Time magazine is reporting (with an obnoxious bent against anti-abortion protestors) that some Catholics are very upset with Pope Benedict XVI (link) over his silence about Notre Dame University inviting President Obama to speak at their commencement. Pope Benedict may have remained silent in order to allow the debate to begin about this life or death issue- and even if it’s unintentional, this gives a voice to the issue that the mainstream media will not allow it to have otherwise. Plus, as powerful as the pope is, if the debate winds up being cast as him vs Obama in the newsmedia, that’s a losing proposition.
The bizarre thing about Obama being invited to Notre Dame is not just that he’s pro-abortion, it’s that he’s callously, arrogantly pro-abortion. Abortion is a sacrament in the church of progressivism, and he’s a lay-minister on the issue. So it’s one thing to show up one day and say all this junk (link):
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – President Barack Obama strode head-on Sunday into the stormy abortion debate and told graduates at America’s leading Roman Catholic university that both sides must stop demonizing one another.
Would that include silencing those who oppose abortion through hate-crimes legislation? Or attempting to criminalize them by labeling them potential terrorists by DHS?
Obama acknowledged that “no matter how much we want to fudge it … the fact is that at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable.” But he still implored the University of Notre Dame’s graduating class and all in the U.S. to stop “reducing those with differing views to caricature. Open hearts. Open minds. Fair-minded words. It’s a way of life that always has been the Notre Dame tradition.”
It seems to me this is the most honest statement I’ve heard President Barack Obama on any topic. Of course you can’t fudge it, it’s either murder, or a woman’s choice- there’s no middle ground. But it’s pro-abortion politicians who’ve been mincing words on the issue, trying to create false middle ground. Now as for the high-priest of fairness having any credibility to talk about creating caricatures of people (bitter clingers?), I’d refer back to that DHS report again, and if that’s not prima facie evidence he’s a lying scumbag, how about the story of his top advisor, David Axelrod, saying he wanted the first family dog named “Miss California” (link)? What about his faith-based neighborhood ACORN initiative appointee Harry Knox, who called the Pope “discredited”?
One of the noisiest controversies of his young presidency flared after Obama, who supports abortion rights but says the procedure should be rare, was invited to speak at the school and receive an honorary degree. “I do not suggest that the debate surrounding abortion can or should go away,” the president said.
Should that say “vehemently” supports abortion rights? And if that debate shouldn’t go away, will he refuse to criminalize political speech through “hate crimes” laws?
Just before Obama arrived in South Bend, at least five people were led away in handcuffs from protests outside the university. They included Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff identified as “Roe” in the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. She now opposes abortion and joined more than 300 anti-abortion demonstrators at the school’s front gate.
More than half held signs, some declaring “Shame on Notre Dame” and “Stop Abortion Now” to express their anger over Notre Dame’s invitation to Obama.
The president, in prepared remarks released by the White House, ceded no ground. But he said those on each side of the debate “can still agree that this is a heart-wrenching decision for any woman to make, with both moral and spiritual dimensions.
“So let’s work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions by reducing unintended pregnancies, and making adoption more available, and providing care and support for women who do carry their child to term.”
He said he favored “a sensible conscience clause” that would give anti-abortion health care providers the right to refuse to perform the procedure.
Nonsense. Obama has yet to ever stand against a single abortion issue. He was the lone speaker in opposition to a ban on killing infants who survived abortions. He promised to make abortion a right with the Freedom of Choice Act. He said that he didn’t want his daughter “punished with a baby”. One of his first acts was to ensure that federal taxpayer dollars go to overseas abortions.
The thing is that abortion is just one sector of the ungodliness of this administration. The cloning issue, and destroying embryos to be used for stem cells (with federal dollars) apparently did not come up.
Now, in typical Obama fashion, he (and his heralds in the mainstream media) will claim to have courageously reached out to Catholics on abortion and other issues, and he will continue to do exactly what he was going to do anyway: ensure that the road is paved for unlimited abortions.