tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2012:/news//3 2012-02-02T16:40:56Z Relevant news for Catholic Democrats Movable Type 3.31 tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2012:/news//3.596 2012-02-02T15:35:56Z 2012-02-02T16:40:56Z

Delivered Thursday morning, 2 February 2012 Michelle and I feel truly blessed to be here. This is my third year coming to this prayer breakfast as President. As Jeff mentioned, before that, I came as senator. I have to say,...

Catholic Democrats Staff Delivered Thursday morning, 2 February 2012 Michelle and I feel truly blessed to be here. This is my third year coming to this prayer breakfast as President. As Jeff mentioned, before that, I came as senator. I have to say, it's easier coming as President. (Laughter.) I don't have to get here quite as early. But it's always been an opportunity that I've cherished. And it's a chance to step back for a moment, for us to come together as brothers and sisters and seek God's face together. At a time when it's easy to lose ourselves in the rush and clamor of our own lives, or get caught up in the noise and rancor that too often passes as politics today, these moments of prayer slow us down. They humble us. They remind us that no matter how much responsibility we have, how fancy our titles, how much power we think we hold, we are imperfect vessels. We can all benefit from turning to our Creator, listening to Him. Avoiding phony religiosity, listening to Him. The American Spectator This is especially important right now, when we're facing some big challenges as a nation. Our economy is making progress as we recover from the worst crisis in three generations, but far too many families are still struggling to find work or make the mortgage, pay for college, or, in some cases, even buy food. Our men and women in uniform have made us safer and more secure, and we were eternally grateful to them, but war and suffering and hardship still remain in too many corners of the globe. And a lot of those men and women who we celebrate on Veterans Day and Memorial Day come back and find that, when it comes to finding a job or getting the kind of care that they need, we're not always there the way we need to be. It's absolutely true that meeting these challenges requires sound decision-making, requires smart policies. We know that part of living in a pluralistic society means that our personal religious beliefs alone can't dictate our response to every challenge we face. But in my moments of prayer, I'm reminded that faith and values play an enormous role in motivating us to solve some of our most urgent problems, in keeping us going when we suffer setbacks, and opening our minds and our hearts to the needs of others. We can't leave our values at the door. If we leave our values at the door, we abandon much of the moral glue that has held our nation together for centuries, and allowed us to become somewhat more perfect a union. Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Jane Addams, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, Abraham Heschel -- the majority of great reformers in American history did their work not just because it was sound policy, or they had done good analysis, or understood how to exercise good politics, but because their faith and their values dictated it, and called for bold action -- sometimes in the face of indifference, sometimes in the face of resistance. This is no different today for millions of Americans, and it's certainly not for me. I wake up each morning and I say a brief prayer, and I spend a little time in scripture and devotion. And from time to time, friends of mine, some of whom are here today, friends like Joel Hunter or T.D. Jakes, will come by the Oval Office or they'll call on the phone or they'll send me a email, and we'll pray together, and they'll pray for me and my family, and for our country. But I don't stop there. I'd be remiss if I stopped there; if my values were limited to personal moments of prayer or private conversations with pastors or friends. So instead, I must try -- imperfectly, but I must try -- to make sure those values motivate me as one leader of this great nation. And so when I talk about our financial institutions playing by the same rules as folks on Main Street, when I talk about making sure insurance companies aren't discriminating against those who are already sick, or making sure that unscrupulous lenders aren't taking advantage of the most vulnerable among us, I do so because I genuinely believe it will make the economy stronger for everybody. But I also do it because I know that far too many neighbors in our country have been hurt and treated unfairly over the last few years, and I believe in God's command to "love thy neighbor as thyself." I know the version of that Golden Rule is found in every major religion and every set of beliefs -– from Hinduism to Islam to Judaism to the writings of Plato. And when I talk about shared responsibility, it's because I genuinely believe that in a time when many folks are struggling, at a time when we have enormous deficits, it's hard for me to ask seniors on a fixed income, or young people with student loans, or middle-class families who can barely pay the bills to shoulder the burden alone. And I think to myself, if I'm willing to give something up as somebody who's been extraordinarily blessed, and give up some of the tax breaks that I enjoy, I actually think that's going to make economic sense. But for me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus's teaching that "for unto whom much is given, much shall be required." It mirrors the Islamic belief that those who've been blessed have an obligation to use those blessings to help others, or the Jewish doctrine of moderation and consideration for others. When I talk about giving every American a fair shot at opportunity, it's because I believe that when a young person can afford a college education, or someone who's been unemployed suddenly has a chance to retrain for a job and regain that sense of dignity and pride, and contributing to the community as well as supporting their families -- that helps us all prosper. It means maybe that research lab on the cusp of a lifesaving discovery, or the company looking for skilled workers is going to do a little bit better, and we'll all do better as a consequence. It makes economic sense. But part of that belief comes from my faith in the idea that I am my brother's keeper and I am my sister's keeper; that as a country, we rise and fall together. I'm not an island. I'm not alone in my success. I succeed because others succeed with me. And when I decide to stand up for foreign aid, or prevent atrocities in places like Uganda, or take on issues like human trafficking, it's not just about strengthening alliances, or promoting democratic values, or projecting American leadership around the world, although it does all those things and it will make us safer and more secure. It's also about the biblical call to care for the least of these –- for the poor; for those at the margins of our society. To answer the responsibility we're given in Proverbs to "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute." And for others, it may reflect the Jewish belief that the highest form of charity is to do our part to help others stand on their own. Treating others as you want to be treated. Requiring much from those who have been given so much. Living by the principle that we are our brother's keeper. Caring for the poor and those in need. These values are old. They can be found in many denominations and many faiths, among many believers and among many non-believers. And they are values that have always made this country great -- when we live up to them; when we don't just give lip service to them; when we don't just talk about them one day a year. And they're the ones that have defined my own faith journey. And today, with as many challenges as we face, these are the values I believe we're going to have to return to in the hopes that God will buttress our efforts. Now, we can earnestly seek to see these values lived out in our politics and our policies, and we can earnestly disagree on the best way to achieve these values. In the words of C.S. Lewis, "Christianity has not, and does not profess to have a detailed political program. It is meant for all men at all times, and the particular program which suited one place or time would not suit another." Our goal should not be to declare our policies as biblical. It is God who is infallible, not us. Michelle reminds me of this often. (Laughter.) So instead, it is our hope that people of goodwill can pursue their values and common ground and the common good as best they know how, with respect for each other. And I have to say that sometimes we talk about respect, but we don't act with respect towards each other during the course of these debates. But each and every day, for many in this room, the biblical injunctions are not just words, they are also deeds. Every single day, in different ways, so many of you are living out your faith in service to others. Just last month, it was inspiring to see thousands of young Christians filling the Georgia Dome at the Passion Conference, to worship the God who sets the captives free and work to end modern slavery. Since we've expanded and strengthened the White House faith-based initiative, we've partnered with Catholic Charities to help Americans who are struggling with poverty; worked with organizations like World Vision and American Jewish World Service and Islamic Relief to bring hope to those suffering around the world. Colleges across the country have answered our Interfaith Campus Challenge, and students are joined together across religious lines in service to others. From promoting responsible fatherhood to strengthening adoption, from helping people find jobs to serving our veterans, we're linking arms with faith-based groups all across the country. I think we all understand that these values cannot truly find voice in our politics and our policies unless they find a place in our hearts. The Bible teaches us to "be doers of the word and not merely hearers." We're required to have a living, breathing, active faith in our own lives. And each of us is called on to give something of ourselves for the betterment of others -- and to live the truth of our faith not just with words, but with deeds. So even as we join the great debates of our age -- how we best put people back to work, how we ensure opportunity for every child, the role of government in protecting this extraordinary planet that God has made for us, how we lessen the occasions of war -- even as we debate these great issues, we must be reminded of the difference that we can make each day in our small interactions, in our personal lives. As a loving husband, or a supportive parent, or a good neighbor, or a helpful colleague -- in each of these roles, we help bring His kingdom to Earth. And as important as government policy may be in shaping our world, we are reminded that it's the cumulative acts of kindness and courage and charity and love, it's the respect we show each other and the generosity that we share with each other that in our everyday lives will somehow sustain us during these challenging times. John tells us that, "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." Mark read a letter from Billy Graham, and it took me back to one of the great honors of my life, which was visiting Reverend Graham at his mountaintop retreat in North Carolina, when I was on vacation with my family at a hotel not far away. And I can still remember winding up the path up a mountain to his home. Ninety-one years old at the time, facing various health challenges, he welcomed me as he would welcome a family member or a close friend. This man who had prayed great prayers that inspired a nation, this man who seemed larger than life, greeted me and was as kind and as gentle as could be. And we had a wonderful conversation. Before I left, Reverend Graham started praying for me, as he had prayed for so many Presidents before me. And when he finished praying, I felt the urge to pray for him. I didn't really know what to say. What do you pray for when it comes to the man who has prayed for so many? But like that verse in Romans, the Holy Spirit interceded when I didn't know quite what to say. And so I prayed -- briefly, but I prayed from the heart. I don't have the intellectual capacity or the lung capacity of some of my great preacher friends here that have prayed for a long time. (Laughter.) But I prayed. And we ended with an embrace and a warm goodbye. And I thought about that moment all the way down the mountain, and I've thought about it in the many days since. Because I thought about my own spiritual journey -- growing up in a household that wasn't particularly religious; going through my own period of doubt and confusion; finding Christ when I wasn't even looking for him so many years ago; possessing so many shortcomings that have been overcome by the simple grace of God. And the fact that I would ever be on top of a mountain, saying a prayer for Billy Graham -- a man whose faith had changed the world and that had sustained him through triumphs and tragedies, and movements and milestones -- that simple fact humbled me to my core. I have fallen on my knees with great regularity since that moment -- asking God for guidance not just in my personal life and my Christian walk, but in the life of this nation and in the values that hold us together and keep us strong. I know that He will guide us. He always has, and He always will. And I pray his richest blessings on each of you in the days ahead. Thank you very much. ]]> tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2012:/news//3.595 2012-01-29T14:17:22Z 2012-01-30T18:06:14Z

Archbishop Timothy Dolan, the president of the USCCB, is leading a campaign against the Obama Administration rooted in the charge that the Administration is somehow infringing on the "religious liberty" of Catholics. In an opinion piece published in the Wall...

Patrick Whelan It is telling that the USCCB put out 17 press releases in January, eight of them dealing with "religious liberty." None of them dealt with poverty, despite January having been declared "Poverty Awareness Month" by the USCCB itself. At a time of continued economic duress for many Americans, the leaders of the bishops' conference seem to have lost interest in the one most unifying concern of Catholics: the plight of the poor. The USCCB webpage has numerous references to an attack on "religious liberty," and it urges Catholics to write to Congress to overturn HHS regulations insuring that workers for Catholic-affiliated institutions will have access to birth control like all other American workers. But with regard to poverty, the website merely urges that Catholics "Please visit and "like" our special Poverty Awareness Month Facebook page." The bishops' "religious liberty" campaign derived its origins in part from a 2009 conservative political document called "The Manhattan Declaration," written by Princeton Professor Robert George and endorsed by a broad range of Republican activists. George was a leading architect of what can only be labeled a campaign of hate speech toward candidate Obama in 2008, repeatedly labelling him as "the most pro-abortion candidate of either major political party in history." Archbishop Dolan and several other bishops with strong anti-Obama views signed that document, which claimed that there was a growing assault on religious liberty in America because Democrats refused to adopt Republican views on reversing Roe-vs-Wade and other conservative postures. Some bishops have now signed-on wholesale to the Republican view that President Obama is somehow out to get Catholics, despite his having a cabinet with an unprecedented number of Catholics, and despite record spending through the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships for Catholic charitable efforts. At a moment when middle class Americans continue to suffer economically, with all the ramifications for family life, the president of the USCCB is speaking to the wealthy readership of the Wall Street Journal with words tarring President Obama as somehow unsympathetic to Catholic sensibilities. This politicization of the Church may please Republicans in the pews, but it may well accelerate the departure of other thinking Catholics who expect more from their Church leaders.]]> tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2012:/news//3.594 2012-01-21T03:32:14Z 2012-01-21T03:38:23Z

As a physician and pediatric specialist, I know that news of the HHS regulations today means that more women will have access to the kind of health care that has been denied to millions over the years because of the...

Catholic Democrats Staff About Catholic Democrats Catholic Democrats is an association of state-based groups representing a Catholic voice within the Democratic Party, and advancing a public understanding of the rich tradition of Catholic Social Teaching and its potential to help solve the broad range of problems confronting all Americans. Patrick Whelan MD PhD is the national president, and is a member of the pediatrics faculties at Harvard Medical School and the Keck School of Medicine of USC. For more information about Catholic Democrats please go to www.catholicdemocrats.org # # # Catholic Democrats | PO Box 290331 | Boston | MA | 02129 media@catholicdemocrats.org ]]> tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2012:/news//3.593 2012-01-08T03:54:22Z 2012-01-08T04:19:02Z

Breaking News--Heart Breaking News in More Ways than One Rev Emmanuel Charles McCarthy Archbishop Edwin O'Brien, former military chaplain and former Archbishop of the Catholic Military Archdiocese of the United States, who to this day teaches that the Vietnam War...

Patrick Whelan Breaking News--Heart Breaking News in More Ways than One Rev Emmanuel Charles McCarthy Archbishop Edwin O'Brien, former military chaplain and former Archbishop of the Catholic Military Archdiocese of the United States, who to this day teaches that the Vietnam War was a war in accord with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Catholic Just War Theory--as were the war on Iraq and the war on Afghanistan--was named a Cardinal on January 6, 2012. Cardinal-designate O'Brien was ordained a priest by Cardinal Francis Spellman who was also an avid supporter of the Vietnam War and the Apostolic Vicar of the U.S. Catholic Military. Edwin O'Brien's first priestly assignment after ordination was as Catholic chaplain to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He was ordained bishop by Cardinal John O'Conner, himself a former Catholic military chaplain with the rank of Rear Admiral and former Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Navy, on March 25, 1996. During that part of the war on Iraq that began on March 19, 2003, O'Brien was the most outspoken Catholic hierarch supporting the war. From September 2005 to June 2006 while head of the Catholic Military Archdiocese he also acted as head of the Papal Visitation to U.S. Seminaries to insure they were teaching and implementing the Gospel correctly. On July 12, 2007, when he was appointed Archbishop of Baltimore, the Baltimore Examiner described him as "Army Jump-school qualified and troubleshooter for God at Catholic seminaries and remote Vietnam War firebases alike." The College of Cardinals to this day remains free of infection by a single Cardinal who publicly believes and publicly teaches that Jesus' teaching of the Nonviolent Love of friends and enemies is the Way of Jesus, the Way of discipleship, the only Way of doing what He did. If those in Rome, who decide who gets the red hat, could ever overcome their fear of contamination of the College of Cardinal and of the Catholic Church by Christic Nonviolence, and would want a few names of Bishops who could be at least a token representative of an entirely acceptable and orthodox position within the Catholic Church, I would be happy to froward a few such names. After all, the selection of Edwin O'Brien and the absence of a single Nonviolent Cardinal is as clear a communication of the truth that the leaders of the institutional Church believe, teach and abide by in the execution of their explicit commission from Jesus: Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Mt 28:18-20]]> tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2011:/news//3.592 2011-11-21T04:59:23Z 2011-11-21T05:02:36Z

by Prof. David O'Brien Washington Post "On Faith" blog 14 Nov 2011 As the American Catholic bishops gather for their semi-annual meeting this week, the poor are again knocking at their door. Despite all their divisions, American Catholics, indeed all...

Catholic Democrats Staff by Prof. David O'Brien Washington Post "On Faith" blog 14 Nov 2011 As the American Catholic bishops gather for their semi-annual meeting this week, the poor are again knocking at their door. Despite all their divisions, American Catholics, indeed all American Christians, agree on at least one thing: God wants them to take care of poor people. If you can't check that out in recent polls, visit almost any church in rich suburbs or poverty neighborhoods and you will find a box asking donations for people in need. Catholics take pride in Catholic Charities, the nation's largest private social service network, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the church's almost fifty year old program to back self-help projects among America's poor, to say nothing of parish-based and independent soup kitchens, clothing centers, homes for the homeless and women with troubles, and quiet neighbor to neighbor care-taking. With all this behind them, the bishops have often spoken up for the nation's poor. When they did so, they had the authority of daily pastoral experience and the backing of all but the most hard-hearted of their people. Full article here]]> tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2011:/news//3.591 2011-11-14T18:01:55Z 2011-11-14T18:27:27Z

Commonweal Magazine, Nov 18, 2011 by Patrick Whelan There is a quiet battle going on in U.S. Christianity about whether being a Christian is more about what one professes or how one acts. In the eternal argument over faith versus...

Catholic Democrats Staff Commonweal Magazine, Nov 18, 2011 by Patrick Whelan There is a quiet battle going on in U.S. Christianity about whether being a Christian is more about what one professes or how one acts. In the eternal argument over faith versus works, Harvard's Rev. Peter Gomes often expressed a deeply Catholic affection for both. Through his preaching and writing as minister to the university for nearly forty years, and in his Inauguration Day benedictions for two Republican presidents, he explored the interrelationship between suffering, creativity, and faith in a way that was not often heard in Protestant circles. He died last February at age sixty-eight. Having long taught a course on the history of Harvard, Peter liked to say that faith was "a part of the university's very DNA, an essential part of both its historic and its contemporary identity." Continuing the work of the seventeenth-century president-preachers, Peter felt the weight of history as minister in the nondenominational Memorial Church--a white-spired rival to the neighboring imperial-columned Widener Library in Harvard Yard, the two buildings serving as a perpetual reminder of the tension between faith and reason. Rev Gomes with Maestro Samuel Wong (former conductor of the New York Philharmonic) and the author. Ordained a Baptist minister in the tumultuous year 1968, Peter was nonetheless a quiet champion of Catholic ideas and the great Catholic thinkers. He was the exception to many rules. On occasion he would proudly declare that he was baptized a Boston Catholic (his father grew up Catholic in the Cape Verde Islands). But Peter was later raised near Plymouth Plantation and had a heartfelt affection for the Puritans. He rose proudly to become president of the Pilgrim Society. Professor Henry Louis Gates explored Peter's ancestry in a documentary for PBS, detailing how Peter's mother was descended from Virginia slaves who had been freed by their Quaker owners at the close of the American Revolution. Peter had a great affection for high-church ceremony, and he traveled frequently to Britain for speaking engagements. His sermons were laced with references to Cardinal John Henry Newman, and to Saints Augustine and Aquinas. He welcomed many prominent Catholics to speak in Memorial Church. In 1976 he hosted a series of lectures by Hans Kung, the popular Swiss theologian whose ideas on infallibility and the divinity of Christ had drawn the ire of the Vatican. In his 2002 book, The Good Life, Peter wrote that Kung was trying to demonstrate that a Christian was one who did not simply believe certain things, but who acted in a certain way in fulfillment of the commandment to love God, self, and neighbor. If you want to know what good is, you do good, which is to love in these transforming ways, and you will, by doing, be good. Christians who ask what the good life is and how they might acquire it are supplied with the answer of the New Testament: obey the law of love and follow Jesus. Peter loved telling the story of playing host to Mother Teresa in 1982, when Harvard seniors had chosen her to speak on the eve of graduation. The Class Day festivities, which Peter described as being "usually a riot of frivolity, self-congratulation, and self-indulgence," assumed an unaccustomed profundity as Peter welcomed Mother Teresa to Memorial Church. In the moments before her talk, Peter found himself struggling to make small-talk with her. As he asked where she'd been recently and where she was going next, she seemed lost in thought. When he asked whether it pleased her that so many Harvard students wanted to work with her in India, she replied, "It pleases Jesus." They then spent ten silent minutes together--an eternity for a rich conversationalist like Peter--before she delivered her speech to the thousands assembled in the Yard. I was in the audience that day. Mother Teresa offered an impassioned invitation for us as young people to save ourselves for marriage and to dedicate ourselves to serving others. "You and I have been taught to love, to love one another, to be kind to each other, not with words but in real life. To prove that love in action as Christ has proved it," she said. As Peter later described the scene: "Catholics were reminded that although she was a living saint, the almost universal title accorded her, she was also a real nun, and that that was the way real nuns still think and talk." Peter loved to recount what happened the following day during the commencement brunch in the central courtyard of the Fogg Art Museum. While other honorary degree holders made conversation with the president and other Harvard dignitaries, Mother Teresa walked around with a sack and asked each of them to donate the value of their lunch to the advancement of her work in Calcutta. Peter enjoyed recalling the stunned silence that ensued as one-by-one the Nobel laureates and professors reached for their wallets. "In churches whose gospel is success, prosperity, glory here, and rapture now," Peter wrote, "suffering is clearly not in God's game plan for them; it is an aberration. This is what makes Mother Teresa so disturbing to the modern sensibility. She is so disturbing to the world as we know it, and to the church as we believe in it, that we must get her out of the way as quickly and as thoroughly as possible by making of her a saint, for saints, whether living or dead, as we all know, are virtually harmless." I came to know Peter as a college student. I led the music for the Saturday midnight Mass every week at the Harvard Catholic Student Center, but early each Sunday I'd race to the Yard for choir practice and the morning service at the Harvard Memorial Church. An accomplished pianist, Peter had the highest expectations for the choral experience in his church. He had himself assembled the Harvard Hymn Book, and took pride in having included less well-known Catholic hymns like Cardinal Newman's "Lead Thou Me On." In Memorial Church, it was taken for granted that hymns would be sung in their entirety. Peter enjoyed quoting one of his congregants, who said,"Hymns are to Protestants what incense is to Catholics--reminders of the presence of God." Peter often showed up in unexpected places on campus, bringing reverence--and humor--where it wasn't expected. In 1983 he joined Maestro Samuel Wong and the Harvard Bach Society Orchestra to narrate a performance of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. He delivered a particularly persuasive portrayal of the finger-wagging grandfather, which left the audience in stitches. On a couple of occasions, he was master of ceremonies for my college singing group, the Harvard Din&Tonics, and loved to boast that he had once vamped for more than half an hour while the audience waited for a women's group from Princeton to arrive. In 1997 he appeared at a spoof event in Harvard's venerable Sanders Theater, the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony, where he offered a benediction that began with "a moment of science"--to the delight of all the scientists. In late 2009, Peter lost consciousness during a speaking engagement in New York, but soon returned to work determined to continue at full speed. Then in December 2010 he suffered a stroke that left him largely paralyzed on his left side. Over the next two and a half months he steadily improved, and spoke often of his intent to deliver the Easter sermon from his old pulpit. I visited him through those hospitalizations and we spoke the day before he died. Sitting in a chair at Massachusetts General Hospital, with a sweeping view of the city, he greeted me and reached up with both arms to offer a hug--a remarkable feat for someone in his condition. On top of everything else, he’d suffered an attack of gout two months before, and when I asked him how his toes were feeling he performed a little dance with his previously immobile left ankle. He laughed when I told him that my eleven-year-old son had insisted after our last trip to the Memorial Church that it was a Catholic church. Peter responded, "He's not the only one who's walked out of our church with that impression." We talked about the snowstorm earlier that day, and about the inscrutable beauty of nature. We recalled a story he told during a sermon some years before about taking a spring walk with one of his friends--he smiled and said it was the Harvard poet David McCord--who asked him abruptly, "What is the color of spring?" "Green, naturally," Peter responded. But then his friend corrected him, and pointed out that all the buds were first red--the color of passion and new life. "And once you've begun thinking about it, doesn't the red color just leap out at you every time you take a walk in the spring?" Peter died the next morning. I was reminded of his devotion to the three-hour Good Friday observances he led over the years, preaching on the last words of Jesus and about redemption found in suffering. "Protestants have long beguiled themselves with the notions that they worship a victorious and risen Christ, and thus an empty cross," he once wrote. "Unlike their Catholic and Orthodox brethren, they will not make their devotions to the broken and bruised Jesus hanging down in garish Roman detail from his crucifix, and so the Protestant churches are filled on Easter but empty on Good Friday." Peter was particularly sensitive to the suffering of others, which he saw as the place where faith and works were most potently joined. "It is the most orthodox of Christian doctrine that the Savior does not save us from suffering, but is with us in and through suffering," he wrote. "I always end memorial services and funerals with the prayer long associated with Cardinal Newman," he said in 1996. "O Lord, support us all the day long of this troublous life, until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then, in thy great mercy, grant us a safe lodging, a holy rest, and peace at the last." ]]> tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2011:/news//3.590 2011-10-16T16:30:58Z 2011-10-16T16:39:26Z

Archbishop Dolan, president of the USCCB, announced the formation September 30 of a "committee for religious freedom" that will employ a lawyer and a full-time lobbyist. Lumping a number of Obama Administration policies into a pot of supposed "assaults on...

Catholic Democrats Staff Dennis Coday's story in the National Catholic Reporter.]]> tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2011:/news//3.589 2011-07-28T20:33:20Z 2011-07-28T20:40:01Z

Statement of Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, on the occasion of the death of Archbishop Sambi News of the July 27 death of Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States...

Patrick Whelan Statement of Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, on the occasion of the death of Archbishop Sambi News of the July 27 death of Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America, brings deep sadness for the church in the United States. As the personal representative of our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Sambi enjoyed the highest respect and deepest affection of the bishops of the United States and of our Catholic people. Archbishop Sambi was a friend of the United States in so many ways. He played an indispensible role in the coordination of the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to our country in 2008, and so enabled our entire nation to see the wonderfully warm solicitude of the Holy Father for America. Archbishop Sambi understood and loved our nation. He travelled throughout the country, often to attend the ordination of bishops, always eager to meet the faithful, and to share with them the affection that the Holy Father has for them and their country. He was open to the media as a conveyor of truth and welcomed journalists as representatives of the American people. He enjoyed everything from a stroll in the park near his residence in Washington to the diplomatic functions he attended as part of his service as the representative of the Holy See to the United States. Archbishop Sambi possessed both a keen sense of diplomacy cultivated through many years of service in the Vatican diplomatic corps, especially in Israel, and a pastoral sensitivity cultivated through his many years as a faithful and devoted priest. Those who met or listened to Archbishop Sambi understood that at the heart of all he did was this love of the priesthood and of Christ the Good Shepherd. We thank our Holy Father for sending him to us as we now commend the soul of this good and faithful servant to the Lord whom he served with such steadfast devotion. May Archbishop Pietro Sambi, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York President United States Conference of Catholic Bishops July 28, 2011 tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2011:/news//3.588 2011-05-26T20:59:28Z 2011-05-26T22:39:10Z

Joseph A. Feuerherd, whose journalism career began as a college intern in the Washington Bureau of the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) and concluded with his service as Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of that award-winning publication, died Thursday morning (May 26) at...

Patrick Whelan "I made the coffee, sorted mail, answered phones, clipped newspapers -- and grabbed whatever reporting assignments I could finagle," Feuerherd, 48, later wrote of his time as an intern working out of the paper's small National Press Building office. His first published bylined article, in 1984, was a short item describing the religious community's reaction to the US invasion of Grenada. More recently, in a March 2011 column, he praised New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan's handling of the controversy surrounding Governor Andrew Cuomo's personal life. "Dolan, proving that 'Vatican officials' are not always ham-handed in their appointments [of bishops and archbishops], handled the situation deftly," he wrote. As NCR publisher beginning in Oct. 2008, Feuerherd emphasized the paper's roots as a vehicle for hard-hitting reporting on the Catholic Church. He long contended that NCR's editorial independence has been essential to the paper's success. NCR is the only US newspaper that covers the Catholic Church but is not owned or operated by an entity answerable to Church authority. Feuerherd expanded NCR's presence on the Web, launching "NCR Today," the paper's popular group blog. Further, he brought on a group of web-based writers, whose contributions resulted in a doubling of the number of visits to the site, now averaging more than 1.5 million visitors monthly, making www.ncronline.orgthe most popular US Catholic news website. Feuerherd wrote recently that NCR is comparable to a "good daily city newspaper reporting the foibles of the mayor and city council as they award the latest garbage contract to a favored vendor." In addition to his college internship, Feuerherd did two stints as NCR's Washington correspondent from 1988 to 1991 and 2003 to 2008. While his focus was politics, he also uncovered some business and financial dealings church leaders might have preferred were left unreported. In the 1980s, his reporting revealed that Nicaraguan Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo, leader of the anti-communist church in that Latin American country, received funding from the Central Intelligence Agency. More recently he was the first US journalist to report on the business dealings of Raffaelo Follieri, the one-time boyfriend of actress Anne Hathaway whose business consisted of purchasing US church properties made available because cash-hungry dioceses needed funds to pay off clergy sex abuse settlements. Follieri is now serving a federal prison sentence. In 2004, Feuerherd's reporting led the head of the Republican National Committee's "Catholic Outreach" effort, Deal Hudson, to resign. In 2006, Feuerherd revealed that parishioners in the Diocese of Detroit had, unbeknownst to them, contributed nearly $40 million to support the failed John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, DC. The Cultural Center was spearheaded by Detroit Cardinal Adam Maida, a friend of John Paul II. Maida secretly used diocesan funds to build and support the failed project. The Center is currently up for sale. Feuerherd, a native of Garden City, N.Y., was a resident of Kensington, Md. He is survived by his wife of 27 years, Rebecca, a teacher, and three adult children -- Zachary, Bridget and Benjamin Feuerherd -- each of Kensington. Survivors include siblings Victor Feuerherd of Madison, WI, Elizabeth Munafo of Jericho, N.Y., Peter and David Feuerherd of Queens, N.Y., and Matthew Feuerherd of Jefferson, MD. Feuerherd served in a number of communications related positions following his 1985 graduation from The Catholic University of America. He was press secretary and legislative assistant to Rep. Thomas J. Downey (D-N.Y.) from 1985 to 1987, and communications director for the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities in 2007-08. Feuerherd also served as Public Affairs Officer of the Montgomery County (Md.) Housing Opportunities Commission before resigning in 1997. He charged that members of the Commission's seven-member board were engaged in a politically motivated campaign to cast blame for operational problems at the agency at its previous leadership. Feuerherd was Associate Publisher and Editorial Director at the Rockville, Md., based United Communications Group in the early 2000's, Feuerherd launched several publications (Investment Adviser Week, Broker-Dealer Week) aimed at securities industry legal and government affairs professionals. In the late 1980s, he edited the Economic Opportunity Report, a newsletter focused on federal anti-poverty programs. He was a graduate of Leadership Montgomery, Class of 1995, and a member of the National Press Club and the Catholic Press Association. Funeral arrangements are pending.]]> tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2011:/news//3.586 2011-03-10T00:29:47Z 2011-03-10T00:34:07Z

by Fred Rotondaro Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress My father came from Italy to America in the early years of the last century. Like many immigrant families, everyone needed to work. And so my father became a "Breaker Boy"...

Catholic Democrats Staff by Fred Rotondaro Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress My father came from Italy to America in the early years of the last century. Like many immigrant families, everyone needed to work. And so my father became a "Breaker Boy" in the mines around Pittston, Pennsylvania. He was 11 years old. Pop stayed in the mines for another 45 years, leaving only when the Susquehanna River broke through its banks, drowning 12 of his co-workers. My father had black lung which was to kill him at 74. But our family survived because a state representative named Jimmy Musto had pushed through the state assembly a pension program for miners with the disease. Jimmy thought the state owed the miners who had given so much to the community. My father and his friends were fierce patriots. America was the exceptional nation which gave them a chance for decent lives. The immigrants of that time would be appalled at what is happening in America today. They would be ready to go to battle at the ballot box and use every legal means to fight the Tea Party and what they would regard as an abhorrent political philosophy that was destined to destroy, not defend, true American exceptionalism. There is no question America has deep financial problems that must be resolved. Our national debt now totals over 14 trillion dollars. That is a huge amount that must be curtailed and reduced. But the approach of Tea Party leaders and their supporters in Congress is not a rational process that gets to the heart of the deficit. Rather, it is a procedure that says, let's cut 100 billion and pays no heed to the human consequences of those cuts. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has correctly pointed out that the budget should not be balanced on the backs of the poor and vulnerable. Of course, that is exactly what is happening with the Tea Party and their Republican allies. Let us take just one example. The House Republican budget proposes a cut of more than $700 million for food programs that assist infants and mothers. It is a small bite in the budget but symbolically important to show the seriousness of the Tea Party and their allies. Yet in the same week, every House Tea Party representative and every House Republican voted a $40 billion tax subsidy over the next ten years for the oil industry. That's right reader, the oil industry. And there's the question still of tax cuts for the wealthiest. In the period from 2002 to 2007, the top 1 percent of Americans received 65 percent of all increased income. The next 9 percent of wealthiest Americans received an additional 35 percent of the increase. The bottom 90 percent received nothing; in fact, Middle America lost 8 percent of their earnings in the time from 2000 to 2010. Yet where is the outcry from Tea Partiers about the tax laws needing reform. One way of balancing the budget is by cutting programs for the vulnerable among us. Another is by bringing in more revenues through taxation from the wealthiest, and also corporations many of whom pay an effective tax rate of 5 percent or less. Exxon, for instance, paid nothing in federal taxes last year. Is this really a tough choice? America does have serious problems. We rank last among 33 industrial nations in infant mortality rates; one in five of our children live in poverty; our students rank only 15th in math aptitudes; in a generation we have gone from 1st in the world in percentage of college graduates to 12th. We are among the worst among the industrial nations in inequality and mobility. Difficult problems? Of course. Impossible to solve? Hardly. My father's generation would have fought the Tea Party philosophy at the ballot box and would have done everything legally possible to stop what they would have regarded as a repugnant political philosophy that would, if unchecked, lead to the destruction of American exceptionalism. A budget is not just an economic document. It is a statement about the morality of a nation. It is a path to the future, a future that will be dominated by Tea Party selfishness or by the Common Good. ]]> tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2011:/news//3.585 2011-02-04T05:36:19Z 2011-02-04T05:48:31Z

Remarks by President Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast 9:00 A.M. EST Thank you so much. To the co-chairs, Jeff and Ann; to all the members of Congress who are here, the distinguished guests who've traveled so far to be...

Catholic Democrats Staff Remarks by President Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast 9:00 A.M. EST Thank you so much. To the co-chairs, Jeff and Ann; to all the members of Congress who are here, the distinguished guests who've traveled so far to be here this morning; to Randall for your wonderful stories and powerful prayer; to all who are here providing testimony, thank you so much for having me and Michelle here. We are blessed to be here. I want to begin by just saying a word to Mark Kelly, who's here. We have been praying for Mark's wife, Gabby Giffords, for many days now. But I want Gabby and Mark and their entire family to know that we are with them for the long haul, and God is with them for the long haul. (Applause.) And even as we pray for Gabby in the aftermath of a tragedy here at home, we're also mindful of the violence that we're now seeing in the Middle East, and we pray that the violence in Egypt will end and that the rights and aspirations of the Egyptian people will be realized and that a better day will dawn over Egypt and throughout the world. For almost 60 years, going back to President Eisenhower, this gathering has been attended by our President. It's a tradition that I'm proud to uphold not only as a fellow believer but as an elected leader whose entry into public service was actually through the church. This may come as a surprise, for as some of you know, I did not come from a particularly religious family. My father, who I barely knew -- I only met once for a month in my entire life -- was said to be a non-believer throughout his life. My mother, whose parents were Baptist and Methodist, grew up with a certain skepticism about organized religion, and she usually only took me to church on Easter and Christmas -- sometimes. And yet my mother was also one of the most spiritual people that I ever knew. She was somebody who was instinctively guided by the Golden Rule and who nagged me constantly about the homespun values of her Kansas upbringing, values like honesty and hard work and kindness and fair play. And it's because of her that I came to understand the equal worth of all men and all women, and the imperatives of an ethical life and the necessity to act on your beliefs. And it's because of her example and guidance that despite the absence of a formal religious upbringing my earliest inspirations for a life of service ended up being the faith leaders of the civil rights movement. There was, of course, Martin Luther King and the Baptist leaders, the ways in which they helped those who had been subjugated to make a way out of no way, and transform a nation through the force of love. But there were also Catholic leaders like Father Theodore Hesburgh, and Jewish leaders like Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Muslim leaders and Hindu leaders. Their call to fix what was broken in our world, a call rooted in faith, is what led me just a few years out of college to sign up as a community organizer for a group of churches on the Southside of Chicago. And it was through that experience working with pastors and laypeople trying to heal the wounds of hurting neighborhoods that I came to know Jesus Christ for myself and embrace Him as my lord and savior. (Applause.) Now, that was over 20 years ago. And like all of us, my faith journey has had its twists and turns. It hasn't always been a straight line. I have thanked God for the joys of parenthood and Michelle's willingness to put up with me. (Laughter.) In the wake of failures and disappointments I've questioned what God had in store for me and been reminded that God's plans for us may not always match our own short-sighted desires. And let me tell you, these past two years, they have deepened my faith. (Laughter and applause.) The presidency has a funny way of making a person feel the need to pray. (Laughter.) Abe Lincoln said, as many of you know, “I have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to go.” (Laughter.) Fortunately, I'm not alone in my prayers. Pastor friends like Joel Hunter and T.D. Jakes come over to the Oval Office every once in a while to pray with me and pray for the nation. The chapel at Camp David has provided consistent respite and fellowship. The director of our Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnership's office, Joshua DuBois -- young minister himself -- he starts my morning off with meditations from Scripture. Most of all, I've got friends around the country -- some who I know, some who I don't know, but I know their friends who are out there praying for me. One of them is an old friend named Kaye Wilson. In our family we call her Momma Kaye. And she happens to be Malia and Sasha's godmother. And she has organized prayer circles for me all around the country. She started small with her own Bible study group, but once I started running for President and she heard what they were saying about me on cable, she felt the need to pray harder. (Laughter.) By the time I was elected President, she says, “I just couldn't keep up on my own.” (Laughter.) “I was having to pray eight, nine times a day just for you.” (Laughter.) So she enlisted help from around the country. It's also comforting to know that people are praying for you who don’t always agree with you. Tom Coburn, for example, is here. He is not only a dear friend but also a brother in Christ. We came into the Senate at the same time. Even though we are on opposite sides of a whole bunch of issues, part of what has bound us together is a shared faith, a recognition that we pray to and serve the same God. And I keep praying that God will show him the light and he will vote with me once in a while. (Laughter.) It's going to happen, Tom. (Laughter.) A ray of light is going to beam down. (Laughter.) My Christian faith then has been a sustaining force for me over these last few years. All the more so, when Michelle and I hear our faith questioned from time to time, we are reminded that ultimately what matters is not what other people say about us but whether we're being true to our conscience and true to our God. "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." As I travel across the country folks often ask me what is it that I pray for. And like most of you, my prayers sometimes are general: Lord, give me the strength to meet the challenges of my office. Sometimes they're specific: Lord, give me patience as I watch Malia go to her first dance -- (laughter) -- where there will be boys. (Laughter.) Lord, have that skirt get longer as she travels to that dance. (Laughter.) But while I petition God for a whole range of things, there are a few common themes that do recur. The first category of prayer comes out of the urgency of the Old Testament prophets and the Gospel itself. I pray for my ability to help those who are struggling. Christian tradition teaches that one day the world will be turned right side up and everything will return as it should be. But until that day, we're called to work on behalf of a God that chose justice and mercy and compassion to the most vulnerable. We've seen a lot of hardship these past two years. Not a day passes when I don't get a letter from somebody or meet someone who’s out of work or lost their home or without health care. The story Randall told about his father -- that's a story that a whole lot of Americans have gone through over these past couple of years. Sometimes I can't help right away. Sometimes what I can do to try to improve the economy or to curb foreclosures or to help deal with the health care system -- sometimes it seems so distant and so remote, so profoundly inadequate to the enormity of the need. And it is my faith, then, that biblical injunction to serve the least of these, that keeps me going and that keeps me from being overwhelmed. It's faith that reminds me that despite being just one very imperfect man, I can still help whoever I can, however I can, wherever I can, for as long as I can, and that somehow God will buttress these efforts. It also helps to know that none of us are alone in answering this call. It's being taken up each and every day by so many of you -- back home, your churches, your temples and synagogues, your fellow congregants -- so many faith groups across this great country of ours. I came upon a group recently called "charity: water," a group that supports clean water projects overseas. This is a project that was started by a former nightclub promoter named Scott Harrison who grew weary of living only for himself and feeling like he wasn't following Christ as well as he should. And because of Scott's good work, "charity: water" has helped 1.7 million people get access to clean water. And in the next 10 years, he plans to make clean water accessible to a hundred million more. That’s the kind of promoting we need more of, and that's the kind of faith that moves mountains. And there's stories like that scattered across this room of people who've taken it upon themselves to make a difference. Now, sometimes faith groups can do the work of caring for the least of these on their own; sometimes they need a partner, whether it's in business or government. And that’s why my administration has taken a fresh look at the way we organize with faith groups, the way we work with faith groups through our Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. And through that office, we're expanding the way faith groups can partner with our government. We’re helping them feed more kids who otherwise would go hungry. We're helping fatherhood groups get dads the support they need to be there for their children. We're working with non-profits to improve the lives of people around the world. And we're doing it in ways that are aligned with our constitutional principles. And in this work, we intend to expand it in the days ahead, rooted in the notions of partnership and justice and the imperatives to help the poor. Of course there are some needs that require more resources than faith groups have at their disposal. There's only so much a church can do to help all the families in need -- all those who need help making a mortgage payment, or avoiding foreclosure, or making sure their child can go to college. There’s only so much that a nonprofit can do to help a community rebuild in the wake of disaster. There's only so much the private sector will do to help folks who are desperately sick get the care that they need. And that's why I continue to believe that in a caring and in a just society, government must have a role to play; that our values, our love and our charity must find expression not just in our families, not just in our places of work and our places of worship, but also in our government and in our politics. Over the past two years, the nature of these obligations, the proper role of government has obviously been the subject of enormous controversy. And the debates have been fierce as one side's version of compassion and community may be interpreted by the other side as an oppressive and irresponsible expansion of the state or an unacceptable restriction on individual freedom. That's why a second recurring theme in my prayers is a prayer for humility. Now, God answered this prayer for me early on by having me marry Michelle. (Laughter and applause.) Because whether it's reminding me of a chore undone, or questioning the wisdom of watching my third football game in a row on Sunday, she keeps me humble. (Laughter.) But in this life of politics when debates have become so bitterly polarized, and changes in the media lead so many of us just to listen to those who reinforce our existing biases, it's useful to go back to Scripture to remind ourselves that none of has all the answers -- none of us, no matter what our political party or our station in life. The full breadth of human knowledge is like a grain of sand in God's hands. And there are some mysteries in this world we cannot fully comprehend. As it’s written in Job, "God's voice thunders in marvelous ways. He does great things beyond our understandings." The challenge I find then is to balance this uncertainty, this humility, with the need to fight for deeply held convictions, to be open to other points of view but firm in our core principles. And I pray for this wisdom every day. I pray that God will show me and all of us the limits of our understanding, and open our ears and our hearts to our brothers and sisters with different points of view; that such reminders of our shared hopes and our shared dreams and our shared limitations as children of God will reveal the way forward that we can travel together. And the last recurring theme, one that binds all prayers together, is that I might walk closer with God and make that walk my first and most important task. In our own lives it's easy to be consumed by our daily worries and our daily concerns. And it is even easier at a time when everybody is busy, everybody is stressed, and everybody -- our culture is obsessed with wealth and power and celebrity. And often it takes a brush with hardship or tragedy to shake us out of that, to remind us of what matters most. We see an aging parent wither under a long illness, or we lose a daughter or a husband in Afghanistan, we watch a gunman open fire in a supermarket -- and we remember how fleeting life can be. And we ask ourselves how have we treated others, whether we've told our family and friends how much we love them. And it's in these moments, when we feel most intensely our mortality and our own flaws and the sins of the world, that we most desperately seek to touch the face of God. So my prayer this morning is that we might seek His face not only in those moments, but each and every day; that every day as we go through the hustle and bustle of our lives, whether it's in Washington or Hollywood or anywhere in between, that we might every so often rise above the here and now, and kneel before the Eternal; that we might remember, Kaye, the fact that those who wait on the Lord will soar on wings like eagles, and they will run and not be weary, and they will walk and not faint. When I wake in the morning, I wait on the Lord, and I ask Him to give me the strength to do right by our country and its people. And when I go to bed at night I wait on the Lord, and I ask Him to forgive me my sins, and look after my family and the American people, and make me an instrument of His will. I say these prayers hoping they will be answered, and I say these prayers knowing that I must work and must sacrifice and must serve to see them answered. But I also say these prayers knowing that the act of prayer itself is a source of strength. It's a reminder that our time on Earth is not just about us; that when we open ourselves to the possibility that God might have a larger purpose for our lives, there's a chance that somehow, in ways that we may never fully know, God will use us well. May the Lord bless you and keep you, and may He bless this country that we love. (Applause.) tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2011:/news//3.584 2011-01-09T13:12:29Z 2011-01-09T13:15:24Z

Boston, MA - Catholic Democrats is offering our heartfelt condolences and prayers to the families of the six people who were killed yesterday, and the 12 who were wounded, at an event hosted by Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). Among those...

Catholic Democrats Staff Boston, MA - Catholic Democrats is offering our heartfelt condolences and prayers to the families of the six people who were killed yesterday, and the 12 who were wounded, at an event hosted by Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). Among those killed were 9 year old Christina Taylor Greene who had recently received her first communion; Gabe Zimmerman, an aide to the Representative; and federal judge John Roll, who had just attended Mass before stopping by to say hello to the Representative, according to news reports. Others whose lives were taken in the abhorrent shooting included Dorwin Stoddard (76), Dorothy Murray (76), and Phyllis Scheck (79). Representative Giffords was critically injured in the shooting. "Today we mourn all of the victims of this shooting; they are all our neighbors. As an advocate for the poor who strives to give a voice to the voiceless, I know that Congresswoman Giffords and her staff embraced an openness to listen to ALL voices addressed to them, including those most marginalized," said Fr. William Fitzgerald, a member of Catholic Democrats of Arizona. "Hers has always been a moderate and compassionate voice, with unwavering courage amid a clamor of hate and fear inspired rhetoric -- and today violence - in the Arizonan public square. So much of this rancor is directed at immigrants and more recently at their children. We thank God that initial medical reports regarding the congresswoman are hopeful. We mourn the wounding and killing of all the innocents and pray for them and their families and loved ones. I hope that these events would give us clergy the courage to try to echo the voices of the prophets who pleaded for social justice and healing and Jesus whose very mission statement began: 'I have come to bring good news to the poor,'" said Fr. Fitzgerald. Catholic Democrats is calling on all Catholics across the country to pray for those who died and their families and pray for the safe recovery of those, including Representative Giffords, who were injured. Additionally, the organization is calling on Catholics in the state of Arizona to come together to bring healing to their community. "Gabby Giffords has been intensely concerned about the deteriorating political climate in our country, and the escalating lack of respect that we've seen the past two years," said Dr Patrick Whelan, president of Catholic Democrats. "Having spent time over the holidays with Rep Giffords and her husband, I was struck by her unusual empathy for the suffering of those most dispossessed in our increasingly polarized society. Our Catholicism calls us to care for one another, and to resolve our differences in the non-violent spirit of Christ. We call on all people of good will to reflect on this tragedy and commit themselves to bringing back the kind of civic dialogue that eschews angry words and brings people together to solve real problems." tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2010:/news//3.583 2010-11-03T13:29:53Z 2010-11-04T06:38:27Z

President Barack Obama and House Catholic Democrats took a courageous stand in favor of providing access to healthcare for all Americans, and Tuesday they suffered the consequences of a two-year rhetorical assault by their Republican opponents. The Democrats lost at...

Patrick Whelan Periello and his fellow Catholic Democrats were targeted by groups like the Susan Anthony List, which was repudiated in the closing days by election officials in Ohio for falsely claiming that the Healthcare Reform Law provides federal funding for abortion. The Supreme Court decision last winter in the Citizens United case had opened the flood gates for anonymous donors with deep pockets to spread a dark cloud of emotive misrepresentations on a host of issues dear to Catholics--with a liberal use of the word "socialist" to describe Democratic efforts to reform immigration, expand economic opportunity for the middle class and poor, blunt the recession, attend to the global warming crisis, and expand healthcare to the millions of Americans without it. But the Tea Party also suffered significant losses that represented a voter repudiation of the more extreme views. Prominent candidates supported by Sarah Palin went down to defeat in Senate races around the country (Christine O'Donnell in Delaware, Joe Miller in Alaska, Sharron Angle in Nevada and Linda McMahon in Connecticut). Groups voting Democratic included a majority of women, 65% of Latino voters, young people, erudite people (PhDs) and those without high school diplomas. Perhaps the most striking statistics were who actually voted. CNN exit polling indicated that nearly a quarter of all voters were over 65. Voters under 25 dropped in half, and African-Americans were 20% less likely to go to the polls compared to 2008. Possibly as a result of efforts to portray healthcare for younger Americans as a threat to Medicare, seniors dramatically shifted their allegiance to the Republicans, up 10% over 2008. The healthcare debate had been marred by Republican talk of "death panels" and the insinuation that expanding care to 47 million uninsured, mostly working Americans, posed a threat to the funding of Medicare for the elderly. The cruel irony was that the authors of these messages were themselves responsible for a government shutdown just 15 years ago, centered on their efforts to chop those same Medicare benefits over budget concerns. 50-somethings in the 1990s were not atuned to that issue then, and the collective amnesia contributed to a remarkable shift in allegiance by the elderly toward the Republicans in these midterms. Preliminary CNN exit polling indicated that Catholics overall broke for the Republicans 53% to 45%, the same margin that supported President Obama in 2008. Edison Research projected only a slight overall increase in white Catholic support for Republicans, approaching 60%. Considering the strong majority of Latino voters supporting Democrats, it seemed clear that the swing in Catholic support toward the Republicans was substantially less than the 35% shift projected by a New York Times poll published just before the election. With a new Catholic Speaker of the House, John Boehner, a stark question will be posed in the new Congress: will the social justice priorities that carried Barack Obama to the presidency now be set aside in the new Republican-dominated political landscape? ]]> tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2010:/news//3.581 2010-09-03T23:13:37Z 2010-09-03T23:22:23Z

Boston, Mass. - This Labor Day, Catholic Democrats is calling on Catholic Republican leaders, including House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), RNC Chairman Michael Steele, Newt Gingrich and the 6 Republican Catholic Senators, to support the unemployed and the rights...

Catholic Democrats Staff 6 Republican Catholic Senators, to support the unemployed and the rights of workers. Additionally, the organization asserted that Republicans must begin working with the Administration to help the millions of people whose lives are being unnecessarily damaged due to today's economic conditions and Republican legislative obstructionism. Republicans have consistently opposed the Obama Administration's efforts to pass legislation that would either keep current public and private sector jobs funded or to create new public and private sector jobs in the midst of "The Great Recession" and 40 year record levels of poverty. In 2009, all but three Republicans voted against the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, which the CBO estimates has created or saved between as many as 3.2 million jobs in the private and public sectors. Since June, Senate Republicans have threatened to filibuster the Small Business Jobs Act, passed by the House with only three Republicans supporting it - all of whom are Catholic. It is estimated that the bill would create several hundred thousand jobs over the next few years. "Labor Day celebrates the dignity and rights of workers, the personal fulfillment of a rewarding job, and the individual exertions that have made America great," said Dr. Patrick Whelan, president of Catholic Democrats. "Republican obstruction of efforts to repair the economy, including most recently the pending Small Business Jobs Act, represents a callous pursuit of victory in the fall elections at the expense of working Americans." As the country celebrates Labor Day and the contributions of our nation's workers and labor unions, a record number of Americans will find themselves involuntarily among the ranks of the long-term unemployed this Labor Day. Catholic Democrats, which advances the principles of Catholic Social Justice in the public square and within the Democratic Party, is citing a recent Statement issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, "A New 'Social Contract' for Today's 'New Things.'" The bishops' statement is based on the "Magna Carta" of Catholic Social Teaching, Rerum Novarum, which was the very first papal encyclical. That encyclical spoke of both the rights of labor and the legitimacy of the free market. The statement also cites the encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, issued by Pope Benedict XVI last July in the same week President Obama visited the Vatican. At a press conference Monday, President Obama explained that the Small Business Jobs Act "would do two big things for small business owners: cut more taxes and make available more loans... This bill is fully paid for. It won't add to the deficit. And there is no reason to block it besides pure partisan politics." "With today's announcement that the unemployment rate has inched up to 9.6%, we have a moral duty as a society to do everything in our power to bring the dignity of work back to the millions of Americans who are without it," said Steve Krueger, national director of Catholic Democrats. "Pope Leo XIII initiated a revolution in social thought in 1891 when he publicly recognized the dignity of the worker, and Congress followed suit in 1894 by proclaiming the first national Labor Day. From that vision and the Church's concern for the rights of workers, the entire body of Catholic Social Justice as we know it today has emerged and has had a profound effect on social justice initiatives in our country for over 100 years." "The Catholic Social Tradition provides a 'true compass' for voters in making a choice for the future of our country in addressing such divisive political issues as jobs and the economy, immigration, economic regulation, the environment, and poverty," Krueger added. "We call on Catholic Republican leaders to forgo their obstructionism for partisan gain and join Democratic efforts to repair the economy in a way that serves the needs of people."]]> tag:www.catholicdemocrats.org,2010:/news//3.580 2010-08-15T19:18:36Z 2010-08-19T01:59:48Z

In 2008, Catholic Democrats supported the presidential candidacy of Senator Barack Obama by sponsoring the website www.CatholicsforObama.org and authoring an online petition that was signed by thousands of Catholics across the country. A civic-minded Catholic leader named Karen Clifton signed...

Catholic Democrats Staff Catholic Democrats supported the presidential candidacy of Senator Barack Obama by sponsoring the website www.CatholicsforObama.org and authoring an online petition that was signed by thousands of Catholics across the country. A civic-minded Catholic leader named Karen Clifton signed the Catholics for Obama endorsement, which read: Petition to Endorse Senator Barack Obama For President of the United States of America Inspired by the Tradition of Catholic Social Teaching As a Catholic, I believe that Senator Barack Obama reflects core values of Catholic Social Teaching, which informs how we live our faith in the world. For more than 100 years this tradition has championed the rights of workers, the imperative of peace, the elimination of poverty, the advancement of equal opportunity, the healing of our environment, the right to health care, and the life and dignity of all. Senator Obama has said: "People are coming together around a simple truth - that we are all connected, that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper. And that it's not enough to just believe this - we have to do our part to make it a reality."(A Politics of Conscience, Senator Barack Obama, June 23, 2007, Hartford CT). In the spirit of these words, which convey President Obama's commitment to the common good, a cornerstone of Catholic Social Teaching, we are called to act on the daunting issues confronting our society and the world today. Therefore, I endorse Senator Barack Obama. He inspires hope and calls us to personal and social responsibility to help make the world, and our nation, a better place for all. May God Bless Our Nation in this Time of Political Responsibility. The homepage of the website presented an argument supporting the assertion that President Obama was "Pro-Life," based on his advocacy for a broad set of "pro-life" issues, often forgotten by Republicans, like universal health insurance. President Obama has also supported abortion reduction strategies as a more effective approach than the failed 40-year effort to criminalize abortion. Since signing the petition, Ms Clifton has taken the lead in national efforts to support the US Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in their unequivocal opposition to use of the death penalty in the United States. This has irked one conservative Catholic commentator named Deal Hudson, who has written extensively about loopholes in Catholic social teaching on the death penalty in an effort to provide wiggle room for all the Republican politicians who claim to be "pro-life" while opposing the bishops on state-sponsored killing. Hudson - who was forced to resign his teaching position at Fordham University and as head of the Bush Reelection Campaign Catholic Outreach for the alleged sexual assault of a student - has repeatedly gone after USCCB employees he doesn't like, and tried to coerce the USCCB into advancing his own political agenda in the process. Earlier this year, Hudson also attacked the Bishops' Conference itself, calling for a new "Tea Party" movement to oppose efforts by the USCCB to advocate on behalf of the poor. In his continued efforts to smear both Democratic elected officials and those within the USCCB who don't rigidly conform to his own conservative politics, Hudson has again played fast-and-loose with the truth and falsely associated Karen Clifton with contents of the website other than the petition she signed. Hudson has taken a page out of the playbook of his secular soul-mate, Andrew Breitbart, who unjustly maligned U.S. Department of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod with a selectively edited video that made it seem as if she was admitting to racial discrimination against white farmers. Hudson knows that bearing false witness against one's neighbor may be an acceptable political tactic -- however destructive it is to the common good. However, he doesn't seem to realize that it is not acceptable within the tenets of our faith, particularly for someone who seeks to insinuate himself as a standard bearer -- or in his case, seemingly the standard bearer -- of Catholic teaching and values. Instead Hudson was quoted in 2004 as saying, "If you're going to play in the sandbox, then you have to take the consequences of your public utterances and your public actions." A late convert to Catholicism, Hudson uses this philosophy--wittingly or not--as a basis for seeking to divide Catholics along political lines. And as his friend Karl Rove would attest, Hudson has done a good job of undermining Catholic unity. In his continued efforts to both play fast-and-loose with the truth and to smear those within the USCCB and elected officials who don't rigidly conform to his conservative Catholic politics, Hudson has falsely associated Karen Clifton with all the contents of the Website, as opposed to having merely signed the petition like thousands of other Catholics. Hudson has taken a page out of the playbook of his secular soul-mate Andrew Breitbart, who unjustly maligned U.S. Department of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod with a selectively edited video that made it seem as if she was admitting to racially-motivated actions. Hudson's willingness to manipulate the facts to achieve his own ends can only be described as the worst kind of bearing false witness against one's neighbor--and is hardly compatible with the Catholicism that Hudson claims to be defending. Catholic Democrats stands behind the arguments we made on the front page of the Catholics for Obama website. We believe that President Obama -- both in his philosophy and in his actions -- does in fact better represent the values of the "pro-life" label that conservatives have appropriated. While conservatives have carried this banner in order to exploit a narrow set of issues for political purposes, and have raised hundreds of millions of dollars in the process, President Obama has embraced the broader "seamless garment of life" ethic espoused by the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin. Indeed the President spoke about it in his 2009 Commencement speech at the University of Notre Dame. Today, we can see how his philosophy of being "my brother's ... and sister's keeper" has manifested itself: legislative progress on S-CHIP, Healthcare, Jobs Bills, and economic policies have served people and not just the interests of large corporations and the wealthy. These accomplishments are essential contributions to "the dignity of life" that conservatives often neglect in their demonizing rhetoric toward people who oppose them. Today many Catholics believe - through their prudential judgment - that criminalizing abortion is not an effective means of addressing this moral tragedy. The evidence now overwhelmingly supports their belief, and President Obama's position: social programs that focus on alleviating poverty, on supporting women who have unintended pregnancy, and that promote universal health care are far more effective in reducing the number of abortions in this country. The abortion rate dramatically declined during the Democratic Clinton Administration and stagnated under the Republican Bush Administration. Indeed the newest CDC statistics show that abortions actually went up late in the Bush Adminsitration. Meanwhile, the number of abortions performed in Massachusetts went down after the implementation of universal health care, in a study reported by the New England Journal Medicine and conducted by Dr. Patrick Whelan, President of Catholic Democrats. Abortions are far more prevalent in South American countries like Brazil, Chile, and Peru -- with Catholics comprising over 70% of the population and where the practice is criminalized -- than they are in Western Europe, where abortion is legal but performed in the context of a strong social safety net for vulnerable women. Like so many on the Right, Hudson is trotting out his ad hominems to rev up his conservative base for partisan political ends in the only way he knows - by dividing Catholics and attempting to humiliate the Church's leaders into pursuing his partisan-tinged agenda. We've seen this before. In 2004, before he was forced to resign the Bush Reelection Campaign, he divided Catholic parishes by politicizing them. In 2009 he used mock stationary for Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) to raise funds for his organization, questioning whether seven nationally-known Democratic legislators were indeed Catholic--an accusation that violates the Canon Law of the Church. We all saw the cost of falling for Andrew Breitbart's deceptions. Don't let Hudson do the same thing to Karen Clifton and other faithful Catholics--both inside and outside our Church's leadership--who advocate the full spectrum of Catholic Social Teaching by bringing both their faith and reason to the moral issues of our time.]]>