Baltimore, Md., Nov 10, 2008 / 14:55 pm
Archbishop of Chicago Francis George, speaking as the President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), on Monday lamented the fact that Catholics cannot be considered “full partners” in public life unless they put aside “fundamental Catholic teachings” on abortion and other beliefs about a “just moral and political order.”
Praising the social advancement that allows a man like Barack Obama to become president, the cardinal said we must pray he succeeds in his task and remember that Catholics “who took our social doctrine to heart” in combating racism can feel vindicated by his accomplishment.
According to the cardinal, Obama was not asked to renounce his racial heritage to become president. He contrasted this with President John F. Kennedy, who effectively “was asked to promise that his Catholic faith would not influence his perspective and decisions as president a generation ago.”
That debate continues, the cardinal claimed, in the words of those who “reject universal moral propositions that have been espoused by the human race throughout history, with the excuse that they are part of Catholic moral teaching.”