Break out the tiny violins! Pastor Says: 'I Saw Catholics Arrested for Being Catholic at a Catholic

[cali]

University'-- Notre Dame


SOUTH BEND, Ind., May 15 /Christian Newswire/ -- Vision America President Pastor Rick Scarborough said he was sickened by what he saw when those protesting Obama's speech at Notre Dame were arrested on the campus.

"I wept when I saw my friends arrested and taken to jail," Scarborough disclosed. "They almost broke the arm of a priest who appeared to be in his 80s, by dragging him on the ground."

Scarborough, who's a Southern Baptist preacher, said he was in South Bend in solidarity with Catholics who are protesting the upcoming commencement speech at Notre Dame by the most anti-life president in history.

"Millions of Catholics who were persecuted in their countries of origin came to these shores for religious freedom," Scarborough said. "These hard-working folk built institutions like Notre Dame to educate their children and strengthen their Church."

"Now Notre Dame is honoring Barack Obama, a man Catholics and other Christians should shun, as many of the Catholic bishops have."

When asked why he wasn't arrested, Scarborough explained: "This was a Catholic demonstration, As a Baptist, I had to respect that. I did not want to intrude. At the same time, I wanted to support a group of people I'm so proud of for standing up for Judeo-Christian morality."

http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/3495910390.html

[ccharles000]

1. What is it with the name Scarborough

[cali]

2. that was my first thought as well.

[drm604]

3. "This was a Catholic demonstration..."

When asked why he wasn't arrested, Scarborough explained: "This was a Catholic demonstration, As a Baptist, I had to respect that. I did not want to intrude. At the same time, I wanted to support a group of people I'm so proud of for standing up for Judeo-Christian morality."

This wasn't a "Catholic demonstation", it was an abortion demonstration. If you really believe in your pro-life views, then you should have been willing to be arrested along with the Catholics.

"Showing respect" my ass. That's just an excuse for not wanting to be arrested. He sounds like an attention seeking hypocrite.

Notice the current top story on his website?

Moral-values groups hail tax ruling
May 13 2009
In a move cheered by conservatives, the Internal Revenue Service has ruled that ministers and pastors do not risk losing their tax-exempt status for engaging in, acts on behalf of issues such as traditional-values advocacy.

Notice that the second highest link (after "Tell a Friend") is "Contribute"? Notice the large ad for his book on the upper right. That web page is designed to maximize the income from it. Excuse me if I'm skeptical about this guy's sincerity.

[Critters2]

16. That story is misleading. As individuals, ministers cannot be tax exempt.

So, there's nothing to see here. Just a lie from the Washington Times that means nothing. Corporations can be tax exempt. Individuals cannot. This is just to make righties worry that their poor pastor is being persecuted by the big, bad government.

Critters2
minister since 1984
filing tax returns since 1980

[JerseygirlCT]

21. Very good point!

I think we'll find a great deal of the organizing behind any protests came from a small number of Catholics and a much larger number of fundamentalist Protestants. Who apparently were only too happy to step aside when the arrests started.

[Not Me]

4. No, they were arrested for trespassing and disorderly conduct

nt

[ejpoeta]

5. that may be, but they sould more like saints and martyrs if it was because they were catholics.

they don't want to know what i think of them, that's for sure. i was raised with catholic parents and baptized and went to sunday school and catholic school.... personally, i don't think much of most of them. though there were some very sincere priests at school. if they were truly wanting to protest for what they believed, then don't try to make something that it wasn't....

[JDPriestly]

6. The protestors should have been permitted to conduct an orderly

demonstration and given some leeway. People have the right to express their opinions through demonstrations. If we want that right for ourselves, we have to extend it to those with whom we disagree. Extreme retaliation and arrests should be avoided as much as possible.

[cali]

10. it's private property. there is no affirmative right

to protest on private property.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

12. Its the 60s all over again, with the affiliations reversed

Some of us find the irony amusing.

[Critters2]

15. Most of those protesting are not even students.

They have no right to be on private property, at a university with which they have no affiliation.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

19. We had lots of ousiders when I was an undergrad too

Like I said, its mildly ironic and amusing

[JDPriestly]

18. True, but this will be very bad for public relations. The protestors

were not doing any harm.

[frogcycle]

7. "the most anti-life president in history"

these people have absolutely no knowledge of history, no comprehension of those annoying little details called "facts"


this kind of inflammatory rhetoric that pervades the right-wing so-called "press" exposes the whole pack of them for the mindless yammering bigots they are.

The christian religion has been co-opted by this vocal minority as thoroughly as has islam by its extremist splinter groups.

If we could just put ALL of them, from both sides, in the old roman coliseum and let them eliminate each other the world would be a far better place


The "millions of catholics" who came here from Ireland, France, Poland, Spain, etc. weren't persecuted in their all-catholic homelands for being catholic - they were just poor people looking for a chance at a better life they could not get under aristocratic rule (tightly tied to the catholic church) like the American far right wants to impose here


A few historical factoids:

http://www.hopeclinic.com/AbortionHistory.htm

4th Century AD –St.Augustine lays down Catholic dogma sanctioning abortion up to 80 days for female fetus and up to 40 days for male fetus.

13th Century AD -St.Thomas Aquinas states Catholic dogma justifying sexual intercourse only for procreation.

1588 – Pope Sixtus forbids all abortions.
1591 – Pope Gregory XIV rescinds Pope Sixtus’ edict against abortion.

1869 – Pope Pius IX forbids all abortions in exchange for France’s Napoleon III acknowledging papal infallibility. France’s population experienced a sharp decrease over the previous 60 years.

1930 – Pope Pius XI affirms Catholic dogma that every act of sexual intercourse is a sin unless performed with a reproductive intent.

1963 – Pope Paul IV issues encyclical Humanae Vitae condemning artificial birth control.

The salient point being that four centuries after christ, who is not recorded to have ever uttered a comment about abortion one way or the other, the church was ok with it. They have used it as a "wedge issue" to further their own purposes, claiming somehow to speak for "god" with no more proof of their legitimacy in that claim than had the aztec priests who threw virgins into volcanoes or otherwise conducted human sacrifice

Abortion and birth control ban by the catholic church is and always has been political - it was about expanding the population of catholics at the expense of the "infidels" and about mind control over their "flock"


Abortion was a not-uncommon event in this country's early years, not made generally illegal until 1900

http://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/history_abortion.html

http://womenshistory.about.com/od/abortionuslegal/a/abortion.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_abortion

[piratefish08]

8. the right wing suck at protesting. always will. n/t

[Stevenmarc]

9. He wept...... but at a safe distance

[rurallib]

11. I bet he really felt for the Vietnam protestors back in the 60s and 70s

shot at Kent State. Beaten at a hundred other universities. Bet his heart was just torn for those trying to end the carnage in small Asian country.

[Vinca]

13. If you listen to these people you'd think abortion had been outlawed

under Dear Leader and reinstated under Obama. George Bush is directly responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths of living, breathing human beings . . . in addition to all the little embryos he didn't save.

[Critters2]

14. This is pure, partisan bullshit.

W used the death penalty more than any governor in US history, which is also against the Catholic "life ethic". But there was none of this then. Why? Because this is really about partisan politics. Just one more opportunity for Repugs to be pissed off about losing the election.

Every diocese whose bishop has spoken out against the president speaking at Notre Dame should lose its tax exempt status.

[NNN0LHI]

17. I remember back when no politician would say China without mentioning all the priests in jail there

I think when the US surpassed China in the number of priests incarcerated in our jails that policy ended.

Don

[JerseygirlCT]

20. That's mighty Christian of him, isn't it?

The president set a far better, and more "Christian" example, imo.

[rustydog]

22. You saw protesters who were arrested for trespassing

They knew the risk and took it anyway. Free speech takes place on public property trespassing takes place when uninvited persons occupy private property.