They are bound by the strongest bonds of all, the protection of innocent life, a fundamental rock of character for people of good will.
Main Street
The Pope and the President
By WILLIAM MCGURN
April 22, 2008; Page A23
He came. He spoke. He confounded.
In the run-up to Pope Benedict XVI's visit to America, the assurance was that the Bishop of Rome would take the president of the United States to the papal woodshed. One of the more wishful versions appeared in the Washington Post, whose author confidently asserted that "Pope Benedict XVI will show how much his worldview differs from President Bush's when he denounces the continuing U.S. occupation of Iraq before the U.N. General Assembly."
As it happened, Benedict said nothing remotely close to denouncing the "occupation of Iraq." One reason, perhaps, is his knowledge that a U.S. withdrawal before there is an Iraqi government in place that can defend its people is a prescription for a bloodbath.
That doesn't mean that Pope Benedict doesn't have his disagreements with President Bush. As a cardinal, Benedict was on record as opposing America's entry into Iraq, and on this trip he alluded to his belief that the proper way to resolve conflicts is via international organizations such as the United Nations. The differences are real. But they do not override the great respect these two leaders have for each other, on full display this past week.
We saw a bit of this at the arrival ceremony at the White House.
It was a glorious spring morning. The affection of the crowd was palpable. And for those who listened, the pope's remarks, invoking George Washington and lauding the timeless truths embodied in the American founding, dovetailed beautifully with the president's words about the common law written on every human heart, and the threat to human dignity posed by the "dictatorship of relativism."…
At the White House dinner Thursday night with Catholic leaders… "On the fundamental questions of life," the president told an appreciative audience, "the Catholic church has been a rock in a raging sea. And my prayer is that this will never change."
Lampstand Foundation website, http://www.lampstandfoundation.org/
"The sinner is at the very heart of Christianity. Nobody is so competent as the sinner in matters of Christianity. Nobody, except the saint." Charles Peguy (1873-1914)
About
- David H. Lukenbill
- I am a California native, married, we have one daughter and live close to the American River with two cats and all the wild critters we can feed. I am a management consultant to nonprofit organizations and have an Associates of Arts degree in Administration of Justice from Sacramento City College, a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Public Administration degree, also from the University of San Francisco.