Lawrence O'Donnell and Pat Buchanan faced off on Hardball Thursday over President Barack Obama's invitation to deliver the commencement speech at Notre Dame. Many Catholics, including 10 Notre Dame priests, have protested the invitation because of the president's position on abortion.
Both O'Donnell and Buchanan are Catholic, but they disagreed on whether or not Obama should speak at a Catholic University. The debate got heated when O'Donnell pointed out that former President George W. Bush was invited to speak at the school, despite the fact he supported the death penalty and launched the Iraq war, against the wishes of the Pope. O'Donnell went so far as to say this was a "fake controversy, run by religious fanatics."
O'DONNELL: This is the same university that invited George W. Bush, this is the same religion that stands in adamant contradiction to the death penalty. This is the same religion, whose head, the Pope, plead personally with not to launch an unprovoked invasion and war in Iraq ... That same president, George W. Bush, who used the death penalty more than anyone who has ever been in the Oval Office, that president was welcomed at Notre Dame with none of these objections.
O'Donnell blasted Buchanan for supporting the double standard and condemning abortion but defending George W. Bush's position on the death penalty, in contradiction to his Catholic beliefs.
O'DONNELL: Can you identify a theological principle in which you believe that the Catholic church knows ... that the killing of a fetus is worse that the killing of an adult? Can you identify that Pat, because it doesn't exist ... You are lying about what the Catholic Church position is. You have to agree with me right now that the Catholic Church is opposed on moral grounds every single use of the death penalty that this country has ever done.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/10/obama-notre-dame-debate-o_n_185672.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Lawrence O'Donnell doesn't have a clue:
Pope Benedict XVI (then, Cardinal Ratzinger, Pope Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith), "with guidance to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, stated succinctly, emphatically and unambiguously" as follows:
June, 2004 "Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia. For example, if a Catholic were to be at odds with the Holy Father on the application of capital punishment or on the decision to wage war, he would not for that reason be considered unworthy to present himself to receive Holy Communion. While the Church exhorts civil authorities to seek peace, not war, and to exercise discretion and mercy in imposing punishment on criminals, it may still be permissible to take up arms to repel an aggressor or to have recourse to capital punishment. There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia." http://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=1125
Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick: More Concerned with 'Comfort' than Christ?, Catholic Online, 7/11/2004
What Ardent Practicing Catholics Do (1)
By Fr. John De Celles, 9/1/2008
"Abortion and euthanasia are thus crimes which no human law can claim to legitimize. There is … a grave and clear obligation to oppose them … [I]t is therefore never licit to … "take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or vote for it."
In other words: it is always a grave or mortal sin for a politician to support abortion.
On Sunday, before the whole nation, (Rep. Nancy Pelosi) claimed to be an "ardent, practicing Catholic." Imagine if someone came in here and said "I'm a mafia hit man and I'm proud of it." Or "I deal drugs to little children." Or "I think black people are animals and it's okay to make them slaves, or at least keep them out of my children's school."
Are these "ardent practicing Catholics"? No, they are not."
And neither is a person who ardently supports and votes to fund killing 1 to 1.5 million unborn babies every single year. Especially if that person is in a position of great power trying to get others to follow her. Someone, for example, like a Catholic Speaker of the House, or a Catholic candidate for Vice President of the United States, or a Catholic senior Senator who is stands as the leading icon his political party. Like the proud and unrepentant murderer or drug dealer, they are not ardent Catholics. They are, in very plain terms, very bad Catholics."
But the reason I say all this is not because I want to embarrass them or even correct them — they’re not even here. It’s because of you. Because back in the 1850’s when Catholic bishops, priests, and politicians were either silent or on the wrong side of the slavery debate, they risked not only their souls, but the souls of every other Catholic they influenced. I cannot do that, and I won’t do that.
Some would say, well Father, what about those people who support the war in Iraq, or the death penalty, or oppose undocumented aliens? Aren’t those just as important, and aren’t Catholic politicians who support those “bad Catholics” too?
Simple answer: no. Not one of those issues, or any other similar issues, except for the attack on traditional marriage is a matter of absolute intrinsic evil in itself. Not all wars are unjust — and good Catholics can disagree on facts and judgments. Same thing with the other issues: facts are debatable, as are solutions to problems."
"What Ardent Practicing Catholics Do: Correcting Pelosi", National Review Online, 9/1/2008 6:00AM
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NTY1MzAwOTc5MmViMzUyYzM5YmY3OWFkYzdkMzY0YzM=
I understand your beliefs and personally do not believe in abortion. My reason is simple: "no one has the right to choose death," no matter how many other rights' to choose one has.
I do not know Catholic Doctrine-but I find it curious that one can be for the death penalty-against Catholic Cannon and declare that a lessor offense than anything else.
I also find it curious that Billy Graham had been Pastor to about 6 or 7 Presidents, but as soon as Obama won, Graham refused to be his Pastor.
I also find it curious that the land that first seceded from the Union, South Carolina, produced the first pastor to say that he would not marry anybody in his congregation who voted for Obama.
I also find it curious that 46 governors enthusiastically accepted Obama's stimulus package, but Southern governors, Perry Jindal, Sanford of South Carolina plus Palin said they would not.
I could see it if 25 rejected and 25 accepted-then I could see a reason-but when you have the same characters Objecting to money for their schools, nurses, policeman and teachers, just because Obama is black then one can see that we still have not come very far at all.
Conservatives Object to Obama's $3.6 trillion budget but said nothing about Bush's last budget which was $3.2 trillion.
Just tired of the rampant hypocrisy.
Buchanan-Limbaugh-Hannity-Scarborough have had free reign for 2 solid years to bash Obama-and it was good to see someone take a strong two fisted approach and bop Buchanan right back in the mouth.
Thank you for your comments.
My ONLY issue was that O'Donnell was completely wrong in his position. On the death penalty, there was not one point that O'Donnell was correct on.
It was an astounding display of willful ignorance.
Dudleysharp,
I believe O'Donnell was right on point!!
Post a Comment