extreme Catholic  warning cross jesus carrying cross chi rho madonna of the streets saint peter repentant el greco pope john paul ii

Patrick Sweeney 19711971
Patrick Sweeney 20032003
In lieu of a tip jar: Donations to
National Review
Irish Echo

The Catholic Evidence Guild is on WVOX 1460 AM in New Rochelle
Catholic World News: The Catholic News Leader
Archives
12/15/2002 - 12/22/2002 12/22/2002 - 12/29/2002 12/29/2002 - 01/05/2003 01/05/2003 - 01/12/2003 01/12/2003 - 01/19/2003 01/19/2003 - 01/26/2003 01/26/2003 - 02/02/2003 02/02/2003 - 02/09/2003 02/09/2003 - 02/16/2003 02/16/2003 - 02/23/2003 02/23/2003 - 03/02/2003 03/02/2003 - 03/09/2003 03/09/2003 - 03/16/2003 03/16/2003 - 03/23/2003 03/23/2003 - 03/30/2003 03/30/2003 - 04/06/2003 04/06/2003 - 04/13/2003 04/13/2003 - 04/20/2003 04/20/2003 - 04/27/2003 04/27/2003 - 05/04/2003 05/04/2003 - 05/11/2003 05/11/2003 - 05/18/2003 05/18/2003 - 05/25/2003 05/25/2003 - 06/01/2003 06/01/2003 - 06/08/2003 06/08/2003 - 06/15/2003 06/15/2003 - 06/22/2003 06/22/2003 - 06/29/2003 06/29/2003 - 07/06/2003 07/06/2003 - 07/13/2003 07/13/2003 - 07/20/2003 07/20/2003 - 07/27/2003 07/27/2003 - 08/03/2003 08/03/2003 - 08/10/2003 08/10/2003 - 08/17/2003 08/17/2003 - 08/24/2003 08/24/2003 - 08/31/2003 08/31/2003 - 09/07/2003 09/07/2003 - 09/14/2003 09/14/2003 - 09/21/2003 09/21/2003 - 09/28/2003 09/28/2003 - 10/05/2003 10/05/2003 - 10/12/2003 10/12/2003 - 10/19/2003 10/19/2003 - 10/26/2003 10/26/2003 - 11/02/2003 11/02/2003 - 11/09/2003 11/09/2003 - 11/16/2003 11/16/2003 - 11/23/2003 11/23/2003 - 11/30/2003 11/30/2003 - 12/07/2003 12/07/2003 - 12/14/2003 12/14/2003 - 12/21/2003 12/21/2003 - 12/28/2003 12/28/2003 - 01/04/2004 01/04/2004 - 01/11/2004 01/11/2004 - 01/18/2004 01/18/2004 - 01/25/2004 01/25/2004 - 02/01/2004 02/01/2004 - 02/08/2004 02/08/2004 - 02/15/2004 02/15/2004 - 02/22/2004 02/22/2004 - 02/29/2004 02/29/2004 - 03/07/2004 03/07/2004 - 03/14/2004 03/14/2004 - 03/21/2004 03/21/2004 - 03/28/2004 03/28/2004 - 04/04/2004 04/04/2004 - 04/11/2004 04/11/2004 - 04/18/2004 04/18/2004 - 04/25/2004 04/25/2004 - 05/02/2004 05/02/2004 - 05/09/2004 05/09/2004 - 05/16/2004 05/16/2004 - 05/23/2004 05/23/2004 - 05/30/2004 05/30/2004 - 06/06/2004 06/06/2004 - 06/13/2004 06/13/2004 - 06/20/2004 06/20/2004 - 06/27/2004 06/27/2004 - 07/04/2004 07/04/2004 - 07/11/2004 07/11/2004 - 07/18/2004 07/18/2004 - 07/25/2004 07/25/2004 - 08/01/2004 08/01/2004 - 08/08/2004 08/08/2004 - 08/15/2004 08/15/2004 - 08/22/2004 08/22/2004 - 08/29/2004 08/29/2004 - 09/05/2004 09/05/2004 - 09/12/2004 09/12/2004 - 09/19/2004 09/19/2004 - 09/26/2004 09/26/2004 - 10/03/2004 10/03/2004 - 10/10/2004 10/10/2004 - 10/17/2004 10/17/2004 - 10/24/2004 10/24/2004 - 10/31/2004 10/31/2004 - 11/07/2004 11/07/2004 - 11/14/2004 11/14/2004 - 11/21/2004 11/21/2004 - 11/28/2004 11/28/2004 - 12/05/2004 12/05/2004 - 12/12/2004 12/12/2004 - 12/19/2004 12/19/2004 - 12/26/2004 12/26/2004 - 01/02/2005 01/02/2005 - 01/09/2005 01/09/2005 - 01/16/2005 01/16/2005 - 01/23/2005 01/23/2005 - 01/30/2005 01/30/2005 - 02/06/2005 02/06/2005 - 02/13/2005 02/13/2005 - 02/20/2005 02/20/2005 - 02/27/2005 02/27/2005 - 03/06/2005 03/06/2005 - 03/13/2005 03/13/2005 - 03/20/2005 03/20/2005 - 03/27/2005 03/27/2005 - 04/03/2005 04/03/2005 - 04/10/2005 04/10/2005 - 04/17/2005 04/17/2005 - 04/24/2005 04/24/2005 - 05/01/2005 05/01/2005 - 05/08/2005 05/08/2005 - 05/15/2005 05/15/2005 - 05/22/2005 05/22/2005 - 05/29/2005 05/29/2005 - 06/05/2005 06/05/2005 - 06/12/2005 06/12/2005 - 06/19/2005 06/19/2005 - 06/26/2005 06/26/2005 - 07/03/2005 07/03/2005 - 07/10/2005 07/10/2005 - 07/17/2005 07/17/2005 - 07/24/2005 07/24/2005 - 07/31/2005 07/31/2005 - 08/07/2005 08/07/2005 - 08/14/2005 08/14/2005 - 08/21/2005 08/21/2005 - 08/28/2005 08/28/2005 - 09/04/2005 09/04/2005 - 09/11/2005 09/11/2005 - 09/18/2005 09/18/2005 - 09/25/2005 09/25/2005 - 10/02/2005 10/02/2005 - 10/09/2005 10/09/2005 - 10/16/2005 10/16/2005 - 10/23/2005 10/23/2005 - 10/30/2005 10/30/2005 - 11/06/2005 11/06/2005 - 11/13/2005 11/13/2005 - 11/20/2005 11/20/2005 - 11/27/2005 11/27/2005 - 12/04/2005 12/04/2005 - 12/11/2005 12/11/2005 - 12/18/2005 12/18/2005 - 12/25/2005 12/25/2005 - 01/01/2006 01/01/2006 - 01/08/2006 01/08/2006 - 01/15/2006 01/15/2006 - 01/22/2006 01/29/2006 - 02/05/2006 02/05/2006 - 02/12/2006 02/12/2006 - 02/19/2006 02/19/2006 - 02/26/2006 02/26/2006 - 03/05/2006 03/05/2006 - 03/12/2006 03/12/2006 - 03/19/2006 03/19/2006 - 03/26/2006 04/23/2006 - 04/30/2006 04/30/2006 - 05/07/2006 05/07/2006 - 05/14/2006 05/14/2006 - 05/21/2006 06/18/2006 - 06/25/2006 07/02/2006 - 07/09/2006 07/16/2006 - 07/23/2006 07/23/2006 - 07/30/2006 07/30/2006 - 08/06/2006 08/27/2006 - 09/03/2006 09/10/2006 - 09/17/2006 10/01/2006 - 10/08/2006 12/10/2006 - 12/17/2006 10/07/2007 - 10/14/2007 11/25/2007 - 12/02/2007 12/02/2007 - 12/09/2007 12/09/2007 - 12/16/2007 12/16/2007 - 12/23/2007 12/23/2007 - 12/30/2007 01/06/2008 - 01/13/2008 01/13/2008 - 01/20/2008 01/20/2008 - 01/27/2008 01/27/2008 - 02/03/2008 02/03/2008 - 02/10/2008 02/10/2008 - 02/17/2008 02/17/2008 - 02/24/2008 02/24/2008 - 03/02/2008 03/02/2008 - 03/09/2008 03/30/2008 - 04/06/2008 04/06/2008 - 04/13/2008 04/13/2008 - 04/20/2008 10/05/2008 - 10/12/2008 11/09/2008 - 11/16/2008 11/16/2008 - 11/23/2008 11/30/2008 - 12/07/2008 12/07/2008 - 12/14/2008 12/28/2008 - 01/04/2009 01/04/2009 - 01/11/2009 01/11/2009 - 01/18/2009 01/18/2009 - 01/25/2009 01/25/2009 - 02/01/2009 02/01/2009 - 02/08/2009 02/08/2009 - 02/15/2009 02/15/2009 - 02/22/2009 02/22/2009 - 03/01/2009 03/01/2009 - 03/08/2009 03/08/2009 - 03/15/2009 03/15/2009 - 03/22/2009 03/22/2009 - 03/29/2009 03/29/2009 - 04/05/2009 04/05/2009 - 04/12/2009 04/12/2009 - 04/19/2009 04/19/2009 - 04/26/2009 05/03/2009 - 05/10/2009 05/10/2009 - 05/17/2009 05/17/2009 - 05/24/2009 05/24/2009 - 05/31/2009 05/31/2009 - 06/07/2009 06/21/2009 - 06/28/2009 06/28/2009 - 07/05/2009 07/05/2009 - 07/12/2009 07/19/2009 - 07/26/2009 07/26/2009 - 08/02/2009 08/02/2009 - 08/09/2009 08/09/2009 - 08/16/2009 08/16/2009 - 08/23/2009 08/23/2009 - 08/30/2009 09/06/2009 - 09/13/2009 09/13/2009 - 09/20/2009 09/20/2009 - 09/27/2009 09/27/2009 - 10/04/2009 10/04/2009 - 10/11/2009 10/25/2009 - 11/01/2009 11/01/2009 - 11/08/2009 11/08/2009 - 11/15/2009 11/22/2009 - 11/29/2009 01/10/2010 - 01/17/2010 01/17/2010 - 01/24/2010 01/24/2010 - 01/31/2010 03/21/2010 - 03/28/2010 03/28/2010 - 04/04/2010 04/18/2010 - 04/25/2010 05/02/2010 - 05/09/2010 05/23/2010 - 05/30/2010 05/30/2010 - 06/06/2010 06/06/2010 - 06/13/2010 06/27/2010 - 07/04/2010 07/04/2010 - 07/11/2010 07/11/2010 - 07/18/2010 07/18/2010 - 07/25/2010 08/01/2010 - 08/08/2010 08/08/2010 - 08/15/2010 09/26/2010 - 10/03/2010 03/27/2011 - 04/03/2011 10/23/2011 - 10/30/2011 01/08/2012 - 01/15/2012 01/15/2012 - 01/22/2012 01/22/2012 - 01/29/2012 11/19/2017 - 11/26/2017 05/14/2023 - 05/21/2023 03/17/2024 - 03/24/2024
This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours? blogrolling Weblog Commenting and Trackback by HaloScan.com extremetracking www.blogwise.com
You're the 123! NYC Bloggers
technorati.com
Subscribe with myFeedster

Blogarama
Review extreme Catholic on blogarama
Listed on BlogShares

[Valid Atom]

Who Links Here

Friday, August 28, 2009
 
The war over the "Good Catholic" label

It started with the rush to the keyboards and microphones: "Attention everyone: Kennedy was a good Catholic as well as being a good Liberal"

Here's an incomplete list of what I am talking about:

  • Complex legacy of a Catholic Abortion rights stance drew criticism, but work embodied teachings: Boston Globe, Michael Paulson
  • He made me proud to be a Catholic: National Catholic Reporter, Maureen Fiedler

    I think the yardstick being used here is that Kennedy was successful in exploiting his Catholic identity to achieve his liberal political agenda. There's a certain tone of admiration and triumph that he wasn't officially criticized by the Church and never denied the platform when he sought it to speak as a Catholic.

    What would I believe a good Catholic politician would do? It isn't a matter of taking orders from a bishop but letting the teachings of the Church permeate how you think and act. Why? Because Catholics believe that the Church speaks for Christ, and especially so when it declares an intersection between important universal moral teaching and public policy.

    The "Kennedy is a good Catholic" advocates either ignore this or respond -- "look at the whole man".

    This could be your standard or mine, but it not God's. Cardinal O'Connor made the point to several New York politicians, that sanctions from the Church were secondary to the peril that you risk ones own salvation by advancing, even in a remote way, the murder of the unborn. I would be moved by that.

    The "Good Catholic" label given by pro-choice liberals may be permanently retired. Born in 1932, Kennedy may have been the last politician who sought and who had a distinct appeal to Catholics. The Catholic voting bloc doesn't exist in 2009. As political creatures, we are all assimilated now into the American voter. Partly because of demographics and partly because what might be called an "Catholic agenda" can't be identified apart from the "Democratic Party agenda" apart from the right to life issues. The threat of losing its tax exempt status is the muzzle stifling the Church's voice.

    Many questions come up and when the Church has a clear teaching on a serious moral matter, I withhold the "good Catholic" label from the politician who opposes and undermines it. It's no longer about Ted Kennedy now. He exists in eternity now without rank, money, or privilege but in God's mercy. It is about us and whether we can, as Catholics, pull the voting levers for Catholics who promote a disregard for the culture of life, and can justify that choice as we appear before the same merciful God who has judged the late Senator.

    Labels: , , ,


    posted by Patrick Sweeney at 7:50 AM   Permalink   HaloScan


  • small red cross

    Thursday, August 27, 2009
     
    Senator Kennedy came to my parish

    It was the year he was serious about running for President of the United States -- 1980 -- President Carter was running for reelection but he first needed the nomination of the Democratic Party. (details on the Wikipedia). Kennedy (then 48) was known for being a Senator (appointed in 1962 at the Constitutional minimum age of 30), for Chappaquiddick in which Mary Jo Kopechne died in mysterious circumstances, and for a Roger Mudd interview where he fumbled the question "Why do you want to be President?"

    All of the early primaries were won by Carter but as 1980 progressed, people thought he was not handling the economy and Iran hostage crisis well. There was high unemployment, high interest rates, and all over the globe, the power and influence of the Soviet Union was growing.

    Kennedy confidently came to New York, to Queens, to Woodside, to the SE corner of 58th Street and Roosevelt Ave. to Sunday Mass at St. Sebastian. I was 26, and married a year, and I shook the Senator's hand, along with many other Woodsiders on the week of the New York primary. He won New York, but that was Kennedy's peak, and by the time of the convention Carter had a surge. Kennedy never again sought the Presidency.

    This undated photo of Mother Teresa and Senator Kennedy was taken in India.

    Labels: , , ,


    posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:26 PM   Permalink   HaloScan


    small red cross

     
    Kennedy Apologetics

    Taking a step back, the liberal Catholic love for Kennedy is no surprise. The surprise is burying his pro-abortion record in pieces targeted towards Catholics. The related surprise is the intensity of the attacks on pro-life Catholics who point out the plain fact that Kennedy was pro-abortion.

    Labels: , , ,


    posted by Patrick Sweeney at 4:33 PM   Permalink   HaloScan


    small red cross

     
    My Response to Sr. Maureen Fiedler Shared via AddThis

    Pat Madrid has written what I feel. I will have more to say about the late Senator later.


    posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:03 AM   Permalink   HaloScan


    small red cross

    Tuesday, August 25, 2009
     
    A right to health care

    Where did the idea of "positive rights" enforceable by law become popular with the Catholic Church?

    It takes some capital and labor to provide health care, education, clothing, food, shelter. These are essential for all, and the purpose of alms is to make a provision for people unable to purchase from their own wealth to obtain them.

    I can understand committed socialists like Obama to advocate nationalization of health care as consistent with federal control of the economic life and liberty on the installment plan -- but why has the Church been so enthusiastic to embrace a federal bureaucracy -- one committed to promoting abortion, euthanasia, cloning, and rationing of health care.

    I know ACORN is funded by the Campaign for Human Development which in turn is funded by donations collected at Mass from Church-going Catholics, but that's not even a significant part of the Church. Yet it seems all of the agencies of the Church with involvement in health care and the alleviation of poverty are on board with Obamacare and "positive rights".

    Labels: , ,


    posted by Patrick Sweeney at 8:26 PM   Permalink   HaloScan


    small red cross

    link to extremeCatholic.blogspot.com