Hudson & Fournier: Catholic Countdown to Election 2012, Day 6. The Art of Speaking Catholic Nonsense

By Deal W Hudson and Keith A Fournier
10/30/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

With Election Day a week away, it's no surprise that Obama's Catholics are engaging in the art of speaking Catholic nonsense

With Election Day a week away, it's no surprise that Obama's Catholics are engaging in the art of speaking Catholic nonsense. As everyone knows, or should know, Biden rejects an entire list of moral and social teachings that protect persons and society from the destruction of innocent human life, the family, and our natural right to obey God without interference from the State.

As Alice replies to Humpty Dumpty, 'The question is whether you can make words mean so many different things.'

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WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - With Election Day a week away, it's no surprise that Obama's Catholics are engaging in the art of speaking Catholic nonsense.

Lewis Carroll, the British author of the "Alice" stories, was a trained logician in addition to being a gifted writer. His Alice in Wonderland is filled with characters who speak nonsense, a habit which Carroll repeatedly underscores with lines like this:

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less."

More from "Alice" later, because we should pause to mention just which Obama Catholics are sounding like Humpty Dumpty lately. First, and most notably, our nation's first Catholic Vice President, Joe Biden, who rather pathetically, yesterday, had to release a video reminding voters that he is a "practicing Catholic."

The script read by Biden into the camera is classic Humpty Dumpty, containing words that Biden delivered as if they meant he was a "believing Catholic," that is, one who believes and accepts the teachings of the Church. As everyone knows, or should know, Biden rejects an entire list of moral and social teachings that protect persons and society from the destruction of innocent human life, the family, and our natural right to obey God without interference from the State.

As Alice replies to Humpty Dumpty, "The question is whether you can make words mean so many different things."

Biden, however, only receives our B+ grade for the audacity of his dishonesty, while the A+ goes to the president of "Catholics for Choice". In an article from the Oct. 30 Chicago Sun-Times, which looks like it belongs in the Style section rather than the news, Jon O'Brien calls himself a "real traditionalist."

O'Brien, for any who may not know, replaced Frances Kissling at the helm of a "Catholic" group that promotes abortion and contraception to a mainstream media who lap it up. (The US Catholic Bishops have formally declared, several times, that O'Brien's group is NOT a Catholic organization.)

O'Brien speaks with the firm conviction of a Humpty Dumpty without shame: "I believe in the totality of Catholic teaching, and that includes the right to dissent and freedom of conscience."

You have to admire, so to speak, a man who can say that to a newspaper reporter on the same day he received a Personal PAC. When O'Brien, and Catholics like him, start talking about "conscience," it's time either to lift your sword and shield or leave the field because anything can, and will, happen.

The reporter, to her credit, did ask O'Brien the obvious question: whether he was a "cafeteria Catholic?" "No," O'Brien answered,

"What makes you a Catholic," he said, "is your Baptism."

Whatever happened to the life-is-a-journey sort of thing that Catholics like O'Brien used to wax poetical about? All of a sudden we are in a world of once-and-for-alls and theological finality: "What makes you Catholic is your Baptism." Really? Is that all there is to it, nothing else is required? Perhaps O'Brien should watch the Biden video where he equates being a "practicing Catholic" with helping those less fortunate.

Humpty Dumpty didn't allow Alice the last word, Humpty Dumpties never do:

"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master -- that's all."

Yes, to be the "master" is all that matters to the Catholics who speak nonsense. Nov. 6 will reveal whether their gibberish will prevail with Catholic voters.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Catholics for choice, Joe Biden, Jon O'Brien, Obama, Romney, Humpty Dumpty, Sophistry, campaign 2012, Deal W Hudson, Keith A Fournier

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1 - 10 of 16 Comments

cthlcrg
6 months ago
Here is the reality, without the double-speak:
1) As an Illinois state senator, Barack OBAMA VOTED 4 TIMES AGAINST the BORN ALIVE INFANT PROTECTION ACT
2) As Senator, Mr. Obama voted against the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, which would have notified parents when their kids crossed state lines to have an abortion
3) Senator Obama voted NO on preventing minors from crossing state lines for an abortion
4) Mr. Obama amazingly opposed a bill that would have prevented partial birth abortion
5) President Obama gave hundreds of millions of federal dollars to Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider
6) The Obama Administration rescinded a Bush regulation that would have protected providers from being punished for refusing to participate in abortions
7) Obamacare mandates that religious schools and hospitals provide health insurance plans that pay for abortifacients and contraceptives
8) President Obama selected 2 pro-abortion judges (Kagan and Sotomayor) to the Supreme Court.
9) President Obama nullified the pro-life "Mexico City policy", making organizations that perform and promote abortions eligible for United States foreign aid funds
10) Mr. Obama supports Roe v, Wade
11) As Senator Obama, he co-sponsored a bill that would have allowed cloning of embryos for research (S. 1520)
12) President Obama approved the use of taxpayer funds for embryonic stem cell research in March 2009

Needless to say, the National Right-To-Life Committe rated Mr. Obama 0% pro-life, and NARAL rated Mr. Obama 100% pro-choice.

Mr. Romney vetoed an embryonic stem cell research bill in 2005. Romney also supports the Hyde amendment, which would prevent tax-payer funding of abortions. Mitt Romney supports prohibiting the funding of Planned Parenthood. Mr. Romney is against Roe v. Wade. Mitt Romney's selection of Paul Ryan as VP (100% pro-life by NRLC) is strong. I challenge anyone to name one current Democratic Senator, Congressman, President, or VP with a stronger pro-life record than Paul Ryan.
Judy Claar
6 months ago
Wonderful, Wonderful, Wonderful article! I particularly enjoyed :"B+ grade goes to Joe Biden, for the Audacity of his Dishonesty; and an A+ grade goes to the President of Catholics For Choice".

The Intelligence and Ignorance (yes I know, I am giving them the benefit of the doubt) of these two men would be laughable if it were not so deadly. Are not Both these men intelligent to have such high positions? Yet, when it comes to their Catholic Faith, they appear to be dumb...in hopes that other poor souls, will see such men in high positions and believe what they say to be near gospel. In doing this, they commit grave sin, although they themselves ignore it, because in Truth, they are Both Not "practicing Catholics". This is fact according to CCD and Our Holy Father.

IF Joe Biden Were a True Practicing Catholic, he Would Not Be a politician of the Church's Four Non-Negotiables: Abortion, Embryonic Stem Cell Research, the Family, and Marriage. (Which is supporting homosexuality as a Natural Lifestyle, thus going Against Natural Law and Nature itself. Nature is also a Natural abortive=miscarriage. The Church and Others, do Natural Stem Cell Research which works well...there is no need to Abort babies for this. Abortion=Murder. The Church states a Catholic politician may Not Support These Four Items.
Holy Mother Church views them as Non-Negotiables. Therefore, How can one support Biden?
Common Sense 101 tells you: YOU CAN NOT!

Joe Biden Supports ALL of the ABOVE! So does the President of Catholics For Choice!
The first thinks that "...helping the less fortunate" qualifies as being a practicing Catholic!
"Please, Mr. VP, "Do Not Insult My Intelligence'!!! I believe you know Right from Wrong. I therefore must believe, that you, another Obama Catholic, have sold your soul for Greed and Power. And here I do not judge you. Only God knows the heart. But I do have Common Sense, and your Actions Speak Louder Than Your Words".

The second person in All of the Above is the same to me, I am sorry to say. I say to him as Biden. Especially since he has the audacity to say, as Joe Biden, that he is a "practicing Catholic". What makes him a Catholic? He answers: "Baptism". Then, the icing on the cake is: "I believe in the totality of Catholicism...and that includes the right to dissent and freedom of conscience".

That last sentence is contradicting! Now do you understand why I say Intelligence and Ignorance? Yes, Catholics in such High Power Need Not Be In High Power, leading the Really poor and ignorant astray. This is NOT ACCEPTABLE!!! Nor should it be when you cast your vote!

Who you vote for says who you are. What you Believe. If you believe as these two High Powered men: You do not know your Faith in Catholicism. Or if you do, you are throwing caution to the wind, and you are Catholic in Name Only, here on earth. Not in Eternity.
It is heart wrenching to me, to see and hear Pretend Catholics. I pray for their souls, as well as my own and those of my family. "Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Pray For Us".
cthlcrg
6 months ago
Barack Obama picked Joe Biden (rated 0% pro-life by the NRLC), and Mitt Romney picked Paul Ryan, whose congressional record at votesmart.org shows why the National Right To Life Committee rated Ryan 100% pro-life. This is a good indication of values in future nominees and appointments, like judges, cabinet, etc,
Tom McGuire
6 months ago
Terri Kimmel I agree with you. Deacon Fournier I apologize. I have not read all you have written, my comment should have been addressed only to what the articles on the election have discussed. I am a sinner. I ask your forgiveness.
Terri Kimmel
6 months ago
To Tom McGuire: I too am a Catholic writer, but not nearly as prolific as Deacon Fornier. One of the greatest frustrations and petty annoyances we as writers face is when a reader harvests thin air (that which we did not address in our written article) and formulates a postulated belief/philosophy on the writer's behalf and then promotes it as the writer's position on an issue. That's deception, in other words, it's lying. That's what you're doing here, Mr. McGuire. You're fabricating a position for Deacon Fornier out of what he /didn't/ address in his article. That's manipulative, misleading and insidious. Shame on you.

Going back to the cafeteria metaphor, commenting on the main course does not indicate that there isn't a balanced meal. Parsing words, drawing hasty conclusions, and attributing invented motivations to others are abusive behaviors.
Deacon Keith Fournier
6 months ago
To: Tom McGuire. No. You are absolutely wrong. I just do not have time to get caught up in your verbal fisticuffs. There are five days left till this critical election. Who is elected has GRAVE consequences. For example, he will choose up to four Supreme Court Justices and implement or not implement a heinous "health care act" which has devastating implications... Just Google me and you will find I write about and contend for ALL those issues. However, there is a hierarchy of application. When there is no human life because of an administration fails to recognize the fundamental human right to life, all of the other ramifications Blessed John Paul so rightly addresses in that beautiful letter do not come into the forefront of the discussion. Before you presume to know where I stand, check my years of writing (INCLUDING my initial opposition to the INITIAL foray into what became the Second Iraq war as not justifiable).AFTER Nov 6th, I will return to the other issues and contend for all of them. Blessed John Paul II is my life champion and that letter is one of his greatest contributions.
Tom McGuire
6 months ago
For cafeteria Catholics, here is a list of intrinsic evil to choose from. This list is to be found in Veritatis Splendor where Pope Benedict XVI is quoting the Vatican Council.

"Whatever is hostile to life itself, such as any kind of homicide, genocide, abortion, euthanasia and voluntary suicide; whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, physical and mental torture and attempts to coerce the spirit; whatever is offensive to human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution and trafficking in women and children; degrading conditions of work which treat labourers as mere instruments of profit, and not as free responsible persons: all these and the like are a disgrace, and so long as they infect human civilization they contaminate those who inflict them more than those who suffer injustice, and they are a negation of the honour due to the Creator".

It would seem the authors of these articles on the election are cafeteria Catholics. They choose to limit the fare to a few items on the menu. Am I right?
Janusz
6 months ago
Michaels, why is it that somebody "has to show you"....Why don't you use your own brains to figure things out! After all, we shall all be judged as individuals, on the basis of our own actions and not according to what someone else told/shown us!
My prayers are with you.
robert matzinger
6 months ago
Joe Biden is just a fool. The bad part is that "he" believes his own words. The good part is that few others do. Surely no Catholic can believe what he says.
joseph Tran
6 months ago
Michelle S
Your concern is common to the concern of many people with good will.
We are truly unable to find a good candidate as we used to in the past.
however, we have a rule of thumb when make a choice.
with both are good, choose the better
with both are evil, don't choose the more evil but the lesser one
wish you have a best choice

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