Dr. Hudson: You and your readers might be interested in an article I recently wrote, for RenewAmerica.us, on this very subject:

"Obama's Pope: How the Catholic Church Brought Abortion to America":

http://tinyurl.com/r8utac

I'd be interested in hearing you thoughts.

Who really needs Dan brown when we have this rag of a newspaper that underminds the Catholic Church ?

Eric,

I read your article. While I agree with much of what you are saying, (I was at Notre Dame NOT attending the ceremony, but on the lawn, defending my Church, my faith and Our Lady), I want to say that the problem is bigger than simply Notre Dame. We have a priest saying Mass dressed as Barney, while Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist gave out communion dressed as devils and witches in Orange County California. We have his highness, B.Obama, demanding the very Name of Jesus be covered up in a Catholic school, we have the American Catholic Church, the politicians you spoke of, nuns demanding to be priests, the sex scandal, Ex Archbishop Weakland promoting homosexality, transvestites holding bingo games in a church basement...

The problem, I believe, comes from a lack of Shepherds. We know that Jesus said He was the Good Shepherd and would leave the flock to search for the lone, stray sheep. Comforting words indeed. But who will search for the straying shepherds?

I understand that Catholics are fleeing Iraq, being massacred in Orissa, blown up in Nepal...I get that there are problems that seem bigger. Yet, I wonder if the pope understands that the Catholic Church in America is terminally ill. I wouldn't want the popes job for anything. Heck, he might not want it. But he has it. Our church is sick, and getting sicker. It might not be the Popes' job to speak to the world of politics, but surely he can and must speak to his flock. We are in trouble, we are in pain. We know we are not supposed to be afraid, and yet, we are. Very afraid. Because we feel abandoned. Just as Jesus did on the cross. 300,000 signatures out of how many billions of Catholics? How many show up for the March for Life? 200,000? While that seems like a lot, there are 67,000,000 Catholics in this country. EVERY ONE OF THEM should have been at the march. We could own this country. But we have become lazy and complacent. And we have NO leadership.

God have mercy on us. Pope Benedict, can you hear our cry? We are hurting, and we need your help!

Hey, MK.

Where exactly do you and I disagree?

I did not vote for Barack, but I think that all this bashing against him and the Osservatore Romano is not helpful.
Christ wants us to help convert others or at least move them towards the 'right' views.
Some catholic intellectuals like George Weigl, did not agree eith John Paul's stance against the Iraq war, now again are adopting a critical-only approach to the new president. It's easier to condemn than praying and working to convert...

I really don't understand anymore... First, we were, until very recently, told to close our eyes to all the sinful and abusive things we saw going on within our church and mind our own business and pray. Now, however, we are told to open our eyes and mind the decisions others make and be politically vocal about it...

Personally, I am against abortion. Not because I am Catholic/Christian but because as a human being I believe no life, however tiny, should be killed. But there is something very hypocritical about our Church which tells us to never mind the sins of its own but mind the sins of others. Also, I do not believe President Obama's position is pro-abortion because he is calling us to work together to reduce abortions by reducing all the factors - like poverty - that are forcing people to make the dreadful and tearful decision to terminate their pregnancies.

As for our Church and her true faithful, let us work harder first to get our own house (the Church and our families) in order so that we might be known to the world as true followers of our Lord - pure and holy, as our Blessed Mother - that we and our own children would not in our own lives do anything that might result in killing anyone's life - body or spirit.

While I believe every unborn life is precious and should be carried to term, I again have to say that being Christian, and even more -- Catholic -- does not mean that we are all about embryos.

I did vote for Barrack and I find his approach to what needs to happen in the world a breath of fresh air after years of closed mindedness, greed, bluster, and above all ignorance.

While I did not agree with everything Obama stood for, I believed he was serious about reducing abortion, not just paying it lip service like John McCain was. More, it did not matter that Obama was going to keep America pro choice, it had been for far too many years already.

No, as a Catholic, I weighed the pros and cons of the two men and I have been consistently glad I voted for Obama.

Even some writers from Vatican see what I saw!


I do wonder about this though:


This makes it sound as though the paper is part of the Vatican...doesn't it?

In other words: "Is there still a pilot in the aircraft?"
One may find consolation in the fact that our Lady at Akita foretold all this mess:
"One will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops, etc..."
Don't be troubled. We are only at the beginning . Upon all believe,hope, pray, and worship God.
Only those who will believe until the end will be saved.
Upon all, don't listen to those who are promoting novelties, seeking for compromises, distorting the Truth to push their anticatholic agendas.
I prefer to be right and considered as a retrograde catholic in following 20 centuries of preVatII dogmas and reliable teachings than to be wrong with those who are sugarcoating every issue with the purported "spirit of the council".
St Augustine said something like: When one is in trouble in discerning the Truth, one has to revert to the Church's Tradition

A reminder to keep the conversation to the topic at hand, and not speculation about the inner lives of other commenters. Such comments will be (and have been) deleted. Thanks.

Obama is smooth like the devil, clever with words, up is down and down is up, and charismatic.. there is no peace in his words and I can believe how many of the lukewarm Catholics and even some devouts have been caught in his hazy web, and are just now being pulled in for his meal.

God have mercy on us, and on the whole world. Forgive them for they know not what they do!

From most of these posts, one can not help but discern that we need clarity from our bishops and priests. I am sorry but I can not honestly understand how someone can justify that Obama is more pro-life than John McCain. I am no John McCain fan but I don't think he would of turn policy around so quickly in regards to abortion and embryonic stem cell research as Obama has. Abortion is an intrinsic evil. War is not, capital punishment is not. Social issues such as helping the poor, are pretty much our responsibility. How is coveting thy neighbor's goods (Increasing taxes on the rich and soon, the rest of us to pay for these programs)in line with church teaching? I am all for our government educating and helping others but not at the expense of someone else. Isn't that what embryonic stem cell research and abortion are really all about. A child's life is taken on behalf of someone else's-a mother or a ill person. If only the bishops would have been more clear on these matters. If only the priests would have the courage to speak up in their parishes. Most homilies I hear are let's love one another. Nothing is elaborated. More specifics are needed. Prayer and action are needed by all who love their faith dearly.

I am a devout prolife Catholic. Many radical people are sending out hate thoughts toward our president. He has a world of problems, and he needs our support. St. Paul tells us to respect our government, because he says they are put here by God. Be prolife, but only in love. God is love. I don't hear much love in the blogs. Love is the litmus test for a true Christian.

So far only Mariann Hefner has the right attitude.
The anger towards Obama and Vatican Newspaper shows a 'pharissaical' mindset by many.
Our church is harmed by liberals and also by those pseudo-conservatives who contantly critisize our Bishops as being "weak".
Pompous attitude, because we have MANY fine Bishops in America, for exapmle: in Denver , St. Louis, Boston, etc.
pax

So President Obama wants to reduce abortions. What does he thing the Catholic Church and other pro-life people have been working towards the past decades and with much success.

Of course, if abortions go down in number in the future, the dear President will take and get all the credit--never mind the hard work others have already done.

There is no doubt Joe that we have some good bishops. Unfortnately they do not speak in unity about our doctrine in the church. That is why people compare abortion to war or capital punishment etc.. There is no doubt we need to love and pray for all. I personally pray everyday for Barcack Obama and all political leaders to use God as their focus when making decisions for our country. I am a sinner who is on a journey just like all here. I am not calling anyone pompous. My identity is Catholic first and party affiliation maybe fourth or fifth done the line in importance. I do know, I do not want to offend God in anyway. I know that not doing all that I can to save a unborn baby is offending God. MK is right. None of us are doing enough to prevent abortion. I do know voting for a man who clearly wants to continue abortion can not be right ever. The church has given us the guidelines to walk with Jesus and hopefully join him in heaven one day. It is up to us to follow it, and learn all of it. Criticizing a political leader's actions and beliefs does not make a person bad. Supporting a president who clearly is in direct conflict with church teachings is not good either.

Several posters above have repeated the Obama mantra of being the true pro-life option in the last election.

Let's look past the rhetoric of the Obama spin-masters and look at the actions in the past 5 months.

First we have the immediate overturning of the Mexico Policy. A portion of tax dollars from every US citizen can now be sent to organizations in foreign lands that perform or lobby for abortion. Please go ahead and explain how our subsidizing abortion procedures will lower the number of abortions. Then go on and explain how subsidizing lobbying for abortion will reduce abortions.

Next we have the decision on Embryonic Stem Cells. Obama cast a blind eye toward actual SCIENCE (like the ~70 success stories of adult cell treatments, recent advancement in reprogramming adult cells into pluripotent states, or the complete absence of embryonic cells EVER working without causing cancerous tumors)
As a final touch, he cancels a previous instruction to keep funding alternative stem cell research without using embryos.
Please explain how this decision shows a respect for life. Instructing a destruction of embryos based on a dream of results is a religious belief - not SCIENCE. Even an ignorant atheist would have split the difference and subsidized a range of research. No, reason is no where to be found. Just pro-abortion ideology.

Near future we will have a revision of Medical Conscience rights. Doctors and nurses could be forced to participate in abortions and pharmacists forced to prescribe Plan B. Please explain how forcing the medical profession into this evil service will reduce abortions.

The economy might be better under Obama and therefore reduce the "need" for abortions? Really? That is the strongest argument against?

If support of mothers is the key (and I agree), then do you know that the number of crisis pregnancy centers now outnumber the abortion clinics? Help with pre-natal care and medical help and baby supplies well past the baby stages. All this dispite the "evil" regime in the White House.

I am flabbergasted at how any logical person can truly state that Obama's destructive actions on life can be offered as "pro-life". Any parent who would admit (as Obama has) that they would march their daughters down to the clinic for abortions to avoid them being "punished" with a child, could NEVER be mistaken for a pro-life believer.

Let there be only pne voice on this matter and that be Benedict. not L'Osservatore Romana but the Vatican.

I appreciate all the comments. They give me a chance to understand why Catholics voted for Obama, knowing, he publically vowed to Planned Parenthood that he would destroy all gains made by the pro-life people since Wade vs Roe.

They have praised Obama for bringing in "fresh air" into the abortion issue. Rather, we should return to the freshest air that has existed since Moses gave us the Ten Commandments, especially, the one that explicidly says, "THOU SHALT NOT KILL!"

As far as the shepherds are concerned, yes dissent has entered the church and caused havoc! This is even more reason to be firm to the teachings of the church.

I would counsel all my fellow Catholics to read "Lord of the World". It can be found on Google. One site offers the full story as it is copywrite free. Written by a priest 100 years ago,he sees the future. We are now leaning in that direction!
My prayer has always been that I remain in the one true Holy Catholic church until I die.

A few things to remember:

The US is not a Catholic country. While it is not now anti-Catholic, this is rather a recent development. President Truman himsel wrote a nasty letter to Pius XII accusing him of crimes against peace (and a great deal of sympathy for the Spanish Republic in the US was due that it fought the Catholic Church).

The Vatican understands the value of good relations to the US, and the current occupant of the Oval Office. It would be very unwise to antagonize him, for the public might not see the difference between attacking a particular President and attacking the US itself.

Also, the moral position of the Vatican is compromised by all the pedophile scandals. Not just the priests who committed those acts, but the bishops who systematically became accessories after the fact, by transferring offenders to unsuspecting parishes (if the people who did that had not been bishops, do you think that they would have escaped tarring and feathering?) If the Vatican does not behave carefully with Obama, be prepared for more child sex-abuse scandals stories to surface, and for the words "aid and abet" being used to describe bishops's behavior.

Imagine this:

First Headline "Bishop So-and-so denounces Obama as abortist"

Next headline "Bishop So-and-so let sexual predators escape justice".

People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

And you no longer have the excuse of saying "those were liberal, newfangled priests, after the Vatican Council", not after the world has heard what the conservative, old-fashioned, pre-conciliar clergy had been doing in Ireland for years.

(By the way, Deal, remember when I mentioned "The Magdalene Sisters" and you accused me of believing anti-Catholic propaganda? Well, now it turns out that the reality was even worse. No propaganda there, just a corrupt Church who used the argument from authority to hide its hideous misdeeds).

I think your comments were right on the money.

I was deeply disturbed by the revelations about the Church in Ireland and I had similar thoughts myself; these scandals seriously undermine the moral authority of the Church. People are right to ask what claim to moral authority this institution has when such horrific scandals develop under its very nose.

I am at a loss for solutions. But I do believe that the Church must have its own house in order before it can act as an effective agent of change in the world.

Yes charity is the litmus....bt what is charity? The virtue of charity..(love) is a gift from God,by which we love God above all things, and our neighbor as ourselves for God's sake. Does charity mean tolerance to evil? Does it mean service to others and their will above service to God? What do you think of the actions of our Lord with the money changers in the Temple? Was He intolerant and lacking in love?

The virtues of Prudence which we decern, in each particular case, what is to be done or avoided in the service of God. Also the virtue of fortitude that enables us to endure any hardship or persecution rather than abadon our duty.

With this all in mind, charity if one does not understand the love of God and neighbor in the christian life...some may think it is a lack of charity and not proper love of God and neighbor. We are called to action and prayer. Love is not a spineless yes to everything to appear loving to all. So yes, charity is the litmus.....

sorry about some of the words missing letters....but..abandon... did not notice it was eating letters...:)

It is because of this disunity of both spirit and purpose that I no longer consider myself Catholic. If the act of abortion is a sin, then those who support the mechanisms that permit that action are also sinners.

Obama has help to put into place all what is necessary to keep abortion a viable solution to many troubled young women. If he was serious about reducing the number of abortions he would not be demanding medical professionals put aside the conscience and make it easier to accomplish this new sacrifice in the valley of Tophet.

If the Pope is serious about the sin of abortion then he will repudiate this article. If the pope wants to strengthen his moral authority then he must be consistent and uncompromising. Otherwise many more like myself will be leaving the church.

It really cracks me up to hear catholics talk about love and tolerance and yet alwaysundermine the bible every chance they get.They seem not to understand that there must be repentance before forgiveness.Even Christ told the adulterer to go and sin no more. Please try to embrace the simplicity of the word instead of continuing to delude yourselves.It is difficult for all of us to deal with sin but please read the bible and try to understand what sin is.

I know he is pro-abortion. I remember a speech he gave stating that he would want abortion as a choice for his children because he would not want his daughter to have to live with a mistake. Sounds pro-abortion to me. His actions also speak louder than his words. Everything he has done as president has been to expand and make abortion more available.

How can any sane person who believes in the sacredness of life attempt to reach a common ground with someone who is "pro choice (i.e. pro abortion)?

Since abortion is the heartlessly cruel murder of a child, the death of an innocent, what compromise can be made? A half-dead child?

Infanticide set apart the early church from the pagans

Those of you who are christians of any denomination must agree
that the bible is the source of knowledge. Since it is written
that hands that shed innocent blood are abomination before God, and it is also written that he who justifies the wicked is abomination before God, then logically making up excuses to justify abortion does not negate the fact that innocent blood was shed. It also is obvious that to be in agreement with this unjustified killing, or in a word, murder, relegates the justifier as abomination before God. It is also written that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. If you for whatever reason think that you are in good standing with God and are compromising, you really are not. God cannot be decieved or trifled with. Be afraid. That fear will make you wiser and less and less vulnerable to every stumbling block and trap that the devil devises against Gods' people. Be aware that if you justify your sins, instead of confessing them and repenting, and repentance is not the same as confessing. Repentance is to stop doing whatever the sin is, then those sins go with you to the grave and beyond. Don't take them into eternity. There is no forgiveness for sins that you are clinging onto. Don't be one of those who in thier arrogance and self-righteousness dispise goodness and holiness. Hell is full of such as these. There is no place for them in God's kingdom.