Robert Bork Predicts Liberal Policies Will Endanger Catholic Freedoms

If Doug Kmiec has any credibility left, it will be gone soon. His support of Barack Obama has helped to bring Roman Catholics to a turning point in American History. A century ago, Irish Catholics were mis-treated more because of their faith rather than their ethnicity. With the election of Barack Obama and the leftist policies he and the liberal Dems are embracing, it's starting to look like Catholics are once again going to be looked down upon, only this time by the entire Federal government.

Judge Robert Bork gave an interview to Cybercast News Service, excerpts of which were published by the Catholic News Agency, in which he made several very dire predictions. Among those are a conflict of government policies versus freedom of religion.

From the interview:

"Everything is up for debate these days. I can’t think of anything that isn’t," he said. "You are going to get Catholic hospitals that are going to be required as a matter of law to perform abortions," he claimed.

This is just one issue. If the Freedom Of Choice Act (FOCA) is passed and signed into law, it will require Catholic hospitals to go against their own religious beliefs and kill unborn children.

But, Judge Bork did mention that there was a way around this.

Asked whether there was a freedom of conscience clause anywhere in the Constitution that might prohibit the U.S. government from compelling a religious hospital to perform abortions, he replied: "Well, the free exercise of religion clause might fulfill that role." He agreed with the CNS interviewer, Editor in Chief Terry Jeffrey, that such coercion forces someone to act against their religion and could be construed as a violation of the right to free exercise of religion.

That may be the one good thing to come out of an Obama Administration. It will force liberals and other leftists to acknowledge that little known clause in the U.S. Constitution regarding the freedom of religion: "nor prohibit the free practice thereof."

When asked what is happening to America, Judge Bork responded:

Judge Bork said he also thought that America is “now going down a path towards kind of a happy-go-lucky nihilism.” “A lot of people are nihilists,” he continued. “They don’t think about religion. They don’t think about ultimate questions. They go along. They worry about consumer goods, comfort, and so forth. “As a matter of fact, the abortion question is largely a question about convenience. If you look at the polls about why people have abortions, 90 percent of it has nothing to do with medical conditions. It’s convenience. And that’s I think an example of the secularization of an issue that ought to have a religious dimension.” When asked whether a nihilistic society can remain “happy-go-lucky” for long, Judge Bork replied: “I don’t know. I guess we are going to find out.”

Yep. Abortion is simply a way of casting off responsibility for acting irresponsibly. Leftists in America want us to pay for erasing someone else's irresponsibility. I say let those responsible pay for it themselves.

Doug Kmiec and Melinda Henneberger better get their pens ready. If the Democrats spurn the pro-lifers who put them into power and pass FOCA, several million voters will feel betrayed. Kmiec and Henneberger will have become the major dupes in that betrayal.

You can access the complete article on-line here:

Jurist Predicts ‘Terrible Conflict’ Will Endanger U.S. Catholics’ Religious Freedom
Catholic News Agency
January 21, 2009

Doug Kmiec Whines: Catholic Bloggers Are "Tormenting" Him

One of the hallmarks of a good person is integrity. Integrity means admitting that one is wrong whenever one is clearly wrong. I'm sure that most people have integrity in their private lives but when they go public or are made public by other circumstances, the first thing they lose is their integrity.

Unfortunately, Doug Kmiec is one of those people. He made himself public as a pro-life Catholic who offered his support for the extremely pro-abortion Barack Obama and actively campaigned for other pro-life Catholics to join him in his endorsement. Kmiec had somehow convinced himself that Obama and the Democrats in general would respect the pro-life views of himself and those who rallied to his call.

Then, when the hard truth hit, Kmiec was discredited and basically made to look like a fool who blindly led his flock astray. I documented a part of this in my previous blog entry:

Voter's Remorse: Did Pro-Life Catholics (Especially Douglas Kmiec) Get Punked By Obama?
84rules
November 28, 2008

I thought my own posting on the issue was very civil and thoughtful, especialy since it was based on an article by Kmiec's peer journalist, Melinda Henneberger, who wrote the following article for Slate:

Lose-Lose On Abortion
Melinda Henneberger
Slate
November 24, 2008

So, why am I bringing all of this up again?

Because Doug Kmiec is whining about how he is being mistreated by the "right-wing Catholic blogosphere." Actually, what has happened is that there has been a backlash against his support for the most pro-abortion President of all time.

Instead of admitting that he led himself and his followers astray, Kmiec has chosen to abandon his integrity and make himself out to be some sort of victim. He claims that he has been on the recieving end of "missiles of hate" and "ad hominem invectives." Personally, I invite everyone to read my previous blog entry posted above so that they can see that 84rules did nothing of the kind.

The Catholic News Agency has more on this story:

Brian Saint-Paul, editor of Crisis Magazine and InsideCatholic.com, was highly critical of Kmiec’s endorsement of President-elect Obama. He responded to Kmiec’s essay in a Tuesday e-mail to CNA. "While I strongly disagreed with Dr. Kmiec's support for Barack Obama, I have also been sorry to see the personal abuse he's received from fellow Catholics as a result," he wrote. "If those in the Church can't disagree without resorting to playground insults, we're a sad example to the rest of the world." "Having said that, I hope Dr. Kmiec doesn't use the immaturity of some of his critics as a reason to avoid the more legitimate concerns of others. There is a conversation that needs to take place here, and it will require thick skins all around."

That is where Kmiec lost his integrity. I have no doubt that he did recieve some purile hate-mail, but to generalize it to include everyone who has been critical of him shows his victim mentality.

More:

Thomas Peters, who runs the blog “American Papist,” was critical of Kmiec’s comments. "Blog culture is not homogenous. Kmiec ought to be specific when he says he is being attacked by ‘the blogosphere.’ It's like saying ‘the press’ is attacking you, and then proceeding to only mention things said by the National Enquirer," he told CNA in a Tuesday e-mail.

And that is the whole point here. Kmiec is responding to his critics by offering broad-brush accusations with very little, if any, evidence behind them.

More:

"He has attempted to move the debate away from the original argument in question (specifically Obama's record on life issues) into the realm of the character assassination he feels he has been subjected to." "Kmiec constantly points out the vitriolic or silly criticisms he has received, while almost wholly ignoring the substantive disagreements that many prominent members of the pro-life movement have raised in response to his arguments. It shouldn't be surprising that he fares well when he matches himself up against this army of straw men, or in this case, these nameless, faceless ‘bloggers’."

What Kmiec is missing is the reason this whole thing started to begin with. Mark Shea clears that up very nicely:

He suggested that Kmiec received singular criticism because of his unique position. "It's not like there was a huge field of one-time pro-life Catholic leaders who suddenly turned about and started making excuses for Obama's pro-abortion zeal," Shea told CNA. "He was one of the most prominent alleged pro-life Catholic voices out there banging the drum for Obama, a man who has pledged to sign the single most destructive act of pro-abortion legislation in American history. What did he expect?"

Yes, what did he expect? Did Kmiec expect that all pro-life Catholics would be as blind to him as he himself was to Barack Obama?

And finally, the parting shot by Shea:

"I'm not interested in hearing Kmiec moan about how mean people from the bottom of the barrel were to him," Shea told CNA. "I'm interested in hearing his responses to the very intelligent critiques of his position that were offered by a number of very respectable and honorable Catholics."

If Kmiec would like to reclaim his integrity, he would listen to what Mark Shea said.

You can access the complete column on-line here:

Catholic Bloggers Respond To Kmiec Criticism
Catholic News Agency
January 14, 2009

Voter's Remorse: Did Pro-Life Catholics (Especially Douglas Kmiec) Get Punked By Obama?

I think it is pretty clear that the answer is "Yes." Obama lied to them and they believed it. Now, many pro-life Catholics are heading into Advent wondering why they had been so eaily led astray by the charismatic Obama and wondering how they had been convinced to support a man who has almost no Christian values in his life at all.

They were lead astray by people like Doug Kmiec who wrote, "While no papal instruction will ever condone the "right to choose," the church does ask for a consistent and realistic defense of life that actually takes steps to reduce the incidence of the practice, not just condemns it. ... Beyond life issues, an audaciously hope-filled Democrat like Obama is a Catholic natural."

Unfortunately, Doug forgets that he is not a member of the body that makes policy for the Catholic Church in the United States. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops does that. And in their meeting in Baltimore, Maryland in early November, the Bishops drew a line in the sand concerning abortion, Catholic Hospitals and the Freedom Of Choice Act (FOCA).

You see, Barack Obama promised Planned Parenthood that he would sign FOCA into law first thing after taking office, the moment it hits his desk. Among the provisions of this law are: Forcing Catholic Hospitals into doing abortions and completely removing any requirment for informed consent (i.e. disclosing possible complications of the procedures) and any parental notification. (Without parental notification or informed consent, it would be entirely possible that a teen-aged girl could get an abortion and develop complications as a result of the procedure but her parents would never find out who or what caused them and they would not be able to seek compensation from those responsible.)

Right now, there are freedom-of-conscious laws in 46 states that prohibit the government from forcing Catholic Hospitals to perform morally objectionable prcedures. Doug Kmiec and other pro-life Catholics who supported Obama were betting on Barack Obama and the Democrats being respectful of those laws. It was a sucker's bet.

As the general public begins to gain access to more information that the news outlets deliberately suppressed during the campaign, people like Doug Kmiec are going to be made to look like fools. It is already showing at Slate with one of Doug's peers, Melinda Henneberger who writes:

I have high hopes for President Obama, I was so looking forward to dancing at this party. Yet, although abortion was not a major issue in the race, the pro-life argument that he was the candidate most likely to decrease the need for—and number of—abortions did make it easier for many Catholics to cast their votes for him. I think we should hold him to that commitment now. At the very moment when Obama and his party have won the trust of so many Catholics who favor at least some limits on abortion, I hope he does not prove them wrong. I hope he does not make a fool out of that nice Doug Kmiec, who led the pro-life charge on his behalf. I hope he does not spit on the rest of us—though I don't take him for the spitting sort—on his way in the door. I hope that his appointment of Ellen Moran, formerly of EMILY's List, as his communications director is followed by the appointment of some equally good Democrats who hold pro-life views. By supporting and signing the current version of FOCA, Obama would reignite the culture war he so deftly sidestepped throughout this campaign. This is a fight he just doesn't need at a moment when there is no shortage of other crises to manage.

As noted above, Doug Kmiec led his flock (i.e. his pro-life readers) astray and the Catholic Bishops are exposing him and others like him by openly calling into question Barack Obama's stance on forcing Catholic Hospitals to perform morally objectionable procedures.

Henneberger's column also shows how Barack Obama and the Dems in general have no respect at all for anyone who thinks outside of the leftist philosophy of the Democratic National Committee. Not one ounce of respect, even if those people cast votes in the Dem column.

Those pro-lifers who listened to people like Doug Kmiec and voted for Obama got punked. And they are starting to realize the hard truth about it. I can only guess at how much it hurts them to see that truth. But no amount of confession or penance can ever allow them to go back and change their vote.

You can access Henneberger's complete column on-line here:

Lose-Lose On Abortion
Melinda Henneberger
Slate
November 24, 2008