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**Is it actually possible that some U.S. bishops are being blackmailed into silence? We all know of bishops who are mysteriously tight lipped when it comes to speaking out against pro-abortion politicians or homosexual unions . Could it be that there is more to the story? **
Are Left-Wing Politicians Beyond Blackmailing US Bishops?
By Karl Maurer, Editor, www.CatholicCitizens.org
4/21/04 CCI Editorial - American Catholics watch in stunned disbelief as pro-abortion politicians thumb their noses at the Catechism and Canon Law. But Catholic (and non-Catholic) writers are beginning to speculate that the lack of action on behalf of the Bishops may have less to do with spinelessness, and more to do with extortion and hard ball politics.
In Illinois, several Catholic law makers have indicated that for decades, pressure has been placed on Illinois Catholic Bishops by pro-abortion politicians in response to threats of sanctions or excommunication.
In a state where both the Democratic and Republican parties are dominated by liberals who openly endorse abortion and homosexual “rights”, political retaliation can come in several painful ways: mandatory distribution of abortifacients in Catholic hospitals, mandating handicap accessible elevators in Catholic churches, elimination of public funds for book programs in Catholic schools, as well as the constant threats of eliminating tax related exemptions. The mother of all retaliatory tactics is the constant threat that politicians will turn off the spigot of social"justice" programs, where payments flow directly from taxpayers to institutions like Catholic Charities (an institution that gets the majority of its funding from the federal government subsidies!) What else can explain the hierarchy’s silence as pro-abortion “Catholics” Dick Durbin and Mayor Daley sit in the front row of Old St. Pat’s on Sunday? Maybe we don’t want to know…
Conservative journalist Rod Dreher thinks there’s more to the story than just politics, and speculates that based on the homosexual scandals in the church,** numerous bishops are likely to be compromised by past homosexual activities.**
“Is there a connection between the silence, or at least the empty words, of so many Catholic bishops on the subject of pro-abortion Catholic politicians, and the possibility of hidden personal scandal in the lives of individual bishops?," asked Dreher.
"That thought has crossed my mind in the past few days as I’ve watched the bishops, with very few exceptions, either keep quiet or flail half-heartedly at John Kerry. There is one influential bishop in particular whose name has come up in public in connection with the Kerry controversy, and I know that this bishop is deeply compromised in his personal life; and more importantly, I know that this fact, while hidden from the public, is fairly widespread knowledge among the media and church elite,” noted Dreher.
In a posting to a Catholic blog site (www.bettnet.com) Dreher went on to speculate that these concerns were horribly close to the truth. “I would be shocked if the higher-ups in the Democratic Party didn’t know (of homosexual Bishops) too,” said Dreher.
In Washingon DC, Cardinal McCarrick recently “met privately” with pro-abortion Presidential candidate and self described “Catholic” John Kerry, about which Dreher noted, “…I don’t expect this bishop to offer any criticism of Kerry if asked, and in fact I would expect him to offer warm words of conciliation and ‘healing.’ He may mean them sincerely, or he may fear what might emerge if he took on Kerry directly on the abortion issue,” noted Dreher.
Please read article in its entirety by clicking on link below
catholiccitizens.org/press/pressview.asp?c=14117
Are Left-Wing Politicians Beyond Blackmailing US Bishops?
By Karl Maurer, Editor, www.CatholicCitizens.org
4/21/04 CCI Editorial - American Catholics watch in stunned disbelief as pro-abortion politicians thumb their noses at the Catechism and Canon Law. But Catholic (and non-Catholic) writers are beginning to speculate that the lack of action on behalf of the Bishops may have less to do with spinelessness, and more to do with extortion and hard ball politics.
In Illinois, several Catholic law makers have indicated that for decades, pressure has been placed on Illinois Catholic Bishops by pro-abortion politicians in response to threats of sanctions or excommunication.
In a state where both the Democratic and Republican parties are dominated by liberals who openly endorse abortion and homosexual “rights”, political retaliation can come in several painful ways: mandatory distribution of abortifacients in Catholic hospitals, mandating handicap accessible elevators in Catholic churches, elimination of public funds for book programs in Catholic schools, as well as the constant threats of eliminating tax related exemptions. The mother of all retaliatory tactics is the constant threat that politicians will turn off the spigot of social"justice" programs, where payments flow directly from taxpayers to institutions like Catholic Charities (an institution that gets the majority of its funding from the federal government subsidies!) What else can explain the hierarchy’s silence as pro-abortion “Catholics” Dick Durbin and Mayor Daley sit in the front row of Old St. Pat’s on Sunday? Maybe we don’t want to know…
Conservative journalist Rod Dreher thinks there’s more to the story than just politics, and speculates that based on the homosexual scandals in the church,** numerous bishops are likely to be compromised by past homosexual activities.**
“Is there a connection between the silence, or at least the empty words, of so many Catholic bishops on the subject of pro-abortion Catholic politicians, and the possibility of hidden personal scandal in the lives of individual bishops?," asked Dreher.
"That thought has crossed my mind in the past few days as I’ve watched the bishops, with very few exceptions, either keep quiet or flail half-heartedly at John Kerry. There is one influential bishop in particular whose name has come up in public in connection with the Kerry controversy, and I know that this bishop is deeply compromised in his personal life; and more importantly, I know that this fact, while hidden from the public, is fairly widespread knowledge among the media and church elite,” noted Dreher.
In a posting to a Catholic blog site (www.bettnet.com) Dreher went on to speculate that these concerns were horribly close to the truth. “I would be shocked if the higher-ups in the Democratic Party didn’t know (of homosexual Bishops) too,” said Dreher.
In Washingon DC, Cardinal McCarrick recently “met privately” with pro-abortion Presidential candidate and self described “Catholic” John Kerry, about which Dreher noted, “…I don’t expect this bishop to offer any criticism of Kerry if asked, and in fact I would expect him to offer warm words of conciliation and ‘healing.’ He may mean them sincerely, or he may fear what might emerge if he took on Kerry directly on the abortion issue,” noted Dreher.
Please read article in its entirety by clicking on link below
catholiccitizens.org/press/pressview.asp?c=14117