Biden Skips the Funeral

For John, BLUF:  This Morning you asked about President Biden not attending Pope Benedict's funeral.  This is the best explanation I can find.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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We’re 0-For-2 For Catholic Presidents Attending Papal Funerals

From Howie Carr Radio Network, by Digital Managing Editor Emma Foley, 6 January 2023.

Here is the lede plus one:

They say high school never ends. You can be long gone, and the invite list to your funeral will still stir up drama.

President Biden was not invited to Pope Benedict XVI’s funeral yesterday. Though unconfirmed, it can be easily deduced America’s second-ever baptized Catholic President was barred from attending.

The Vatican kept its explanation for his no-show vague:  “simplicity.”  Any photo from St. Peter’s Square this morning debunks the event was anything but “simple”—with estimates of 50,000 in attendance—and for good reason.

Maybe the Vatican was using “simple” rather than the more blunt word: “straightforward.”  As in, we’re telling the abortion-promoting, religious-freedom-inhibiting, self-proclaimed “devout Catholic” to stay far away.

And there you are.  President Biden is more like a Progressive than like a Roomsn Catholic.  He is willing to shave his Catholic beliefs in order to fit in with his Progressive friends. 

For example, in the wake oof the US Supreme Court Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health decision, reversing Roe v Wade, President Joe Biden signed an executive order aimed at protecting access to avortion.  From CNN we hve this report:

The executive order attempts to safeguard access to medication abortion and emergency contraception, protect patient privacy, launch public education efforts as well as bolster the security of and the legal options available to those seeking and providing abortion services.

“President Biden has made clear that the only way to secure a woman’s right to choose is for Congress to restore the protections of Roe as federal law. Until then, he has committed to doing everything in his power to defend reproductive rights and protect access to safe and legal abortion,” the White House said in a statement on Friday.

There is no action the President can take to restore the nationwide right to an abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling. Biden has acknowledged publicly his options to expand abortion access remain limited, and has called on the American people to elect more members of Congress in November’s midterm elections who will support federal legislation protecting abortion access.

The actions of President Biden suggest not a person who sees abortion as morally wrong, althoough favoored by many in this nation, but as a full fledged right, to be provided everywhere, regardless of local concerns.

President Biden is not executing his duties as though he had [a Catholic] informed conscience, aware of the humanity of a fetus.  I am not shocked that he was not invited to the Requim Mass for the late Pope Benedict.

Regards  —  Cliff

A Mother's Decision

For John, BLUF:  Brave eecisions by Mothers have allowed a number of us to make from womb to life outside the womb.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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John Paul II's mom chose life after her doctor advised an abortion

From The Pilot, by ACI Prensa Staff, 19 MAY 2022.

Here is the lede plus four:

Over one hundred years ago on May 18, Emilia Wojtyla gave birth to her second son, Karol, after a difficult and life-threatening pregnancy. The child would grow up to be St. John Paul II.

In a new book published in Poland, Milena Kindziuk describes how St. John Paul II's mother was advised to get an abortion.

"She had to choose between her own life and that of the baby she was carrying, but her deep faith did not allow Emilia to choose abortion," Kindziuk said in an interview with ACI Stampa.

"Deep in her heart she had to be ready to make this sacrifice for the baby she was carrying," she said. It speaks for itself.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Compromised Leaders

For John, BLUF:  Voting is a compromising action.  Not eveyone we vote for has the same moral standards we aspire to.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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PRESIDENT BIDEN AND A CATHOLIC INFLECTION POINT

Here is the sub-headline:

I agree with those who argued last year that the primary responsibility for effective Catholic witness in public life rests with lay Catholics. Lay Catholics are to be salt and light in society, including politics.

From The Pilot, by Professor George Weigel, 20 January 2021.

Here is the lede plus three:

"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female:  for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:27-28).

Catholics who take this apostolic teaching seriously will understand that our first obligation toward our brother in Christ, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., is to be in Christian solidarity with him through prayer.  We pray for his health, strength, and courage.  We pray that he be granted the gift Solomon asked of God: wisdom in governance.  We pray for his deepening conversion to Christ.  Solidarity in prayer is the first duty of American Catholics toward the new president today.  That is bedrock Catholicism.

There is no doubt, however, that the inauguration of President Biden, the second baptized Catholic to attain the presidency of the United States, creates an inflection point for Catholicism in America, as we strive to be a communion of disciples in mission.

Were he to follow through on campaign promises to bring the Little Sisters of the Poor to heel over the provision of contraceptives, some of them abortifacients, to their employees; were he to support federal funding of abortion, at home and internationally through U.S. foreign aid; were his administration to promote the practices of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide; if, through his Department of Health and Human Services, he were to hollow out religious freedom by repealing the federal regulations that now protect the conscience rights of Catholic doctors, nurses, and other health-care workers -- then Mr. Biden would have demonstrated, as president, that he is not in full communion with the Catholic Church, because he would have deliberately facilitated what the Gospel and the Church teach are grave moral evils and injustices.

That is one very long sentence, but it hangs together.  The rule of thumb I learned was 20 words, unless you are an excellent writer, a writer in the same class as Shakespeare or Milton.

In the end, he notes how the President, and other Catholics, support actions that deviate from Catholic moral teachings.  Then he puts it upon lay persons to uphold those moral standards.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Ruler Isn't Omnipotent

For John, BLUF:  I find it interesting that President Trump would sign a declaration honoring Saint Thomas à Becket.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Trump Honors Catholic Martyr St. Thomas Becket for Defense of Religious Liberty

From The Daily Signal (the Heritage Foundation), Ms Mary Margaret Olohan, 29 December 2020.

Here is the lede plus one:

President Donald Trump declared Dec. 29 the anniversary of the Roman Catholic martyr St. Thomas Becket, honoring the 12th-century English bishop as “a lion of religious liberty.”

“Thomas Becket’s death serves as a powerful and timeless reminder to every American that our freedom from religious persecution is not a mere luxury or accident of history, but rather an essential element of our liberty,” the president’s proclamation said.  “It is our priceless treasure and inheritance. And it was bought with the blood of martyrs.”

The president highlighted Archbishop Becket’s martyrdom in a proclamation issued Monday, describing how knights of King Henry II of England murdered the Catholic saint in his own church after he refused to acknowledge the king as his supreme ruler.

“His last words on this earth were these,” the proclamation said, “‘For the name of Jesus and the protection of the Church, I am ready to embrace death.’  Dressed in holy robes, Thomas was cut down where he stood inside the walls of his own church.”

That President Trump would honor this Saint suggests that he does have some inkling about the separation of powers within our Federal Government and the idea that the Tenth Amendment exists.

Regards  —  Cliff

Friday Food During Lent

For John, BLUF:  This is a little late for today, unless you are going to have a little nighttime snack, but it does show flexibility in thinking.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Cardinal OKs meat on Fridays for remainder of Lent

Fromo the Boston Pilot, by Pilot Staff Member Gregory L Tracey, 27 March 2020.

Here is the lede plus three:

As the people of Massachusetts find themselves under a stay-at-home advisory and are being urged limits trips outside -- even to the grocery store -- Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley has lifted the obligation for Catholics in the Archdiocese of Boston to abstain from meat on Fridays for the remainder of Lent.

In a message to the people of the Archdiocese of Boston sent March 26, Vicar General Bishop Peter Uglietto said, "One of the effects of the current events is uncertainty regarding what food products are available on any given day.  At this time, we are called to make the best of what we have at hand or is available for purchase.  Many people are using what they have stored in their freezers and on their shelves.  Others are depending upon pre-packaged meals or food delivered through support agencies, which are providing an important service for individuals and families in our communities, especially for children and our senior citizens."

"In light of these circumstances, Cardinal Sean is dispensing all Catholics in the Archdiocese from the obligation of abstaining from meat during the remaining Fridays of Lent," Bishop Uglietto added.

In the U.S., Catholics aged 14 and over are required to abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday and each Friday during Lent, and those who are 18 to 59 are required to fast as well on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

As these are disciplines, or practices, rather than doctrine, they can be waved at the local level, and were.  However, if you live outside the Boston Archdiocese you need to check with your local Ordinary to see what action has been taken in your Diocese.

On the other hand, this is no reason to abandon the seafood dinner you had planned for Good Friday, if you have the fixings, in my humble opinion.

Regards  —  Cliff