Roman Catholic Blog

Who is Sonia Sotomayor?

Winston Churchill once described the Soviet Union as a "a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma." I thought of this quote as I began to preliminarily read about President Obama's pick to replace Justice Souter at the SCOTUS - namely Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

Over at www.Beliefnet.com, Steven Waldman wrote this:

Get Ready For: "Is Sonia Sotomayor A Bad Catholic?"

Tuesday May 26, 2009

First published May 5, 2009
From a raw political point of view, it's hard to top Sonia Sotomayor to be Obama's appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. She's Hispanic, a key group that Obama won over and must keep. She's a woman and, though liberal, was appointed by a Republican.

I haven't been able to determine whether she's Catholic, but she's Puerto Rican (most of whom are Catholic) and went to Catholic schools as a child.There already are five Catholics on the court but they're all conservative so they haven't been attacked for being bad Catholics (i.e. being pro-choice despite the church's teaching).

But pro-choice Catholics face a different obstacle course. As John Kerry and Kathleen Sebelius can attest, if you're a pro-choice Catholic, you will be challenged not only on whether you're a good public official but also whether you're a good Catholic.

If Sonia Sotomayor is Catholic, and pro-choice, we may get a wave of discussion about whether the Supreme Court justice should be denied communion.

 

At www.acandidworld.net you'll find this:

"Those scrutinizing potential nominee Sonia Sotomayor, though, will discover a dearth of real evidence on the subject (though that hasn’t stopped some of her detractors). Judge Sotomayor appears to have participated in only two cases seriously implicating the right to choose, with neither giving a strong sense of Judge Sotomayor’s position:

• Center for Reproductive Law & Policy v. Bush, 304 F.3d 183 (2d Cir. 2002). Plaintiff public interest organization challenged the “Mexico City Policy,” a.k.a. the “global gag rule” and its provisions stripping U.S. aid to foreign NGOs advocating for or performing abortions. In an opinion by Sotomayor, the court dismissed the case for lack of standing, rightly so.
• Port Washington Teachers’ Association v. Board of Education, 478 F.3d 494 (2d Cir. 2007). Plaintiff teachers challenged a school district policy, which suggested teachers should report student pregnancies to the student’s parents. In an opinion which Sotomayor joined, the court dismissed the case for lack of standing, noting that, because the policy was not mandatory, objecting teachers wouldn’t be fired for “violating it.” Again, the court is strictly correct. "

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While we don't yet know who Judge Sotomayor is (on the issue of abortion) WE DO KNOW WHO PRESIDENT OBAMA IS AND WHAT HIS POSITION IS AS REGARDS UNBORN LIFE!

There is no way on G*d's green earth that this President is going to nominate anybody to the Supreme Court who does not embrace, fully embrace, the cult of death on the issue of abortion.

If Judge Sotomayor's position(s) are unknown, this is a purposeful tactical choice on the part of the President to get her through the confirmation process.

G*d Save Our Republic!

Bella's Eduardo Verastegui On Abortion, Obama & Proposition 4

[Warning] The video immediately below is graphic (those below it are not)...

Barbara Kralis Asks An Excellent Question In Her New Article...

Click here to read Barbara Kralis' article: How many times do we have to say 'NO' to same-sex marriage?

Click here to read this recent Time Magazine story: The Gay Mafia That's Redefining Liberal Politics

Food For Thought...

See also: What Could Be Scarier Than Halloween? Two Orange County Pastors Donating To Obama

Silver Lining?

Interesting story from the bastion of orthodoxy, the National "Catholic" Reporter about a rebuke to recent statements by the national head of the Knights of Columbus, Carl Anderson (pic below).

Anderson's crime?

He takes Joe Biden to task for claiming to be a Catholic while supporting Abortion "rights."

The text of Anderson's letter can be found here:

http://www.kofc.org/un/cmf/resources/SK_20080919.pdf

The National "Catholic" Reporter story is, of course, not in defense of Anderson.

NCR gives a pulpit to a group called "Catholic Democrats" to attack Anderson. (That's their logo below with the "Lamb of G*d" symbol.)

The NCR story can be found here:

http://ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node/1963

The website for the group "Catholic Democrats" here:

http://www.catholicdemocrats.org/index.php

I guess what I find most interesting are the comments found below the NCR article. Now perhaps these should be taken with a grain of salt as the SSPXers are not readers of NCR, for that matter neither are the FSSPers either, but that being said are from self reported "Catholics." Here are some actual comments:

"As a retired member of the Knights of Columbus, I want to say that I think that the bold political attacks on a Catholic Senator is irrational. Many will not support the authoritarian dictates of certain Bishops who continue to speak with a delusional sense of creeping infallibility. These same Bishops have equated the use of the Birth Control pill to abortion. They simply are incapable of adequately digesting scientific observation. They also forget that they are not even historically correct when they claim that body and soul come together at the time of conception."

"My husband is a KOC member & former Grand Knight. He has since moved away from his council mainly because of the single issue (abortion) being pounded again & again. To us, the "right to life" issue encompasses much more than the abortion situation. It includes every aspect of life - poverty, health care, peace, capital punishment, and so on. " (There's the ghost of Cardinal Bernardin again!)

"Carl Anderson does not speak for me who have been a member of the Knights ( at least I have an insurance policy with them) since 1963. the Knights, like some bishops, use the abortion issue to support right wing Republicans......Being anti-abortion is not being pro-life and Biden and Obama are pro life in their support of a range of issues."

Thought - Whatever the outcome of the election, could Obama's choice of Biden actually help the Church? I mean in the sense of forcing definition of a problem?

Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham (pic above), credited with saving the RAF in the dark days of WWII, often quipped that:

"Problem identification is 90% of the solution."

Your thoughts?

Jesus was a Community Organizer?

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) compares Obama to Jesus on the House floor.

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Here’s the quote:

“Jesus Was a Community Organizer,

                      Pontius Pilate a Governor”

Wow! What else can be said. I think Cohen is Jewish, but gads.

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Let's see.

Jesus Christ, son of G*d, Prince of Peace, Savior of the World..

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Barack Hussein Obama, born Kal-El on the planet Krypton, before being rocketed to Earth as an infant by his scientist father Jor-El, moments before Krypton's destruction. No, that's Superman.

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Oh wait, he's just the pro-infanticide junior Senator from Illinois!

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Said what is truth? or in Obamese -  "That's above my pay grade."

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Pontius Pilate, Prefect of the Roman Province of Judaea.

Loved to give speeches in front of Doric columns, oh wait that's Obama.

Pilate said moral questions were "above his pay grade," oh wait that's Obama too.

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Sarah Palin, pro-life Governor of Alaska, who actually acknowledges Jesus Christ as her Savior!

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To continue the biblical "association" game.

Herod the Great (73 BC – 4 BC) Roman client king of Judaea. Supposedly observant Jew who nonetheless believed in the slaughter of innocent children.

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Joseph Biden, Connecticut Senator. Supposedly observant Catholic who nonetheless believes in the slaughter of innocent children.

A Good First Step: Archbishop Chaput Corrects Senator Biden On Abortion

Here's the link: Archbishop Chaput Corrects Senator Biden on Abortion

My thoughts:

This is good, but the fundamental problem is with Catholics thinking that remaining within a political party that supports abortion as a civil right and attempting to dismiss this fact by pointing to conservative support for things like specific wars (or war in general) or the death penalty neutralizes the scandal involved in belonging to such a group is a moral option.

When will Church leaders tell Catholics that it's as wrong to belong to organizations that support the culture of death, most notably through support for the legal option to kill preborn babies, as it is to belong to a Masonic lodge?

And when will so-called Catholic politicians who support legal abortion be told, without equivocation, by all bishops (including the Holy Father) that, by supporting the culture of death, these so-called Catholic politicians are not in union with Rome, may not receive Holy Communion, and will be excommunicated if they persist in supporting legal abortion?

Any thoughts?

See also: Can Catholics Support Obama?

Partisan Pastor?

Archbishop Charles Chaput has been very open about his commitment to the Democrat party, even going so far as to admit having voted for, and even having worked for pro-abortion candidates.

A recent article by Catholic author, Barbara Kralis, brought attention to the issue: Will Denver Catholic Archbishop finally enforce Canon 915?

Archbishop Charles Chaput's history has troubled many of the faithful, and some of them have attempted to encourage the archbishop to exercise his duty to teach, govern, and sanctify by denying pro-abortion politicians (regardless of political affiliation) access to the Holy Eucharist.

More after the jump...

Obama's "NARAL Catholics"

"NARAL Catholic" strikes me -- and, I imagine, our readers -- as a terrible oxymoron. Yet that is the term Wall Street Journal columnist William McGgurn uses to describe the members of Barack Obama's "National Catholic Advisory Council." Read McGurn's column to understand why he uses the term:

You are the Democratic candidate for president. You want to reach out to Catholics. So what do you do when the majority of the elected officials on your National Catholic Advisory Council have the seal of approval from NARAL Pro-Choice America?

That's the position Barack Obama now finds himself in. A few months ago, his Catholic advisory council was announced with great enthusiasm, and Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) was listed as a national co-chair. His appearance at the top of the council sent a clear message: This campaign is determined to recover some of the lost Democratic sheep who have gravitated to the GOP over abortion.

This council does indeed include some Catholics whose pro-life credentials are impeccable, including Minnesota Congressman James Oberstar. But let us also stipulate the obvious: Of the 21 senators, congressmen and governors listed on the council's National Leadership Committee, 17 have a 90%-100% NARAL approval rating. Even Mr. Casey now enjoys a 65% NARAL approval rating.

Can A Catholic Be For Obama?

This is an issue that is certain to come up repeatedly during this presidential campaign, since presumptive Democratic nominee will surely pull at the voting heart-strings of many Catholics -- even for he is on the extreme of the pro-choice fringe.

Catholic and National Review Online Editor Kathryn Jean Lopez wrote a thoughtful column on this very subject, which you can read here. She offers some very compelling arguments that the answer to the headline question is "No."