Deal W. Hudson

What "No Newt" Means for Religious Conservatives

         

Deal Hudson

This is an expanded version of my morning post from www.insidecatholic.com:

The two-day "Solutions Days" conference in Atlanta was so bold and so incisive in scope, it had led me to portend the entry of Newt Gingrich into the presidential race .

Instead, the opposite happened -- it became the occasion of Newt's announcement that he will not run.

(So much political prognostication! I remember boldly proclaiming how a certain Governor of Arkansas could never be President of the United States.)
 

This has important implications for religious conservatives who are looking for a horse in the 2008 election.

Those who were following the lead of James Dobson were waiting for the newly-shreved (meaning "forgiven") Newt who had made his public confession some months ago on Dr. Dobson's radio show.

Now where do the Dobsonites go?  Is there anyone out there who qualifies for support? Dobson has, unintentionally I am sure, badly divided the Christian vote. Why?

I have already commented on the fact that Dobson has publicly rejected the other GOP possibles. 

For Dobson, Thompson is not really a Christian, or not enough of one.

Dobson would not vote at all if Giuliani were the nominee.

Dobson says Christians won't vote for a Mormon, Romney.

And, finally, John McCain will never, and he means never, get Dobson's support. 

What is Dobson going to do now? Will he throw his support to Huckabee and hope that he gets a VP slot?

What are religious conservatives going to do now? Newt wasn't their perfect candidate, by far, but he gave them an excuse for delaying their decision.

Right now, they are equally divided among the four front-runners.

This is a big chance for Fred Thompson to make a strong pitch for their support.

McCain just did this by declaring that he would not support a Muslim for president.

Romney, who has run the best campaign so far, will continue to do what he does well: work hard and reach out to all the right people.

But it is Giuliani who figures to gain the most from Newt staying on the sidelines. With religious conservatives lacking energy and leadership, Giuliani can claim the pragmatic and straight-talking high ground.

He can also continue to talk about religion in a way that befits his experience and beliefs. Giuliani's comments on the "woman at the well," though scripted, were the right script for his candidacy, and perhaps for the political moment we find ourselves in.

       

Deal Hudson

This is an expanded version of my morning post from www.insidecatholic.com:

The two-day "Solutions Days" conference in Atlanta was so bold and so incisive in scope, it had led me to portend the entry of Newt Gingrich into the presidential race .

Instead, the opposite happened -- it became the occasion of Newt's announcement that he will not run.

(So much political prognostication! I remember boldly proclaiming how a certain Governor of Arkansas could never be President of the United States.)
 

This has important implications for religious conservatives who are looking for a horse in the 2008 election.

Those who were following the lead of James Dobson were waiting for the newly-shreved (meaning "forgiven") Newt who had made his public confession some months ago on Dr. Dobson's radio show.

Now where do the Dobsonites go?  Is there anyone out there who qualifies for support? Dobson has, unintentionally I am sure, badly divided the Christian vote. Why?

I have already commented on the fact that Dobson has publicly rejected the other GOP possibles. 

For Dobson, Thompson is not really a Christian, or not enough of one.

Dobson would not vote at all if Giuliani were the nominee.

Dobson says Christians won't vote for a Mormon, Romney.

And, finally, John McCain will never, and he means never, get Dobson's support. 

What is Dobson going to do now? Will he throw his support to Huckabee and hope that he gets a VP slot?

What are religious conservatives going to do now? Newt wasn't their perfect candidate, by far, but he gave them an excuse for delaying their decision.

Right now, they are equally divided among the four front-runners.

This is a big chance for Fred Thompson to make a strong pitch for their support.

McCain just did this by declaring that he would not support a Muslim for president.

Romney, who has run the best campaign so far, will continue to do what he does well: work hard and reach out to all the right people.

But it is Giuliani who figures to gain the most from Newt staying on the sidelines. With religious conservatives lacking energy and leadership, Giuliani can claim the pragmatic and straight-talking high ground.

He can also continue to talk about religion in a way that befits his experience and beliefs. Giuliani's comments on the "woman at the well," though scripted, were the right script for his candidacy, and perhaps for the political moment we find ourselves in.

Cruelty to Children by Confusing Them

Deal Hudson

Marjorie, your post from yesterday was very disturbing. To deliberately confuse children about the natural role of mothers and fathers is cruel.

I talked last night with a friend from North Carolina, a mother who has two boys, aged 10 and 13.  (Of course, your children, Marjorie and mine, are in the same range).  After reading your post, she said, "I resent that this can be taught to my boys under the guise that it is not religion but tolerance."

She has a important point about the strategy behind the use of these pro-homosexual materials in public schools. 

We have to teach tolerance!  OK, fine, but we all know tolerance is being taught by insinuating a different metaphysic into the minds of children who don't have the intellectual ability to distinguish between lifestyle differences and the natural order.

Tolerance can and should be taught on the basis of accepting the behavior of others when they transgress your moral viewpoint. That's what tolerance is.

Tolerance is integral to a Christian moral perspective -- it does not have to be added to by some other moral code, especially one that denies a view of the natural order. 

It's not religion! The Christian view that homosexuality is unnatural is not allowed in schools because it has its roots in religion.  But the pro-homosexuality agenda is allowed because it is not part of a religion.  So homosexuality is privileged in public education because it is a so-called secular viewpoint. 

Hmmmm, what if we could show that homosexuality is historically linked to some sort of Greek mystery cult? Could it be objected that homosexuality was a religion and therefore could not be taught in schools?

Yet, all these arguments are useless in the face of public school officials and teachers who fear saying "no" to homosexual activists.  They fear the accusations and harassment that will follow by just saying "no" to the nonsense.

There is nothing more important to my son Cyprian than "having found his mommy," especially after living his first three years without having one.  Thank God, our local public school doesn't indulge in this cruelty to children. If they did, he would be somewhere else the next day.

Children Without Mothers

Marjorie Campbell, marjorie@marjoriecampbell.com

Now we know.  All of the Democratic candidates for President approve of reading aloud to public school 2nd graders the "same-sex" happy-ever-after marriage fairy tale King & King - in which an unlikeable queen nags her son to marry, drawing his sigh, "Very well, Mother.... I must say, though, I've never cared much for princesses" while his young page knowingly winks.  His pursuit results in the title King & King - as well as the 2004 sequel King & King & Family, aimed at 4-8 year olds.  Presumably, the Dems would have no objection reading aloud to preschoolers how the now honeymooning King Bertie and King Lee acquire a runaway little girl "from the jungle", making them the happy-ever-after family. 

But I object. 

I object on behalf of children everywhere who, with the sexualizing Culture of Adult Desire foisted involuntarily and innocently upon them, are disallowed even the wanting of a mother - as though "mother" is a mere social construct that can be whisked away with a well-drawn fairy tale of marriage configured to provide for adult sexual desires.  Even the politically correct reviewers note some reserve, murmuring in passing that " children may wonder why the men do not try to find the little girl's family, or check to see if anyone is searching for her."  You think so?

My heart breaks for the children upon whom we visit this next great social experiment.   How does the politically correct teacher, anxious over lawsuits and parent complaints, respond to a teary 5-year-old who dares to say, "Oh she lost her mommy.  I feel so sorry for her, she doesn't have a mommy!  Why didn't they help her find her mommy?"  More likely, the children will quickly learn that such questions "hurt other childrens' feelings" and are not proper.  As one friend said to me recently, "Marjorie, children are going to have to learn to adjust to these changes."

I doubt it.  More likely, the DSMs of the future will have to adjust categories to accommodate the little children who are not suppose to watch the upsetting death of Bambi's mother yet clap happily when a little girl loses her own mother to be adopted by two gay men.  (You might recall that the death scene of Bambi's mother was edited out in a 2006 broadcast of the movie because it caused too many children such distress.)  We know much about the disaster of boys raised without fathers - do we really have to prove that girls need their mothers?

Who will speak up for these children?

Giuliani Cites Woman at the Well

Deal Hudson

If Giuliani is going to talk about religion, then I am glad he is talking about forgiveness.  And what better story to tell than that of the woman at the well.

The AP story contains the following:

"I'm guided very, very often about, `Don't judge others, lest you be judged,'" Giuliani told CBN interviewer David Brody. "I'm guided a lot by the story of the woman that was going to be stoned, and Jesus put the stones down and said, 'He that hasn't sinned, cast the first stone,' and everybody disappeared.

"It seems like nowadays in America, we have people that think they could've passed that test," he said. "And I don't think anybody could've passed that test but Jesus."

This may be a scripted comment -- if so, it's the right script at the right time. 

Gingrich Makes His Move, Can't Wait for Fred

Newt Gingrich is more than poised to enter the presidential race.  He is sponsoring a two-day conference in Atlanta entitled "Solutions Day."

The program contains everything and everybody he needs to build a coalition.

Gingrich has recruited one of the remaining lights of the Religious Right, David Barton of WallBuilders, and former Mayor of Indianapolis, Steve Goldsmith, an engineer of the faith-based initiative used by the Bush White House. 

The program also highlights, strangely enough, a speech by another presidential candidate, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, speaking on  "Transforming Health Care with Wellness and Ownership."

But as I look down the program, I get the sense of a man who understands the key issues in America's future and is prepared to address them.  Very impressive, indeed.

Gingrich has said he is waiting to see how the Fred Thompson run goes -- it looks as if he isn't waiting any longer.

Vatican Says the Obvious to Time Magazine About Euthanasia

Deal Hudson

The Vatican released a statement denying charges made in Time magazine by an Italian physician that John Paul II was euthanized.

The Time article said that Catholics were obligated to extend life using all possible means. 

Wrong!

The Vatican statement provides the obvious retort to the stupidity and disrespect of the Time article:

The Vatican recently repeated its position on euthanasia and feeding tubes. A document issued Sept. 14 from the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith reaffirmed that it considers the removal of feeding tubes from people in vegetative states to be an immoral act.

The Vatican distinguishes between feeding tubes, which it considers proportionate care, and "aggressive medical treatment" which can be disproportionate to any expected results or pose an excessive burden on the patient.

"In such situations, when death is clearly imminent and inevitable, one can in conscience refuse forms of treatment that would only secure a precarious and burdensome prolongation of life, so long as the normal care due to the sick person in similar cases is not interrupted," according to John Paul's 1995 encyclical "Evangelium Vitae."

The stupidity of Time is the fact that it published such an obvious error of fact about Catholic teaching.

The disrespect of Time, which is worse than its stupidity, is to publish an article that deliberately seeks to undermine the witness of John Paul II's death. 

It is precisely that he did not seek to avoid the suffering of his illness, or avoid having its ravages on his body seen by the entire world, that was the heroic witness of his death. 

Now the beauty of his death, his "good death" in the classical sense, is being demeaned by Time and an Italian doctor in league with an euthanasia society.   

First, Mother Teresa, now Pope John Paul II...who is next on Time's hit list? Some may say they are just trying to sell magazines. 

To that, I would ask where are the articles that seek to shatter the reputations of the icons of the Left.

Vatican Rejects Radical Environmentalism

Deal Hudson
          

Speaking at a UN conference on climate change, Msgr. Pietro Parolin, undersecretary for Relations with States, distinguished the Vatican position from that of radical environmentalists. "

"Those who hold up the earth as the only good, and would characterise humanity as an irredeemable threat to the earth, whose population and activity need to be controlled by various drastic means," believe in an "inhuman ecology."

It's a relief to see the Vatican distancing itself from the Al Gore strand of environmentalism.

Gore's "global Marshall Plan" is precisely the kind of one-world statism that you would expect from him.   

Did Giuliani Know His Wife Was Calling?

Deal Hudson

It is being suggested that the phone call that Giuliani received from his wife while  speaking at the National Rifle Association was staged.

Watch the video and decide for yourself.

It's interesting that he says, "I think it's my wife" while he was reaching for the phone. (Perhaps he has a cell phone dedicated to her?)

He got a smattering of applause for saying, "I love you" to his wife, not once, but twice.

Israel Blocks Movement of Arab Christians, Again

Deal Hudson

Please read the story below from the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation.  It's more evidence of Israeli harassment of the Christian community on the West Bank.

Why American Christians sit back and let such nonsense occur without a voice of protest is beyond me. 

Israel Denies Re-entry Visas to Holy Land Arab Christian
Clergy
23-Sep-07

The Israeli Government has rescinded its policy of granting re-entry visas to
Arab Christian ministers, priests, nuns and other religious workers who wish
to travel in and out of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, according to
information provided to the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation
(HCEF) by Christian clergy in Jerusalem.

Until now, re-entry visas were normally granted in Israel by the Israeli
Government to Arab Christian religious workers in the Holy Land, and clergy
traveled relatively freely to and from points overseas, including the United
States.

However, HCEF has been informed that Arab Christian church workers will
henceforth have to apply for re-entry visas at Israeli consulates abroad each
time they travel outside the areas of Israeli control.

Since visa applications submitted to Israeli missions abroad are normally not
acted upon for months after they are filed, this new Israeli policy means that
religious personnel will no longer be able to move freely between their parishes
in the occupied territories and any points outside of those areas.

Christian church workers normally travel frequently between their parishes and
their churches’ offices in Jerusalem. Some also must travel often to countries
outside the region, including the United States.

Many of the clergy and other church workers in the occupied Palestinian
territories are from nearby Jordan; the new Israeli policy will prevent them
from visiting their families there.

Indeed, that has already happened. Rev. Fares Khleifat, a pastor and the only
Greek Melkite priest in Ramallah, traveled to Jordan for several days in
mid-September; when he tried to return to his parish on September 14, he was
stopped at the Israeli border, and his valid, multiple-entry visa was canceled.
Forced to remain in Jordan, he has been effectively deported from the Holy
Land by the Israeli government, and his parish now has no priest.

The new Israeli policy makes it unlikely that any Arab Christian priests,
ministers or other religious workers from the Holy Land will be able to attend
HCEF’s Ninth International Conference, scheduled for October 26-27 in
Washington.

Christian personnel based in the Holy Land have participated in all eight
previous conferences of the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation.

The Last Carmelite Monks in America

The Window for September 24, 2007

Deal W. Hudson

The last eight Carmelite monks in America, perhaps even the world, live in a four-bedroom rectory in the mountains of northwest Wyoming.

 

With 35 candidates in various stages of discernment, they hope to move 70 miles away to a 492-acre property near Carter Mountain once owned by "Buffalo Bill" Cody as his hunting preserve.

 

"Buffalo Bill's house is dilapidated, but the newer lodge on the property was meant to be a monastery," said Rev. Daniel Mary of Jesus Crucified, the 40-year-old prior of the community.

 

"We are sleeping in all kinds of places all over the property -- one is sleeping in the library, one in the office -- we are going to have to be moving no matter what."

Father Daniel founded the community on October 15, 2003, when Bishop David Ricken of Cheyenne sealed their enclosure. For Father Daniel, it was a homecoming: His father, rancher Jerry Schneider, runs the Mt. Carmel Youth Ranch four miles up the road. The youth ranch, like the monastery, is starting to gain a national reputation. Parents who want help with troubled youngsters send them to Schneider.

 

Father Daniel exudes the same kind of can-do enthusiasm that animates his father, who is one of the most unforgettable characters you will ever meet -- a massive, soft-spoken cowboy with a deep devotion to the Mother of God. It's obvious to me where the son's determination comes from.

 

He left his life as a Carmelite hermit in Minnesota because they were losing their vocations. "Young men simply could not adjust to a solitary life; they needed a community -- that's why I asked for permission from the prior to start a monastic community."

 

Archbishop Harry J. Flynn of Minneapolis gave Father Daniel permission to contact Bishop Ricken in Wyoming, who had let it be known that he was looking for Carmelites to live in his diocese. Archbishop Flynn said to me, "This is meant to be, this is of God." After the meeting with Flynn, Father Daniel called Bishop Ricken, who immediately invited him to Wyoming.

 

"I think we are the only community of Carmelite Monks in the world that live a cloistered life." The eight brothers live in a "constitutional enclosure," which they can leave only for medical reasons, not even for a death in the family.

 

They do, however, foster relationships with their families, who can stay at the guesthouse. The only contact the brothers have with people outside the community are the special visitors they invite to stay in the "speak room."

 

Though they don't meet with very many people outside the community, they do sell them coffee. On their Web site there is a tab for "Mystic Monk Coffee." Click the tab and you will find for sale an array of coffee beans "roasted solely by real monks who are passionate about coffee."

 

You will also be offered the doubled-handled "Mystic Monk Mug." Father Daniel explained, "It is a longstanding tradition that Carmelites drink coffee using both hands in thanksgiving for the fruits of the harvest."

 

Why coffee?, I asked him. "Out here in Wyoming there's not much you can do. I have a brother, Michael Mary, who worked in coffee shops all his life and really has a lot of knowledge about coffee, so we just went for the gusto and tried it." They started selling coffee in June of this year, and sales are already brisk. "It was just meant to be, I guess," says Father Daniel.

 

It was just meant to be. That phrase was used a number of times by Father Daniel when I interviewed him. He told me that Buffalo Bill died a Catholic, receiving last rites on his deathbed, and so the new monastery and retreat center "is meant to be."

 

By Christmas, Father Daniel and his fellow monks hope to be celebrating the Tridentine Latin Mass and singing Gregorian chant in the shadow of Carter Mountain.

 

I will stay in touch with Father Daniel and his "last Carmelite monks" and will let you know if the move to Buffalo Bill's property "was meant to be."

 

* * *

 

Father Daniel asked me to request your prayers and your support. To send a donation, or some books for their monastery library, write to:

 

Carmelite Monastery
P.O. Box 2747
Cody, WY 82414-2747