Some people have asked me what Monsignor is wearing under his trousers to create the line across his legs. His trousers are for hiking and the lower legs zip off to make shorts. (The photo was taken when he and the Holy Father were on vacation in the mountains.) Monsignor is very athletic.
Those of the “speak English and stay out of our country” set.
To my surprise Howard Dean has come to the defense of Pope Benedict XVI’s support of immigrants.
“‘If John McCain is serious in his pledge to run a respectful campaign, he should immediately denounce Tom Tancredo’s insulting remarks about Pope Benedict XVI,’ Dean said.” - Source
So how did the former Catholic turned Evangelical, Tom Tancredo insult the Holy Father?
“Accusing the pope of “faith-based marketing,” Mr. Tancredo said Benedict’s comments welcoming immigrants “may have less to do with spreading the Gospel than they do about recruiting new members of the Church.” Mr. Tancredo, a former Catholic who now attends an evangelical Christian church, said it was not in the pope’s “job description to engage in American politics.” - Source
Mr. Paranoid Tancredo claims the Holy Father was entering into American politics with his statements. Not at all, rather The Holy Father was speaking in defense of human rights and protecting the family. Nevertheless, the fear-monger Tancredo, who once ran this political tagline in his campaign ad; “immigrants rape your children” (Source) himself politicized the Holy Father’s statements, revealing his Evangelical religious bias as well.
They’re here!
The elephant is in the room, and the Holy Father was simply calling our attention to our moral responsibility in these issues. Interestingly, the following headline caught my attention this morning: “50 percent of LA workforce are immigrants”…
LOS ANGELES, April 21 (UPI) — Los Angeles is at the leading edge of a U.S. demographic trend, with half of its workforce immigrants, many of them unskilled and speaking little English.As baby boomers retire, the same pattern will emerge across the country, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday. Demographers estimate that by 2025 most of the growth in the workforce will be from immigrants.Ernesto Cortes Jr., Southwest regional director of the Industrial Areas Foundation, said Los Angeles is at a crossroads.“The question is: Are we going to be a 21st century city with shared prosperity, or a Third World city with an elite group on top and the majority at poverty or near poverty wages?” he asked. “Right now we’re headed toward becoming a Third World city. But we can change that.”
The Migration Policy Institute used U.S. Census data to determine that one-third of immigrants have not graduated from high school and 60 percent do not speak English fluently. - Source
So the other question has to be, “who is really supporting who?” And maybe this one too, “why do we hate poor people?”
Let it rip!
Okay, so if I never have to watch Raymond and Fr. Neuhaus again I will be a happy man. LOL! Not so much - EWTN really did do a pretty good job - although I doubt Raymond would ever make it on network television.
It seemed as if I listened to him and Fr. Neuhaus for hours and hours as we waited for the Holy Father to depart JFK in NYC last evening. The commentators went on and on and on, and then - just as the Holy Father arrives on the tarmac, Raymond had to go to break. As the program resumed, the Holy Father could be seen walking up the stairs to board the plane. Oh well.
Truly, I was just happy to see, and hear the Pope whenever I could, and then read what he had to say later. I must say, Catholics really go in for the drama though. Everyone all a twitter about the Mass in Washington. LOL! The discussion that caused! I especially loved the commenters who claimed the music at the Mass was so atrocious they wept. Omigosh! Get a grip.
All in all I was thrilled with everything the Pope said and did. I was especially impressed with his compassionate, humble embrace of the United States, and of course, his meeting with those who had been abused. He came not to condemn but to listen and to show mercy and offer hope. (I also appreciated the fact he addressed our Spanish speaking brothers and sisters in their language, as well as coming to the defense of immigrants. Even though a few conservative toes may have been stepped on by it.)
Hopefully people will now stop trying to compare him to JPII.
|
|
