Rorate Caeli – Papal Reminders On Catholics & Politics: Three Non-Negotiables

Here's the link: Catholics and Politics: The Three Non-Negotiables

Quote:

As far as the Catholic Church is concerned, the principal focus of her interventions in the public arena is the protection and promotion of the dignity of the person, and she is thereby consciously drawing particular attention to principles which are not negotiable.

Among these the following emerge clearly today:

[FIRST NON-NEGOTIABLE]

- protection of life in all its stages, from the first moment of conception until natural death;

[SECOND NON-NEGOTIABLE]

- recognition and promotion of the natural structure of the family - as a union between a man and a woman based on marriage - and its defense from attempts to make it juridically equivalent to radically different forms of union which in reality harm it and contribute to its destabilization, obscuring its particular character and its irreplaceable social role;

[THIRD NON-NEGOTIABLE]

- the protection of the right of parents to educate their children.

These principles are not truths of faith, even though they receive further light and confirmation from faith; they are inscribed in human nature itself and therefore they are common to all humanity.

The Church’s action in promoting them is therefore not confessional in character, but is addressed to all people, prescinding from any religious affiliation they may have. On the contrary, such action is all the more necessary the more these principles are denied or misunderstood, because this constitutes an offence against the truth of the human person, a grave wound inflicted onto justice itself. ~ Benedict XVI, Address to the Members of the European People's Party

See also:

Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics

Pope Benedict XVI (Cardinal Ratzinger) On Voting, Abortion & Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion

A Brief Catechism for Catholic Voters

Just War Doctrine

Any thoughts?

Comments

[Jeffrey]

At what point are Catholics allowed to do a kamikaze run on the "conservative" party and let a liberal in office in order to make a stand, demonstrating that they will not accept incremental evil any longer?
At what point are Catholics required to do this?

[joanne]

Given the non-negotiables, and the fact that there is one candidate still running who supports all three without compromise, those of us who have yet to vote in a primary should be happy for the chance to vote for Mike Huckabee, at least at that level. We're NOT, and hopefully won't be, at the point of exercising the "lesser of 2 evils" justification.

[Dan Hunter]

Alan Keyes is still running and has not compromised his integrity on all three of these non-negotiables.
The difference between Huckabee and Keyes is that Huckabee is anti-Catholic and Keyes is Catholic.
God bless pro-life. pro-marriage, pro-family, Dr Keyes.

[Mark Cloney]

Gee, I can't see this Pope having any major issues with Ron Paul, even though this blog has seemingly intractable issues with him. (Some of these issues are just smears - I seriously doubt Ron Paul has a racist bone in his body.) Dr. Paul is totally pro-life, pro-family and by far the strongest supporter of the parent's right to educate their children. The others don't even come close.

In fact, when you look at the Vatican's position on the American war in Iraq (both under the current pope and his predecessor), i.e., that it was and is an unnecessary pre-emptive strike against a country that was in no way a threat to this country, it is clear that the best choice for President in 2008 for serious Catholics is Ron Paul. A vote for the other candidates is a vote for more American Empire.

PS. Now that Romney's dropping out, do we really want Huckabee or McCain? No wonder some conservatives are threatening to vote for a Dem! Why don't we just make one Republicratic party and quit pretending we're different, if that's our choice?

[LJ]

Super Tuesday told us that it will be a McCain vs. Clinton presidential race. By all means pray for a miracle, but be aware that if it is not forthcoming, the choice will be between two liberals, one pretending not to be.
Hillary might well do serious damage to the country. McCain might well do serious damage to the country as well, but he might also do irreparable damage to the Republican party. Next election, he won't be around if he loses now.

Strategically, maybe Coulter is right. Either vote Hillary or stay home.

[Jeffrey]

How about:
Give up caring about the presidential election and find the absolute most decent conservatives for local/state offices. Ones who won't go along with Hillary Commie Care.
We make our stand in Congress!!!

[Joseph-USA]

Actually I rarely read the posts which discuss this pope or his immediate predecessor; they are-were both complete phonies (I think demonic is more accurate).

Have we not had horrific-demonic popes in past history?

If so, then why not consider that possibility now?

As for the phony's three "non-negotiables" he violates all three continuously in the single area which is ENTIRELY within his responsibility and absolute control.

Pope Benedict XVI could and of course should immediately DISMISS all homosexuals from the Roman Catholic clergy as well as from all jobs-positions of influence, especially "teaching" jobs or in any way "representative" jobs anywhere in the Church.

Reread the three non-negotiables above and pause after each one to consider the effect of persisting in (secretively!) insinuating individuals burdened with homosexual mental illness into our ordained clergy and as teachers (or any other ways, leaders) of children, especially, but of anyone, since we are all "children" and "students" of our Faith, and thus easily subject to be guided into error.

The horrible burden of homosexual mental illness is absolutely threatening and contrary to: (1) "protection of human life" and homosexual clergy is absolutely contrary to and destructive of: (2) "recognition and promotion of the natural structure of the human family" and
homosexual (spiritual leaders-role models) priests are absolutely opposite corrosive and caustic to: (3) "the protection of the right of parents to educate their children".

If the roofs of all the Catholic Churches were shot full of holes and the rain just poured down through and onto the alters and people during every Mass, would not THIS pope command that the roofs be fixed IMMEDIATLY?

But herein continually we are supposed to blitheringly ignore that pope Benedict XVI (and pope John Paul II) dallies and fiddles and barely comments or notices the most horrific catastrophe destroying our Church and the Faith of our children.

And we here in this blog are essentially pretending that this is some "great man" when he is as phony and lousey as any of the worst of his ilk in history.

We are Catholics and as such, hard-wired to respect and honor our ordained clergy. This situation of dishonor and corruption and destruction, which touches and has greatly harmed every one of us, especially those with responsiblilty for children, requires a bit more discernment than blind grade school "faith" in otherwise obviously corrupt men.

Pray for him, but don't "praise" slim phony platitudes, rather demand concrete corrective action. And don't check your brains at the door like the phony forever "saved" Protestants, we are not going to be rewarded with Heaven for sitting by as the Faith is destroyed for ourselves and our children.

To Joseph-

Pope Benedict is direct and succinct.
Pedophilia exists everywhere -
IT IS THE ATTACK ON PARENTS' RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY TO EDUCATE THEIR CHILDREN THAT HAS CREATED A FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT FOR PEDOPHILES.

To All:
Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, and Alan Keyes are in line with the three
non-negotiables.
Go to EWTN and say the election prayer.

[Jimbo]

"Demonic" popes, Joe? Wow. Not just "insufficient" or "lacking" or "gutless" but "demonic"? I can remember both of our most recent popes talking about the issue you're bringing up in a straight-talk express kind of way. And I don't remember their heads doing a 360-degree, owl head spin or any guacamole coming from their mouths!

Mark,

while I don't think anyone has accused Ron Paul of being a racist, he certainly has surrounded himself with some, which leads one to think he's a bit comfortable in their social-business circles. Read some of Mr. Paul's articles in the Ron Paul Newsletter--you know, Ron's newsletter for himself. You might be shocked to read Mr. Paul, though he says someone else wrote it for him, comparing some in some ethnic groups to animals. That is NOT a good way to convince me you're not a racist.

Paul was a loser geek with some ideas that put him more at home amongst libertarians. That's where he should be campaigning. That's a campaign he might actually win. He knows it, we know it. He chose not to do so because he knows libertarians never have any shot at victory. He and his positions demonstrate why.

We'll see how people flock to him now that Romney's out. You have your chance, Mark. If all of Romney's conservatives flock to him, like they're bound to, then he'll be back in the race lickity-split. I can't wait to hear and see Paul's acceptance speech at the Republican Convention this year.

[Joseph-USA]

The issue is NOT "pedophilia" but Homosexuality which is the horrid corruption of our clergy. Only those who wish to hide the horrible catastrophe of Homosexual Catholic clergy want to divert our attention and thinking with this red herring fallacy of differentiating "pedophiles" from ("good" and "normal" ? ) homosexual priests.

And, Jimbo, "talking about" an issue involving the entire ordained clergy when one is the absolute militaristic sovereign of the Catholic Church, is not as impressive nor as silly as expecting the Devil to play his cards all face up on the table.

[joanne]

Anti-Catholics don't respect the Catholic Church or defend Her, in my small experience. They may cooperate and befriend 'Catholics' but they don't tolerate the Church. Huckabee has tolerated and defended the Church from unjust criticism. He is closer to being catholic, today, as a just Baptist, than many Catholics.

[Greg]

Jesus had one non-negotiable about the Church and politics:

"Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."

Joseph,
You're right - it isn't just pedophilia - it is pederasty and the deliberate, lengthy seduction of impressionable youth (to lure them into homosexual activities once they reach the age of consent).
Then once lured into this lifestyle, they are encouraged into religious life in order to continue this cycle.

POPE BENEDICT HAS DEFINED THE ROOT AND THE REASON FOR THIS CORRUPTION - PREMEDITATED WAR ON THE RIGHT OF PARENTS TO EDUCATE THEIR CHILDREN.

[joanne]

I certainly don't disagree with Pope Benedict on this, but I have to add my most recent "sidewalk" observation: the PARENTS, in many cases, are today's corruptive influence. You'd be surprised at how many young women are forced into abortion by their parents, after those same parents have allowed their daughter to sleep with her boyfriend under their own roof. They don't get upset with her for premarital sex, they are mad that she didn't use contraception "responsibly". So I would have to conclude that the Pope's take is a generation late, in some respects.

[mary g]

Joanne,
RIGHTNOW is the time to begin.
Listen up.
Hear the Voice speaking through Pope Benedict
- parents have a right to educate their children
- and the state has no right to steal it.
The state and mass marketing have corrupted parenting:

Parents have been indoctrinated to think that the "authorities" know more and have a greater right to raise their children than they (the parents) do.
They have been taught to override normal parental instincts - now termed "overprotection".
They are dressing their children inappropriately because they think peer acceptance is a sign of healthy socialization,
they allow destructive behaviors because they think mainstream is healthy
and they take their daughters to have abortions because they think their daughters need careers and a college degree by a certain age or they are failures as parents.

This is complicated and simple at the same time; Benedict has a simple direct formula - and it will work, because it is God's Design.

[mary g]

Joanne,
RIGHTNOW is the time to begin.
Listen up.
Hear the Voice speaking through Pope Benedict
- parents have a right to educate their children
- and the state has no right to steal it.
The state and mass marketing have corrupted parenting:

Parents have been indoctrinated to think that the "authorities" know more and have a greater right to raise their children than they (the parents) do.
They have been taught to override normal parental instincts - now termed "overprotection".
They are dressing their children inappropriately because they think peer acceptance is a sign of healthy socialization,
they allow destructive behaviors because they think mainstream is healthy
and they take their daughters to have abortions because they think their daughters need careers and a college degree by a certain age or they are failures as parents.

This is complicated and simple at the same time; Benedict has a simple direct formula - and it will work, because it is God's Design.

[mary g]

I didn't mean to post that comment twice.
God bless you all.
I am giving up blogging for Lent.

[Joseph-USA]

The no-nickname correspondent who commented (just above Joanne and mary g) on my remark regarding homosexuality among our priests being entirely within Benedict XVI's ability to correct, and it being the entire cause of all failings since Vatican II, seems to agree but actually he does not.

The attempt to narrow or focus on specific elements of homosexual "activity" misses the entire truth that homosexuality is the essence of "anti-man" corruption-destruction of our paternalistic religious philosophy and our paternalistic natural human family (which operates perfectly to serve and preserve humanity and society and culture and civilization).

It is the anti-man "mentality" of the homosexual which, when metasticized through our clergy, has created the anti-man Feminism which has worked to destroy marriage and destroy the vocation of child rearing (aka, mothering) and destroy respectful modesty and understanding of our place in the world as children of God, rather than little materialisic robots.

Forget about whether homosexuals "do" this or that, it is the very unfortunate mental illness burden they carry, which makes them utterly unsuited to become "Fathers" as in Reverend Father, just as they are unsuited to become actual fathers of children (not just sperm donors) in a protective constant stable natural human family.

Pope Benedict XVI fails to correct the homosexual clergy, the pervasive source of Feminism, which is the destroyer of the natural human family, as he fails to correct the homosexual clergy which is the self centered atheistic source of all the novelty and corruption of our basic Sacramental worship, the traditional Mass.

[Jimbo]

My goodness, Joe. The Pope has spoken clearly about homosexual clergy. What more do you want? He has said anyone having a homosexual experience should not be accepted for ordination. He can not, as a fellow bishop, do much more than he is doing without severe cause. I'll leave it to the Canon experts to say when those times are. Do you want him to personally interview every prospective seminarian? Local bishops have that authority. Sorry if they're abusing that privilege. If the bishops of America want to destroy the Faith here, it will be very difficult for a bishop of another country to do much about it, Rome or otherwise. That's how the faith is lost in countries...ask the churches of the Apocalypse. The fact is, most bishops in America are doing fine; and the poorer bishops are doing probably decently in this regard.

A stunning amount of catholics don't really believe in the Real Presence. Why would they have a problem with many of the issues we're raising? As long as the church door is open when THEY want/need their dose of religion, they just probably don't care that much what is generally going on.

Living in a live-and-let-live society, that's pretty much what most Catholics in America want: they want to be able to do largely what they want and left alone.

The Pope's exhortation/reminder is largely unnecessary for most serious Catholics, and probably falls on deaf ears for the majority of Cafeteria Catholics (which is clearly the majority of Catholics here in the U.S.). He still needs to say it, however.

When will the day come when those idiot Kennedy supporters are called to the carpet, though?

[Joseph-USA]

Jimbo -

The pope can formally DISMISS (laicize) ALL homosexual Roman Catholic priests via a proclamation similar to the Motu Proprio, since NONE of them should have ever been ordained in the first place.

The phony popes could readily excommunicate Archbishop Lefevere, they can "do" all sorts of stuff, e.g. have snake charmers perform on blessed alters in Catholic Churches in Assissi, etc. pray in the Blue Mosque.

Let this pope risk making his "first" "mistake" and just announce that: "ALL homosexual Roman Catholic priests are hereby laicized."

Then let the creepy phony bishops scurry around like the rats they are in trying to pretend they don't know who is homosexual? At that point, the pope can request the LAYMEN in the Church to finally do something which would actually be appropriate (instead of ALL the phony "ministries" operated by a bunch of wannabes, who give up NOTHING to sort of play "priest"), and go around and identify EXACTLY who the homosexual priests are and throw them the Hell out of the rectories.

Jimbo - if we "lose" all of the cafateria Catholics, we (re)gain our Church.