The pope’s message to the president - By E.J. Dionne

[DonViejo]

This article/OP has been posted in the Religion forum

By E.J. Dionne Jr., Published: March 26

President Obama’s first salary as a community organizer was paid by a Catholic group, and his earliest social justice work was rooted in Catholic social doctrine. He identified with Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, then Chicago’s archbishop, whose consistent ethic of life encompassed a dedication to the poor, a concern over the human costs of war and opposition to the death penalty.

You could thus imagine the president asking Pope Francis at their meeting on Thursday: Why can’t these American bishops get along with me? Or, perhaps more humbly: Holy Father, what can I do to make these guys happy?

It is a sign of how politicized the American Catholic Church has become that its different factions were lobbying hard over the message the bishop of Rome should send after meeting with the president of the United States.

Catholic conservatives hope that Francis will again condemn abortion by way of upbraiding the pro-choice Obama. They’d like strong language supporting the campaign spearheaded by the more conservative bishops against the contraception mandate in the health-care law.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ej-dionne-the-popes-message-to-the-president/2014/03/26/8e52fd10-b50d-11e3-b899-20667de76985_story.html

[cbayer]

1. Good analysis and highlights the complexity of the Pope's various positions.

Would love to be a fly on the wall during their meeting.