Catholic Cardinal calls the election of Obama "Apocalyptic"

[RightIsWrong]

Well, as if the non-religious needed another example of the nuttiness of the extremely religious....I give for you LOLZ enjoyment...Cardinal James Francis Stafford:

http://catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14355

Cardinal James Francis Stafford, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary of the Holy See, delivered a lecture on Thursday saying that the future under President-elect Obama will echo Jesus? agony in Gethsemane. Criticizing Obama as ?aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic,? he went on to speak about a decline in respect for human life and the need for Catholics to return to the values of marriage and human dignity.

Delivered at the Catholic University of America, the cardinal?s lecture was titled ?Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II: Being True in Body and Soul,? the student university paper The Tower reports. Hosted by the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, his words focused upon Paul VI?s encyclical Humanae Vitae, whose fortieth anniversary is marked this year.

Commenting on the results of the recent presidential election, Cardinal Stafford said on Election Day ?America suffered a cultural earthquake.? The cardinal argued that President-elect Obama had campaigned on an ?extremist anti-life platform? and predicted that the near future would be a time of trial.

?If 1968 was the year of America?s ?suicide attempt,? 2008 is the year of America?s exhaustion,? he said, contrasting the year of Humane Vitae?s promulgation with this election year.

?For the next few years, Gethsemane will not be marginal. We will know that garden,? Cardinal Stafford told his audience. Catholics who weep the ?hot, angry tears of betrayal? should try to identify with Jesus, who during his agony in the garden was ?sick because of love.?

The cardinal attributed America?s decline to the Supreme Court?s decisions such as the 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, which imposed permissive abortion laws nationwide.

?Its scrupulous meanness has had catastrophic effects upon the unity and integrity of the American republic,? Cardinal Stafford commented, according to The Tower.

His theological remarks centered upon man?s relationship with God and man?s place in society.

?Man is a sacred element of secular life,? he said, arguing that therefore ?man should not be held to a supreme power of state, and a person?s life cannot ultimately be controlled by government.?

Cardinal Stafford also touched on the state of the family, saying that the truest reflection of the relationship between the believer and God is the relationship between husband and wife, and that contraceptive use does not fit within that relationship.

I like how the in the second to last paragraph he states that "a person's life cannot ultimately be controlled by government" yet he rails on the election of the candidate that wants to take away the government's ability to control a woman's life. Oh, the irony.

 

[evident]

man the catholic clergy need to stfu. they are pissing off me and the rest of the rational thinking catholics. all that's gonna be left in the church are the riduclous nutjobs you see at palin rallies.

 

[m1ldslide1]

Cardinal James Francis Stafford, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary of the Holy See

My eyes glazed over after reading all that. Can someone interpret for me? If he's somebody really important then I'm surprised at the rhetoric; if he's the guy who runs the prison at the Vatican then I'm not all that concerned.

 

[Jeff7]

"Oh, we're doomed! Every year we're doomed!"

- Hubert Farnsworth


Such is history. Every generation has some nutjobs who think the world will end in their lifetime.
Kind of a mindset of, "If I go down, you're all going down with me."

 

[CycloWizard]

Are you surprised he said this? Do you think he's being overdramatic from his perspective? If you answer yes to either of these questions, you have a fundamental misunderstanding of the teachings of the Catholic Church.

That Obama campaigned aggressively regarding the "right to choose" is pretty much indisputable. That's the one talking point from his campaign that he was crystal clear about. That the dignity of human life is important to Catholic theology is no surprise - it has been one of the cornerstones for well over 1500 years. I'll also point out that the Catholic view of something that is "apocalyptic" is not the same as what a fundamentalist thinks is apocalyptic. For a fundamentalist, the apocalypse is the end of the world. For Catholics, it's more of a game-changer or a paradigm shift. That said, I don't think anyone would disagree that the election of Obama is certainly a paradigm shift in the history of the US and probably the world.

 

[Lemon law]

Well, we maybe all surprised, and ole Cardinal James Francis Stafford may be proved right. As it maybe become "Apocalyptic" to his future in the catholic church. Best case scenario, the pope will tell him to STFU,
worse case scenario, the Catholic church will lose its tax exempt status. Idiots always skate on thin ice, its a blood sport to watch the the ice break as they go down with hardly a ripple

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: RightIsWrong
Topic Title: Catholic Cardinal calls the election of Obama "Apocalyptic"

God I hope so

 

[MagicConch]

After how the Catholic church handled the child abuse cases, I can't fathom how anyone actually looks to these people for moral guidance.

 

[Tab]

Originally posted by: CycloWizard
Are you surprised he said this? Do you think he's being overdramatic from his perspective? If you answer yes to either of these questions, you have a fundamental misunderstanding of the teachings of the Catholic Church.

That Obama campaigned aggressively regarding the "right to choose" is pretty much indisputable. That's the one talking point from his campaign that he was crystal clear about. That the dignity of human life is important to Catholic theology is no surprise - it has been one of the cornerstones for well over 1500 years. I'll also point out that the Catholic view of something that is "apocalyptic" is not the same as what a fundamentalist thinks is apocalyptic. For a fundamentalist, the apocalypse is the end of the world. For Catholics, it's more of a game-changer or a paradigm shift. That said, I don't think anyone would disagree that the election of Obama is certainly a paradigm shift in the history of the US and probably the world.

That's some rather awkard use of the word. I haven't looked this up but I'd be willing to bet 99% of all dictionaries disagree with that definition.

 

[Nemesis 1]

Perty much as I was exspecting. We have the world making us out to be the villians. The whole world sees us as evil. Maybe they right. But with a glad heart I can say . I know for fact the greatest evil on earth is the HRCC.

This is Part of the plan . To take attention away from the true evil and cast it on to a country whos peoples heart is good . But didn't perform there constitional rights and elect proper represenatives. Now the sheep are being used as a diversion. We can still go either way guys . Watch as this thing develops. WE have the food. Finale ans. Don't let them steal it.

 

[mxyzptlk]

?extremist anti-life platform?

That's why I voted for him.

 

[Moonbeam]

One good thing about Catholic Priests is that nobody and especially Catholics pay any attention to what they say. Everybody knows they are wind up toys for a broken religion.

 

[Lemon law]

Tab is no more incisive than Tabb. The American electorate has always been majority pro choice. The only door the Obama election has slammed is the RR's hope that somehow they could could back door pack the courts. Now that simply will not happen for the foreseeable future. The only thing missing is the Snidley Whiplash curses foiled again.

 

[XMan]

So essentially, if a religious persion of a right-leaning political persuasion says something contrary to your beliefs, then it's "another example of the nuttiness of the extremely religious", but if Louis Farrakhan proclaims Obama the Messiah, you have no comment?

 

[Nemesis 1]

Not to tring to demagog the pro life vs pro-choice. This is bigger than that. Yet it is also the essence. Taking an unborns life is wrong no matter how you vie w it its wrong.

But what the HRCC is saying here is more smoke and mirrors. There is a plan being followed here by both sides . In a game that almost none know ablout.

Both sides know what has been written. Both sides know that a Pawn must be sacrificied.

Both sides decided and agreed it would be the American people.


What both sides didn't know is Americans True essense is to overcome. We shall overcome and lay waste to their evil plan. AS Long as America has the Food producing capicity she has . She stands tall. Try eating oil . We have what they want Food . This is about food.

 

[CycloWizard]

Originally posted by: Tab
That's some rather awkard use of the word. I haven't looked this up but I'd be willing to bet 99% of all dictionaries disagree with that definition.

You are trying to assign one specific definition without understanding the context. I'm hardly a language expert, but even my basic high school foreign language studies taught me that translation is only meaningful in context. His original statements were most likely in Italian or even Latin. To the translator, who was probably a Catholic (based on the source of the article), he understood the original statement in the context I described it and chose the English word accordingly. But that doesn't even matter because I'm explaining to you what the Catholic context of that word is rather than a dictionary definition.

 

[CycloWizard]

Originally posted by: Nemesis 1
Not to tring to demagog the pro life vs pro-choice. This is bigger than that. Yet it is also the essence. Taking an unborns life is wrong no matter how you vie w it its wrong.

But what the HRCC is saying here is more smoke and mirrors. There is a plan being followed here by both sides . In a game that almost none know ablout.

Both sides know what has been written. Both sides know that a Pawn must be sacrificied.

Both sides decided and agreed it would be the American people.


What both sides didn't know is Americans True essense is to overcome. We shall overcome and lay waste to their evil plan. AS Long as America has the Food producing capicity she has . She stands tall. Try eating oil . We have what they want Food . This is about food.

Like I said before, shouldn't you be knocking on some doors to warn everyone about the pending doom brought to them by the Whore of Babylon? Or is Tuesday night the night the night you spend in your Kingdom Hall?

 

[dahunan]

Originally posted by: XMan
So essentially, if a religious persion of a right-leaning political persuasion says something contrary to your beliefs, then it's "another example of the nuttiness of the extremely religious", but if Louis Farrakhan proclaims Obama the Messiah, you have no comment?

Because Farah.. is a marginalized tool

Catholics go around and force their beliefs all around the world.. instead of providing condoms to Arficans.. they tell them to keep pumping out babies..lol

Catholics outnumber Nation of Islam members by what ratio would you estimate?

 

[cubby1223]

Originally posted by: XMan
So essentially, if a religious persion of a right-leaning political persuasion says something contrary to your beliefs, then it's "another example of the nuttiness of the extremely religious", but if Louis Farrakhan proclaims Obama the Messiah, you have no comment?

Would you expect any different? I swear many users here must carry around a notecard that states:
Dem=enlightened, Rep=enemy

and whenever a situation presents itself, they just refer to their notecard and respond in kind.

 

[cubby1223]

Originally posted by: Nemesis 1
Perty much as I was exspecting. We have the world making us out to be the villians. The whole world sees us as evil. Maybe they right. But with a glad heart I can say . I know for fact the greatest evil on earth is the HRCC.

This is Part of the plan . To take attention away from the true evil and cast it on to a country whos peoples heart is good . But didn't perform there constitional rights and elect proper represenatives. Now the sheep are being used as a diversion. We can still go either way guys . Watch as this thing develops. WE have the food. Finale ans. Don't let them steal it.

Well, the Heights Regional Chamber of Commerce is in a part of Ohio that greatly helped Obama win the state - and while I too would have rather seen McCain elected - I think it's a bit harsh to call the HRCC the greatest evil on Earth.

Other than that, I have no clue what you're talking about.

 

[CycloWizard]

Originally posted by: dahunan
Because Farah.. is a marginalized tool

Catholics go around and force their beliefs all around the world.. instead of providing condoms to Arficans.. they tell them to keep pumping out babies..lol

Catholics outnumber Nation of Islam members by what ratio would you estimate?

Thanks for demonstrating your ignorance in front of everyone. Now we can all ignore you without worrying about missing anything.

 

[Thump553]

Originally posted by: CycloWizard
Are you surprised he said this? Do you think he's being overdramatic from his perspective? If you answer yes to either of these questions, you have a fundamental misunderstanding of the teachings of the Catholic Church.

That Obama campaigned aggressively regarding the "right to choose" is pretty much indisputable. That's the one talking point from his campaign that he was crystal clear about. That the dignity of human life is important to Catholic theology is no surprise - it has been one of the cornerstones for well over 1500 years. I'll also point out that the Catholic view of something that is "apocalyptic" is not the same as what a fundamentalist thinks is apocalyptic. For a fundamentalist, the apocalypse is the end of the world. For Catholics, it's more of a game-changer or a paradigm shift. That said, I don't think anyone would disagree that the election of Obama is certainly a paradigm shift in the history of the US and probably the world.

The Catholic Church has been talking about the dignity of human life for centuries, but with rare exceptions it is just talk. Remember when the Pope came down hard on South American priests who were actively advocating to improve the lot of the poor? The Crusades? The religious rule of the Middle Ages with Inquisitions and the like? And how many millions have been killed in the name of religion and "the dignity of human life?"

The Catholic Church is much like any other bureaucracy-it's number one concern is to continue and further the interests of the institution first.

 

[Lemon law]

Originally posted by: XMan
So essentially, if a religious persion of a right-leaning political persuasion says something contrary to your beliefs, then it's "another example of the nuttiness of the extremely religious", but if Louis Farrakhan proclaims Obama the Messiah, you have no comment?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xman totally misses the point.

Granted prochoice and prolife are somewhat a binary issue, its a yes no with little middle ground.

The point being, even if some are extremely offended, its a American settled issue because the vast majority of the American people are pro choice. And despite all the ranting of the pro life crowd, and its guarantees that pro choicer will go to hell, the RR
has made no political inroads.

The vast majority can afford to ignore the bleating of a Farrikhan who has no support,
but the religious right pro lifers are a far larger and more dangerous minority.

 

[Born2bwire]

Originally posted by: Nemesis 1
Not to tring to demagog the pro life vs pro-choice. This is bigger than that. Yet it is also the essence. Taking an unborns life is wrong no matter how you vie w it its wrong.

But what the HRCC is saying here is more smoke and mirrors. There is a plan being followed here by both sides . In a game that almost none know ablout.

Both sides know what has been written. Both sides know that a Pawn must be sacrificied.

Both sides decided and agreed it would be the American people.


What both sides didn't know is Americans True essense is to overcome. We shall overcome and lay waste to their evil plan. AS Long as America has the Food producing capicity she has . She stands tall. Try eating oil . We have what they want Food . This is about food.

Is there a way to subscribe to your posts? I look forward to reading each attempt at written communication that you make.

 

[bozack]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
One good thing about Catholic Priests is that nobody and especially Catholics pay any attention to what they say. Everybody knows they are wind up toys for a broken religion.

Which can also be said of any religion as they all suck.