Media Attempts to Claim John Paul's Legacy as the GOP's

[CBHagman]

Over the past week, I have noticed a truly unseemly attempt by political and media figures to attach Pope John Paul II's life and legacy to the Republican Party. First I heard Cokie Roberts on NPR mentioning George W. Bush's use of the term "culture of life" and explaining how that also had to do with helping the poor.

What Roberts left unsaid is that no one with even a passing familiarity with Bush's record could mistake him for an advocate for the disadvantaged, in the U.S. or anywhere else. When members of Congress begged Bush to help encourage the extension of unemployment benefits, he turned a deaf ear and went on Christmas vacation while thousands of families were cut off. Bush's stance is, as always, that tax cuts come before weighing the needs of society, and when given the chance to choose, he always sides with the wealthiest and most powerful, rather than the neediest and least powerful.

John Paul, by contrast, sharply questioned unbridled capitalism, bolstered the spirits of union members, and stood up to the likes of Ferdinand Marcos.

Unfortunately, the attempts to link Bush and the GOP to the pope continue, as one can see in this article by Jim VandeHei of The Washington Post. To be fair, VandenHei provides a more nuanced, balanced view, but he doesn't really do justice to the records of the two men.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32384-2005Apr6.html

"President Bush and Pope John Paul II spoke often about their desire to spread freedom and a culture of life around the world. Yet their visions for accomplishing these lofty goals sometimes sharply conflicted."

Actually, the promiscuous use of the word "freedom" is a fairly recent practice with Bush, now that the supposed WMD threat in Iraq is now forgotten. No one could mistake Bush for a human rights activist, given his attitudes towards actually mingling with people of varying viewpoints (he advoids it), the vote count in Florida in 2000 (he simply repeated that he'd won, and sought the end of the counting), and human rights issues around the world (he turns a blind eye when he cannot exploit the situation for personal glory or corporate gain).


"But on another life issue, the death penalty, the two men diverge sharply: The pope opposed it and personally appealed to Bush when he was governor to spare the life of convicted murderer Karla Faye Tucker, who was executed in 1998; Bush, who continues to support the death penalty, oversaw the execution of 152 people in Texas, the most of any U.S. governor in modern history."

What VandeHei doesn't explain is that not only did Bush turn a deaf ear to the pope's entreaties but he actually shocked Tucker Carlson by mocking Karla Faye Tucker after she was already dead. At least that was the account in the now-defunct Talk magazine.

Friends, this attempt to link Bush and the Republicans to John Paul II doesn't just sicken me, it enrages me! How dare they exploit John Paul the man and the church as a body of believers for the exclusive use of the Republicans!

:mad:

[RevCheesehead]

1. it's hard to believe anyone can swallow this BS.

The only reason the blivet is at the Vatican is for political opportunity. He is a shameless hypocrite, and I hope he is very, very uncomfortable, away from his "adoring press." :puke:

[dflprincess]

2. The Daily Show did a good bit on the way the GOP is using the Pope.

Unfortunately, they did not mention the Pope's attitude toward unrestrained capitalism, but they did bring up the death penalty and Iraq.

[regnaD kciN]

3. Only part of an ongoing effort...

...to link the evangelical Protestant "religious right" and conservative Roman Catholicism in what George Weigel, approvingly, calls the "ecumenical jihad." In other words, it's not Protestants versus Catholics anymore, instead, it's the "devout" (i.e. conservative) of both joining forces in a crusade against the "forces of secularism" (which, implicitly or explicitly, includes those liberal Christians in both of the old camps).

The appeal of this for fundies and their neocon masters is obvious: as long as they restrict themselves to the Protestant side of the spectrum, they remain a small if loud minority. But, if they can recruit even a sizeable minority of Catholicism into the fray, into believing that it is part of their God-given duty to vote conservative, they go from a small bloc whose influence is likely to wane into a huge permanent interest group, a force to be reckoned with for decades to come.

This has been going on for some time, and is, sadly, beginning to bear fruit, as evidenced by the declarations of several bishops last year that John Kerry (and even those who would vote for him!) were unfit to receive Communion. In a close election, how many devout Catholics were influenced by these bishops to vote against their own fellow Roman Catholic Kerry in favor of the fundamentalist Bush, under the belief that the latter was "a man of God," while the former was "an unfit Catholic?" Enough to have provided the decisive tipping point in Florida, Ohio, and/or New Mexico? By contrast, how many bishops publically criticized the policies of the Bush administration, or suggested that Roman Catholic politicians voting, for example, to support the Iraqi invasion should be barred from Communion?

While this is a loathsome gambit by the neocons, I can't help but blame the Vatican in this to some extent. It was not a secret during John Paul II's papacy that there were strict "litmus test" issues in deciding who should be elevated to the episcopate. Specifically, those tests concerned conservative positions on abortion, contraception, homosexuality, and the role (or not) of women in the Church. By making those issues (and not working for peace, human rights, and social justice) the basis for advancement to Bishop or Cardinal, wasn't the Holy See (wittingly or not) sending the signal that those particular issues were the non-negotiable points for "the Catholic agenda," while the rest were nice but unimportant?

:-(

[DemBones DemBones]

4. That is so disgusting and Cokie Roberts is a Catholic who should know

better. Her mother was ambassador to the Vatican years ago.

The small amount of cable news I've seen this week has been fairly positive, with only a couple of small hints that they were longing to take the gloves off and slap John Paul around a bit. But I deliberately watched very little.

I've been watching EWTN and they're running great documentaries on JP II from the Vatican and fro Mercy Something. Right now there's a documentary of World Youth Day with a "live from Rome" inset. I thought I'd stay up and watch the funeral live but my nap is about to wear off and I'm going to TiVo it and go sleep a few hours.

We need to fight back and not let them steal JP II. Opposition to abortion is the main, if not the only, thing ha and Bush have in common; Progressive Democrats have afr more in common with John Paul's beliefs, thoughts, and acts!

[etherealtruth]

5. I don't know if any one caught this post in GD last PM...

(please for give the crudeness of my computer techniques---it's the Luddite in me.)

hue (155 posts) Thu Apr-07-05 08:53 PM
Original message
Pope's life & death: A Muslim perspective


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3444772



Thought I'd post one of my e-mails from a Muslim friend who sent an atricle that expresses what the majority of US Muslims think regarding the Catholic religion and the Pope. For several years Muslims have sustained dialogue with Catholics on issue such as the virgin birth of Jesus (which both religions share) and the teachings of Jesus/Isa.

I hope the mods can approve of this e-mail letter being longer than 4 paragraphs!
***********


He helped build interfaith bridge
USA Today 4/6/05
By Muqtedar Khan
"To God we belong and to Him we shall Return."
- Koran 2:156

REFLECTIONS OF FAITH

For more than a quarter-century, Pope John Paul II touched people of
all faiths.
Muqtedar Khan — He helped build interfaith bridge.


Four years ago, Pope John Paul II appeared at one of the oldest
mosques in the Islamic world, the Ummayad Mosque in Damascus, Syria.
It is deeply cherished by Muslims and Christians because it is
believed to be the tomb of Prophet Yahya (John the Baptist to
Christians). During the visit, he said: "It is my ardent hope that
Muslim and Christian religious leaders and teachers will present our
two great religious communities as communities in respectful
dialogue, never more as communities in conflict."

For centuries, Muslims have felt alienated by Christianity. Though
Muslims recognize Christianity as a revealed religion of God,
Christian denominations have rejected Islam as heresy and waged holy
wars against it.

Despite theological disagreements with Islam, Pope John Paul II
departed from this historical practice. He always considered Muslims
as a fellow spiritual community deserving of respect and admiration.

Islam and Christianity share a majority of their beliefs. The
principle value of the unity of divinity, the prophets, Jesus and
Mary, Jerusalem and the promise of life after life are all common to
both faiths.

The Koran, the book that Muslims believe is the direct revelations
from God, acknowledges Judaism and Christianity as precursors and
early forms of Islam.

Today, through the efforts of John Paul II as a pioneer in
interfaith bridge-building, Muslims, too, feel as though Catholicism
has started to reciprocate and recognize Islam and Muslims as
partners in spirituality.

On the death of this pope, Muslims all over the world are expressing
their sorrow and solidarity with the Catholic community. Muslims see
John Paul II as a dear friend who reached out to us repeatedly. He
was not only our religious partner in worshipping the one God, but
he also was a political ally who frequently spoke up for the rights
of all peoples, including Muslims.

He often called for peace in the Middle East and for restoration of
rights and dignity to the Palestinians. He was against the war in
Iraq, and he believed ardently that Muslims and Christians, working
together, could bring both God and peace to our world.

In a world despiritualized by materialism, secular fundamentalism
and religious extremism; ravaged by war, greed and violence; and
disenchanted by ideologies and false religions; he was a champion of
morality, moderation and peace.

The world has truly lost a global elder.

Muqtedar Khan teaches at Adrian College in Michigan and is a non-
resident fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

hue

As usual the media ignores the fact that in MANY respects this Pope was extremely liberal 9far more so than most liberals in the USA)

[ScreamingMeemie]

6. I was wondering the AM if Bush could feel the flames of Hell licking

at his heels as he sat in the square for the funeral of a man who told him that to wage war with Iraq would be to stamp a one way ticket to Hell. :shrug:

[Cuban_Liberal]

9. I loved what John Paul told Bush:

"If you go to war (with Iraq), you go without God". I wonder how that made the oh-so-holy Shrub feel?

[DemBones DemBones]

7. Ha! Mike Barnicle just said something funny to Joe Scarborough,

that people of faith shouldn't shudder at what's said during the following week about the Pope by some editorial writers and reporters "because more of them go to health clubs than go to Mass"!!!

Scarborough and someone else both snorted with laughter at Barnicle's comment. Underneath their oft-times annoying exteriors, these guys are Catholics at heart. Ditto Pat Buchanan, also on tonight -- might have been him who snorted.

[CBHagman]

8. Oh. no! VandeHei's doing it again in today's Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36405-2005Apr8.html

Note how he attributes a passion for spreading freedom and religious liberty to BUSH. What nonsense.

Then again, I guess the article may point to a motivation VandeHei may have for giving such sunny coverage of Bush. This vindictive and secretive administration will shut the doors on reporters who don't provide the coverage they expect.

Still, it's a disgusting performance on VandeHei's part, to say nothing of historical revisionism.