[The bishops have no one to blame but themselves for sending another mixed message concerning Obama; it will be a great photo opportunity for him; they should rename it the Alfred E. Neuman Dinner]
President Obama accepts invitation to Alfred E. Smith Foundation Dinner
by Tom Gallagher on Jul. 26, 2012
National Catholic Reporter
ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/president-obama-accepts-invitation-alfred-e-smith-foundation-dinner
The 2008 dinner with then-Cardinal Egan of New York
As I wrote back in March when all heck was breaking loose around contraception, ham sandwiches and religion, the severe and unprecedented animus being directed toward President Barack Obama and his administration by the Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop William Lori and other U.S. bishops and staff set the stage for a potentially divisive Alfred E. Smith Foundation Dinner in October. During a presidential election year, this annual New York City dinner hosts the president and his challenger for a night of hilarity, as well as remembering the work of Gov. Al Smith on behalf of the poor.
I’ve learned that as of yesterday, Obama, who was in fact extended an invitation, has accepted it. The presumptive Republican nominee, Gov. Mitt Romney, will also be in attendance.
I am heartbroken! For decades we Catholics have watched our bishops apply a tempid stance against pro-abortion political leadership. The Kennedys, the Cuomos and so many others cozy up for photo opportunities with smiling prelates. Our doctrines say one thing, but our actions say another.
We Catholics stormed Notre Dame and Georgetown about the honors they give to pro-abortion politicians. Momentum is building in our favor. Finally, with this HHS Mandate we see some bishops with backbone. We participate in the Fortnight for Freedom with prayer and fasting (yes, I did a 24 hour fast during the Fortnight). We are seeing glimmers of hope, and now Cardinal Dolan dashes that with “business as usual”.
I have been watching the Alfred E Smith Dinner web site, and now it is confirmed. We know that our political candidates feed off of these photo opportunities. It is the fodder for their success. What a disappointment from Cardinal Dolan!
Disinvite Obama
Michael Voris
The Vortex
08-06-2012
Sometimes the faithful need to just say NO!
Transcript www.churchmilitant.tv/scripts/vort-2012-08-06.pdf
Hello everyone and welcome to The Vortex where lies and falsehoods are trapped and
exposed. I’m Michael Voris.
We’d like to begin today with a section from the Church’s Code of Canon Law …
It’s from “Canon 212 .. §2. The Christian faithful are free to make known to the pastors
of the Church their needs, especially spiritual ones, and their desires.
§3. According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have
the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on
matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the
rest of the Christian faithful ..”
Following on from this .. we’d like to invite you to join a petition we are organizing for
respectful submission to the Archdiocese of New York to request the leaders of the New
York Archdiocese to rescind their invitation to Obama to attend the annual Al Smith
dinner.
For Obama to be seen hobnobbing and glad-handing and all smiles and jokes and pats on
the back with Cardinal Timothy Dolan will be a source of great scandal and confusion for
untold numbers of Catholic faithful as well as many others of good will.
Therefore ..
We the undersigned respectfully request that the invitation to Barack Obama to be a guest
at this year’s annual Al Smith charity fundraising dinner be withdrawn immediately.
Barack Obama has proven himself to be an aggressive adversary of the Catholic Church
with regard to numerous policies put forth under his administration.
These include, but are not limited to, his forceful efforts to advance the intrinsic evil of
abortion on demand both domestically and internationally; his antagonistic and ruthless
efforts to force the intrinsic evils of contraception and sterilization on poor nations
through financial enticements and threats; his continued policy of directing US tax dollars
to such organizations as Planned Parenthood which traffic in the currency of numerous
intrinsic evils.
Moreover, Barack Obama has lied numerous times, including his controversial
appearance at Notre Dame in 2009, about attempts to reach so-called common ground
with the Catholic Church on matters including protection of conscience rights for health
care workers.
His most recent legal efforts to force Catholic institutions to act against their consciences
and pay for contraception and abortion inducing birth control products underscore his
total belligerence toward the Catholic Church and Her teachings.
As such .. the appearance of Barack Obama .. such an openly hostile opponent of the
Church .. at a Catholic gala attended by high-ranking Catholic clergy would be a massive
insult to untold numbers of the faithful who have fought this man’s advancement of one
intrinsic evil after another.
In addition to matters of life .. Barack Obama has orchestrated a militant effort against
the sacredness of marriage by supporting, promoting and advancing the intrinsic evil of
same-sex so-called marriage at home and abroad. He has directed the full might and
force of the federal government to impose its will on the Catholic Church in limiting and
restricting Her rights and responsibilities to carry out the corporal works of mercy in the
areas of adoption services, and ministering to US military personnel who are Catholic.
We therefore respectfully request that Barack Obama’s invitation be rescinded without
delay and a sense of proper decorum restored.”
Now .. its very important to note that in 1996 .. Cardinal John O’Connor .. the archbishop
of New York at the time .. would not allow then-President Bill Clinton to be extended an
invitation to the Al Smith Dinner specifically because of his pro-abortion stance and
policies.
So how is that 16 years ago .. a sitting president was denied an invitation to the dinner
because he had the blood of pre-born children on his hands .. but now that doesn’t seem
to matter?
And recall that in 1996 .. Bill Clinton was exhibiting none of same intense anti-Catholic
policies as Barack Obama is today. The bishops of the United States saw no need to sue
their president. They saw no need to try and rally Catholics from coast to coast in a two
week effort of prayer and mobilization against the sitting president’s policies.
They saw no need to launch an intense media blitz .. writing articles and appearing on
large numbers of TV and radio shows and newscasts.
The stakes were nowhere near as high 16 years ago as they are today. Yet in that
relatively subdued environment .. the then Cardinal of New York stood up and said ..
NO .. Mr. President .. you cannot come to the dinner.
Yet today .. with seemingly everything on the line .. and a president who has
demonstrated nothing less than a thinly veiled disgust of the Catholic Church and Her
teachings .. who is actively involved in a lawsuit against Her .. THIS man gets the red
carpet rolled out for him. And yes, there is a red carpet at the dinner.
Obama is of course glad to mingle with those he considers his enemies because it fits
perfectly well his political calculus. He gets the photo op he wants to shove in the face of
those Catholic who oppose him .. while at the same time giving him the perfect weapon
to sew bewilderment among others.
In one fell swoop .. Obama gets to make his opponents look like buffoons AND score
political points by showing everyone the nice picture of him and Cardinal Dolan smiling
and back-slapping.
Talk about killing two birds with one stone .. and at least one of those birds will be a
Cardinal.
Please sign the petition and encourage anyone and everyone else you know to sign it and
pass in on as well.
We keep hearing from Church leaders today to reclaim our Catholic identity which has
been stolen from us because THEIR predecessors did not pass on the faith. Well, here’s a
very easy way to begin to assert that identity.
Just click on the link to sign.
GOD Love you,
I’m Michael Voris