Welcome to Distinctly Catholic, a blog by Michael Sean Winters that examines politics, religion and the estuary where the two meet, all from a distinctively Catholic point of view. The blog is small "c" catholic as well as big "C" Catholic, examining a wide range of issues but always from the perspective of Catholic history and theology.
Georgia Congressman Phil Gingrey was on MSNBC’s “Hardball” last night, supporting the idea of obliterating the Fourteenth Amendment to deny the constitutional guarantee of citizenship to those born here if their parents are illegal immigrants.
I remember the day well. It was August 6, 1978, feast of the Transfiguration and my Uncle Bob’s birthday. I was driving down Farmington Avenue in West Hartford, Connecticut on my way to work.
We conclude our week of examining the episcopacy with comments from Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez, the Archbishop of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Archbishop Gonzalez previously served as the Bishop of Corpus Christi, Texas and as an auxiliary in Boston.
The question: What is the best thing about being a bishop in 2010?
Archbishop Gonzalez:
Kudos to the Republican voters in the Volunteer State who last night nominated Bill Haslam as their candidate for Governor. Haslam fended off challenges from two more conservative candidates who challenged him on a host of issues, including raising taxes while Mayor of Knoxville.
Thanks to Cathy Grossman at USAToday for working her way through the court decision on gay marriage in California and pulling out the parts that are most relevant to the religious conversation.
Grossman notes that Judge Vaughn Walker’s decision at one point spells out in all CAPs what is the essential rationale for his decision. He writes, “A PRIVATE MORAL VIEW THAT SAME-SEX COUPLES ARE INFERIOR TO OPPOSITE-SEX COUPLES IS NOT A PROPER BASIS FOR LEGISLATION.” Judge Walker is absolutely correct. No “private” moral view should be the basis of any legislation, on same-sex couples or otherwise. But, there is nothing “private” about Catholic moral views.
When labor unions were first organized, they needed to remain secretive because the leading industrialists were intent on destroying them in their crib. The Church had a long dread of secret societies stemming from the role of the Free Masons and other European groups that peddled in anti-clericalism. This concern of the Church almost resulted in a catastrophe for the Church’s ability to maintain the allegiance of the working classes, and to defend its emerging social doctrine as the following episode, record in Msgr. John Tracy Ellis’s “American Catholicism” relates.
Father John Zuhlsdorf attacks Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi because she did not exactly answer a question posed to her by a reporter for the rightwing-nut attack squad at the Cyberspace News Service. The reporter asked the Speaker about whether or not Jesus had a right to life from the moment of His conception. Pelosi replied, “Whenever it was, we bow our heads when we talk about it in church, and that’s where I’d like to talk about that.”
Zuhlsdorf is scandalized that the Speaker did not answer, not recognizing that what Pelosi was saying was that the subject of the Incarnation of the Lord was a fit topic for church but not for a press conference in the halls of Congress. Maybe Zuhlsdorf has heard of the distinction between Church and State, and recognizes that the reporter’s question was about as appropriate as asking Pope Benedict about whether or not the mandates in the health care reform bill violate the U.S. Constitution. Zuhlsdorf then goes into a bizarre riff about the Bible instructing that women should not speak in church.
Continuing our focus on the episcopacy, today we hear from Bishop Joseph Galante of Camden, New Jersey.
The question: What is the best thing about being a bishop in 2010?
Bishop Galante: For me, my most ardent desire has been to help people come to know, love and live Jesus more completely at a time when secular influences sometimes make it difficult for people to hear and be receptive to the Gospel. That is why I have been especially grateful to serve as a diocesan bishop, because the needs of our people are so great, as are the opportunities to serve them more effectively.
Some conservative critics opine that I and others highlight the antics of a few crazies and tar the entire conservative movement with extremism. Well, let them explain the latest Gallup poll which shows that 41% of Republicans do not believe President Obama was born in the United States.
The Fourteenth Amendment is one of the crown jewels of the Constitution. Adopted in 1868, it was literally paid for with the spilt blood of hundreds of thousands of Americans. Its guarantees of equal protection and due process have embedded themselves in the culture, giving voice to one of the most admirable qualities of the American national character, our sense of fair play. Its text should be approached with reverence, even awe, but lately, from two distinct quarters, the Fourteenth Amendment has fallen victim to the culture wars.
A group of Republican Senators have decided to question the applicability of the Fourteenth Amendment to the children of undocumented immigrants. Why, they ask, should women be allowed to come to the U.S. to deliver their children solely for the purpose of extending the rights of citizenship to their children? There is no proof – at least none any one has produced – that this is a common phenomenon. I suspect it is like the charge that Phoenix is the #2 kidnapping capital in the world behind Mexico City, a charge with no basis in fact. Or the cries about increasing violent crime along the border, another claim that has been disproved decisively.
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