Pope and Obama Meeting

I would imagine David Gibson's finest woke up this morning with a political hangover.

Yesterday, he authored a story implying that Pope Benedict's Meeting with the Obama was a setback for conservatives.

It's been a tough year for conservatives of the Catholic variety, he argues, Notre Dame welcomed Obama, this week the Pope castigated free market economics and it is crystal clear that the Pope is a fan of Obama's - and the meeting proves it.

People aren't really this stupid, are they?

Caritas in Veritate is about a government devoid of the principles to protect the sanctity of life, it's about greed and selfishness in business which no economic paradigm can survive. There is greed on every level. The greed that eventually tumbled the American empire was giving homes to people who couldn't afford them, breaking down borders and giving jobs to illegal aliens instead of paying union wages. We could have survived the greed of CEOs and high-level executives because even when they are being greedy, we all have jobs. You can't obliterate greed anymore than you can obliterate rape. It's the exploitation of people and power. A country will rid itself of it as soon as we eradicate deranged people.

I've seen several weenie little men like Gibson imply that Obama's ordination as their American pope is somehow the same thing as the meeting with the Pope of the Catholic Church. The real Pope of course didn't give Obama an honor. The Catholic Pope didn't give Obama a platform.

As Deal Hudson writes at Inside Catholic, the Pope gave Obama an earful about the sanctity of life and handed him a copy of "Dignitas Personae" and sent him on his way.

"The dignity of the human person must be recognized in every human being from conception to natural death."

These gestures made it impossible for Obama supporters to put overly-enthusiastic spin on the meeting. The White House found out the Vatican has its own resources when it comes to handling the media, in spite of all its recent snafus in that department.

Someone made sure the Vatican controlled the message and, as a result, all of the coverage I have seen has been quite balanced and reasonable.

I think that president made one mistake in his meeting with the pope: Obama, once again, brought up his promise of abortion reduction. This puts him on the public record with the Holy Father, something that may come back to haunt him later on.

Will it ever.

Obama recognizes that abortion is killing people. Countries that give rights to people to kill other people and then saying they want to limit justice to keep those killings legal and under control while increasing them legislatively and providing sources to fund them, opening new doors to people to make them available are full of it.

The same reasons we don't give those same legal freedom to rapists, we didn't give those same freedoms to Hitler, the same reason we didn't give those same freedoms to slave owners - is the same reason people demanding civil rights for the unborn will continue to rebel against Obama's malarkey - including the Pope.

You can take that to the bank.

There's the Kennedys and Obama and there's the Pope. One side is is being used as a playtoy of the devil. Have fun trying to figure it out.

Obama reportedly delivered a letter from the terminally ill head of the Kennedy family, Ted Kennedy. A letter of recommendation for Obama? An urgent plea to see doctrine according to the Kennedys and Obamas so Ted can die in "peace"?

I hope there is a shepherd with enough love for Christ and his souls to bring Ted Kennedy to his knees in sorrow and repentence for the destructive paths he has led his constituents and his family while he is still alive to set his family on the path of righteousness and truth - and towards Christ. The Kennedys were given riches of money and power

Luke 16:24-31

The rich man also died and was buried,

23

and from the netherworld, ¹⁴ where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.

24

And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.'

25

Abraham replied, 'My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.

26

Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.'

27

He said, 'Then I beg you, father, send him to my father's house,

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for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.'

29

But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.'

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¹⁵ He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

31

Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'"

I hope Kennedy's letter is responded to with dignity and righteousness - knowing there is a family of good people who have been woefully misled by Catholic priests and Bishops. It's time to set that record straight.

Hudson also links to an article by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend who writes that Obama is more Catholic than the Pope.

Yes, Townsend's cherry picks the new encyclical Charity in Truth to give credence to the tired, old cliche that the Church, in spite of it's rhetoric about love, really doesn't love at all, It's an institution marketing contempt and disgust.

Townsend, naturally, throws in the liberal misreading of recent encyclical, "Charity in Truth": "The document gives moral credence to Obama's message and to progressive politics writ large." It's funny how Townsend cites the authority of Benedict XVI to confirm the message of Obama, when she has just argued Obama is the better Catholic.

This is just another example of why you should never expect coherent arguments from Leftwing ideologues -- they throw out so many soundbites and hope one will eventually stick.

Which is why it's a waste of time and imprudent to give any of their soundbytes a platform.

Church leadership needs to wake up and realize the impact of the Obama presidency on the parish, the chancery, and even the Vatican. This game of footsy Catholic leaders are playing with Obama is empowering Catholic dissenters like Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.

Amen.

However in the left-hand corner of the Inside Catholic website, Deal empowers Catholic dissenters himself with many links to same dissenting Catholic articles, blogs, people and apostolates that he opposes in this blog entry.

He too needs to wake up and realize the impact of playing footsy with Catholic dissenters who never have had nor ever will have coherent arguments. Their arguments are spiritually misleading. His very own website is empowering dissent - not to mention making his arguments that nobody should give platforms to dissenters, moot.

Deal is a brilliant man who can cut through malarkey with precision but he is undermining his own effectiveness and the effectiveness of his apostolate and he has got to sharpen the tools and prune.