Showing posts with label catholic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label catholic. Show all posts

Friday, August 28, 2009

People Shouldn't Be Surprised That Pope Isn't Publicly Lavishing Praise on Senator Kennedy: His Political Stands Went Directly Against Church Policy

The media is wondering why Pope Benedict XVI hasn't issued any public comments on the death of Senator Ted Kennedy.

The reason is threefold: abortion, stem cell research, and gay marriage, which Kennedy strongly supported, but is vehemently opposed by the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Kennedy's outright defiance of church doctrine is well-known in Rome. So don't expect to see the Pope go out of his way to praise the Senator for his politics in public.

Being a liberal Catholic is a contradiction: one can be a liberal, or be a Catholic, but not both. You either are, or you aren't a Catholic. And the attempt by American politicians to bridge the gap and have it both ways is utterly ridiculous.

To see Senator Kennedy's voting record, go to ontheissues.org then select Massachusetts, then select Senator Kennedy on the Senate side.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Kennedy Considering Asking Governor of New York to be Appointed to Clinton's Seat: Why This is a VERY Bad Idea

Now that Senator Sniper-Fire has been nominated to be President-elect Obama's Secretary of State, the race is on to fill her seat. Caroline Kennedy, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Representatives Maloney and Millibrand, along with Bill Clinton, are currently the favorite picks of the talking heads on the news shows.

I don't like the attention that the media is giving to Kennedy, merely because of her last name. She should probably pick up some political experience and hold some other offices before asking the Governor of New York to appoint her to fill the remainder of Clinton's seat. And I'm talking about elected positions, not appointments due to her family connections.

She's an excellent fundraiser, having raised over $65 million for the New York public schools. But being an effective fundraiser does not necessarily translate into being an effective politician who responds to the needs of her constituents. The only track record that we have are position statements that she's made when her liberal media friends ask her for her opinions on the issues of the day.

She's already said that she supports gay marriage, abortion rights and supports gun control. If she ever ran for President, I would not vote for her based on those principles alone.

Her support for gay marriage and abortion rights is also contrary to her beliefs as a Catholic, and that's another serious issue for many people. You can't be pro-choice and be a Catholic; those positions are mutually exclusive from one another. Being Catholic is about being part of a pro-life religion. She's either a Catholic, or she's not. There is no such thing as a liberal Catholic. But it seems like many Catholic politicians from out East abandon their church's most sacred laws in the name of their politics.

Religious beliefs aside, the interests of New York would be better served by picking someone who has experienced going through a campaign and has at least held public office.

Name recognition alone isn't enough to hang one's hat on. We've all eyewitnessed the truth of this statement recently, when a virtually unknown politician named Obama beat a political star with the name-draw that Hillary Clinton has and went on to become the first African-American President. Name recognition is but one piece of the puzzle.

Governor Paterson would do his state a favor by looking elsewhere for a suitable and more seasoned replacement.