Separation of church and state

[Gob]

The most senior US Catholic leader is to give a benediction at the Republican National Convention next week in Florida when Mitt Romney accepts the party's presidential nomination.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan will give prayers at the televised event, Mr Romney said in an interview.

The cardinal is suing President Barack Obama over his healthcare plans.

But the cardinal's office says the appearance will not be an endorsement for Mr Romney. [yeah right.]

Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the cardinal, said the agreement had been made within the last two weeks, according to US media.

The move was not partisan and the cardinal was open to invitations from both political parties, he was quoted as saying.

Mr Romney announced the news in an interview with The World Over Live show on the Catholic EWTN channel, due to air later on Thursday.

Cardinal Dolan leads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York and is also head of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The BBC's Zoe Conway in Washington says the cardinal's office is keen to play down his appearance, describing it as just a priest going to pray.

But some, she says, will see this as America's most powerful Catholic giving Mitt Romney his blessing.

The Catholic Church is embroiled in a dispute with Mr Obama over his health law that requires employers to provide free access to birth control through their health insurance.

Although the law exempts houses of worship, it includes other church-linked employers such as schools and hospitals.

Mr Romney has also come out against the policy, calling it an attack on freedom of religion.

The four-day National Convention begins on Monday in Tampa, Florida.

Meanwhile, an opinion poll found that Mr Obama holds a six-point lead in the swing state of Ohio, but that the race had tightened in two other key states.

Mr Obama's lead in Florida has narrowed to three points in Florida and to two points in Wisconsin, according to the Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times poll.

You have to laugh....

[Lord Jim]

Cardinal Dolan willing to do closing prayer at Democrat Convention as well

by Patrick B. Craine
Thu Aug 23, 2012 12:32 EST

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, August 23, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – After the revelation Thursday that Cardinal Dolan will offer a benediction closing the Republican National Convention next week in Tampa, the Archdiocese has issued a statement clarifying that his appearance is not an endorsement and he would be willing to offer benediction at the Democratic National Convention as well.

The news comes as the Democrats reveal a slate of pro-abortion and pro-same-sex “marriage” speakers at their convention.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan

When accepting the Republicans’ invitation, said Archdiocesan spokesman Joseph Zwilling, “it was made clear to the convention organizers … that the Cardinal was coming only to pray not to endorse, and that he would be willing to accept a similar offer from the Democratic Party as well.”

“That same sentiment was conveyed to the Democratic National Committee,” Zwilling added.

Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, told LifeSiteNews that Cardinal Dolan’s offer is a sound pastoral move and aligns with conventional wisdom that the Church should avoid appearing partisan.

“The kind of legal advice regularly found in circulation in Church institutions these days would suggest taking steps like this to avoid not only the legal actuality but also the public perception or suspicion of being partisan,” Fr. Pavone explained. “But good pastoral zeal would also suggest offering oneself to both camps, to give witness to the pro-life message.”

The head of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, Archbishop Demetrios, will pray at the Republican National Convention this week as well. He has prayed at both Republican and Democratic conventions in 2000, 2004, and 2008.

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/cardin ... ntion-too/

You're going to see lots of prayers being offered for the convention sessions, opening prayers, closing prayers, by religious leaders of every major religion in the US, (Christian, Jewish, and yes Muslim) at both national conventions....

You should watch Strop....

Maybe you'll be touched by the spirit....

[Gob]

On Saturday night I'm usually "touched by the spirits" Jim.

[Crackpot]

I thought you were always touched

[Gob]

Touched in the head?

[oldr_n_wsr]

On Saturday night I'm usually "touched by the spirits" Jim.

Can you give an alcoholic a break?

[Lord Jim]

As God as is my witness, it will take three bottles of Laphroaig, 20 years old...



To put down the evil spirits here abouts...

[rubato]

The most senior US Catholic leader is to give a benediction at the Republican National Convention next week in Florida when Mitt Romney accepts the party's presidential nomination.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan will give prayers at the televised event, Mr Romney said in an interview.

The cardinal is suing President Barack Obama over his healthcare plans.

But the cardinal's office says the appearance will not be an endorsement for Mr Romney. [yeah right.]
... "

The Republican base are hardshell fundamentalist so this is a way of reaching out to a group which is not traditionally Republican and where there are probably a few votes to pick up. It will also provide an ecumenical note to further soften the anti-Mormonism; "whats a bit of magic underwear if you're going to admit that the Papist idolators might be Christians too?"

yrs,
rubato

[Lord Jim]

Papist idolators

I preferred DBA's "Wizard following Satan worshipers"....

[dgs49]

Ironically, one finds that the U.S. Founding Fathers were totally ignorant of the "wall of separation between Church and State," and uniformly started all of their meetings with a non-denominational prayer - a tradition which largely survives.

The Catholic Church, being the largest religious denomination in the U.S. (including the Liberal Secular Human Church, whose primary tenet of faith is, "I AM God!"), is quite conflicted about this election. About half of us Catholics believe that Obama is the devil incarnate because he wants to force Catholic institutions - which are typically self-insured - to pay for birth control and abortions. The other half believe that Paul Ryan is the devil incarnate because he doesn't particularly believe in what they call, "Social Justice." And as Click & Clack used to say, the other half won't vote for Romney because he is a member of an evil, misguided cult.

My sister and I frequently have to leave each others' presence when this dichotomy comes up. Fratricide is frowned on in the Church.

As with other similar stuff, not a single vote, Catholic or otherwise, will be impacted by Cardinal Dolan's prayer.

[Scooter]

one finds that the U.S. Founding Fathers were totally ignorant of the "wall of separation between Church and State,"

Which, I guess, is why Thomas Jefferson used precisely that phrase in his Letter to the Danbury Baptists, in describing the meaning of the First Amendment:

I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.

But hey, what did he know?

[Lord Jim]

Well, he certainly wasn't involved in drafting the Constitution....

He was in France at the time.....

But that doesn't make Davey's blanket assertion accurate either....

ETA:

(I find that for the most part blanket assertions are rarely accurate, so generally I try to avoid them...)

[Scooter]

He said "Founding Fathers". It has always been my understanding that Jefferson is considered one of the Founding Fathers, but seeing as I am just a Canadian, I am sure that Dave will make allowances for the fact that I am better informed about American history and politics than he is.

[Big RR]

And he was clearly involved in creating the Bill of Rights.

[Lord Jim]

When I have a little more time I'll look it up Big RR, but I don't believe Jefferson had any direct role in crafting The Bill Of Rights...(Though my recollection is that he exchanged letters with Madison on the subject, who was the one to introduce those 10 amendments in the first US Congress)

[Scooter]

Regardless of whether he was or not, the notion that the concept of "wall of separation" was one that he came up within his own little bubble, and that no one else had ever heard of, which is what would be required for them to be "totally ignorant" of it, is patently absurd.

It was a viewpoint about the meaning of the First Amendment that was clearly floating around in the discourse of the time, regardless of moronic attempts to paint it as a modern construct.

[Big RR]

I'll check on that as well Jim--I think he did have a hand in it.

[Gob]

Welsh geezer Thom Jeff.

[Gob]

Obama is fucked!!

Chuck Norris Fact No. 39: “Chuck Norris stared evil in the eye and it went into hiding.”



America’s favorite action star is doing just that this election – calling on evangelical Christians across the nation to join him in crushing the creep of socialism under President Obama.

Norris and his wife, Gena, have filmed a public service announcement, unveiled exclusively at WND, wherein the two urge Christians to help save the country in November.

“We are here to talk about a growing concern we all share,” Chuck Norris explains. “If we look to history, our great country and freedom are under attack. We’re at a tipping point and, quite possibly, our country as we know it may be lost forever if we don’t change the course in which our country is headed.”

Gena warns that voter apathy among evangelicals in 2008 may have contributed to Obama’s election in the first place.

“With our country at a crossroads, Chuck and I have asked ourselves what we can be doing to help support this great country we’re blessed to live in and how we can encourage our like-minded American brothers and sisters to unite and let their voices be heard,” she said. “It is estimated that in the 2008 election, 30 million evangelical Christians stayed home on voting day and Obama won the election by 10 million votes.”

Chuck cautions Christians about the cost of doing nothing while the nation spirals into a state of socialism from which there will be no return.

“We know you love your family and your freedom as much as Gena and I do,” he says in his appeal to Americans. “And it is because of that we can no longer sit quietly or stand on the sidelines and watch our country go the way of socialism or something much worse.”

Gena urged Christians to register and cast their votes on Election Day to ensure “our voices will be heard.”

Chuck recalled the cautionary words of great patriots on the subject of preserving liberty:

“As Edmund Burke said, ‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (and women) to do nothing.’

“Our great president, Ronald Reagan said, ‘Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same.’”


Likewise, Gena noted, “President Reagan went on to say that ‘You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children’s children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.’”

Chuck Norris concludes the announcement by encouraging Americans to close ranks and defend their great nation “for God and country.”

“Please stand with us,” he urges. “Let’s unite for God and country. And may God continue to bless the United States of America. See you at the polls.”

http://www.wnd.com/2012/09/chuck-norris ... r-america/

His wife looks far more scary than Chuck!!

[Grim Reaper]

You have to wonder what Chuck thinks socialism actually is or why he thinks it's a bad thing.