How quickly we forget....

[Junkdrawer]

Holy warriors

Cardinal Ratzinger handed Bush the presidency by tipping the Catholic vote. Can American democracy survive their shared medieval vision?



President Bush treated his final visit with Pope John Paul II in Vatican City on June 4, 2004, as a campaign stop. After enduring a public rebuke from the pope about the Iraq war, Bush lobbied Vatican officials to help him win the election. "Not all the American bishops are with me," he complained, according to the National Catholic Reporter. He pleaded with the Vatican to pressure the bishops to step up their activism against abortion and gay marriage in the states during the campaign season.

About a week later, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger sent a letter to the U.S. bishops, pronouncing that those Catholics who were pro-choice on abortion were committing a "grave sin" and must be denied Communion. He pointedly mentioned "the case of a Catholic politician consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws" -- an obvious reference to John Kerry, the Democratic candidate and a Roman Catholic. If such a Catholic politician sought Communion, Ratzinger wrote, priests must be ordered to "refuse to distribute it." Any Catholic who voted for this "Catholic politician," he continued, "would be guilty of formal cooperation in evil and so unworthy to present himself for Holy Communion." During the closing weeks of the campaign, a pastoral letter was read from pulpits in Catholic churches repeating the ominous suggestion of excommunication. Voting for the Democrat was nothing less than consorting with the forces of Satan, collaboration with "evil."

In 2004 Bush increased his margin of Catholic support by 6 points from the 2000 election, rising from 46 to 52 percent. Without this shift, Kerry would have had a popular majority of a million votes. Three states -- Ohio, Iowa and New Mexico -- moved into Bush's column on the votes of the Catholic "faithful." Even with his atmospherics of terrorism and Sept. 11, Bush required the benediction of the Holy See as his saving grace. The key to his kingdom was turned by Cardinal Ratzinger.

...

http://dir.salon.com/story/opinion/blumenthal/2005/04/21/tk/

[patrice]

1. "Pro-Life" = gotta' keep shelling out that cannon fodder, to support our "leaders", so we can have

someone to tell us how to live.

[mac2]

2. Bush bribes the Catholic church with our tax payer dollars.

It's called Faith Based Charity. The needy get little of it. He also gave them power with five of them on the Supreme Court (RW Catholics).

Most American Catholics are not RWers nor do they approve of the Vatican being so Medieval in their pronouncements and rules.

No one really says that to the Pope or Bush. Why is that? The Pope is not God even though he thinks he's the right hand of... The media feeds that myth with awe and reverence. No other religious leader has such power or influence over our government (Bush who is not Catholic but uses them). That is dangerous.

I just love how men who don't have or can't have children force it on women. Little do they care about the family. They only want more church members.

[patrice]

6. The Catholic Church started Pro-Life. They defined it and it WAS Anti-War and

Anti-Capitol Punishment.

You NEVER hear any of them saying that anymore, because they know that if they did that would be THE END of Pro-Life.

Also note how the Corporate Media constantly talks about Catholic Doctrine, when in fact there have been only these high-pressure letters from the Pope to the Bishops. To my knowledge he has not spoken Ex Cathedra, i.e. he has not declared being anti-Choice a matter of Dogma. It is my opinion that he can't actually do that, because there are too many of us around who remember that the church, through its catechism, taught us that FREEDOM is a God-given and ESSENCE - tial characteristic of the human soul.

[mediaman007]

3. So I guess if Hillary gets hit for supporting the Iraq War Resolution,

Pope Ratz ought to be classified in the same place. For all of his pious comments about World peace, he chose to place a greater evil on abortion and the gays. He stands pretty tall on the hypocrisy scale.

[Junkdrawer]

5. He sent the letter in 2004, well AFTER the Iraq invasion...

Speaks volumes to me...

Now, I do believe that the average Catholic is overwhelmingly opposed to the Iraq War...

[mediaman007]

12. As I recall, the 2004 letter helped to tip the balance for Bush*

He can be whatever he wants to be now. When the Neocons needed him, Ratz came through.

[blm]

4. Ratzinger did this WITHOUT approval of John Paul who disliked Bush. Add this manipulation with the

manipulation of the media by the politically motivated 'military analysts' who were used to knock down Kerry's attacks on Bush from ToraBora to the decision to invade Iraq to Abu Ghraib to the pillaging of the ammo dumps. The 'military analysts' were there every step of the way to claim Kerry was the one lying and distorting against Bush and the military mission.

Where was a wall of noise from wellnown Dem figures at the time? Supporting and DEFENDING......Bush.

[Junkdrawer]

7. At the time, most insiders knew that Ratzinger was the acting Pope...

John Paul was a very, very sick man...

[blm]

8. Yes...but JP's close circle tried to undo some of the damage from Ratz when they found out.

They definitely knew John Paul didn't want to see Bush get a second term, and if he wasn't so ill, he would've been able to counter Ratz's dirty work.

[Junkdrawer]

9. Make no mistake...I agree it was odious for the then "acting Pope"...

to try to influence an election...especially when the ailing Pope disliked Bush.

[mac2]

10. But the Vatican liked Bush a lot. He made them rich.

They were upset as the American dollar fell though.

[Junkdrawer]

11. .