Two stories about Senator Kerry from a Catholic perspective:
1. Kerry attended an African Methodist Episcopal church on Sunday, which was really a political rally dressed up in churchly garb. “[T]he Rev. Gregory Groover recognized him from the pulpit as ‘the next president of the United States,'” AP reports. But AME churches are predominantly black, and so it’s okay for them to have tax-free political rallies on Sunday mornings. Kerry also received communion. Yes, communion in a Protestant church.
2. An article in the Telegraph about how American bishops are thinking of collectively refusing Kerry communion. The piece is well worth reading, because if true, this could really help turn the Church around: by showing that institutionally, the Church is willing to fight up for its beliefs even though it might not go over well with the liberal media. (As if the media loves the Church right now.)
Buried in the story is another item that Kerry avoided Mass in favor of attending a Baptist Church. Kerry’s rejection of Catholic teaching on life issues, his rejection of the Eucharist in favor of Protestant services, and his defiance of the bishops, can only lead to one conclusion: he’s really a Protestant. Refusing him communion is more of an act of public truth-in-labeling than anything else.
Postscript: He’s sold out Christianity if he supports a pro-abortion purist like Kerry (and his own people — abortion kills black babies disproportionately more than any other group). However, “Reverend Groover” is the coolest name for a preacher I’ve ever heard.
Category: Politics
NEW GROUP FORMING: “Pro-Life Catholics for Kerry”
I have decided to form a group devoted to the election of Senator John F. Kerry called “Pro-Life Catholics for Kerry.” I was thinking the other day: isn’t being “pro-life” more than fetuses? What about what happens after the little things are born?
Senator Kerry has consistently opposed the machinery of death that spews out of the Defense Department and its lackey contractors. That’s pro-life. He believes that human needs should take priority over killing in the Federal budget. That’s pro-life. He wants to make sure that those with different sexual orientations can have children using extra-natural means, and not be beaten up by right-wing religious thugs. That’s pro-life.
Sure, he isn’t “pro-life” by the standards of, say, the Pope. He is personally against abortion, though, and as far as we know, he has never encouraged any of his past girlfriends or heiress wives to have abortions. Like President Clinton, he wants to mitigate the conditions that drive women to get abortions. Isn’t that more important than making women feel bad about their choices?
I will be voting for John F. Kerry for President, and I encourage all pro-life Catholics to follow my example. I’ll post the link to Pro-Life Catholics for Kerry site when it becomes available.
The Loony Catholic’s Voter Guide
Maryknoll, back in the day, used to produce men like Father Vincent Capodanno, who was awarded the Medal of Honor when he dove into machine-gun fire to protect a wounded Marine. They sent missionaries to the furthest, most inhospitable places on Earth to bear witness to the Gospel. For administering corporal works of mercy, they were legendary.
Today, they are indistinguishable from any other left-wing organization, except they pretend to be motivated by Christian values. You won’t find any reference to abortion, or any other life issue, in their 2004 election guide. They favor
• Abolishing the “drug war”;
• Addressing the “root causes” of terrorism (how original!);
• Closing the “School of the Americas” (a boutique cause of the Left);
• Ending subsidies and tariffs that protect domestic industries at the expense of poorer nations. (Okay, I’m with them on that one.)
What any of this has to do with Jesus Christ, I’m not certain. Here’s a sure sign that their political commitments are more important than the poor: they’re against technology that will produce more food for hungry people.
Let them be as the fig tree in the Gospel.
Senator Kerry, Man of the People, con’d
More clues as to how Senator John “F-ing” Kerry treats the “little people”:
[On his next ski run], a reporter and a camera crew were allowed to follow along on skis — just in time to see Mr. Kerry taken out by one of the Secret Service men, who had inadvertently moved into his path, sending him into the snow.
When asked about the mishap a moment later, he said sharply, “I don’t fall down,” then used an expletive to describe the agent who “knocked me over.”
The incident occurred near the summit. No one was hurt, and Mr. Kerry came careering down the mountain moments later, a look of intensity on his face, his lanky frame bent low to the ground.
Amazing how one little detail — and in the New York Times! — can convey so much. The subtext of so many of Kerry’s speeches is, “I never make mistakes, I know better than you, I’m smarter than you, and therefore I should be in charge and you better not get in my way.” People might not understand the finer nuances of national policies, but they know they don’t like pompous asses. That’s the kind of thing President Bush would just laugh off with a joke.
P.S. Note to Senator Kerry: personally insulting your bodyguards is a bad idea on many levels.