fpb: (Default)
[personal profile] fpb
As for President Obama:
1) he has broken his own promise on Don't Ask Don't Tell, something to which few reasonable people would have seen an objection. (That at least one right-wing columnist broke Godwin's Law in trying to find an argument against accepting homosexual soldiers just shows how poor the arguments for this really are.)
2) He has broken his promise on torture and even let into his administration a couple of people whose hands are dirty in the matter, such as Robert Gates.
3) He is wrecking his own proposals for health reform rather than give up a sneaky and unprincipled attempt to break the consensus on abortion (no federal monies for), and he is lying about it.
4) He is guilty of deliberately stirring up trouble against Israel, with the miserable Quartet all too happy to follow his lead.
5) He has ignored both the hideous threat of an Iranian atom bomb and, more disgracefully, the desperate struggle of the Iranian people against a bloodthirsty and disastrous tyranny. He has repeatedly spoken as though the mullah's government were the legitimate leadership of that unhappy country.

Oh, and strictly for Catholics:
6) According to Life Site News International, he has deliberately egged on Catholic Health Association, and possibly the Leadership Conference of Religious Women (although that lot don't need much egging) to revolt against the Bishops. I quote: White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs revealed to reporters today that President Barack Obama actively promoted the Catholic Health Association's public break with the American Catholic bishops to support his health care legislation.
Gibbs also suggested that the CHA and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious' (LCWR) break with the U.S. Bishops has provided legitimate political cover for pro-life Democrats to switch their votes from "no" to "yes."
(...)
Gibbs said that the president had been engaged on the issue, and a reporter asked if he had reached out personally to the groups.
"The President met earlier this week with Sr. Keehan of the CHA," said Gibbs, saying the meeting took place in the Roosevelt Room, but that he "did not get a detailed run-down of the pitch that [Obama] made."
"I do know that he was effusive about her support and her as a person for making the courageous statements that she has," he said.

Well, at least he was not shameless enough to tell his own spokesman what he had done with or offered to this rebel nun.
During the Paris negotiations of 1782-3, the reigning Pope offered Franklin and Adams that the USA government could have a veto over the nomination of Catholic bishops (something that many European governments had at the time). In keeping with their principles, the Founders - few of whom had any sympathy for the Catholic Church as such - nonetheless refused this offer and allowed the Church to organize itself in the new nation as it saw fit. Since then, I know of no President who has ever, for any reason whatever, thought to meddle in the Church's internal affairs and organization.

Hope? Change? Change, all right; hope - that he does not get re-elected.

Date: 2010-03-20 01:30 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] affablestranger.livejournal.com
I figured as much. The general media are morons, slaves to their political masters.

Date: 2010-03-20 02:24 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fpb.livejournal.com
The main problem is not so much who these people are. The Leadership Conference, in particular, is a notorious joke among committed and informed Catholics - a bunch of self-regarding, elderly, power-dressed nuns, looking like nothing so much as the ladies of a country club with a sprinkling of corporate CEOs. What is grave and deliberate is the President's attempt (joyfully taken up by the usual suspects - http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brad-wilmouth/2010/03/20/behar-carlson-suggest-catholic-bishops-are-without-conscience-behar-s) to use this kind of smoke and mirrors to deceive the Catholic electorate - much of which is still Democrat, not just because of hereditary commitment, but because they genuinely support the public option and an interventist policy - into believing that there is a "real", morally authoritative Catholic Church that is not really represented by the Bishops. This amount to fostering schism for political rreasons, and breaks an age-old tradition of political non-interference in Church affairs.

Date: 2010-03-20 04:10 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] affablestranger.livejournal.com
Some people, like me, believe in freedom of religion. Others believe in freedom from religion and will do whatever they can to undermine and/or subvert religion at any opportunity to suit their ends.

Profile

fpb: (Default)
fpb

February 2019

S M T W T F S
     12
345 6789
10111213141516
17181920212223
2425262728  

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jul. 26th, 2025 06:10 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios