Gingrich To Become a Catholic Saturday

[Are_grits_groceries]

Gingrich To Become a Catholic Saturday: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will officially convert to Catholicism this Saturday at St. Joseph's in Washington, D.C. The move has long been planned -- the New York Times Matt Bai mentioned it in a profile of Gingrich last month -- and will allow Gingrich and his wife, Calista, to practice the same faith. (Gingrich was a Baptist for much of his life.) Let the "what does this mean for 2012" speculation begin!

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/cheat-sheet/white-house-cheat-sheet-obama-1.html?hpid=topnews

FYI How will the RW perceive this??

[Stevenmarc]

1. Oh Oh someones going to miss the Rapture bus

[Donnachaidh]

34. nah - he's just officially becoming the Anti-Christ that was foretold.

:evilgrin:

[opihimoimoi]

2. I protest.....I did not approve of this crap....

[BuyingThyme]

4. You should refuse to attend.

[BuyingThyme]

3. Robert Novak, Tony Blair, Newt Gingrich...

The Catholics really have a good thing going.

[ShortnFiery]

15. Don't ya forget To-NY Blair recently converted.

Something is not quite right in this "getting CATHOLIC religion" at this time in their lives.

Hum?

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1104750/Blair-sexy-Catholic-aide--new-Yale-HQ-near-Opus-Dei-fathers-office.html


http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2005/jan/22/religion.world

[BuyingThyme]

19. I could explain it. But I would get in trouble.

[ShortnFiery]

21. Yeah, we all know that rich and powerful people have too damn much free time on their hands.

Nothing good can come of this action. :(

[Hannah Bell]

35. hints?

[hatrack]

24. Don't forget Sam Brownback . . . .

:eyes:

[BuyingThyme]

27. Did he convert recently?

I had him pegged as a southern crazy-church type.

[hatrack]

46. I'm pretty sure he was AG or S.B. or something Pentacostal-ish . .

But he converted, oh, three or four years ago.

[dixiegrrrrl]

22. Bill O'Reilly....

Ever read his bio? Wiki has short outline, including his Catholic schooling.

[BuyingThyme]

26. I'm talkin' about late-in-life converts.

[Skidmore]

5. Good match...

a church that does not stand for what it preaches and a craven pol who stands for nothing.

[JHB]

6. I think this means he knows he'll never run for president...

...so now he's going to pal around with the Opus Dei crowd.

[PA Democrat]

7. You know what is funny?

Divorce is a still big no-no with the Catholics. Catholics who divorce and then remarry are supposed to be barred from receiving the sacraments (unless they get an annulment).

Now, we all know that Newtie boy has been divorced, but here's the catch:

The Catholic church does not recognize marriages performed outside of the Catholic church, so Newt is GOOD TO GO!


WOO HOO!

[ShortnFiery]

20. No, I found that hypocritical too. I finally stopped attending mass because intimidating teenagers

is sort of VILE while the Priests turn their backs on State Execution and un-just Wars. :(

[SpiralHawk]

8. Will he go back to the wife he dumped while she was in the hospital?

I think that poor sick woman was wife #1 of 3 -- and though it was cruel and republicon of Newt to dump her while she was in the hospital, I suppose it would be redeeming if upon his MIRACULOUS CONVERSION he were to dump wife #3 with a Catholic Annulment for the sake of FAMILY VALUES and return to Wife #1 -- no need to stop by Wife #2 on the way, I suppose

Republicons are such Moral Exemplars - no wonder they wish we could all have wide-stance Family Values

[Ikonoklast]

9. I guess hypocrites tend to gravitate towards one another.

Must be part of the Third Law of Motion.

[gratuitous]

10. His wife, Calista?

Which wife would that be? Because isn't he still married to the one he served with divorce papers while she was in recovery from a cancer operation? Or the one after that? Or the one after that? It's kind of confusing keeping up with these guys who believe in the sanctity of marriage so much that they get married over and over again.

[Bunny]

48. Calista is the one he was cheating on wife # 2 with.

Family values in action. :eyes:

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

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[napi21]

12. Oooo, the Baptists aren't going to like that! They think Catholics are cultists!

I'm a bit surprised at this move. I honestly thought he was positioning himself for 2012 (although I hoped he wouldn't) but he'll never get the deep south this way.

[Peacetrain]

32. Ahhh yepppers.. that they do

[ShortnFiery]

13. Gee who's next - George W? I hope Newt has an Opus Dei.

:scared: :thumbsdown:

[geiger]

14. isn't everyone Catholic by definition? these people are shameless yet they judge everybody....

[CatholicEdHead]

16. The remaining Religious Right will accept him

as long as he takes hard stances like Jindal. Conservative Catholics get along with the Religious Right on abortion and gay marriage, if you accept that then you are in the political movement fold. Newt will not be publicly ostracized, though any religious personal attacks will be in private without him around.

[KamaAina]

17. Well, there goes any thought I might have had of coming back

:eyes:

[musette_sf]

18. i'm sure some Opus Dei bishop

will approve all of Newt's required annulments.

also sure that his daughters from his first no-longer-a-marriage will be thrilled to become bastards in order to help Not-Really-Daddy grow in his Catholic faith.

lovely.

[Dukkha]

23. you have to schedule an appointment to convert?

shouldn't you just decide to be a catholic and you are one?

[jody]

25. Justices Alito, Kennedy,Roberts, Scalia, & Thomas are Catholic. n/t

[tigereye]

28. one of those Santorum-type Catholics? or just the garden variety..

(like the way I was raised...)


I really don't get the obsession of the RW with Catholicism, other than to scrounge for votes...

[cherish44]

29. I believe Gov. Jindal of Louisiana is also a convert to Catholicism

They'll let any nutcluster in as long as they have the $$$$$

[DailyGrind51]

30. Oh great, first we have to put up with pedophile priests and now Gingrich!

Why hast thou forsaken me?

[Crunchy Frog]

31. What happens to the status of his previous marriages?

[BuyingThyme]

33. They will be assassinated.

[DailyGrind51]

38. He is still considered "married" to his first wife, until that marriage is annulled.

[Joe Bacon]

36. So he's gonna fight Bobby for the Bill Donahue vote!

I'm waiting for his application to Opus Dei to get approved!

[deacon]

37. I hope i'm not in line behind him for Confession. :)) n/t

[DailyGrind51]

42. Why, don't you want to listen in?

"Mr. Gingrich, I'm Father Woodward and this is Father Bernstein. We'll take turns with your confession. Please speak clearly and distinctly as we are both wearing hearing aids."

[Blue_Tires]

39. i don't get it...

is Catholicism the new 'country club' for RWers now? you have to be a member to network and get opportunities?

does he want campaign access to the church's topless mountain of money? or is he hedging his bets on the numbers of potential catholic voters rising with the influx of new immigrants?

or is it the new stylish way to get your religious conservative bona fides? back in the 90s every politician was being "born again" and dogma from groups like Promise Keepers was all the rage...

[ThomWV]

41. Want to know why?

I do not tell you this with any authority because it has been nearly 50 years since I have received an instruction in the rites of the Catholic Church, but they change slowly and so this is probably still as close to accurate as my old fart's memory will allow. He's doing it for his wife-to-be would be my guess because the Catholic Church will not recognized a marriage between one of its own and a non catholic - or in my second version - unless the non catholic agrees to raise any children that might be born as Catholics and receive appropriate training to do so. At least in the old days they required conversion or they wouldn't do the marriage. Of course any Catholic could marry in front of the Justice of the Peace (or anyone with a Notary stamp) and it would be valid, just not recognized by the Church.

So that's the deep mystery here. She probably wants to marry in the church or for her own religions reasons for the marriage to be recognized by the church. That being the case he would have to do exactly what he is doing now. It doesn't really denote some change in faith, just a matter of convenience.

[Zuni]

49. His wife may not be able to take Communion

because Newt is several times divorced, and she married him, she might be barred from recieving Communion in her Parish. Perhaps if Newt converted, went to confession and got their marriage blessed by the Church, she might be able to recieve the sacraments. I am not saying this has happened, but it is possible.

This is entirely speculation, but some more conservative Catholics might consider this an illicit marriage, perhaps even "living in sin".

[ThomWV]

40. Maybe he'll join Opus Die and the anti-catholic idiots can blabber about that for a while

You want to bring out the real idiots? Just mention Opus Die.

[MattBaggins]

44. Why would anyone want to kill Opus?

Opus was cool.

[LynneSin]

43. HOW??!!! The man has been divorced twice

And Divorce is a sin in the Catholic Church

[MattBaggins]

45. Come on now

none of the major religions practice what they preach anymore. It is only hating gays and turning women back into property that any of them care about. We even had a story yesterday about a former drug user and womanizer who converted to Islam; wanting to bring Sharia to England. Not just the Catholics. Most of the big ones seem to only be interested in gays and a woman's body.

[ThomWV]

47. No problem

You haven't put yourself in the Catholic frame of mind. You see, those two divorces don't count, in fact they never counted and can't count. Reason is that because those marriages did not take place within the Church - they aren't marriages at all, just civil unions for want of a better name.

Its the same reason Newt has to convert to be married. She, as a Catholic, can not marry a non Catholic and have the marriage recognized by the Church. He converts, they marry in the Church, then you have a marriage that it would be a sin were a divorce unsanctioned by the Church be attained. Of course that is contradictory, how could a civil divorce be recognized as the basis for a sin when a civil marriage is not(?) but its one we won't worry much about.

[NNN0LHI]

50. Does Calista have a last name?

I never see it mentioned?

Don