Sorry, I couldn't find a larger pic.
Posted on 04/15/2008 8:07:25 AM PDT by NYer
Daniel Burke at the Washington Post thinks that President Bush might be pulling a Tony Blair. Burke tells of the Catholic based culture that rules the west wing and some other lingering suspicions.
Shortly after Pope Benedict XVI's election in 2005, President Bush met with a small circle of advisers in the Oval Office. As some mentioned their own religious backgrounds, the president remarked that he had read one of the new pontiff's books about faith and culture in Western Europe.While this concept of a Catholic run White House may be humorous to some, Fr. Richard John Neuhaus says that it is not so far fetched.
Save for one other soul, Bush was the only non-Catholic in the room. But his interest in the pope's writings was no surprise to those around him. As the White House prepares to welcome Benedict on Tuesday, many in Bush's inner circle expect the pontiff to find a kindred spirit in the president. Because if Bill Clinton can be called America's first black president, some say, then George W. Bush could well be the nation's first Catholic president.
***
"I don't think there's any question about it," says Rick Santorum, former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania and a devout Catholic, who was the first to give Bush the "Catholic president" label. "He's certainly much more Catholic than Kennedy."
Bush has also placed Catholics in prominent roles in the federal government and relied on Catholic tradition to make a public case for everything from his faith-based initiative to antiabortion legislation. He has wedded Catholic intellectualism with evangelical political savvy to forge a powerful electoral coalition.Finally, Burke hints that some close to the President might not be suprised if he pulled a Tony Blair one day by converting after leaving office.
"There is an awareness in the White House that the rich Catholic intellectual tradition is a resource for making the links between Christian faith, religiously grounded moral judgments and public policy," says Richard John Neuhaus, a Catholic priest and editor of the journal First Things who has tutored Bush in the church's social doctrines for nearly a decade.
Moreover, people close to Bush say that he has professed a not-so-secret admiration for the church's discipline and is personally attracted to the breadth and unity of its teachings. A New York priest who has befriended the president said that Bush respects the way Catholicism starts at the foundation -- with the notion that the papacy is willed by God and that the pope is Peter's successor. "I think what fascinates him about Catholicism is its historical plausibility," says this priest. "He does appreciate the systematic theology of the church, its intellectual cogency and stability." The priest also says that Bush "is not unaware of how evangelicalism -- by comparison with Catholicism -- may seem more limited both theologically and historically."Color me skeptical, but I don't think so.
Former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson, another evangelical with an affinity for Catholic teaching, says that the key to understanding Bush's domestic policy is to view it through the lens of Rome. Others go a step further.
Paul Weyrich, an architect of the religious right, detects in Bush shades of former British prime minister Tony Blair, who converted to Catholicism last year. "I think he is a secret believer," Weyrich says of Bush. Similarly, John DiIulio, Bush's first director of faith-based initiatives, has called the president a "closet Catholic." And he was only half-kidding.
Is that right after he called the Grand Knight the Grand Dragon or what? (which I’ve seen happen)
Gad, I hadn’t realized they wash those dishes!
Every Church and faith is an institution of man and, is therefore, by definition, imperfect. I, like the Pope, am deeply embarrassed, disgusted, and saddened by the abuse. I even recognize the hypocrisy of a cover-up of sins by those who profess and hear public confessions of others. I choose to look to the greater good. The bottom line is that the world and the US are better places because of the Catholic Church than they would be without it.
Even though one case of abuse is too many it was not rampant. I organized, trained, and scheduled the altar servers at my parish for over ten years and in doing so dealt with many other parishes in my diocese and never once encountered or suspected abuse. It is unfair and intellectually dishonest to single out the Church as the only institute that that has problems with its human elements.
This is why there is far more child molestation in public schools than there has ever been in the Catholic Church, because the public schools refuse to follow the commandments of YHvh and promote marriage.
Hey, Chuck, has it ever occurred to you that Jesus, according to the Catholic Church, raised marriage to the dignity of a sacrament? Did you know that it was Martin Luther and the other Reformers who demoted it to a merely civil contract?
Posters with thin skin should stay on the closed threads: devotionals, prayer threads and caucuses.
Like pornography, we know "hate mongering" when we see it. Most of the posts around here are not hate mongering - but some of the websites out there not only try to stir people away from a belief but encourage them to detest the people who practice the belief.
As the old saying goes, "hate the sin and love the sinner," and you'll be ok.
Yes. Jesus taught me that in John 20:23.
Is it possible these are the same people and they aren't just representing a Catholic or FLDS point of view but rather the point of view of some group like NAMBLA?
Someone with access to the posters URLs could probably figure it out ~ might be of interest to LEOs who dig up pedophiles.
The cool thing is the dagger is hidden in the cross. The long branch of the cross slides off to reveal the blade and we can stab people willy-nilly then put the “scabbard” back on and nobody’s the wiser! Of course, the blade is magic and will work only on non-believers. This way, we can put the cross AND the dagger IN hearts and only have to move once.
One of the great benefits of being a Knight!
I never cease to be amazed at how firmly some clutch to their own ignorance and condemn or criticize what they are ignorant of. As husbands and fathers our first priority is to our families before our neighbors and community. A priest's first priority must be to his flock. Having a wife and family would compromise this.
Well, Jesus taught *me* the follwing,
Jesus words from Luke 5: 20-21: And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?
(Seems pretty clear to me.)
Well, Jesus taught *me* the following,
Jesus words from Luke 5: 20-21: And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?
(Seems pretty clear to me.)
I think God will deal with the situation. you can relax. my brother is a Protestant, i might inquire what is going on in his church but i would be loathe to opine or pass judgment on whatever their issues might be.
Oh, great, TC. After developing the invisible ink on my Opus Dei albino monk assassin assignment list, guess whose name is on it. Way to go! [sigh]
Unfortunately, I've been really busy worshipping my plaster statue of Fatima (she's Mohammed's daughter, you know) so my list of "holy hits" just gets longer, and longer, and longer ...
P.S. -- Don't forget to mention that the AA batteries are stolen from toys belonging to Bible-believers' children.
It is indeed ironic that you choose to use the arguments of the Pharisees, not the words of Christ, to support your position.
Luke 5:24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
All forgiveness goes through Christ,and it is through the power of the holy spirit and the priesthood that forgives sins. They work together. And yes I can ask for for Gods mercy and ask for forgiveness without a priest. But preparing ones conscience to go to confession and really considering the life one lives as a Christian with the help of the holy spirit to guide one to the truth of his or her life as a Christian can be a narrow road to approach sin. And I also believe we Christians can live the truth of the Gospel and forgive one another as well. But too many people today do not see sin,they see mistakes. How many churches today condone abortion and homosexuality as ok. We Christians who truly believe in the Gospel of Christ need to stand together and remember Ephesians 6:12,it is not one another where the fight is but the enemies of Christ and sin.
Jesus taught you to get your doctrine from men who were conspiring to kill him?
Thanks-—good pic.
The one I remember was more of a closeup of Bush with the icon.
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