Thanks for the ping, wagglebee. First, to confirm your ping -- I have never been Catholic, and was not born to Catholic parents. I do have a number of Catholic relatives, however. I hope no one will hold that against me :P
I am curious if ANY of them have the slightest doubt what the Catholic Church's position on abortion is or if they believe there is even a remote possibility that Obama is unaware of this position.
Even as a non-Catholic, there isn't the slightest doubt in my own mind what the "official Catholic position" is regarding abortion.
BUT....
IMO you have to consider that the "Catholic Church position" is articulated to the layperson at multiple levels. What I would call the "Vatican Position" is monolithic and unambiguous in its opposition to abortion. Obama could not claim to be unaware of the Vatican position, unless he was living in a cave for the last forty years.
On the other hand, the "Vatican position" has to be implemented in some way by the local bishop, and taught to the layman via the local diocese. We know that many of the bishops in the US, pre-Benedict, were politically liberal in many aspects, and the Vatican did not take a hard line with dissenting bishops under JPII like they are now. While I don't know of a case personally, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that whoever Obama acknowledged as the local bishop or priest compromised on the Church's position, allowing Obama to think the Church was not absolute in it's opposition (think Pelosi, pre-Benedict-meeting).
And yet some seem to suggest that, as a non-Catholic, Obama might somehow be unaware of it.
On the other hand, the "Vatican position" has to be implemented in some way by the local bishop, and taught to the layman via the local diocese. We know that many of the bishops in the US, pre-Benedict, were politically liberal in many aspects, and the Vatican did not take a hard line with dissenting bishops under JPII like they are now. While I don't know of a case personally, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that whoever Obama acknowledged as the local bishop or priest compromised on the Church's position, allowing Obama to think the Church was not absolute in it's opposition (think Pelosi, pre-Benedict-meeting).
Though some bishops have certainly been remiss in their failure to address the absolute evil of abortion, no bishop that I am aware of has EVER suggested that abortion was acceptable.