only thing the bishop is forcing on you is denial of the scarament of communion. The fact that you twist that into making you vote a certain way shows you to be mentally disconnected.
ping for you.
Don't throw your arm out while patting yourself on the back, Obey.
Matthew 7
13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Don't you just love it when a politico pushes their religion into the open as a campaign tool only to find out they don't follow the faith? IMHO many use religion as a label only. It has nothing to do with their faith, salvation or devotion. You can not pick and choose a'la carte the items you like.
People are not perfect but when you intentionally, and repeatedly, disobey unambiguous scripture you are a faith fraud. You mock God and that can never be good.
The unanswered question is "what is wrong with the Republican party of central WI if they can't field someone to knock this flaming socialist out of office?"
thanks for posting this...will send it along....
BTW Every newspaper in the area is a Gannett owned.....
Obey is echoing Kerry's song and dance routine - indicating an attempt to actively put together an united front/defense.
However:
"An appeal to conscience concerning intrinsically evil matters is a specious one. Conscience is not an independent entity; it does not operate in a vacuum. Conscience must be formed to the objective norm of truth - Church teaching. Church teaching is clear on the issues...(Catechism of the Catholic Church #1783)" re: www.fathercorapi.com.
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