Obama, Wright, and the Dictatorship of Relativism

(Hat tip: Feddie)

Kathryn Jean Lopez, writing at The Corner on National Review Online, notes Pastor Jeremiah Wright's view on the relative "truths" of the pastor and the politician:

From Bill Moyers's interview with Wright:

It went down very simply. He's a politician, I'm a pastor. We speak to two different audiences. And he says what he has to say as a politician. I say what I have to say as a pastor. But they're two different worlds. I do what I do. He does what politicians do. So that what happened in Philadelphia where he had to respond to the sound bytes, he responded as a politician.

Lopez then contrasts that statement with what was said at the White House ceremony welcoming Pope Benedict last week:

Funny how Bush and Pope Benedict managed to speak the same language, appear to live in the same world, with the same standards, the same final Judge.

Lopez concludes:

This, my friends (!), is why elections matter. If Wright reflects Obama, do you want a man with this moral compass as president of the United States? I don't think you'd find quite the same "His Truth Is Marching On," welcoming ceremony for Benedict in an Obama administration that we saw last week. Where the president of the United States — a politician — said:

In a world where some treat life as something to be debased and discarded, we need your message that all human life is sacred, and that "each of us is willed, each of us is loved" — — and your message that "each of us is willed, each of us is loved, and each of us is necessary."

In a world where some no longer believe that we can distinguish between simple right and wrong, we need your message to reject this "dictatorship of relativism," and embrace a culture of justice and truth.

And let's not forget Pope Benedict's own words while meeting with the U.S. Catholic Bishops:

While it is true that this country is marked by a genuinely religious spirit, the subtle influence of secularism can nevertheless color the way people allow their faith to influence their behavior. Is it consistent to profess our beliefs in church on Sunday, and then during the week to promote business practices or medical procedures contrary to those beliefs? Is it consistent for practicing Catholics to ignore or exploit the poor and the marginalized, to promote sexual behavior contrary to Catholic moral teaching, or to adopt positions that contradict the right to life of every human being from conception to natural death? Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted. Only when their faith permeates every aspect of their lives do Christians become truly open to the transforming power of the Gospel.

UPDATED
Somewhat related, Lopez wonders "Did a little Benedict rub off on Dubya last week?"


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Thoughts on America by Two Religious Leaders