“It is so fitting that the least friendly administration to religion in history would invite a collection of pro-abortion nuns, Catholic gay activists, assorted dissidents and religious rebels to attend Pope Francis' visit to the White House on September 23.”For background, read how President Obama and his federal government agencies are elevating the Gay Agenda above religious liberty.
-- Bill Donohue, president of Catholic League
Click headlines below to read previous articles:
President Obama Ignores Christian Genocide, Favors Gay Agenda
President Obama's Cross-dressing Military Fantasy is Now Reality
Obama Top Homosexual Arrested for Anal Sex with Boy
Pope Said the Gay Agenda is the Work of the Devil
Vatican Says Gay Agenda is 'a Defeat for Humanity'
U.S. Catholic Bishops vs. Supreme Court Gay Agenda
Pope Francis I Says Wayward Politicians Can't Take Communion
Also read how the media ignore Pope Francis when he counters liberal mantra.
-- From "Vatican expresses irritation with WH over guest list" by Jesse Byrnes, The Hill 9/18/15
The Vatican is expressing displeasure with the Obama administration's move to invite certain LGBT activists to the White House for Pope Francis's visit next week, The Wall Street Journal reports.
A senior Vatican official told the newspaper about worries that photos with transgender activists, the nation's first openly gay Episcopal bishop and another activist could be interpreted as a papal endorsement.
The Vatican official said the presence of several of the activists was irritating given that it is unclear whether the White House has yet invited any anti-abortion advocates, a top issue for U.S. bishops.
White House aides on Thursday evening downplayed differences between positions of the pope and the Obama administration, instead focusing on potential areas of mutual interest, such as climate change.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Obama invites transgender man, gay bishop to Pope Francis ceremony; angers Vatican" by Ivey DeJesus, The Patriot-News (Mechanicsburg, PA) 9/18/15
[Catholic Online] reports that Obama "has stacked the deck" against Francis by inviting an "'A list' of infamous American Catholics to meet the Holy Father."
The move to invite to the welcome ceremony transgender activists, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop and an activist nun who heads a group that has been chided by the Vatican for its silence on abortion and euthanasia is intended to make a political statement, the report says, and is being perceived as rude and challenging.
Francis makes his first trip to the U.S. next week. He will visit Washington, D.C., where he will address Congress, New York and Philadelphia. He will celebrate Mass on the Ben Franklin Parkway on Sunday, Sept. 27 before returning to Rome.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Vatican: White House is 'smarter' than playing politics with reception guest list" by Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome and Dan Roberts in Washington, UK Guardian 9/18/15
A Vatican official has said the White House was “smart enough” to know it ought not to try to embarrass Pope Francis at a planned welcome reception for the pontiff next week that will include several guests – including a transgender woman and gay activists – whose presence highlights some of the church’s exclusionary policies.
The Vatican official – who asked not to be identified – said that . . . it would be the White House, not the Holy See, that would find it embarrassing if the welcome party, which will partly be held on the South Lawn and will include 15,000 guests, looked like a political stunt.
Conservative media outlets have in recent days reported that the assembled guests will include Sister Simone Campbell, an activist nun and Guardian contributor who supported the passage of the Affordable Care Act – known as Obamacare – even though it contained provisions involving abortion funding that were opposed by US bishops. Bishop Gene Robinson, a gay former Episcopalian bishop, has also reportedly been invited, as has a transgender activist, Vivian Taylor.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Vatican Disputes White House Guest List for Papal Visit" by Francis X. Rocca, Wall Street Journal 9/17/15
The tension exemplifies concerns among conservative Catholics, including many bishops, that the White House will use the pope’s visit to play down its differences with church leaders on such contentious issues as same-sex marriage and the contraception mandate in the health care law.
Dignity Washington, a group of LBGT Catholics in Washington, D.C., are excited about Pope Francis’ visit on September 22nd and are hoping his message of non-judgement continues as they seek acceptance from the church.
Bishop Gene Robinson, who has also been invited to the pope’s welcoming ceremony, is a former Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire and the first openly gay Episcopal bishop in the U.S. He is also an ex-spouse in a same-sex marriage. He didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Another guest, Mateo Williamson, is a former co-head of the transgender caucus of Dignity USA, a group for LGBT Catholics. He said the Vatican’s disapproval of his presence at the ceremony “speaks to the necessity for continued dialogue” between transgender Catholics and the church hierarchy.
Mr. Williamson, who is transgender, said he would be attending the ceremony as a guest of Vivian Taylor, a transgender woman who was invited by the White House and who formerly served as executive director of Integrity USA, an LBGT advocacy group in the Episcopal Church.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Catholic Leaders Denounce White House for Inviting Pro-Abortion, Gay Rights Activists to Pope’s Reception" by Barbara Hollingsworth, CNSNews.com 9/18/15
“It is a disgrace,” Princeton Professor Robert George told CNSNews.com.
“Barack Obama is a president who would not even raise the case of imprisoned Saudi dissident Raif Badawi when visiting Saudi Arabian King Salman, lest the king's religious sensibilities be offended. He is a president who makes a deal with the Iranian regime without demanding release of Christian pastor Saeed Abidini, who languishes in a prison cell because of his faith.
“Yet this same Barack Obama insults the Pope and faithful Catholics everywhere with stunts like this.”
Fr. Frank Pavone, founder of Priests for Life, who told CNSNews.com that he was not invited to the reception, said that this was part of the administration’s larger pattern of disrespect towards religion.
“This president, this administration has a pattern that I've noticed over the years, and some of it has intersected with me quite directly,” Pavone said. “It is a pattern of really disrespectfully stepping into divisions within the Catholic community and stepping in on the wrong side of those divisions, using the Catholic Church and using the trappings of Catholicism to advance his own morally incompetent agenda.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "The Vatican Isn’t Happy About Obama’s Guest List For The Pope" by Blake Neff, Reporter, Daily Caller 9/18/15
Overall, though, the Obama administration has been trying to emphasize the ways it agrees with the Vatican, rather than the social issues like abortion where they diverge sharply. Vice President Joe Biden (who is Catholic) says he’s read all of Francis’s recent encyclical on climate change, and Francis’s visit to a Philadelphia prison could bolster Obama’s own push for criminal justice reform.
But friction may be inevitable, especially if the pope feels put off by Obama’s guest list in the White House. He plans to speak on the topic of religious liberty during his visit to Philadelphia, which may provide an opportunity to condemn Obamacare’s contraception mandate.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "The White House is more afraid of offending China’s president than the pope" by Washington Post Editorial Board 9/18/15
What struck us as we read about this small controversy is the contrast between the administration’s apparent decision to risk a bit of rudeness in the case of the pope and its overwhelming deference to foreign dictators when similar issues arise. When Secretary of State John F. Kerry traveled to Havana to reopen the U.S. Embassy recently, he painstakingly excluded from the guest list any democrat, dissident or member of civil society who might offend the Castro brothers.
And when Chinese President Xi Jinping comes to the White House next week, shortly after the pope leaves town, it’s a safe bet that he won’t have to risk being photographed with anyone of whom he disapproves. Chen Guangcheng, the courageous blind lawyer, for example, lives nearby in exile, but he probably won’t be at the state dinner. Neither will Falun Gong activists, democracy advocates or anyone else who might, well, give offense.
To read the entire editorial above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Pope in 17,000 Condoms at Museum in Wisconsin
