The Catholic League has this to say about Pres. Obama’s renomination of an anti-Catholic lawyer who once compared pregnancy to slavery.
OBAMA RENOMINATES ANTI-CATHOLIC LAWYER
Catholic League president Bill Donohue calls attention to the decision of President Obama to renominate Dawn Johnsen to head the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel:
Most of the critics of Dawn Johnsen focus on her strong pro-abortion record. While that is disturbing, a pro-abortion president can be expected to staff his administration with such persons, and no one doubts President Obama’s position on this subject. But it is an entirely different matter when a president selects bigots to work for him.
Dawn Johnsen is not someone who simply takes issue with the Catholic Church’s pro-life position: she wants to punish the Church. In the late 1980s, she joined a cadre of anti-Catholics to strip the Catholic Church of its tax exempt status. The charge? The Church was guilty of violating IRS strictures because it took a strong pro-life position. The lawsuit failed.
The person who led this assault was Lawrence Lader, co-founder of NARAL with Dr. Bernard Nathanson. (Nathanson later dropped his pro-abortion position, became a strong pro-life advocate and converted to Catholicism.) At the time the two men founded NARAL, Lader, according to Nathanson, liked to refer to the Catholic Church as “our favorite whipping boy,” maintaining that his goal was to “bring the Catholic hierarchy out where we can fight them. That’s the real enemy.” (Italics in the original.) That was in the late 1960s. Twenty years later, Lader published a vicious book assailing the Catholic Church, and it was at this time that he launched his bid—assisted by Johnsen—to break the Church.
This is who Dawn Johnsen is. She is a person who is so fueled with hatred of the Catholic Church that she would like to destroy it. Having failed to secure her appointment last year, Obama has decided that he just can’t proceed without her. How telling.
Johnsen is not the first anti-Catholic chosen by Obama, but she is by far the most extreme and the most dangerous.
I remind you all to read THIS.
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At least she’s not claiming to be Catholic.
Well, that’s not so hard to understand. He nominated a trans-gendered individual just recently.
Diversity???
I’m sorry; that should be APPOINTED…
http://www.zimbio.com/Amanda+Simpson/articles/ZMcOpbxr7Ey/Amanda+Simpson+Transgendered+Woman+Appointed
And a 2nd nomination, and a third! Seriously, this is what gets me sick, that Obama preached tolerance to non-Christians (which I support) but then turned his back on us! It just doesn’t make any sense . . . why claim to be “tolerant” when your picks aren’t even “tolerant”?
Party politics, isn’t it? God save Obama and Johnsen from themselves. They’re going to need it.
I think the majority of the 54% of the “Catholics” who voted for Zerobama are made up of two blocs. One would be the nominal “Catholics” of the Northeast, whose true religion is the Democrat party. The other would be the majority of the Hispanic Catholics in the US.
I didn’t vote for this abortionist or his party. Some people don’t like the Republican party. Some hate it with a passion. I’m registered with the GOP and I don’t like them much these days. Nevertheless, I will not pull the lever for a Democrat. The Democrat Party is the most corrupt organization in the US, and, as Alan Simpson so eloquently put it, “the Evil Party”.
Didn’t anyone listen to B.O. when he was running, and dosen’t anyone read anymore? Party sharmaty, watch their actions, find out about their friends, mentors, education, etc read their voting records. It will be interesting to see what this 2010 will bring, I hope and pray it will not be more of the socialism of America, as was like the protestising of the Catholic Church in the 1960’s. For as the modernist and progressive’s tell we can not go back. ‘The New Anti-Catholicism’ The Last Acceptable Prejudice, Phillip Jenkins.Another excellent book ‘God Has Not Changed’ The Assembled Thoughts of Alice Thomas Ellis.
Welcome to the 21st Century! The days of Fr. O’Malley are gone and the Bells of St. Mary’s will not ring except on Netflix. We are at the beginning of a time of increasing persecution of the Church, and a Dawn Johnsen is only an initial token of the potential suppression of orthodox Judeo-Christianity in a much longer, dirtier, and far more dangerous fight. But she and her ilk are not the ones to worry about. The greatest danger to the Church lies with those within the Church itself until the schism that is already a fact becomes manifest reality.
Anyone surprised by this simply has not been paying attention.
Catholics and “Catholics” will have to decide where their primary allegiance lies, the Faith or the Democratic Party.
janek3615: Amen. And a very sad one, at that.
Read the lives of the English and Welsh martyrs…R.H. Benson’s “Come Rack, Come Rope”…prepare, maybe not tomorrow or next year…but eventually…learn to suffer with the Crucified Christ in His Roman Church.
Since 2001, I have taught my students that they belong to the age of the martyrs. Some see it, some don’t. First, legal restrictions, fines, and isolation. Then,imprisonment and death. If we don’t see it, we can’t be prepared for it. Edmund Campion knew exactly what was in store for him when he returned to England disguised as a merchant. The North American Jesuit Martyrs knew what was going to happen. Shakespeare’s Lear “The ripeness is all.”
Janek: “The greatest danger to the Church lies with those within the Church itself until the schism that is already a fact becomes manifest reality.”
Agreed. I know the Church is the hospital for sinners not the country club of the perfect, but even so, at least here in America (and I suspect elsewhere) we have a situation where there is not even a basic commonality with the past (I’m convinced most great Saints would be aghast if they were to walk into the average Catholic mass in America ). Whereas before we could at least agree that certain things were wrong or to be believed, even though their may not be a consensus on such things, today even a basic precept (dogma) such as the True Presence is generally disbelieved, whereas basic moral tenants such as contraception and abortion are believed to be “licit” among the average “Catholic.” When does a person stop becoming Catholic, and start becoming a protestant thinking they are “Catholic” just because they fill the space of a Catholic church? This question pertains to priest and people alike. I personally know priests who tell people to, for instance, not confess contraception, as their belief, apparently, contravenes the Church’s.
I think such things as Medjugorje are compounding the problem–essentially in stealing-away warriors from the true fight; making them complacent with the opium of a false religious, “feel-good” experience, when they could be getting into the trenches to fight the onslaught of relativism around them. Instead, they follow the “Gospa” (Satan) away from the true Church parading as the “Church.”
A lot that could be said. Suffice it to say you can’t be a real Catholic and support this poor excuse for a leader of the nation.
Dawn Johnson is a modern-day Margaret Sanger.
If you’ve ever doubted Planned Parenthood’s main goal is the destruction of the Catholic Church, “The Pope’s Position on Birth Control” by its founder Margaret Sanger is a revealing article. She attacks the Catholic Church, Pope Pius XI, and his 1930 encyclical Casti Connubii (On Chaste Marriages), calling “the Catholic doctrine […] illogical, not in accord with science, and definitely against social welfare and race improvement.”
Keep praying. This is a very real spiritual battle. Pray that we stop funding abortions through Planned Parenthood in the new healthcare bill.
Supertradmon and Maltese: Exactly.
I was just thinking today that if someone from 100 or 500 yrs ago went to a “typical” Mass with all the “craziness” (not the OF in its authentic form; but that’s another discussion!) they would have no idea this was a Catholic Mass, the Mass of our Fathers in faith.
I am in no way a sede-vancantist (that is another story altogether!), nor am I a favorable to separating from the authentic authority of the local bishop, but I am just aghast (and annoyed, to put it mildly!) at this so-called “catholic” spirituality/liturgical abuse/inauthentic ‘reading’ of Tradition and the Magisterium.
There is one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. The Pope is the Vicar of Christ and the Successor Peter. Everybody who is at variance with Her teachings, in ‘de fide’ proclamations is not Catholic. Period.
There is room for discussion upon certain ‘variables’ and differences in custom. But all of this is in accord with the Bishop of Rome. Period.
I would admit that there are probably better candidates than Ms. Johnsen, but in general I find that Bill Donoghue in an embarassment to Catholics. His belligerent, bullying tone is really ugly and does not put the Faith in the best light, particuarly for those unchurched who may be seeing him on the surf-over cable channels he appears on from time to time. For example, Bp. Chaput represents his view of Catholic teaching in a way that is forthright but he is always temperate in his speach and very polite. And Bp. Chaput knows how to make a strong point without SHOUTING all the time!
Guess this would be that “common ground” he’s been seeking. Ha.
Keep praying……+ JMJ +
This is a very interesting piece, Father, as it shows we have gone through the skin, the muscle and now into the very bone. No more will this administration play politically correct. While Dr. Nathanson was transitioning from atheism to Catholicism, he gave an address which some friends attended. Nathanson mentioned Lawrence Lader and two others as well as himself as being almost single handedly responsible for making abortion acceptable in this country. Your readers should temper their legitimate concern about this administration with the knowledge that there are many business people out there who feel that their very futures are at stake, and they will be strong allies in a front pushing back against the ambitions of Mr. Obama and his supporters (who are dwindling by the way). The “Tea Party” members, with their very public rallies are a cause for deep concern among Democrats in this election year.
Obama risks a rebellion. The risk of a rebellion is that some will likely become martyrs. History has seen this before. Who would have ever thought we’d see it in what was once the world’s finest democracy? St. Michael lead us in battle.
Didn’t Christ warn us, saying that as He was persecuted so shall we be? Didn’t He also tell us that He would be with us till the end of time, that His Church would prevail even against the Gates of Hell?
It’s going to get really tough, no doubt of it. Get ready to bite the bullet, what we’re seeing isn’t confined to B.O. and Company but symptomatic of the times. Were he and his cronies tossed out onto their ears tomorrow we would still find ourselves in “interesting” times.
The battle lines are becoming clearer, but in the end the good guys win.
1. I like Bill Donahue. bill used to live in Pittsburgh and my wife and i had the opportunity to listen to Mr. Donahue speak at the Adult Lecture Series the Diocese of Pittsburgh hosts each year. Bill goes after anti-Catholics with the gusto that only a seasoned New Yorker has.
2. Martyrhood may be coming, but….as I posted before, I will follow in the path of Pelayo. I believe this nation will split apart before Catholics are thrown in jail for being Catholic.
frjim4321 –
Bill Donohue has gumption! And his blustery approach fits in perfectly with today’s news/opinion shows on cable TV.
I applaud his efforts, and pray he continues his spirited defense of the faith for a long time to come!
“…and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” Though that does not mean we get to skip the Crucifixion. Spiritual warfare indeed.
I’d love to see Bill and Chris Matthews go at it.
Bill Donohue has the fire in his gut that more of us need when it comes to defending the Church from those who would mock Her and attempt to do Her damage.
As to this appointment… well, Obama’s been in office less than a year. There are at least 3 more to go before there will be any let up. There will be more… likely many more… before we see any change.
The whole Obama fiasco never ceases to amaze me.
….First nearly everyone (yes, I know not you Fr Z) rants and raves over the man like he’s Gabriel come to earth. In fact, they talk about him in divine terms !!!???!!!
….All the while he’s telling the whole world point blank on the evening news the outrageous things he’s going to do, and engaging in voter fraud left & right, but NO ONE SEEMS TO NOTICE !!??!!! And no one lifts a finger to stop him.
….Then they elect him and we hear no end of accolades before he even changes his clothes and moves in. He even receives a Nobel prize for doing nothing at all.
….Then after a year, everyone suddenly wakes up and smells their pocketbook burning and finally hears about 25% of what he made so clear BEFORE he was elected. This after he has darned near ruined the economy, has had a shot at ruining the American way of life, and has insulted every last one of us to our faces.
….And we STILL have people in DENIAL.
It just goes to show that average intelligence is da** stupid. People should have to take a reading test and a rationality test before they’re allowed to vote.
Either that (testing for reading & rationality), or they’d ought to franchise cats and dogs which aren’t as stupid as the general human population in the United States.
I wish there was a weekly program on television (EWTN?) that addressed this issue of church vs. state. Moderated by our side of course. The Fr.Z Report?
or perhaps…. Canaries in the Mine Hour?
Disturbed: More like… Whack-A-Mole.
Before you folks get too hard on the Catholics who went Democrat:
1) Keep in mind that for many people the non-negotiables tend to look more negotiable if you’re struggling financially; it’s easier to worry about the fate of the unborn when you’ve got your roof and three squares sourced for the foreseeable future.
2) A lot of their votes weren’t for Obama so much as they were against Bush, from whom McCain (alas) could never completely separate himself, and who was in my most charitable estimation the least perceptive President we’ve had since James Buchanan.
3) The seductive (albeit both ill-informed and fallacious) argument among many people was that, since SCOTUS has had the abortion issue in its iron grip for the last 37 years, there simply wasn’t much Obama could do about it one way or the other.
While I don’t intend to excuse someone like Doug Kmeic–after all, Malta is much nicer than thirty pieces of silver–the case can be made that the Democrats could have won with either Obama or Billary simply because the electorate was that fed up with the GOP. (Tell the truth, I don’t think Kmeic led anyone to Obama that wasn’t likely to go to him in the first place.) The British submariners used to say, “Never mind your enemies; watch out for your friends.”
Given all that, I’m not surprised that Obama is throwing Catholics under the bus with his insistence on Dawn Johnsen, just disappointed. You don’t have to fool all the people all the time, or even some of the people all of the time. You just have to fool enough people at the right times; successful politics, like comedy, is all about timing.
We are in the middle of a quiet civil war, or at least the early stages of it. You can make the argument that the previous one started with Nat Turner’s Rebellion in 1831, almost exactly thirty years before Fort Sumter. I would argue that the next one began in 1968, somewhere between the deaths of RFK and MLK, the Chicago Democratic Convention riots, the promulgation of Humanae Vitae and the election of Richard Nixon … solidified by the Kent State massacre (and the paranoid lyrics of Neil Young: “Tin soldiers of Nixon comin’/ We’re finally on our own”). So much trauma and drama in so little time.
Our best weapons right now are prayer and example. But we will eventually need witnesses … that is, martyrs. Actually, I suggest instead of saying “Man up”, “Cowboy up” or “Put on your big-girl panties and deal with it”, we should have a different slogan: “Pick up your cross” (Mt 16:24)!
Our best weapons right now are prayer and example. We need allies
Be advised that I don’t–and didn’t–endorse any of the rationalizations for voting for Obama. I simply point out that factors other than “Cafeteria Catholicism” played a part.
Tony, we have one president less “perceptive than” James Buchanan. In fact, he’s less perceptive than a doorstop. That would be Obama. The man is clueless, absolutely honking clueless.
Unemployment is over 10%. We have domestic terrorists. Inflation is starting up, while wages are going down (see this week’s news reports). Cap & trade is simmering in the Senate and we all hope that 2010 makes that less likely to pass, otherwise the companies we work for will get taxed out of existence….
And that’s just the start of it….
The motivation of Catholics who voted for Obama is questionable, however, their stupidity in not seeing this coming is absolutely inexcusable. Nobody should be that stupid and still be allowed to vote.
Obama was very clear about the things he planned to do before he was elected. People didn’t want to listen. Well, now they are going to pay.
And A.B.O.R.T.I.O.N. was one of the issues Obama has always been clear about. HE thinks it’s OKAY. In fact, he thinks we all should pay for it and not object. That’s always been as clear as day.