The former Swiss theologian of the papal household under Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Georges Cottier, OP, thinks it’s possible to accept some of Obama’s approach to matters like abortion, etc. as a temporary measure because he perceives Obama as realistic. John Allen writes about the cardinal’s remarks. I think the cardinal’s approach is too optimistic and weak in some areas. What do you think of Cottier’s and Allen’s analysis? Is Cottier realistic or naive?
Read Sandro Magister’s insightful analysis of the Cardinal’s comments.
Unfortunately, and respectfully Cardinal Cottier I believe has not fully comprehended the Theology of Obama and its implications. Obama is saying “let’s work together” in an effort of a compromise that raises itself above truth. Yet in so doing becomes the Lie. To work with Obama to help eradicate abortions is like working with Hitler to help eradicate the ‘extermination of the Jews’.
If he were not a very great leader or even becoming the main leader of the Pro-Abortion Movement, then how could we work with him? The great blasphemy in the Obama theology is to call anyone bad or insincere, especially a liberal. Yet Obama is the abortion problem. Cardinal Cottier does not see that because the focus is on the great Compromise and Trust which appears will solve all issues.
Cardinal Rigali: You Can’t Claim to be “Reducing Abortions” but Publicly Funding them in D.C.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jul/09070102.html
Obama is a great man, he is doing great responsibility for America. I just wish that he could fight against bankruptcy.There is a case for walking away from enormous debts, as there is always the option of filing for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy isn’t something to be taken lightly, as it isn’t like buying postage stamps and you will have be consulting with bankruptcy attorneys and determine whether or not filing would be good for you. Unemployment is one of the biggest causes for filing, and foreclosure is one of the usual precursors. If you file for chapter 7, the most common filing, you will have to undergo a means test, to determine whether a person can pay all or a portion of their debts. If considering bankruptcy, make sure you have some quick cash for emergencies and talk to bankruptcy attorneys.
With due respect, I think there are far more pressing issues than bankruptcy for the President to concern himself with. The ethical and moral issues facing the people of America are significant, and seemingly wrongheaded in some cases.
His Eminence might be a bit over-optimistic: Time will tell (not only about President Obama and abortion, but also about Islam and there not being a ‘clash of civilizations’). Still, as a temporary expedient (and I noted that the Cardinal emphasized ‘temporary’) I think he is right that we can attempt to seek common ground with many of those who support legal abortion in order to reduce the number of abortions performed, since it is ‘better’ that fewer children are killed ‘in utero’ than that more should be so murdered. When dealing with people who deny that a fetus is a human being, and until we can convince them otherwise, some sort of mutual effort towards ‘reduction’ of evil might be the most that can be realistically accomplished right now. Such efforts to find pragmatic common ground may fail, but if they save one, two, or three lives would they not be worth it?
However, that said, such temporary measures must never be allowed to cause us to cease preaching the inherent value of every life from conception; nor to lose sight of the need to provide viable alternatives to abortion for those who are not merely seeking to be rid of an inconvenient child; nor to shirk our mutual responsibility to actively promote the welfare of handicapped or unwanted children.
As for bankruptcy, one significant contributing factor is usury run amok. The Church used to consider usury a significant moral issue, as it amounts to a form of slavery and exploits people, especially the poor who might have greater need of sources of cash. The Church still teaches that the charging of excessive interest is immoral — and can anyone possibly think that rates of 20 – 30 % are not excessive, ‘wrong-headed,’ and immoral?
As one who had to endure the painful and humiliating process of bankruptcy due to long-term unemployment and crushing interest rates on things like car repairs and uninsured medical expenses for instance, I would caution against dismissing the seriousness of it as a moral issue, especially in the current economic crisis. It is also related to the moral issues of ‘materialism,’ ‘instant gratification,’ and ‘consumerism,’ which lead to the unrealistic, careless, or simply unrecognized accumulation of debts for things one could have done without or could have saved up to buy.