House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced today that she has “told” Catholic cardinals, archbishops and bishops to speak from the pulpit in favor of immigration reform and tell Catholics who oppose it that reform “is a manifestation of our living the gospels,” according to CNS News.
Firstly, I’m waiting for the hundreds of media stories about the separation of church and state that we saw when the bishops publicly opposed the healthcare bill. I suspect you won’t see the media getting irate in the same way.
CNS quotes Pelosi putting her hypocrisy on parade:
“I would hope that there’s one thing that we can do working together as we go forward that speaks to what the Bible tells us about the dignity and worth of every person — and that is on the subject of immigration,” Pelosi said in her remarks. “Because I think the Church is going to have to play a very major role in how we, in how people are treated.”
Holy hypocrisy!
Why doesn’t she just get her 59 religious sisters involved since she seems to think they’re the true and authoritative voice of the Church?
May 10, 2010 at 7:18 pm
"…the dignity and worth of every person…"
Bububut isn't that the same talking point used by prolifers? Surely Madame Speaker wouldn't cynically crib that from them, would she? (sarcasm off)
May 10, 2010 at 7:26 pm
She thinks that she can spin the bishops on their heads with all her shenanigans and they would play along – well I can think of one who just might but he's borderline senile. Anyway, she is like the genetic combination of Macchiavelli and Alinsky. Hypocrisy is her make-up, chutzpah is her perfume and gall is what flows in her veins.
May 10, 2010 at 7:47 pm
"what the Bible tells us about the dignity and worth of every person" — why does what the bible says about the dignity of every person and, since she's quoting scripture now, "as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me" apply to immigration but not abortion? She is the very embodiment of hypocrisy!
May 10, 2010 at 7:56 pm
They'll do it. Know why? Because Bishops love them some Pelosi as much as Pelosi loves (and uses) them bishops.
In my fair city, the Bishop HIMSELF started the immigration rally on May 1st at the steps of the Cathedral de Guadalupe and walked in the first row. He uses the diocesan newspaper to campaign for socialized medicine. Bishops just want more Catholics to fill the pews, and rather than depleting church reserves, they want the taxpayer to pay for all the needs of illegal immigrants. Mexicans here are of a very superstitious, highly clerical bent, ready to do absolutely anything a priest tells them to do. What bishop wouldn't want that?
Most bishops have absolutely no care for the health and fairness of the American regime. They are citizens of Rome first, even to the point of killing the goose that lays the golden egg with every preposterous social program that you can think of.
I see it in my town every day.
May 10, 2010 at 8:00 pm
You're right scmom about dignity, and "the least of these my brethren". The truth is that she is in part right on. But to the heart of the matter – if you cannot recognize the dignity and worth of the unborn child, then you cannot recognize the same worth of the born child caught in the immigration issue. No, both children are pawns in Nancy's political game. And that's a tragedy.
May 10, 2010 at 8:17 pm
You silly, radical, astro-turf, right-wing, pro-lifers..the dignity and worth of every human person..that doesn't include un-born children, you crazies.
May 10, 2010 at 8:21 pm
"Bishops just want more Catholics to fill the pews, and rather than depleting church reserves, they want the taxpayer to pay for all the needs of illegal immigrants. Mexicans here are of a very superstitious, highly clerical bent, ready to do absolutely anything a priest tells them to do. What bishop wouldn't want that?"
Yep. My husband made this point when we were discussing the bishops' support of illegal immigration.
May 10, 2010 at 8:54 pm
I wouldn't say that the bishops "support illegal immigration". They probably just want a non-punitive solution and they might be worried about what can sometimes seem like a xenophobic/anti-Mexican attitude among the more extreme anti-illegal-immigration types. That being said, Pelosi's attitude toward the Catholicism she claims to profess is still disgusting.
May 10, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Would Pelosi's head explode if she pondered whether the unborn child of an illegal immigrant had dignity and worth?
May 10, 2010 at 10:34 pm
"Immigration reform!!" They don't seem to care what it is, so let's make ALL immigration illegal. That would be reform too.
May 10, 2010 at 11:26 pm
methinks she's been reading too much into St Augustine again.
May 10, 2010 at 11:48 pm
I like Jeremy's question.
I guess it would depend on whether the parents were intent on raising that child to be a good liberal (please excuse the oxymoron).
Or to put it another way, if the unborn illegal can be used in some way to further the liberals' agenda for this country, we're allowed to consider him a person of dignity and worth–for now. The same consideration will not be extended to unborn children who are deemed in any way inconvenient–and not useful to the liberal cause.
Oh, well, I tried. In the interest of not making MY head explode, I'm stopping now.
May 11, 2010 at 2:38 am
"Mexicans here are of a very superstitious, highly clerical bent, ready to do absolutely anything a priest tells them to do. What bishop wouldn't want that?"
Wow. Imagine that; Catholics who still believe in obeying priestly authority.
May 11, 2010 at 3:07 am
Anyone who is ''ready to do absolutely anything a priest tells them to do'' will not be superstitious.
May 11, 2010 at 4:49 am
What the… Honestly… This woman need some good old fashioned excommunicating.
May 11, 2010 at 5:57 pm
Let me just clear something up here. "Ready to do absolutely anything a priest tells them to do" is a BAD thing. Right? Imagine this: that a priest could be a BAD person, theologically ill-formed, leftist, homosexual, perhaps a pedophile, and he gets to order you and your family around because some dotty bishop slaps a magical Roman Collar on him? Obeying him is being a good Catholic?
No, being a good Catholic is using the brains that God gave you and prayerful discernment to obey only those who conform to the doctrines of the Church and are men of true virtue and excellent habits.
If the abuse crisis has taught us anthing, hasn't it taught us the evils of clericalism?
Maybe not. Perhaps we a simply unteachable in the face of taking responsibility for our moral lives on our own shoulders.
May 13, 2010 at 12:45 am
blackrep: great point! it's pretty much why I am counting down the days until February 2011 when Los Angeles will have a bishop who is worth obeying! Mahoney, don't get me wrong, I pray for him and afterall he is the head of my church in Los Angeles, but Gomez will be a refreshing return to what Catholics have be yearning for here!
as for ms pelosi, honestly, someone dropped this woman on her head when she was a baby. eeekk! trying to picture that she was ever a baby really puts a strain on my imagination. anyways, the cynic in me would love to see a bishop confront her and rip her a new" behind-hole" but being that she already speaks to frequently out of the hole she has, having a second one might be worse; plus the bishops are far better men than my little evil thoughts; but it would be nice if she gets a proper response from a bishop, tobin, chaput, Burke, how about it. I'm actually looking forward to see what Father Z has to say about madame speaker's comments.
I don't have anything against those that want to come to this country, who could blame them, but just knock first! My parents fled Cuba and came to Miami in 1960; and I have always been taught that we are Americans of Cuban Descent. Just as it means something to call oneself a Catholic; so should it be calling oneself an American and living in America. And we can all start by voting that Women out of her Speakership, and out of office!