National Catholic Register: "The Clintons' God"

(Hat tip: Dave Hartline at Catholic Report)

Paul Kengor writes in the October 14-20, 2007 issue of the National Catholic Register:

As Pope John Paul II wrote in Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth) the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, and through the magisterium, serves as the “pillar and bulwark of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15), particularly through its teaching of truth regarding moral action.

Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than the tragedy of abortion, especially in contrast to where some (but certainly not all) Protestants stand on the issue, including two extremely influential Protestants: Bill and Hillary Clinton.

No president did as much to advance legalized abortion as Bill Clinton, who is now poised to be exceeded in that capacity only by his spouse, who has an exceedingly good chance of becoming our next president, and no doubt will be the Democratic Party’s nominee for 2008.

Their positions on abortion are well-known, though the manner in which they have been guided into those positions by their churches is not. That spiritual misdirection is shocking and appalling, and illustrates the dangers of an ever-proliferating number of Christian ministers and denominations that veer in all sorts of directions as they struggle to ascertain moral truth, all without the guide of the magisterium that eternally benefits Catholics.

First, consider the case of Bill Clinton.

When Clinton was first elected governor of Arkansas in the late 1970s, he joined a conservative Baptist congregation in Little Rock called First Immanuel Baptist Church, where he came under the profound influence of a minister named W.O. Vaught. The two frequently conversed not only about the preacher’s sermons but about how Clinton’s faith should be incorporated into his public life.

How the two dealt with the abortion issue is particularly interesting. The young governor was reportedly troubled, personally ambivalent. Though he sided with the “pro-choice” argument intellectually, and felt the pressure of his wife’s religious-like dedication to Roe v. Wade, something inside of Bill Clinton — his conscience, presumably — was prompting questions, perhaps even second thoughts.

The governor was struggling over the definition of human life. Could his preacher go to his Bible and help out?

***
Of course, at the time of Vaught’s counsel, the Catholic Church was already strongly committed to the pro-life position. It had come to that position not through invocation of a Bible passage proscribing “abortion” but through the means that the Roman Catholic Church has used for centuries to ascertain moral truth.

As a Catholic, I sympathize with Vaught. He may have felt in his heart that abortion was wrong, but it was up to him alone — with the option of consulting other “Bible Christians” — to study his Bible in order to assemble the collection of Scriptural references to eventually point him to the same conclusion as the Church in Rome.

The structure of the Catholic Church is such that determining truth is not a process left to each and every pastor at each and every congregation based on personal discernment of the Hebrew or Greek, or through some form of “private revelation.” But he alone was the magisterium — one man serving as the pope, the cardinals, the bishops — to his 4,000-member flock, an impossible, daunting task, a terrible burden.

His flock awaited his conclusions for instruction. So did the Democratic governor and future leader of the free world.

And what about Hillary Clinton?

Bill Clinton ended up firmly in the camp of his wife on the abortion issue. One day, pro-lifers would dub him, “the abortion president.”

His wife scores a 100% rating from NARAL and a 0% rating from the National Right to Life Committee. While, like Bill, she is willing to compromise on numerous political issues, she will not budge on abortion. It is neither uncharitable nor inaccurate — nor name calling — to say that on the subject of abortion Hillary Clinton is fanatical.

There is no issue that impassions her more. She has not changed her position on any meaningful life issue, from federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research to banning partial-birth abortions to supporting funding for ultrasound machines to backing legislation to protect babies injured in the womb by outside parties.

But here is maybe the saddest part of her intransigence: As a lifelong committed Methodist, Hillary sees no contradiction in supporting abortion. Quite the contrary, she points to her church’s leadership as a source of guidance.

After all, her denomination, the United Methodist Church, is pro-abortion — a member of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, along with a bunch of other Protestant denominations.

***
Her church is not only pro-abortion but has opened its pulpit to no less than the author of Roe v. Wade. Indeed, one day in 1995, Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, a fellow Methodist, was invited to address Hillary’s congregation, the historic Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington. He was invited by her pro-abortion pastor — J. Philip Wogaman, president of the American Theological Society, professor emeritus of Christian ethics at Wesley Theological Society, and one of the top Methodist theologians in the country.

Hillary’s consistency with her denomination on legalized abortion was emphasized to me by her close friend and former obstetrician-gynecologist, William Harrison, the nationally known Fayetteville, Ark., abortion doctor, who was interviewed at length for my book.

Harrison, also a Methodist, talked of how abortion providers are counting on a President Hillary Clinton. Asked if he would expect Hillary to change George Bush’s pro-life policies, Harrison exclaimed: “Oh, absolutely. … I hope to God she does.”

[Read the whole thing]

(emphasis added)


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Hilliary! - Key Decision-Maker on Abortion During Clinton Admin with "a Nearly Religious Devotion" to Abortion Rights

Hilliary! - Key Decision-Maker on Abortion During Clinton Admin with "a Nearly Religious Devotion" to Abortion Rights

(Hat tip: PewSitter.com)

This story, which is currently highlighted on PewSitter.com, is a little dated, but this is the first time I've seen it:

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- New papers obtained from the Clinton Presidential Library show that former First Lady Hillary Clinton apparently was a key decision-maker during Bill Clinton's presidency on the issue of abortion. [ED.: No! Really?]

***
The Clinton Archives contains a May 1993 memo from Domestic Policy Council staffer Bill Galston to President Bill Clinton, which includes a two-page discussion of the Hyde Amendment, weighing legislative tactics, public opinion and political strategy.

It ends with President Bill Clinton’s handwritten question, “What does Hillary think?” next to the “decision” section of the memo.

Galston was so concerned about the "highly sensitive" nature of the abortion memo that he treated it as a classified document and restricted circulation of the memo to only President Clinton, Vice President Gore and White House Chief of Staff Mack McLarty, the group said.

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said, “These new documents show that the Clinton White House treated abortion with corrupt cynicism and that Hillary Clinton was at the center of decision-making on the issue.”

***
The Clinton archives also contain examples of what Judicial Watch calls anti-Catholic bias on the abortion issue.

They contain an April 1, 1993 letter from Takey Crist, MD, the director of the Crist Clinic for Women abortion business in Jacksonville, North Carolina, to George Stephanopoulos as White House Communications Director. The Crist letter attacks Representative Hyde and the Catholic Church for defending all innocent human life.

“Critics who say that paying for federally financed abortions would put taxpayers into the ‘grisly business’ of abortion are using the same scare tactics that were used back in 1976 and 1977 by Henry Hyde who has been financed and paid off by the Catholic church for years," the letter claims.

[Read the whole thing]

(emphasis added)

And in a related story:

A new biography on Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton reveals that during her time as First Lady, Clinton participated in strange moments of imaginary conversation with a deceased Eleanor Roosevelt from the solarium atop the White House. Grove City College professor Paul Kengor’s “God and Hillary Clinton” also notes the religious devotion with which Senator Clinton advocates abortion.

***
Thockmorton also extracts from the book an analysis of Clinton’s devotion to abortion. “There is no issue closer to Mrs. Clinton’s heart than abortion rights—to which she holds a nearly religious devotion—so much so that it has become a kind of political theology to the senator, equipped with its own set of apologetics.”

“On the abortion issue, writes Thockmorton, “Kengor has provided unprecedented information on Mrs. Clinton and the root causes of her position. Interviewed several times for this book is Mrs. Clinton’s close friend and one-time OB-GYN, William F. Harrison, the nationally known Fayetteville, Arkansas abortion doctor. Harrison was very candid, and provided telling insights into Hillary’s sudden deep devotion to the cause of abortion rights by the time of Roe v. Wade, a marked moment on her political-religious path from Park Ridge Methodist to the White House.”

The new information revealed in the book corresponds with findings last year that it was Hillary Clinton who spearheaded the pro-abortion efforts under her husband’s term in Office.

(emphasis added)

My Comments:
Now, there's a whole lot of rhetoric and hyperbole in those 2 stories, but I think we all know that it hits pretty close to the mark.

"Pro-Life" Candidate Huckabee Clueless on Mexico City Policy

Christopher Blosser reports over at Catholics in the Public Square that Mike Huckabee recently embarassed himself in a debate by his lack of knowledge of one of (if not THE) key policy in President Ronald Reagan's pro-life agenda:

Bill Clinton knows about the Mexico City Policy. Immediately upon taking office as President, on behalf of his virulently pro-abortion base of support, Clinton rescinded Ronald Reagan's prohibition on U.S. taxpayer funding of abortions overseas.

George W. Bush knows about the Mexico City Policy. When he became our country's Chief Executive, one of his first acts was to restore the policy's protections afforded to the innocent unborn around the world, and to American taxpayers.

But in last Monday's Values Voter debate in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, candidate Mike Huckabee proved that he doesn't have a clue about this landmark pro-life foreign policy.

Here's the relevant portion of the debate:

JANET FOLGER: The Mexico City Policy states that as a condition for a foreign organization to receive federal funds, they will neither, quote, "perform nor actively promote abortion." Would you work to apply this Mexico City Policy to organizations within the United States, as well as abroad?

MIKE HUCKABEE: I just want to clarify, and I'm not trying to be difficult, but I want to make sure we're not being asked to apply a Mexican law to United States law. Is it the principle you're after, or the law itself?

FOLGER: It's the principle of not giving our tax dollars to organizations within our country that actively promote or provide abortions.

HUCKABEE: OK. I just want to make sure that we were not in essence agreeing to abide by a Mexican law.

FOLGER: No. It's an American law.

HUCKABEE: OK. All right.

READ THE REST.

My Comments:
Uhhhhhh ... just ... WOW!

And this is the guy who's going to be the social conservative standard-bearer in saving the GOP from Rudy McRomney Thompson?

Huckabee Campaign Criticizes Pope for Long Vacation, Extended Stay in Summer Residence

From ProEcclesia News:

Hope, Arkansas - A blog supporting former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee's run for the U.S. Presidency has criticized Pope Benedict XVI for taking an extended vacation in the Italian alps, immediately followed by his retreat to the papal summer residence, Castel Gandolfo.

Asking readers whether "this sound[s] like fire in the belly", the blog "Mike Huckabee President 2008" questions whether the Holy Father's 6-week vacation and subsequent stay at Castel Gandolfo evidences a sufficient commitment to the pro-life cause. The blog, which had earlier criticized fellow Republican Sam Brownback for taking a 5-day vacation with his wife to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, went to great lengths to draw a connection between the vacationing Catholics.

When that so-called Christian Catholic Sam Brownback - the alleged "pro-life/whole life" candidate - went on a 5-day vacation, he betrayed his pro-life constituency. Do you know how many abortions took place during that 5-day hiatus when Brownback refrained from campaigning, fundraising, and meeting with members of the press? Then how much moreso have pro-lifers been betrayed by the Pope, who has taken 6 weeks of vacation, and then follows that up by retreating to his "summer" (i.e. vacation) home? How many more abortions have taken place in that timeframe while the Pope has retreated in privacy from the world and from his responsibilities?"

According to Catholic World News, "the Holy Father said that he felt refreshed by the 'tranquil days' that he had spent in the village of Lorenzago di Cadore, in the Dolomite mountains." As for retiring to Castel Gandolfo for the remainder of the summer, Catholic World News notes that

During the month of August most Vatican officials leave their offices to escape the heat of Rome, and the work schedule is significantly reduced... Pope Benedict will maintain a regular work schedule in August and September, but the Pontiff holds fewer private audiences at his summer residence, leaving more time available for long-term projects such as writing. Pope Benedict is reportedly working on two major writing projects: his second encyclical and the second volume of his book Jesus of Nazareth.

Coincidentally, in the recently published first volume of Jesus of Nazereth, the Holy Father expounded on the meaning of the Sabbath and extolled the benefits of rest and relaxation.

The "Mike Huckabee President 2008" blog responded to the Catholic World News report by ridiculing the Pope's reduced schedule.

The rest of us don't get time off from fighting for a culture of life, so why should the Pope have a "work schedule [that] is significantly reduced"? And holding "fewer private audiences" shows a complete disregard for meeting with the people to promote the culture of life. Even as I write this, Governor Huckabee is in his 18th hour of meetings today. His voice is almost gone. He is driven by the desire to protect human life.

But the blog doesn't stop there:

Finally, it is patently offensive to know that not only do the Pope and his Catholic minions like Sam Brownback attack the very fiber of the American free enterprise system by encouraging such absurdly long vacations (or, indeed, any vacations at all for that matter - remember that "idle minds are the Devil's workshop"), but we find out that the Pope is spending his vacation and his time in his "summer" (i.e. vacation) residence authoring an encyclical that will even further undermine our free market economy by calling into question the "fairness" of the capitalist economic system and condemning the "immorality" of tax avoidance. I mean, the very idea! Who the hell wants to pay taxes? Maybe if we taxed the Church and its extensive worldwide assets, I bet he'd change his tune. Besides, we don't need to be lectured on "fairness" and "morality" by the leader of an organization that spent the better part of 40 years protecting pedophiles.

The pro-Huckabee blog, in a manner worthy of the ordained Baptist minister it supports, concludes its fire and brimstone condemnation of the Pope with an invitation, the faint strains of the old evangelical hymn "Just As I Am" playing in the background:

If I had given money, time, sweat and tears to the Catholic Church and to the pro-life cause, I would be furious about this betrayal of not only pro-lifers, but the very American ideal of hard work. Perhaps you Catholics who have the gift of true "discernment" and are not completely lost in your dreams of time off and extended vacations, not to mention your worship of the Whore of Babylon, should consider the example of other "recovering Catholics" and become "one of us". Do not ignore that small voice calling you forward - compelling you - to consider looking elsewhere for a true spiritual leader. Commit your life to supporting a MAN of God and TRUE voice for the unborn, Mike Huckabee who HAS the fire in the belly. You are welcome here.

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Huckabee Campaign: "How Dare Sam Brownback Take Time Off from Campaigning for His 25th Anniversary?"

Deal Hudson Rips Evangelical Pastor (a Former Catholic) for Disparaging Sen. Brownback's Catholicism

Huckabee Campaign: "How Dare Sam Brownback Take Time Off from Campaigning for His 25th Anniversary?"

(Hat tip: For the Greater Glory)

This kind of pathetic nonsense is why I'm really starting to hate politics:

Does this sound like Fire in the Belly?

From the NY Times: Senator Sam Brownback, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, is running near the bottom in polls.

But by one standard Mr. Brownback has trounced his rivals: He is taking a five-day August vacation.

That’s right, the candidate plans to do no campaigning, no fund-raising, no meeting with staff and no interviews for five-sevenths of a week [ED.: Heaven forbid! You mean he's not going to act like a politician for 5 whole days?!? Whatever shall we do?], while he and his wife retreat to a family home in the Colorado Rockies [ED.: For their 25th wedding anniversary, according to For the Greater Glory].

Editorial note: If I had given money, time, sweat and tears to the Brownback campaign I would be furious about this. Perhaps you Brownback supporters should consider throwing your support behind Huckabee who HAS the fire in the belly.

My Comments:
The more I hear from the Huckabee campaign - first with the anti-Catholic whisper campaign and now with this non-issue, the more I'm reminded that the only reason Louisiana hasn't floated off into the Gulf of Mexico is because Arkansas sucks.

It's bad enough that "Slick Willie" Clinton made "BJ" a household word, that Jerry Jones owns the Cowboys, and that Wal-Mart is destroying small-town America. The last thing we need is a presidential matchup between a former Arkansas governor and a former Arkansas first lady.

And I don't vote for politicians from Hope, Arkansas, anyway.

(P.S. I'm not a Republican, so the so-called "11th Commandment" doesn't apply to me.)