Cafeteria Catholic
Today is the Seventh Anniversary of this blog. I had thought about taking the day off and just posting a birthday cake, but I've found a story (thanks to Gomez, a fellow Atriot) that is just too damned much fun to delay, even by one day.
Rick Santorum is having himself a real ball right now, running his mouth as the "front runner" in the GOP nomination battle. Besides taking a few potshots at his closest competitor, Mitt Romney, he's issued a couple of guided missiles in President Obama's direction. One of his recent attacks was on the president's religious beliefs, which he quickly back-tracked from when confronted on national television, and claimed that he just disagreed with the president's misguided "theology."
From the Los Angeles Times:
"I accept the fact that the president's a Christian," he said. "I just said that when you have a worldview that elevates the Earth above man, and says that, you know, we can't take those resources because we're going to harm the Earth by things that frankly are just not scientifically proven, like for example that politicization of the whole global warming debate, this is just all an attempt to centralize power, to give more power to the government."
Little Ricky was appalled that Obama would put animals and plants ahead of humans when it comes to the environment. After all, that would contradict scripture, not to mention the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.
Or does it?
What Santorum was obviously referring to was a statement made by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007:
The German-born Pontiff said that while some concerns may be valid it was vital that the international community based its policies on science rather than the dogma of the environmentalist movement. ...
The 80-year-old Pope said the world needed to care for the environment but not to the point where the welfare of animals and plants was given a greater priority than that of mankind.
Policies based on science, eh? Little Ricky doesn't think there's any science behind climate change assertions. The Vatican, however, didn't let things rest there. A scientific commission was called within the Vatican and invited scientists issued a report. The Pope's position has changed a bit since that report was received. In May, 2011, the Vatican issued a statement from the Pope:
In a statement on the Vatican website, Pope Benedict XVI made a bold “call to action” for “all people in all nations.”
"We are committed to ensuring that all inhabitants of this planet receive their daily bread, fresh air to breathe and clean water to drink, as we are aware that, if we want justice and peace, we must protect the habitat that sustains us. The believers among us ask God to grant us this wish." [Emphasis added]
Then, in November, 2011 as nations met on extending the Kyoto agreement, the Pope had more to say:
“I hope that all members of the international community agree on a responsible and credible response to this worrisome and complex phenomenon, taking into account the needs of the poorest and future generations,” he said during his traditional Sunday blessing from his studio overlooking St. Peter’s Square this week.
Benedict denounced the failure of world leaders to agree to a successor treaty to Kyoto during a 2009 U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen. He said then that world peace depends on safeguarding God’s creation. [Emphasis added]
It looks to me like the Pope has moved from his original position in 2007 based on the science that Santorum refuses to acknowledge. Santorum, however, doesn't seem to care. People who cherry-pick the tenets they will follow and those they will ignore are called "cafeteria Catholics." In this case, it looks like Little Ricky is being a "capitalist cafeteria Catholic." He will follow the dictates of his faith as long as they don't interfere with his drive to be president.
Shame on him.
So, it's been, for the most part, a fun seven years doing this blogging thing. If you've enjoyed the ride and you've a mind to, don't hesitate dropping a few coins in the PayPal tip jar up top at the right. Donations are always welcome.
And thanks for the company.
Rick Santorum is having himself a real ball right now, running his mouth as the "front runner" in the GOP nomination battle. Besides taking a few potshots at his closest competitor, Mitt Romney, he's issued a couple of guided missiles in President Obama's direction. One of his recent attacks was on the president's religious beliefs, which he quickly back-tracked from when confronted on national television, and claimed that he just disagreed with the president's misguided "theology."
From the Los Angeles Times:
"I accept the fact that the president's a Christian," he said. "I just said that when you have a worldview that elevates the Earth above man, and says that, you know, we can't take those resources because we're going to harm the Earth by things that frankly are just not scientifically proven, like for example that politicization of the whole global warming debate, this is just all an attempt to centralize power, to give more power to the government."
Little Ricky was appalled that Obama would put animals and plants ahead of humans when it comes to the environment. After all, that would contradict scripture, not to mention the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.
Or does it?
What Santorum was obviously referring to was a statement made by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007:
The German-born Pontiff said that while some concerns may be valid it was vital that the international community based its policies on science rather than the dogma of the environmentalist movement. ...
The 80-year-old Pope said the world needed to care for the environment but not to the point where the welfare of animals and plants was given a greater priority than that of mankind.
Policies based on science, eh? Little Ricky doesn't think there's any science behind climate change assertions. The Vatican, however, didn't let things rest there. A scientific commission was called within the Vatican and invited scientists issued a report. The Pope's position has changed a bit since that report was received. In May, 2011, the Vatican issued a statement from the Pope:
In a statement on the Vatican website, Pope Benedict XVI made a bold “call to action” for “all people in all nations.”
"We are committed to ensuring that all inhabitants of this planet receive their daily bread, fresh air to breathe and clean water to drink, as we are aware that, if we want justice and peace, we must protect the habitat that sustains us. The believers among us ask God to grant us this wish." [Emphasis added]
Then, in November, 2011 as nations met on extending the Kyoto agreement, the Pope had more to say:
“I hope that all members of the international community agree on a responsible and credible response to this worrisome and complex phenomenon, taking into account the needs of the poorest and future generations,” he said during his traditional Sunday blessing from his studio overlooking St. Peter’s Square this week.
Benedict denounced the failure of world leaders to agree to a successor treaty to Kyoto during a 2009 U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen. He said then that world peace depends on safeguarding God’s creation. [Emphasis added]
It looks to me like the Pope has moved from his original position in 2007 based on the science that Santorum refuses to acknowledge. Santorum, however, doesn't seem to care. People who cherry-pick the tenets they will follow and those they will ignore are called "cafeteria Catholics." In this case, it looks like Little Ricky is being a "capitalist cafeteria Catholic." He will follow the dictates of his faith as long as they don't interfere with his drive to be president.
Shame on him.
So, it's been, for the most part, a fun seven years doing this blogging thing. If you've enjoyed the ride and you've a mind to, don't hesitate dropping a few coins in the PayPal tip jar up top at the right. Donations are always welcome.
And thanks for the company.
Labels: Election 2012, Global Warming, Republican Lying
posted by Diane at 3:00 AM
3 Comments:
PurpleGirl:
I have a strong feeling that the environmental damage deniers are waiting for God to just refill the pools of oil, gas, and coal. Maybe eve rebuild the mountains that coal extraction have destroyed. I guess, that also goes for diamonds, minerals, gem and metals mining. All new deposits of everything... in a flash of light.
The stupid, it burns.
Heh.
The fact that your theory is plausible just chills me through and through.
Um.
I hate to tell you this.
The 'wingers believe that God constantly refills the world's oil supply. Here's a classic example:
You don’t have to drill deep into our political discourse to find suspect stories about oil, with politicians peddling the flagrantly false notion that China is producing oil off the coast of Florida, while right-wing activist Jerome Corsi claims oil is not a fossil fuel but “a natural product the Earth generates constantly.”
This "theory" was so widely disseminated that I can't believe it wasn't discussed on Limbaugh. I can't find a quote, but here's some typical Limbaugh:
So what it boils down to here is there's not a shortage of oil. There's so much out there, it's incredible. There's a shortage of production...
Yes, the asylum is in the hands of the lunatics.
________________
BTW, you're anti-robot defense is very effectively preventing me from posting. It generally takes six or seven tries, and I can't use my normal Wordpress login.
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