Pelosi Loses Plausible Deniability

Thanks to Pope Benedict, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi can no longer claim that she understands all the nuances of the Roman Catholic Church's view on abortion. She's heard the truth from its highest authority, and that truth is a smack down of all her previous weasel words.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, underscoring the Vatican's ruling on an issue that divides Americans, told U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday that Catholic politicians and legislators cannot back abortion rights.

Pelosi, a powerful U.S. politician who is Catholic and pro-choice, has been accused by U.S. bishops in the past of misrepresenting Church teachings on abortion.

"His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural and moral law and the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death ..." a Vatican statement said.

It said such teaching "enjoins all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men of goodwill in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development," it said.

Pelosi has tried to argue that theologians in the Church have never been able to agree on when life begins. Any mediocre student of Catholic teaching knows that this is not true. But it is the rare mediocre student who has such a vested interest in clinging to an immoral position for political gain.

The pope has informed her conscience for her, and now it is her free will to follow it or ignore it. I don't expect Pelosi to change her story, which is very sad. The consequences, for her and for the country, will be quite tragic.

UPDATE - George Weigel has much the same take as I do, only he says it so much better HERE.

Bishop: U.S. Catholics 'Bailed on their Faith'

There must be something that inspires courage in the water cooler over at the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Bishop Robert J. Hermann, the archdiocesan administrator, in one of the strongest pro-life articles I've ever seen, chastised the 50% of the Catholic faithful in the U.S. for "bailing out on their faith" and voting for Barack Obama as president. As reprinted by LifeSite News online:

In our Supreme Court and in our Congress, we have a plethora of so-called Catholics who are failing to live their Catholic identity. Over 50 percent of our electorate voted for a president who is one of the most pro-culture-of-death candidates from a major party to run for the highest office of the land.

Yes, we can thank one-half of our Catholics for bailing out on their faith!

After almost 50 years of having 50 percent of Catholics abandoning their Catholic identity, we cannot expect to turn this culture around by short-term political efforts.

In order to bring about a transformation from a culture of death to a culture of life, we have to restore our Catholic identity.

This means that all of us, as Catholics, have to undergo a profound transformation. It means that we have to take a good look at every facet of our Catholic life, including the serious study of life issues, the regular and devout use of our Sacramental system, especially the devout and weekly attendance at Mass, the regular reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the devout praying of the daily Rosary, and then the faithful, loving and firm witness to lax Catholics about our Catholic beliefs and practices.

We have to live our lives in such a way that we will be unafraid to witness to what we believe and live.

I may courageously say that I am willing to die to end abortion, but am I equally willing to say that I am ready to let my ego get ruffled daily for the same cause? Yet … that is where I need to arrive if I am to be a credible witness.

What a glorious opportunity we all have to make a difference in the pro-life cause. Until we are willing to be politically incorrect in order to be biblically correct, we will never convince anyone that our religion is worth living.

It does not take 100 percent of our Catholics to transform this country. If 75 percent of our Catholics were steeped in Catholic identity, the abortion issue would be over for our entire country.

All it takes is courage and the willingness to actually live what you believe.

Two Presidents, Two Protests, Two Days after Inauguration.

The Inauguration is upon us, and the annual peaceful protest of legalized abortion in Washington D.C. is fast approaching - January 20th and 22nd, respectfully. This brings to my mind a plethora of mixed feelings.
I was at a Catholic conference not long ago, and one of the keynotes at the conference was lauding the efforts of the March for Life. He praised the fact that 100,000 folks converge on the U.S. Capitol to walk in peaceful protest for the unborn. He thought how great it would be if we could get double that number January 22, 2009. What a great message it would send (In an aside, he was incorrect on his numbers ... 225,000 showed up at last year's March for Life ... I would love it if 450,000 showed up this year)!

But...

He told us not to forget about the march that will be happening two days before the election, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream is finally recognized (his niece would disagree), at the inauguration of the nation's first black president.

Wow. The mention of those two things in the same minute blew my mind. Our nation (and incidentally, 52% of Catholics) voted for a man who said that the first thing he would do as president is sign the abortion-on-demand Freedom of Choice Act; vowed immediately after the election to rescind the Mexico City policy; called the identification of a baby's human rights above his pay grade, said he doesn't want his daughters punished with a baby; lied to the nation about voting against protecting infants that were born alive; voted to cease funding for non-controversial amniotic and adult stem cell research (which has contributed to date to over 70 cures) in favor of a blank check for the rather controversial embryonic stem cell research (which has contributed to date to zero cures ... and which kills a human being); and countless other things that should have given a great many of us Catholics, including this keynote speaker, a little bit of pause before voting for him. And now, he praises the election along with the efforts of the March for Life?

The last time I went to Washington D.C. for the March for Life was January 22, 2001. We had just inaugurated Bush two days beforehand. Those at the March had higher hopes for the Pro-Life cause with Bush than with Clinton, but there was still uncertainty as to what that would mean on paper and in practice from the White House. It was announced that the newly inaugurated President was invited to take part in the March, but doubtful that he would show up. The speeches came and went, from Robert Dornan to Rabbi Leven to Sam Brownback to Randall Terry to Fr. Frank Pavone ... the whole Pro-Life movement was there. Suddenly, in the middle of one of the speakers’ talks, Sam Brownback literally interrupted and said, “We’ve just received good news from the White House.” Over 200,000 people were on pins and needles to hear the good news. Then, Senator Brownback announced that President George W. Bush’s first executive order in office was to re-instate the Mexico City policy … a policy that, in a nutshell, ends the funding of abortions as “aide” in other countries with America’s taxpayer dollars. The entire crowd started cheering for the newly elected president, chanting "Bush! Bush! Bush!"

I never voted for George W. Bush, in either election. I think the man has made some serious mistakes in his presidency. It cannot be denied, though, that he has done MORE for the cause to end abortion in this country than any President since Roe v. Wade.

Fast forward to today. Today, we inaugurate a man who has promised to expand Roe more than any President. Folks have said we can thank Bush for Obama’s election. Maybe. The supposedly Pro-Life Catholics who voted for him, though, need to pay close attention these next couple of days.

In two days, I will once again be practically on the White House lawn for the 36th annual March for Life, my first time since 2001. How interesting will it be, if Obama’s first executive order would be to rescind the Mexico City policy, with 300,000 (projected) pro-lifers at his doorstep? Will that speaker from the Catholic conference be disappointed (He did say he would be attending both "marches"), or has he, like many others in the country, already canonized the man?