Irreconcilable Differences

Some people are satisfied with fair sounding words, others are more concerned with substance.

The President said in his speech at Notre Dame that despite all his fair sounding words, there is no middle ground. There is only middle ground if somebody gives up their position. The fact that the opposing views are "irreconcilable" in his words means that there is nothing that can be reconciled and therefore no touted "middle ground".

Proponents and opponents, take note.

He did say that we should speak nicely about each other, though. Big deal.

KANSAS CITY, Missouri, May 21, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Although the University of Notre Dame has defended its invitation of President Obama for the sake of dialogue on abortion, Obama's own remark Sunday that the opposing views were "irreconcilable" brought dialogue to a "screeching halt," said Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, MO.

"I think the message of the day was this - that the President of Notre Dame said that they had invited the President of the United States and decided to honor him for the sake of dialogue," said Bishop Finn in an interview with the diocesan newspaper the Catholic Key earlier this week.

"The President got up and said that the differences that we have on abortion - namely the Catholic Church's staunch opposition to abortion and his staunch support of abortion were 'irreconcilable,'" he continued. "And at that moment, it would seem to me that the dialogue came to a screeching halt.

"Father Jenkins' expressed desire for dialogue, whether it was well-founded or justified, at that point got thrown back in his face. The President shut the door on dialogue by saying that there was not going to be any change in his position on abortion and he understood that there was not going to be any change in the Church's position on abortion.

"I am glad that Mr. Obama was so clear."

Notre Shame

This is the obligatory post about the Notre Dame scandal honoring Obama with a degree. My thoughts:

1. It's a shameful display of disobedience reflecting badly on Notre Dame
2. Everybody knows it
3. Everything else is just words, words, words
4. It's not about politics, but about religion
   
5. It's nobody's business but the Catholics

For more and better reading, start with Man With Black Hat.

German Bishop Gone Rogue

The good folks over at CMR alert us to a post over at CathCon reporting that the Chairman of the German Bishop's Conference has denied that Christ suffered and died for our sins.

Christ "did not die for the sins of the people as if God had provided a sacrificial offering, like a scapegoat" - said the archbishop.

Um, yeah, He did -- that was exactly the point. Don't they teach Biblical theology in Germany? How do you get to be the Chairman of the Bishop's Conference without knowing and teaching that fact? An ignorant country priest in a small province, maybe -- but an Archbishop and Chairman?!

Is this silly season? We just talked about other Bishops who have gone off the reservation. These guys are supposed to be leaders and teachers of the Faithful. Can we really blame the average Catholic for not knowing their moral theology when we have leaders like this?

Throwing Over The Bishopric

Conspiracy theories aside, how do you come to be a Catholic Bishop and then go off your rocker?

The most notorious modern example involves the 2001 case of Emmanuel Milingo, archbishop of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia,who married a woman from Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification church and later attempted to ordain married men as bishops.

Now in the headlines is former Bishop Fernando Lugo who resigned his post in 2006 to campaign for president of Paraguay; Lugo admits to fathering a child while still a consecrated Bishop. Local response appears to be largely apathetic.

"Most people will see it as a private affair," Vera said by telephone. "What's important is that he assumed his responsibility."

"People are more lax in their attitudes here. It shouldn't hurt his personal image much."

Besides Lugo, at least two other recent Latin American presidents - Alejandro Toledo and Alan Garcia, both of Peru - have admitted to fathering children out of wedlock, before they took office.

Reports allege the former Bishop started having sexual relations with the mother when she was as young as 16.

Before Lugo, no priest had been elected president of a Latin American country in living memory, much less one who hewed to the liberation theology of agitating on behalf of the oppressed

Wasn't "liberation theology" widely discredited by Pope John Paul II? 1984 is calling.

I realize that sin is as available to Catholic Bishops as it is to laymen, but being teachers of doctrine usually implies a stricter formation than most. Here, we are not talking about ordinary (or extraordinary) failings of Bishops (a-la sex abuse scandal), but rather the introduction of syncretism in the one case, and the rejection of the office altogether in the other.

In both cases, the persons involved were acting on a desire to be something other than what they were ordained to be. It's not just a job, it's a vocation.

"For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable." Romans 11:29

That is totally odd, and to my mind, incomprehensible. Why would you want to be something you're not called to be? And a Bishop at that -- they're not exactly youths. Midlife crisis? Milingo was 72.

ASU More Grounded Than Notre Dame

You have to ask yourself: what does ASU know that ND doesn't? It's almost comical when you have secular institutions acting in a more forthright manner than a Catholic university.

Arizona State University says they have no plans to honor President Obama with an honorary degree when he gives their commencement speech this spring. In fact, they have no plans to honor anybody this year as yet.

Notre Dame has angered faithful Catholics with its plans to confer an honorary degree in Law to Mr. Obama at its commencement ceremonies this spring. Currently, the controversy shows no sign of abating. The Bishop of Lincoln, Fabian W. Bruskewitz, has sent a blunt letter to Fr. John Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, in which he states he is

"utterly appalled at your dedication to immorality and wrong-doing" and "betrayal of the moral teachings of the Catholic Church" and "I can assure you of my prayers for your conversion, and for the conversion of your formerly Catholic University."

The obvious difference between the two universities is that one is Catholic and the other is not. Each should be expected to act like what they are. However, that is not always what you get. Fr. Jenkins is quoted as saying he is conferring this honorary degree for a number of reasons.

"Presidents from both parties have come to Notre Dame for decades to speak to graduates about our nation and our world. They've given important addresses on international affairs, human rights, service, and we're delighted that President Obama is continuing that tradition," Jenkins said.

Jenkins said the invitation also had to do with the fact that Obama is the first black president in the nation's history and that adds a different element to his invitation to offer the commencement address and receive an honorary degree.

Whereas, Arizona State University demurs - and this is the money quote - saying:

"It's our practice to recognize an individual for his body of work, somebody who's been in their position for a long time," Sharon Keeler, an ASU spokeswoman, told The Associated Press. "His body of work is yet to come. That's why we're not recognizing him with a degree at the beginning of his presidency."

Engaging In Dialogue?

Chicago, Ill., Mar 30, 2009 / 02:01 pm (CNA).- On Sunday, the Chicago Tribune invited the Catholic scholars Professor Douglas W. Kmiec and George Weigel to express their opposing views about the controversial invitation of President Barack Obama to give the commencement address at the Catholic University of Notre Dame.

Full article here.

Was this what Notre Dame meant by "engaging in dialogue"? While not the parties originally intended, there is certainly a lot of it now.

Weigel writes, “But, to repeat, a commencement is not a debate, nor is a commencement address the beginning of some sort of ongoing dialogue, as Notre Dame officials have tried to suggest. A commencement address and the degree that typically accompanies it confer an honor. That honor is, or should be, a statement of the university's convictions.”

Interesting reading.

Notre Dame Scandal Claims First Victim

It looks as though the controversy over honoring President Obama at Notre Dame has claimed its first victim in the person of Senator Robert Casey Jr., D-PA. The Senator was scheduled to be the commencement speaker at St. Vincent College, a Catholic college in Latrobe, PA. Sen. Casey has since quietly canceled his engagement.

Neither Casey's office, nor the president of the college, H. James Towey, are providing any public reason for the cancellation. The college president is cited "as having “no reason” that Sen. Casey is unable to give the address" and that the "college has “no comment” on the situation". Senator Casey's office did not return calls for comment from Philadelphia based newspaper, The Bulletin.

“Given the strong comments from Bishop Martino and the high profile controversy over Notre Dame’s decision to honor President Obama, it is probably a blessing to St. Vincent College that Sen. Casey is not available to speak,” said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society."

Casey, Jr. has been under intense scrutiny from Bishop Martino of Scranton, PA who published a letter formally warning Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) that his vote against the reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy (prohibiting use of U.S. aid dollars to fund abortions abroad) and support for "family planning", i.e., artificial contraception, has placed him in danger of "persist[ing] formally in cooperating with evil [abortion]".

Bob Casey's father, former Senator Bob Casey, Sr. (D-PA) was a liberal Democrat on most issues except for abortion which he opposed. As a result of his vocal criticism of his own party on the issue Casey, Sr. was ostracized by his party during the presidential election of Bill Clinton. A few years later, Bob Casey, Sr. fell ill and died. His son, Bob Casey, Jr., later defeated incumbent pro-life Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) to assume his father's seat on a supposedly pro-life platform. To date, Casey, Jr.'s record on abortion has been mixed, prompting some to claim that his pro-life credentials consisted largely of his father's reputation.

This is one of those "open secrets" in the political life of Bob Casey, Jr. He appears to be too afraid of a public blood-letting to show his face at a Catholic college now that the Notre Dame controversy is in full swing. This probably saves the reputation of St. Vincent College as well, not having to undergo censure for the same public mistakes as the Fighting Irish.

Fail

The New York Times reports:

The Legionaries of Christ, an influential Roman Catholic religious order, have been shaken by new revelations that their founder, who died a year ago, had an affair with a woman and fathered a daughter just as he and his thriving conservative order were winning the acclaim of Pope John Paul II.

Brennan Manning, a Christian author and speaker, famously put it this way:

The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.