Sunday Reading Reflection - There Will Be A Test

When you were in school, did you ever wish your professor would've told you exactly what questions would be on the final exam? And how about the professor actually giving you the answers ahead of time?

Well, that's what Jesus gives us in today's Gospel:

GospelMt 25:31-46 Jesus said to his disciples:"When the Son of Man comes in his glory,and all the angels with him,he will sit upon his glorious throne,and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another,as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right,'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

What's the test?

Jesus will ask us if, when he:

hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’
Jesus goes on to explain that we do these things to/for Him when we do them to/for "one of the least brothers of mine."

The late Holy Father Pope John Paul II took the opportunity of his very fist encyclical, Repemptor Hominis, to reinforce the continuing significance and necessity of this Gospel passage:

This eschatological scene must always be "applied" to man's history; it must always be made the "measure" for human acts as an essential outline for an examination of conscience by each and every one: "I was hungry and you gave me no food ... naked and you did not clothe me... in prison and you did not visit me"109. These words become charged with even stronger warning, when we think that, instead of bread and cultural aid, the new States and nations awakening to independent life are being offered, sometimes in abundance, modern weapons and means of destruction placed at the service of armed conflicts and wars that are not so much a requirement for defending their íust rights and their sovereignty but rather a form of chauvinism, imperialism, and neocolonialism of one kind or another. We all know well that the areas of misery and hunger on our globe could have been made fertile in a short time, if the gigantic investments for armaments at the service of war and destruction had been changed into investments for food at the service of life.

So, those are the people who go to Heaven, what do you have to do to go to Hell?

Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed,into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

For I was hungry and you gave me no food,

I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,

a stranger and you gave me no welcome,

naked and you gave me no clothing,

ill and in prison, and you did not care for me,

or you voted for Barack Obama in 2008.'*

And these will go off to eternal punishment,but the righteous to eternal life."

* This verse appears only in the Bibles of the GOPriests.

USCCB = RNC = GOP

In an effort to formalize its status as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the GOP, the USCCB has decided to end all funding of ACORN by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

It seems like there are, in fact, financial concerns about ACORN which should legitimately raise a concern about how well funding that goes to the organization is being used.

However, the Bishops didn't stop there. They bought in fully to the dishonest GOP political spin:

More recently, the Subcommittee also became concerned about widespread reports of ACORN involvement in alleged voter registration fraud and political partisanship. As a result of the cut-off earlier this year, no CCHD funds were involved in any of these activities. However, the allegations intensified our questions and problems around ACORN's organizational integrity, competence and non-partisanship. Therefore, we extended the cut off of CCHD funding of any ACORN organizations.

These concerns about "political partisanship" are coming from the organization whose members told Catholics that they'd go to Hell if they voted for Barack Obama.

Shall we judge the Bishops as they judge? If so, can we continue our weekly offerings?

If You Choose Not To Decide . . .

You still have made a choice.

An often unspoken premise of the argument that a "pro-life" position on abortion requires that abortion be criminalized is that the State (at either the state or federal level) has the authority gets to decide that the life within the womb takes precedence over the autonomy of the life of the woman within whose body that womb exists.

Left unanswered by the advocates of criminalization is this: If the State is explicitly granted that authority (even before the point of viability), then what is to stop the State from deciding that the needs of the State (and all the lives encompassed therein) take precedence over both the autonomy of an individual mother and the life within her womb?

In other words, if the State could legally prohibit abortion, why couldn't the State legally compel it?

This is not an abstract hypothetical exercise. The Chinese government is in the process of forcing a Muslim Uighur woman to terminate her 26-week pregnancy because she already has two children.

Because of its population of 1.3 billion, China maintains a one-child-per-family rule on majority Han Chinese.
Minority urban couples may have two children, while rural farmers may have three.
Arzigul holds a rural household registration but her husband is registered in an urban area.
Local officials eventually demanded that she terminate her pregnancy.

China argues that its forced-abortion policy is for the good of the State:

China says its population would have risen far more if 400 million abortions had not been performed in the past three decades.

If there's a legal distinction between the State's authority to prohibit abortion and the authority to compel abortion, I can't see it.

Presumably, criminalization advocates do not consider forced-abortion to be a realistic possibility in the U.S. But, is that assumption warranted?

Consider that a key element of the "welfare reform" movement of the '90s pushed by so-called "pro-life" conservatives was a policy of discouraging women on welfare from becoming pregnant and punishing them when they bore children. Do you remember the infamous "welfare queens"?

And don't forget that it was just this year when a Louisana State Republican Representative suggested sterilizing people on welfare:

LaBruzzo said he worries that people receiving government aid such as food stamps and publicly subsidized housing are reproducing at a faster rate than more affluent, better-educated people who presumably pay more tax revenue to the government. He said he is gathering statistics now.

P.S., one of the groups trying to fight China's "one child policy" is the United Nations Population Fund, which promotes voluntary family planning services as well as pre-natal and post-natal healthcare for women and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. The Bush Administration, in response to lobbying from right-wing groups, decided to cut off U.S. funding for UNFPA, a decision that the incoming Obama Administration is expected to overturn in January.

Are the Bishops Trying To Have It Both Ways?

You may recall that, in the day leading up the election, several prominent partisan-prelates insisted that the only issue of concern for Catholic voters was abortion.

Last Tuesday, of course, Barack Obama scored an overwhelming electoral-college and popular vote victory. So now the Bishops, in a Statement pushed principally by many of these same partisan-prelates, are channeling Bill Clinton to rationalize that "it's the economy, stupid":

The recent election was principally decided out of concern for the economy, for the loss of jobs and homes and financial security for families, here and around the world. If the election is misinterpreted ideologically as a referendum on abortion, the unity desired by President-elect Obama and all Americans at this moment of crisis will be impossible to achieve.

The Bishops can't have it both ways here. Either the principal issue was abortion, and the clear majority of their flock flatly rejected the Bishops' partisan arguments, or the clear majority of the flock rejected the Bishops' misleading prioritization of abortion as the sole issue for consideration.

Either way, abit more intellectual honesty and self-reflection from the GOPriests would be a welcome change.

"B*tch Probably Had It Coming"

Sorry for the title, but few people get my ire up more than Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Remember that this is the guy, a Catholic Opus Dei guy, whom the GOP and the GOPriests point to as a model Justice. This is the type of Justice that they insist Presidential Candidates promise to appoint.

Apparently Antonin's Bible tells him to "spare the rod and spoil the wifey".

Here’s the background: In 1994 Randy Hayes was convicted in West Virginia of putting the beat-down on his then-wife (and Mother of his child). That domestic violence offense was considered a misdemeanor by West Virginia at that time.

In 2005 when police were called to his house for another domestic violence incident, they discovered that he was in possession of several shotguns. He was charged and convicted of violating a federal law that prohibits people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence assaults from possessing firearms.

He challenged the conviction, claiming that the 1994 crime did not fall under the offenses covered by the federal firearm law.

His case was argued before the Supreme Court last week. And in a nutshell, Justice Scalia sided with the wife-beater because, well, he wasn’t such a bad guy. I mean, it was nothing a nice pair of sunglasses wouldn’t cover up.

Seriously. Here’s Scalia grilling the Government lawyer who was arguing in favor of the conviction:

MS. SAHARSKY: a person who has committed a serious violent offense like Respondent's previous offense in this case should be on notice that his possession of firearms might be regulated.
JUSTICE SCALIA: What -- a serious violent offense. Are there -- is there felony assault and battery?
MS. SAHARSKY: Yes.
JUSTICE SCALIA: And this was misdemeanor assault and battery, wasn't it?
MS. SAHARSKY: Yes, that's right. I mean, I really -
JUSTICE SCALIA: So it's not that serious an offense. That's why we call it a misdemeanor.
MS. SAHARSKY: Well, I mean, certainly the offense is this particular case was serious. The charging document reflects that Respondent hit his wife all around the face until it swelled out, kicked her all around her body, kicked here in the ribs -
JUSTICE SCALIA: Then he should have been charged with a felony, but he wasn't. He was charged with a misdemeanor.

Unbelievable. This is the Justice who thinks torturing suspected terrorists is fine. But trying to take a gun away from a good ol' boy just because he had to "correct" his woman? That's were Nino draws the line.

A Post-Veteran's Day Reminder . . .

Of the big issue the Bishops ignored in Baltimore this week:

President-Elect Obama with Iraq War Vet Tammy Duckworth.

USCCB Official Statement On The New Administration

The USCCB has released its Joint Statement, which was drafted after yesterday's debate on Faith & Politics:

STATEMENT of the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops"If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labor; if the Lord does not watch over the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil." (Psalm 127, vs. 1)
The Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States welcome this moment of historic transition and look forward to working with President-elect Obama and the members of the new Congress for the common good of all. Because of the Church's history and the scope of her ministries in this country, we want to continue our work for economic justice and opportunity for all; our efforts to reform laws around immigration and the situation of the undocumented; our provision of better education and adequate health care for all, especially for women and children; our desire to safeguard religious freedom and foster peace at home and abroad. The Church is intent on doing good and will continue to cooperate gladly with the government and all others working for these goods.
The fundamental good is life itself, a gift from God and our parents. A good state protects the lives of all. Legal protection for those members of the human family waiting to be born in this country was removed when the Supreme Court decided Roe vs. Wade in 1973. This was bad law. The danger the Bishops see at this moment is that a bad court decision will be enshrined in bad legislation that is more radical than the 1973 Supreme Court decision itself.
In the last Congress, a Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) was introduced that would, if brought forward in the same form today, outlaw any "interference" in providing abortion at will. It would deprive the American people in all fifty states of the freedom they now have to enact modest restraints and regulations on the abortion industry. FOCA would coerce all Americans into subsidizing and promoting abortion with their tax dollars. It would counteract any and all sincere efforts by government and others of good will to reduce the number of abortions in our country.
Parental notification and informed consent precautions would be outlawed, as would be laws banning procedures such as partial-birth abortion and protecting infants born alive after a failed abortion. Abortion clinics would be deregulated. The Hyde Amendment restricting the federal funding of abortions would be abrogated. FOCA would have lethal consequences for prenatal human life.
FOCA would have an equally destructive effect on the freedom of conscience of doctors, nurses and health care workers whose personal convictions do not permit them to cooperate in the private killing of unborn children. It would threaten Catholic health care institutions and Catholic Charities. It would be an evil law that would further divide our country, and the Church should be intent on opposing evil.
On this issue, the legal protection of the unborn, the bishops are of one mind with Catholics and others of good will. They are also pastors who have listened to women whose lives have been diminished because they believed they had no choice but to abort a baby. Abortion is a medical procedure that kills, and the psychological and spiritual consequences are written in the sorrow and depression of many women and men. The bishops are single-minded because they are, first of all, single-hearted.
The recent election was principally decided out of concern for the economy, for the loss of jobs and homes and financial security for families, here and around the world. If the election is misinterpreted ideologically as a referendum on abortion, the unity desired by President-elect Obama and all Americans at this moment of crisis will be impossible to achieve. Abortion kills not only unborn children; it destroys constitutional order and the common good, which is assured only when the life of every human being is legally protected. Aggressively pro-abortion policies, legislation and executive orders will permanently alienate tens of millions of Americans, and would be seen by many as an attack on the free exercise of their religion.
This statement is written at the request and direction of all the Bishops, who also want to thank all those in politics who work with good will to protect the lives of the most vulnerable among us. Those in public life do so, sometimes, at the cost of great sacrifice to themselves and their families; and we are grateful. We express again our great desire to work with all those who cherish the common good of our nation. The common good is not the sum total of individual desires and interests; it is achieved in the working out of a common life based upon good reason and good will for all.
Our prayers accompany President-elect Obama and his family and those who are cooperating with him to assure a smooth transition in government. Many issues demand immediate attention on the part of our elected "watchman." (Psalm 127) May God bless him and our country.

It is interesting that, with respect to abortion, the Bishops focus exclusively on the Freedom of Choice Act which was introduced last year in Congress, as it has been ever since Bill Clinton was President.
To the extent that FOCA would overturn existing State regulations on abortion, it is most likely unconstitutional. Although, ironically, the federal "partial-birth abortion ban" pursued by those in the criminalization caucus set the precent for federal regulation in the are of reproductive rights.
At any rate, it is peculiar that the Bishops chose to focus on an entirely hypothetical issue. The next Congress has not yet even been seated and Barack Obama is still 70-plus days from taking the oath of office. The way legislators draft bills which they know have no chance of either passing or being signed into law is often different from the way they draft bills which they expect to become law.
So we'll have to wait and see.
Notably, no public statement from the Bishops yet on Pro-Choice Catholic politicians and the Eucharist.

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

I'm a little late on this one, but congratulations are due to Congressman-Elect Tom Perriello, who defeated incumbent Congressman Virgil Goode in Virginia's 5th Congressional District.

Tom was the founder of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, whose Vision is:

Our Catholic tradition calls us to participate actively in public life in the service of human dignity, social justice and the common good. These teachings – to put community before self, principle before profit, and the public interest before political expediency – are central to our Catholic tradition. Catholics in Alliance is committed to creating the necessary conditions for a culture of life that reverences the life and dignity of the human person at all stages over greed, materialism and the politics of division.

And Tom isn't just talk, he also walks the walk. According to Dahlia Lithwich of Slate:

A graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School, Perriello worked to end atrocities in Liberia as well as with child soldiers, amputees, and local pro-democracy groups in Sierra Leone. He became special adviser for the international prosecutor during the showdown that forced Liberian dictator Charles Taylor from power. His work as a security analyst has taken him to Afghanistan and Darfur.

Indeed, Tom Perriello is exactly the type of candidate whom the Bishops have been calling for, and whom they should now be praising:

Perriello has also been a part of a groundswell of young progressives whose religious faith motivates them to seek social change through public service. One of the most startling aspects of his 2008 campaign was his pledge to tithe 10 percent of his campaign volunteers' time to local charities. Time they could have spent stuffing mailers and phone-banking went to building houses for the poor.

Of course, Arch-Partisan-Prelate Bishop Charles Chaput sees such commendable priorities as a "disservice to the Church."

What makes Tom's win even more special is the fact that the voters of Virginia chose to send home one of the most bigoted, religion-hating men currently staining the halls of Congress. I'll address the Church's position on Immigration in the future, but for now just tuck away in your mind Congressman Goode's callous derision of children born to immigrants here in the United States "anchor babies". And remember, this is ArchBishop Chaput's guy. The guy who isn't doing a disservice to the Church, I guess.

(oh, and there's also that matter of Congressman Goode, typical "family values Republican", having bankrolled the producer of an unrated movie filled with drug-use and homo-sexual and bi-sexual sex scenes.)

Good riddance Virgil. Welcome Tom!

According To Some Bishops

These voters did the right thing:

In Arkansas, which had among the nation’s largest concentration of counties increasing their support for the Republican candidate over the 2004 vote, “there’s a clear indication that racial conservatism was a component of that shift away from the Democrat,” said Jay Barth, a political scientist in the state.
Race was a strong subtext in post-election conversations across the socioeconomic spectrum here in Vernon, the small, struggling seat of Lamar County on the Mississippi border.
One white woman said she feared that blacks would now become more “aggressive,” while another volunteered that she was bothered by the idea of a black man “over me” in the White House.
Don Dollar, the administrative assistant at City Hall, said bitterly that anyone not upset with Mr. Obama’s victory should seek religious forgiveness.
“This is a community that’s supposed to be filled with a bunch of Christian folks,” he said. “If they’re not disappointed, they need to be at the altar.”
“I think there are going to be outbreaks from blacks,” she added. “From where I’m from, this is going to give them the right to be more aggressive.”

I Think It's Safe To Say . . .

That the most vocal of the partisan-prelates have lost their sh*t.

The on-again-off-again discussion of Politics & Faith was back on again at today's USCCB annual meeting.

Some of the Bishops' comments were stunning in their level of hysteria:

2:34 p.m.: Bishop Boyea draws applause when he raises the specter of Catholic hospitals being forced to shut down because of their refusal to comply with regulations requiring them to perform abortions.

Presumably Bishop Boyea is referring to the "Freedom of Choice Act", which President-Elect Obama has indicated he would sign. This Act was first circulated during the Clinton Administration, has not even been introduced by Congress and is not pending any scheduled votes. Further, to the extent it seeks (as originally written) to legislate Constitutional Rights, it is most likely unconstitutional and would never been passed in such a form. Ultimately, nothing in the Act as originally drafted would do what the Bishop is threatening.

2:38 p.m.: More applause as bishops recall the link Cardinal George made in his presidential address yesterday tying the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision to the current battle for the rights of the unborn.

Can someone explain to the Bishops the difference between state-action and state-permission?

2:53 p.m.: Bishops also concerned about the term “common good” since some Catholic groups tried to use that terminology to justify voting for pro-abortion politicians.

You know, because we wouldn't want anyone to this people who are actually born are included in the "common good".

3:07 p.m.: Bishop Martino of Scranton alludes to Vice President-elect Biden when he comments that no Catholic politician should be able to come into his diocese — Biden was born in Scranton — and erroneously state Catholic teaching on abortion.

Or what? That's the real question here.
And here's where the real paranoia kicks in:

3:15 p.m.: Bishops encouraging other bishops to not be afraid to stand up for life in whatever they do in their home dioceses, even if it means risking their own lives.

I'm not aware of any Priest or layperson who has ever been killed in America for protesting abortion. Several healthcare providers, on the other hand, have been murdered by so-called "pro-life" activists.

My Brother's Keeper

The USCCB today issued the following Statement on conditions in our Country:

This disturbing and complicated situation brings home a universal truth: we are all children of God. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. We are all in this together. Hard times can isolate us or they can bring us together. The Catholic community will continue to reach out to those in need, stand with those who are hurt, and work for policies that bring greater compassion, accountability and justice to economic life.Pope Benedict XVI has outlined our goals in his 2008 World Day of Peace message: “The family needs to have a home, employment, and a just recognition of the domestic activity of parents, and the possibility of schooling for children, and basic health care for all.” He also insists that society and public policy should be “committed to assisting the family in these areas.”We offer our prayers for the families and individuals, our sisters and brothers, who are hurting, anxious or discouraged in these difficult times. We also pledge our prayers for our wounded nation and suffering world. We pray that, working together, we can find the courage, wisdom and ways to build an economy of prosperity and greater justice for all.

The Bishops sound like they were channeling then-candidate Obama, from 9/1/08 in Milwaukee:

That spirit of looking out for one another, that core value that says I am my brothers’ keeper, I am my sister’s keeper, that spirit is most evident during times of great tragedy, it’s most evident during times of great hardship, it’s most evident when natural disasters strike because we understand that only God has control and so it takes it out of the realm of politics. We all understand that we have to come together.
But that spirit can’t just be restricted to moments of great catastrophe. Because as I stand here today and look out at the thousands of folks who have gathered here today, I know that there’s some folks that are going through their own quiet storms.
[…]
There’re people out there who’ve seen their jobs shipped overseas. There’re people out there who don’t have healthcare, maybe they’ve been trying to pay it on a credit card but mostly they’ve just been putting off trying to see a doctor. There’re seniors out there that don’t know how they’re going to pay their home heating bill this winter. There are folks out there that don’t know how they’re going to fill up the gas tank. There are young people in this audience right now that have graduated from high school, have the grades and want to go to college, but don’t have the money. There are young people being born in the inner cities, right here in Milwaukee, that don’t see any prospects for the future that think the only path available to them is a casket or a jail cell.
All across America there are quiet storms taking place. There are lives of quiet desperation. People who need just a little bit of help. Now, Americans are a self-reliant people, we’re an independent people. We don’t like asking somebody else to do what we can do ourselves but you know what we understand is that every once in a while somebody’s going to get knocked down. Every once in a while somebody’s going to go through some hard times. When we least expect it tragedy may strike. And what has always made this country great is the understanding that we rise and fall as one nation, that values and family, community and neighborhood, they have to express themselves in our government. Those are national values. Those are values that we all subscribe to. And so that the spirit that we extend today and in the days to come as we monitor what happens on the Gulf that’s the spirit that we’ve got to carry with us each and every day. That’s the spirit that we need in our own homes and it’s the spirit that we need in the White House. And that’s why I’m running for president of the United States of America.
Because if there’s a poor child out there, that’s my child. If there’s a senior that’s having trouble, that’s my grandparent. If there’s a guy who’s lost his job, that’s my brother. If there’s a woman out there without healthcare, that’s my sister. Those are the values that built this country. Those are the values we are fighting for.

Obama's Strength in "Catholic States"

The Catholic News Service reviewed President-Elect Barack Obama's performance in States with the most Catholics in terms of both absolute numbers and as a percentage of the State's population.

How did he do?

Short answer: really, really well.

Longer answer:

Based on Catholic population, Obama won in 12 of the 15 most populous Catholic states. McCain took Texas (third most populous), Louisiana (13th) and Arizona (15th), but Obama captured California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Connecticut and Minnesota.
By the other measure, percentage of the population that is Catholic — which includes smaller states — Out of the top 15 of those states, Obama swept 11: Rhode Island (the nation’s only Catholic-majority state at 59.5 percent), Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Nevada, Illinois, Delaware, Wisconsin, California, New Mexico and New Hampshire. McCain took Louisana (12th on that list) and Texas (13th).

John McCain, by contrast, did best in States with the fewest Catholics:

McCain won nine of the 10 states with the lowest percentage of Catholics in the population. By the same token, McCain also won the 13 states that have the fewest Catholics.

I wonder if the Bishops will have anything to say about this?

Closing Gitmo - Justice

Good news on the indefinite detention/torture front. According to Time Magazine:

WASHINGTON — President-elect Obama's advisers are quietly crafting a proposal to ship dozens, if not hundreds, of imprisoned terrorism suspects to the United States to face criminal trials, a plan that would make good on his promise to close the Guantanamo Bay prison but could require creation of a controversial new system of justice.

During his campaign, Obama described Guantanamo as a "sad chapter in American history" and has said generally that the U.S. legal system is equipped to handle the detainees. But he has offered few details on what he planned to do once the facility is closed.

The plan being developed by Obama's team has been championed by legal scholars from both political parties. But it is almost certain to face opposition from Republicans who oppose bringing terrorism suspects to the U.S. and from Democrats who oppose creating a new court system with fewer rights for detainees.

What does Catholic Social Teaching have to say about this?

First of all, the Church recognizes the responsibility of the State to defend its citizens, but insists that

In a State ruled by law the power to inflict punishment is correctly entrusted to the Courts; 'In defining the proper relationships between the legislative, executive and judicial powers, the Constitutions of modern States guarantee the judicial power the necessary independence in the realm of law.' (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church at Para. 402, quoting JPII's Address to the Italian Association of Judges)(emphasis in original).

Further,

In carrying out investigations, the regulation against the use of torture, even in the case of serious crimes, must be strictly observed: 'Christ's disciple refuses every recourse to such methods, which nothing could justify and in which the dignity of man is as much debased in his torturer as in the torturer's victim.'

Likewise ruled out is 'the use of detention for the sole purpose of trying to obtain significant information for the trial.' Moreover, it must be ensured that 'trials are conducted swiftly: their excessive length is becoming intolerable for citizens and results in real injustice.'" Id. at Para 404 (emphasis added).

Now, you might ask, isn't Terrorism different? NO.

This right [to defend oneself from terrorism] cannot be exercised in the absence of moral and legal norms, because the struggle against terrorists must be carried out with respect for human rights and for the principles of a State ruled by law. The identification of the guilty party must be duly proven, because criminal responsibility is always personal, and therefore cannot be extended to the religions, nations or ethnic groups to which the terrorists belong.

Why? In addition to the moral requirement to respect the dignity of all human beings . . .

The recruitment of terrorists in fact is easier in situations where rights are trampled and injustices are tolerated over a long period of time." Id at Para 514.

If you read Justice Kennedy's Majority opinion from the Boumediene decision, you'll see that the ruling is fully in line with all of these principles that the Church insists upon.

The four Justices who dissented? Sadly,Four Catholics appointed by Republican Presidents.

The Bush/Cheney Administration created a legal black-hole/hell-hole where people (some or many of whom may very well be innocent) are indefinitely and without any legal recourse deprived of their liberty (and sometimes their very lives).

Hopefully the incoming Obama/Biden Administration will carry through and implement what the Supreme Court has recognized the Constitution requires and the Church has recognized the Faith requires: Due Process and Justice for all.

Cardinal George Opens Bishop Conference

Cardinal Francis George, from President-Elect Obama's hometown of Chicago, addressed the opening Assembly of the Bishops' Conference this morning:

The Pope invites us to place our hope in what lasts forever. We have recently finished a contest for the presidency in which both candidates invited us to hope in change. . . . No political order conforms fully to the Kingdom of God. Separation is built into our faith itself, yet we can hope and work and pray that things political and economic not impede or contest the things that are of God

We come to this Assembly in the interim before a new presidential administration takes office in our country. Symbolically, this is a moment that touches more than our history when a country that once enshrined race slavery in its very constitutional order should come to elect an African American to the presidency. In this, I truly believe, we must all rejoice. We must also hope that President Obama succeed in his task, for the good of all. . . . [W]e can rejoice today with those who, following heroic figures like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., were part of a movement to bring our country’s civil rights, our legal order, into better accord with universal human rights, God’s order. Among so many people of good will, dutiful priests and loving religious women, bishops and lay people of the Catholic Church who took our social doctrine to heart then can feel vindicated now. Their successors remain, especially among those who quietly give their lives to teaching and forming good and joyful children in Catholic schools in African American and other minority communities.

In working for the common good of our society, racial justice is one pillar of our social doctrine. Economic justice, especially for the poor both here and abroad, is another. . . . The common good can never be adequately incarnated in any society when those waiting to be born can be legally killed at choice. . . . [C]ommon ground cannot be found by destroying the common good.

This is the fiftieth year since the calling of the Second Vatican Council by Blessed Pope John XXIII. The Pope looked at a divided world and hoped that the Church could act as Lumen Gentium calls us, as the “sacrament of the unity of the human race.” Those who would weaken our internal unity render the Church’s external mission to the world more difficult if not impossible. Jesus promised that the world would believe in him if we are one: one in faith and doctrine, one in prayer and sacrament, one in governance and shepherding. The Church and her life and teaching do not fit easily into the prior narratives that shape our public discussions. As bishops, we can only insist that those who would impose their own agenda on the Church, those who believe and act self-righteously, answerable only to themselves, whether ideologically on the left or the right, betray the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lots in there for both Parties to think about.

Sunday Reading Reflection - Who are Today's Money Changers?

From today's Gospel, John 2:14-16

14 He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money-changers seated there. 15 He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, 16 and to those who sold doves he said, "Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace."

Who are today's money-changers? Who today takes advantage of people's Faith and exploits their devotion in order to raise money for their own ends?

And what would Jesus have to say to them today?

Bishops Blink on Abortion & Politics

You may recall that in the aftermath of the 2004 Election in which some Bishops threatened to deny the Democratic nominee John Kerry his right to receive the Eucharist, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops determined that the body of Bishops should speak with a more unified voice.

The result was the Statement on Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, which garnered a remarkable 98% assent among the body of Bishops who were present, debated and voted on the issue. Unlike prior USCCB Statements which were criticized by CathCons as having been drafted and approved by sub-committees (the implication being sub-committees full of liberal dissidents), the 2008 Statement was drafted, debated and approved directly by the Bishops themselves.

As 2008 progressed and it became apparent that many Catholics were (correctly) reading the Statement to permit their support for pro-choice politicians including Barack Obama, several partisan-prelates became more vocal and more strident in their condemnation of such voters. These GOPriests believed that a politician or party who merely gives lip-service to promising to attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade (as the GOP has for the last several decades, with no success) is to be preferred over a candidate or party who chooses compassion over condemnation and criminalization and who vows to do the hard work of actually trying to reduce the demand for abortions.

In addition, these same partisans insisted that the Statement be revisited at the Bishops' Conference which begins this Monday. Presumably they sought to revise the Statement to clearly preclude the support for pro-choice politicians altogether. Indeed, Denver ArchBishop Charles Chaput, the leading GOPrelate, who sometimes sounds like he gets his talking-points from Karl Rove instead of the Pope, recently said "Faithful Citizenship' didn't and doesn't work because it's been applied by different people in very different ways." Of course, a careful reading of the Statement makes clear that allowing "different people" to apply the Church's teachings "in different ways" was the very point of the Document.

The stridency of these GOPrelates was to no avail, and may in fact have backfired. Last Tuesday a clear majority of Catholics voted to send Barack Obama and Joe Biden to the White House. This represented a dramatic shift from the Catholic vote in 2004. The Obama/Biden ticket even made substantial in-roads amongst the sub-group of Catholics who attend Mass at least once a week, which is the group that has traditionally been the most Republican.

Now, perhaps in response to those Election results, the Bishops late yesterday quietly revealed that they were dropping "plans to discuss the practical and pastoral implications of these serious matters."

This was a complete 180 from earlier in the week, when Newark, New Jersey ArchBishop John Myers described the urgency of the Post-Election debate as "a very big deal".

Is this a capitulation and realization that such partisan stridency has been counter-productive to the cause of life and has divided and diminished the flock rather than built it up? Or is it a "honeymoon" to wait and see what policies the new Administration actually pursues?

Either way, the ball is now in the new Obama/Biden Administration's court to follow through on the very promising positions they staked on the full range of Catholic Social Teaching.

Obama Campaign - Helping Needy Schools Already

While the McCain Campaign is still busy trying to track down the wardrobe, make-up, jewelry, luggage, spray tanner and . . . ugh . . . silk boxers that their Hockey Mom grifted from them, Barack Obama's campaign is busy donating supplies and equipment from their field offices to needy schools:

Six stock clerks from the School District of Philadelphia picked up four donated couches, three desks, a book-shelf, a microwave and boxes of office supplies from an Obama campaign office at 1500 Sansom St. this morning.

The donations began after the Obama campaign contacted iloveschools.com, a national non-profit organization based in San Diego that helps teachers find equipment, materials and supplies their school districts may not be able to afford.
Valerie Swanson, marketing director for iloveschools.com, said a specific focus of the national Obama campaign was to give back and donate office supplies and other materials to schools.
"Tens-of-thousands of supplies have been donated in two days to various schools across the country," Swanson said. "We were very excited to reach out and give such a large number of supplies to schools in need."
A total of 14 Obama campaign offices in Philadelphia have pledged to donate supplies, she said. About 200 campaign offices across the country have pledged donations in 12 states, including Texas, Indiana and Oregon.
"We received a really great response from the schools in Philadelphia and across Pennsylvania," Swanson said. "When schools receive supplies from us the most common response I get is, 'It was like Christmas.' "

In all fairness, on his campaign website John McCain did promise that:

Public education should be defined as one in which our public support for a child's education follows that child into the school the parent chooses. The school is charged with the responsibility of educating the child, and must have the resources and management authority to deliver on that responsibility.

So, you know, I'm sure he'll get around to taking care of that as soon as tracks down that Louis Vuitton handbags.

Will the Church Follow the Democrats?

Atlanta Bishop Wilton Gregory, former head of the USCCB thinks so:

The election of Barack Obama as the first African-American US President could pave the way for the election of the first black Pope, according to a leading black American Catholic.
Wilton Daniel Gregory, 60, the Archbishop of Atlanta, said that in the past Pope Benedict XVI had himself suggested that the election of a black pontiff would "send a splendid signal to the world" about the universal Church.

Oh, and about all of those Catholic voters who "risked their own salvation" by voting for Barack Obama? Well, according to Bishop Gregory:

the election of Mr Obama was "a great step forward for humanity and a sign that in the United States the problem of racial discrimination has been overcome".

Introduction

This blog will be devoted to measuring the actions and the rhetoric of our political parties and politicians by the standards established in the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church.

In 2008 the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops specifically called on us to use this teaching as a framework for examining the leaders and the issues of the day.

USCCB 2008 Statement on Faithful Citizenship, ¶41:

41. Catholic voters should use the framework of Catholic teaching to examine candidates’ positions on issues affecting human life and dignity as well as issues of justice and peace, and they should consider candidates’ integrity, philosophy, and performance. It is important for all citizens “to see beyond party politics, to analyze campaign rhetoric critically, and to choose their political leaders according to principle, not party affiliation or mere self-interest” (Living the Gospel of Life, no. 33).

Some of the Bishops and Cardinals of the Church have gone far beyond this principle to suggest that only one or a handful of issues should be taken into consideration. These prelates have generally made these statements in an effort to convince their flock to vote for a particular candidate or party, or at least to not vote for the opposing candidate or party.

In the Presidential Election of November 4, 2008, Catholic voters resoundingly rejected these partisan prelates, these GOPriests, and elected Democratic Candidate Senator Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America, along with Senator Joe Biden as Vice President, the first Catholic to hold that office in the history of our Nation.

This blog is a direct response to those prelates' improper interference in the democratic process and their distortion of the Church's teaching on both the issues in particular, and the rights and obligations of voters generally.

Accordingly, I will highlight those times when either or both of our Parties and their leaders either conform to or violate the Church's Social Doctrine, as well as those times when individual Priests', Bishops' and Cardinals' do the same.

Solidarity - Am I My Brother's Keeper?

President-Elect Barack Obama (how great does that sound?) provided a fitting beginning for this blog in his Acceptance Speech on Tuesday night.

The speech highlights the importance that an Obama Administration will place on the principles of Solidarity and the Common Good, two foundational principles of the Catholic Social Doctrine.

In his Acceptance Speech, President-Elect Barack Obama said:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled – Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It’s the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

This victory alone is not the change we seek – it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers – in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House – a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, “We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn – I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

The idea of transcendence of differences and focus on our commonality comes right out of Scripture:

Colossians 3:11-15:

11. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, 7 slave, free; but Christ is all and in all. 12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. 14 And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body.

Galations 3:28:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

The Church further explains the concept of Solidarity in its Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, ¶192:

192. Solidarity highlights in a particular way the intrinsic social nature of the human person, the equality of all in dignity and rights and the common path of individuals and peoples towards an ever more committed unity. Never before has there been such a widespread awareness of the bond of interdependence between individuals and peoples, which is found at every level

¶193: Solidarity is also an authentic moral virtue, not a “feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good. That is to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all”[418]. Solidarity rises to the rank of fundamental social virtue since it places itself in the sphere of justice. It is a virtue directed par excellence to the common good, and is found in “a commitment to the good of one's neighbour with the readiness, in the Gospel sense, to ‘lose oneself' for the sake of the other instead of exploiting him, and to ‘serve him' instead of oppressing him for one's own advantage (cf. Mt 10:40-42, 20:25; Mk 10:42-45; Lk 22:25-27)”[419]

¶194: The commitment to this goal is translated into the positive contribution of seeing that nothing is lacking in the common cause and also of seeking points of possible agreement where attitudes of separation and fragmentation prevail. It translates into the willingness to give oneself for the good of one's neighbour, beyond any individual or particular interest[422].].

And Solidarity is also emphasized by the United States Bishops in their USCCB 2008 Statement on Faithful Citizenship, ¶53:

53. We are one human family, whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be. Loving our neighbor has global dimensions and requires us to eradicate racism and address the extreme poverty and disease plaguing so much of the world. Solidarity also includes the Scriptural call to welcome the stranger among us—including immigrants seeking work, a safe home, education for their children, and a decent life for their families. In light of the Gospel’s invitation to be peacemakers, our commitment to solidarity with our neighbors—at home and abroad—also demands that we promote peace and pursue justice in a world marred by terrible violence and conflict. Decisions on the use of force should be guided by traditional moral criteria and undertaken only as a last resort. As Pope Paul VI taught: “If you want peace, work for Justice” (World Day of Peace Message, January 1, 1972).

We didn't hear much (or any) of this from the McCain/Palin campaign during the past election season. Indeed, to the extent that Senator McCain sounded any of these themes of unity at all, it was only when he no longer needed to appeal to GOP voters. His comments along those lines were, in fact, derided and booed by the crowd assembled for his concession speech.