Did you see Pope Francis’s remarks about the protection of the unborn at the White House this morning?
Mr. President, I want to take this opportunity to encourage you to foster a culture of life in this great nation. Accepting the urgency, it seems clear to me also that this unconscionable taking of innocent human life is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation. When it comes to the care of our own children, we are living at a critical moment of history. We still have time to make the changes needed, but we must act. We must understand — as we’ve been forced to confront in a recent series of investigative videos seen around the world — that those involved in the abortion industry “justify even infanticide, following the same arguments used to justify the right to abortion. In this way, we revert to a state of barbarism which one hoped had been left behind forever.” (Evangelium Vitae, 14). Such change demands on our part a serious and responsible recognition not only of the kind of world we have created where we can so cruelly destroy our own children, but also of the millions of people who have already fallen victim to this barbarism. Our common humanity should motivate us to end, once and for all, the legalized eradication of this voiceless group which suffers the most brutal form of exclusion, and in so suffering cries out to heaven, the results of which today powerfully strikes our homes, our cities and our societies. To use a telling phrase of the Reverend Martin Luther King, we cannot win if we are willing to sacrifice the futures of our children for immediate personal comfort and safety. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
We know by faith that our Creator has said, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you…” (Jer. 1:5). As Christians inspired by this certainty, we wish to commit ourselves to the conscious and responsible care and protection of our most vulnerable, our future generations.
You didn’t? Me neither. The answer to the question posed by the title of this post is, unfortunately: nothing. He didn’t make any comments about the unborn at the White House. What you just read is what I wished was in his speech instead of what I found there.
This is what he really said in that section:
Mr. President, I find it encouraging that you are proposing an initiative for reducing air pollution. Accepting the urgency, it seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation. When it comes to the care of our “common home”, we are living at a critical moment of history. We still have time to make the changes needed to bring about “a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change” (Laudato Si’, 13). Such change demands on our part a serious and responsible recognition not only of the kind of world we may be leaving to our children, but also to the millions of people living under a system which has overlooked them. Our common home has been part of this group of the excluded which cries out to heaven and which today powerfully strikes our homes, our cities and our societies. To use a telling phrase of the Reverend Martin Luther King, we can say that we have defaulted on a promissory note and now is the time to honor it.
We know by faith that “the Creator does not abandon us; he never forsakes his loving plan or repents of having created us. Humanity still has the ability to work together in building our common home” (Laudato Si’, 13). As Christians inspired by this certainty, we wish to commit ourselves to the conscious and responsible care of our common home.
There was also something about being “committed to building a society which is truly tolerant and inclusive, to safeguarding the rights of individuals and communities, and to rejecting every form of unjust discrimination”. A brief mention of religious liberty made it in, too. But a statement about protecting the unborn in the presence of the most pro-abortion president in US history — especially as Congress is attempting to defund Planned Parenthood — didn’t make the cut.
Still, a Catholic can dream. Here’s hoping that in the Congressional address tomorrow, our modern holocaust gets more than a passing mention.
We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.
especially while the world is going to hell in a Fiat…..i mean, a handbasket..let’s ignore the obvious.
I see what you did there.
Well sugar, I wouldn’t have done it if you couldn’t see it… LOL
We like to appreciate not-so-subtlety around here.
“not-so-subtlety” hmmmmmm…. Ima puttin’ that on my resume. (bats eyelashes innocently, throw head back, laughs uproariously)
Excellent article, Steve. This is my first visit here, but I plan to come back.
Have you been in a Fiat? It’s hell.
Going to hell while in hell… whoa.
Llamame, abortion, gay marriage and euthanasia are non-negotiable when it comes to the Catholic Church. They are intrinsically evil and yes, it is necessary to talk about these issues all of the time.
That’s right. Give Francis a basic lesson in morals, starting with the Ten Commandents.
“…and I was reprimanded for that.” No one asked him the obvious question: who reprimanded you?
Speaking truth to power. Just like Cuba.
Speaking flattering bromides to power. Doesn’t have the same ring, does it?
Ohhhh Steve.
You had me there!
The pope needs to stick to “poping” and guiding the flock using the words of the Bible and not bastardizing and reinterpreting them to affirm the sinful actions of people instead of taking on political issues and agendas of liberals like global warming which of course is all the fault of America in his view. He should also take on terrorism and the purging of Christians from the middle East . Again, he blames Christians and Jews for the barbaric and brutally murderous behavior of the followers of Islam. Is this pope the start of the Kardashianization of the Catholic Church? Absolutely appalling…what is next Pope Francis? Will you advocate for aborting babies since they will only add to global warming? pfftttt!!!
I’m O.K. when he talks in Latin. When he uses English, however, it isn’t so good.
For those still playing along at home, the following is how Francis the Feckless would “explain” his rhetorical emphasis in a case like this:
Patricia Zorzan:
Speaking on behalf of the Brazilians: society has changed, young people have changed, and in Brazil we have seen a great many young people. You did not speak about abortion, about same-sex marriage. In Brazil a law has been approved which widens the right to abortion and permits marriage between people of the same sex. Why did you not speak about this?
Pope Francis:
The Church has already spoken quite clearly on this. It was unnecessary to return to it, just as I didn’t speak about cheating, lying, or other matters on which the Church has a clear teaching!
Patricia Zorzan:
But the young are interested in this …
Pope Francis:
Yes, though it wasn’t necessary to speak of it, but rather of the positive things that open up the path to young people. Isn’t that right! Besides, young people know perfectly well what the Church’s position is.
Patricia Zorzan:
What is Your Holiness’ position, if we may ask?
Pope Francis:
The position of the Church. I am a son of the Church.
Wow…how disappointing. You got my hopes up there, Steve.
“… in the presence of the most pro-abortion president in US history ” and the “Catholic” Vice-President who recently said he agrees that life begins at conception but can’t impose his views on others.
But obstinately imposes barbaric slaughter on innocent defenceless babies – in the millions.
That “ecology” conversion is going to send more souls into hell than expected.
“Still, a Catholic can dream. Here’s hoping that in the Congressional address tomorrow, our modern holocaust gets more than a passing mention”. Keep dreaming, as it is not going to happen.
Great post, Steve. I was moved at the words I initially read, and was amazed that he said them. Then you had to bum me out. But you didn’t surprise me. This is the reality we face.
Isn’t it a shame? If a schlep like me can write that, why can’t he?
Maybe because you actually believe it…?
Ha! Zing!
I would definitely not call you a ‘schlep’. Through your words you have brought a beautiful message that the pope should have been bringing to the world. Alas we see the vanity of the Catholic church in assuming they are the ‘Christian’ church when they have appointed a mere mortal to be the head of the church instead of acquiescing to God the power which is His and His alone. His Word never changes to suit the depravity of the world; it remains constant and within it, the law, an admonition that we are unable to be without sin. Christ alone was sinless, no man is His equal.
we did not put a “Man” ahead of our church! Christ did, and you are Peter and on this rock I will build MY church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it, This does not mean that his church will not have problems but that in the end it will prevail. What is more Christian than the church he himself started. In the end the Pope is a mere mortal true, however mere mortals are the instruments of God! Flawed, sometimes ignorant but instruments none the less. Moses was a stuttering Man who started the Covenant. David was a HUGE sinner who was used by God to lead his people. The fact is God has let Man head his endeavors since the beginning.
Diana, I mean no disrespect, but even the blind can see that this man is not a man of God if he thinks man is in control of the weather. This man has the power to influence millions of people and what he is telling them is not to have faith in God. The fact that SCIENCE even PROVES man cannot influence the weather should at least indicate to the man that he is wrong.
What man can control is the slaughter of millions of innocent, unborn children and that’s what he should be talking about.
Yes, God may work through man, but man has to be doing God’s bidding, not man’s.
For a moment I was encouraged! But then I saw it was wishful thinking and my hopes were dashed. Do only the little ones have the courage to step up and speak the truth these days? Little ones who have no influence to speak of; little ones who stand at the killing centers in all weathers to witness that the lives of the unborn are gifts from God; little ones who go to jail rather than participate in a sodomite ‘union’….
Where, Lord, are those shepherds after Your own Heart?
Aw nuts! I was so happy and pleasantly surprised there for about one minute! Well, it is still a shiningly clear and beautiful statement and I thank you for making it.
The darn Pope keeps on failing to be the religious wing of the Republican party.
Don’t be foolish. Abortion is a human rights issue, not a Republican issue.
thank you, but I fear it falls on blind eyes……..it doesn’t fit their agenda.
Alas, ganganelli is a prolific troll.
Tell us, is everything in your life divided into the bleak right-wing/left-wing dichotomy? I mean, do you ever think outside the framework given you in high school US history class?I suppose if you had been born earlier and German, you would have wasted the war years wondering if burning Jews, Gypsies, and Catholics was ultimately more advantageous for the right or the left.
Me? I’m a pro-life leftist. That’s about as far as falling into the right/left dichotomy as is possible.
Yes, and I’m a pro-Catholic King Kleagle. Please.
Apparently you don’t get out much. President Ortega of Nicaragua and President Correa of Ecuador are two leftist pro-lifers. Interestingly, both are Catholic.
Ahem. Why am I not surprised to see that you have to go to South America to find two lonely examples of the all-but-impossible? And really only one of the two can you legitimately ”claim”. Correa is a populist, authoritarian, social conservative (he opposes all abortions and thinks that “gay marriage” is nothing of the sort, not gay and certainly not marriage). I think some American leftists, especially those poisoned by all the 1960s nonsense, might in fact dispute the authenticity of Correa’s left-wing credentials. The other lonely figure you cite, Daniel Ortega, is the man about whom no less an authority on renegade Catholicism than Ernesto Cardenal said “[Ortega] makes a false and hypocritical use of religion, pretending he has a faith he doesn’t have.” (Cardenal to The Associated Press 2011)
The fact is, leftism and immorality go hand in hand these days. The US Democrat Party, America’s official party of the Left, is Satan’s playground.
So you say not to divide my life into a bleak right wing/left wing dichotomy. In what way are you not a right winger?
Difficult to answer a negative question, so let me try to be positive. I don’t find your friend Correa’s politics at all rebarbative, not even his authoritarianism or his antipathy for the US. He is a politician I could vote for with an easy conscience. I object to the Left’s base assumption that it can create paradise on Earth by using reason, this notion being part and parcel of the insanity that came out of the French Enlightenment. I know that kind of thinking leads directly to concentration camps, that in fact it led straight to the first instance of genocide in history, the attempt to exterminate Catholics in the Vendée. So, in general, I must say I fear and detest the Left but can tolerate the Right as a barrier against the Left`s advances. A concrete example: As loathsome as Franco’s regime in Spain once was, it was a blessing that the Nationalists won the Civil War and thus prevented the implementation of the Spanish Left’s fiendish schemes. Another example closer to home: As mediocre as the GOP candidates who opposed Obama were, it would have been preferable if they had defeated the amoral phony from Chicago and thus prevented him from disgracing the Oval Office.
Well that was actually a thoughtful reply. Totally wrong but thoughtful. Your errors below:
1. It is not the left but the clueless right that think a cut in the capital gains tax will create paradise on earth. See Sam Brownback’s comments on his red state experiment before the disastrous results came in. This was a guy who was potentially a presidential candidate.
2. Obama may be amoral. Certainly he is on abortion and homosexual marriage but the same can be said for the right. Did you see the practical worship for Reagan at the last debate? The first and, to date, only divorced and remarried president whose concubine Nancy was infamous in Hollywood for being the “best” at a particular form of sodomy.
3. As mediocre as Obama is, he prevented the amoral and stupid McCain/Palin from being elected. How many wars would we be in now if that duo had won?
Wish I could return the compliment about ”thoughtful” but your diatribe, complete with cheap gossip, makes it impossible. You need to read more history to help you understand better what has been in play since 1789 at least. You’re too bound up with half-baked economic theories and with all the stuff that makes Democrat Party faithful wet their pants.
It’s cool. I don’t want to hog Steve’s page so I’ll bow out. I’m not blowing smoke, I really have enjoyed out interaction here. You’re one of the VERY few intelligent conservatives I’ve run across. God bless.
Vade in pace, amice.
Maybe an explanation was given that led to the impression that I am a bit to the left but it would be an error of explanation.
By the way, the abortion rate has declined under President Obama in all states except for two. Guess the party of the governor of those states. Hint: One of them is running for President and didn’t accept medicaid expansion.
Only it isn’t quite so simple…
https://onepeterfive.wpengine.com/a-cause-for-cautious-optimism-us-abortions-are-down-12/
Good article and some good points. There are many reasons why the abortion rate is declining and could very well have something to do with increased use of contraceptives . Having said that, why do you think the abortion rate is RISING in Jindal’s Louisiana?
Don’t know. Haven’t studied the particulars. But my first guess would be to look at the demographics of that state. Certain minority groups have far higher rates of abortion than others — especially the black community.
And since, according to Wikipedia, “Louisiana’s population has the second largest proportion of black Americans (32% according to 2010 census) in the United States…” – you do the math.
But other states with significant black populations have seen their abortion rates decline.
OR. It could be that when people have access to health insurance, which by the way, the Catholic Church has defined as a RIGHT of all people, it might just might lead a woman to choose a 17k labor and delivery over a $300.00 abortion. But that’s just crazy liberal talk amiright?
” health insurance, which by the way, the Catholic Church has defined as a RIGHT of all people”
Could you cite the source on that please?
I’m glad you are seeking the source of abortions. Most liberals don’t give a hoot. But to imply that the cost of a birth versus the cost to murder the child is why women choose to murder their children is indeed crazy liberal talk.
JTLiuzza, do you accept that Pope Benedict held teaching authority while pope? If so, you might be interested in reading this article, where you can find Benedict referring to an “inalienable right” of all human beings to health care. http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2010/11/19/131348/pope-universal-healthcare/
Population aging would be my guess! The size of the child bearing age population has been declining, and pregnancy/ abortion rate will follow this decline
Wow. No racism in that claim, huh? What ugly stuff on a so-called Catholic blog.
Yes, but Francis did show up in a modest car and managed to give a toot, so to speak, for one of Italy’s premier auto manufacturers. That has to count for something….somewhere….doesn’t it?
Boy am I mad… with you Steve S. !
You really broke my heart. I fell for it. I did.
I know what you did there. Point well made. And wonderfully written! I wish you would have written the speech for the Pope… But it really really hurt. For a moment it was like the whole world had changed. I felt I was floating. Only to bring me down hard. At least in my case it was very cruel. Seriously. Maybe in an hour I’ll feel it wasn’t so bad. But I am writing right away and I am sad and mad.
I love the great things in your site and I appreciate this article too. But still in a way it was nasty. 🙁
Sorry, Diego. I felt that the contrast was important. And if I had telegraphed the message in the headline, many who needed to see the two versions side by side would never read it.
Sorry but I don’t think that is a reason to set people up for a HUGE letdown when we are in crisis mode in the run up to the Synod. I was calling out excitedly to my family at this wonderful news, and thinking what a wonderful turn of events this was … And then!
I knew right away that wasn’t what Francis said, as I watched him in a rerun on EWTN last night. What I thought was: ‘Gee, Steve hasn’t gotten much sleep lately with the new baby, he’s hallucinating’. 🙂
Agree with everything you wrote. What a let down, rotten thing to do!
Can`t you at least see that in a welcome speech, this was just an thank you welcome to this country`s invitation ;he is not going to address every single point that bothers everyone and talk for minutes on all of them…he, as any welcome official first just touches few subjects without going to deep in them because it is not the right time or stage to do so…is all a general approach on many subjects,otherwise he would have to stay there for a couple of hours trying to please everyone who is bother by something .He is not here to set up policies to be a politician ,nor trying to impose his views on you as you are trying to impose your on him without giving him the chance to even speak of the matter when he just barely got off the plane; he is here overall to unite people who disagree with each other , to inspire more peace in this one world then maybe things might change with tolerance for a common goal…at least he will try even if you don`t. To start caring for something ,go to start leaving your hate behind and show respect to get respect. Maybe he agrees with you but you already crucified him because he did not address it under your terms and timeline… have a good day anyways and keep listening ,you might just get your wish.
He prioritized the issue he saw as having the most critical importance. “Accepting the urgency” and “can no longer be left to a future generation” and “critical moment of history” are all phrases which indicate that THIS issue MUST (in his opinion) be addressed NOW.
I agree that he only has so much time. That’s why the truly important issues need to go first.
Tolerance for a common goal, you say? Seems the welfare of babies would be a goal common to all of humanity.
Can`t you at least see that in a welcome speech, this was just an thank you welcome to this country`s invitation ;he is not going to address every single point that bothers everyone and talk for minutes on all of them…he, as any welcome official first just touches few subjects without going to deep in them because it is not the right time or stage to do so…is all a general approach on many subjects,otherwise he would have to stay there for a couple of hours trying to please everyone who is bother by something .He is not here to set up policies to be a politician ,nor trying to impose his views on you as you are trying to impose your on him without giving him the chance to even speak of the matter when he just barely got off the plane; he is here overall to unite people who disagree with each other , to inspire more peace in this one world then maybe things might change with tolerance for a common goal…at least he will try even if you don`t. To start caring for something ,go to start leaving your hate behind and show respect to get respect. Maybe he agrees with you but you already crucified him because he did not address it under your terms and timeline… I disagree with you but hope you have a good day anyways and keep listening ,you might just get your wish.
sorry for the copy, my bad.
Our FIRST HOME is our Mother’s womb.
Our first HOME is our MOTHER’S womb!
Awww! I read the first paragraph and got tears in my eyes. Then I read it wasn’t the real speech. Then I was more disappointed by the real one. For just a moment, I was about to change my negative opinion of Pope Francis.
I notice that Pope Francis never says anything that his hearers or a majority of his audience does not want to hear. Remind me of these TVevangelists who get a large following that way too.
I actually thought the first comment was real. I was about to give the pope credit where credit is due.
“Try not to think about what might have been…”
I was suckered until about 3 sentences in, then it clicked. Nice job, but the old rule about something being “too good to be true” must have been written into my DNA at some point. We can dream. Actually, the pope did say something about having dreams recently….
Emeritus Benedict said nothing while visiting the states. Skojec is biased against Pope Francis so alas; he’s going to find fault no matter what. Here is what our Holy Father, Pope Francis said addressing the bishops: POPE FRANCIS TO ALL BISHOPS:”The innocent victim of abortion, children who die of hunger or from bombings,
immigrants who drown in the search for a better tomorrow, the elderly or the sick who are considered a burden,
the victims of terrorism, wars, violence and drug trafficking, the environment devastated by man’s predatory relationship with nature –
at stake in all of this is the gift of God, of which we are noble stewards but not masters.
It is wrong, then, to look the other way or to remain silent.
No less important is the Gospel of the Family, which in the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia I will emphatically proclaim together with you and the entire Church.”
~#PopeFrancis speaking to US Bishops.
If by “biased” you mean “paying enough attention to see what’s happening” then you’re correct.
It’s lovely that he said something to the bishops, where it’s safe. He didn’t say it in a secular context, where it needs to be heard.
By the way, a number of the bishops he recently appointed to the Synod don’t share our values on life – like Bonny and Daneels.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/family-leaders-alarmed-at-popes-personal-invitees-for-synod
I recall that when Pope Benedict visited the US, Apr 2008, President Bush’s administration was supporting pro-life policies. Nine months later, President Obama lifted the Mexico City policy and it has been down hill since then. So Benedict don’t have to speak to President Bush for his pro-life positions, where Francis missed an opportunity to confront the most pro-death president in our history.
Hmmm. Is there anything at all he could have done, said, or failed to do or say to make Judith think to herself, ”Ya know, as a Catholic, he’s somewhat of a flop”? Clearly she has a literary bent. Reading her words I could almost hear Voltaire’s voice as he recited and wrote “Tout est pour le mieux dans le meilleur des mondes possibles.”
And Jesus wept.
At best Pope Francis is naive calling immigrants “pilgrims”. In reality they are invaders. Then calling them diverse. Uhhh no. They all speak spanish or arabic.
I am sick to my stomach. ” I find it encouraging that you are proposing an initiative for reducing air pollution.” You find it encouraging? Because air pollution is a pressing issue for the Catholic Church? This papacy has become a parody.
As a Hispanic immigrant now a USA citizen, I was delighted what the Holy Father said. I guess u as a WHITE man did not get it.
So because you’re a racist you understand him more clearly? Is that your point?
I second Steve’s assertion that you are a racist. That meme is completely bankrupt and those who use it betray their own racist thinking.
Debes estudiar un poco más el idioma de tu nuevo país. ¿Eres ciudadano y todavía escribes un inglés tan horrible? ¡Qué vergüenza!
“What Did Pope Francis Say About the Unborn at the White House?” Nothing. Like all committed Leftist, Pope Francis is a leftist first and Catholic second….a distant second.
Mackerel-snapper!!
Wow, what a magnificent speech that would have been. I thought it was actually what he said as I read it, and I was thinking: “Wow, we were wrong about him; the Holy Father came through at the last moment!”
I was getting ready to welcome praise for him, then I continued reading and realized you had just taken his speech on the environment and modified it to address the grave seriousness of the abortion instead.
Devastating…..it makes it clear just how bad things have become. It’s becoming unbearably insane.
The world has lost its collective mind that they can all sit and listen to such a speech with credulity and seriousness.
Anyone else like Bocelli? Here’s an interesting video I found… makes you wonder…….https://youtu.be/6QfKCGTfn3o
Visit The Holy See website and then click on Pope Saint John Paul II, then click on 1993 speeches , then click on August speeches, then click on his Welcome to Billy Clinton speech at Saint Regis U.
Note the substantial and radical difference twixt then and now because continuity.
The Pope is a Far Left Liberal. He is not about to make other Far Left Liberals uncomfortable. The Catholic Church with Pope Francis is about to wash down the same rat hole as America is with Obama and his fundamental destruction of the United States.
The sad kills the funny, but it’s kind of funny that no one outside of my church could make me feel bad about being a Catholic. Now we have a pope that is doing it from inside the church.
Dang! I was about to start the cut-n-paste for my Sunday bulletin on Respect Life Sunday. Dear Jesus, we pray for your priests, especially for the pope, that Your Holy Spirit will instill in them the courage, strength and wisdom to preach like You and give us the Fullness of Your Truth. Amen.
I also fell for the first speech, thinking finally, a miracle, he is cooperating with the Grace of Office of the Vicar of Christ. Then I kept reading the article…
What a complete outrage. An opportunity of a lifetime. A captive audience. The watching world.
Abortion, Planned Parenthood trading in body parts, sodomite “marriage” as the rule of law; the common opinion of the Saints and the Fathers of the Church that more souls are damned than saved, the infallible dogma of No Salvation Outside the Church – any one of these issues could have been addressed… and all the Holy Father gives us is a speech about air pollution.
Am I seriously bound to listen to this?
If I hang off every word he says, I fear my faith will diminish or be lost entirely.
If on the other hand I ignore him and everything he says, and carry on as if he didn’t exist, then am I a de facto/practical sedevacantist, even if I am not in theory?
If I take the middle ground and have to pick and choose, sift and weigh, whatever he says then what’s the point? I don’t want to be my own pope. Years of Protestantism turned me off that.
What strange, dark times we live in.
The pope is just a man, he is not perfect. For Catholics to put their faith and trust in him, or any pope, above the Word of God is in itself a sin against the first commandment. This man is not a Christian and he is leading Catholics down the road to hell. It is no wonder nancy pelosi has not been excommunicated for advocating for the murder of unborn infants. Not only did he concede that man has the power to change the climate, but he has said that God is not in control of His own creation. That is beyond sick, the devil is talking through this man.