More than 40 national Catholic leaders and prominent theologians at universities across the country released a strongly worded open letter today urging “our fellow Catholics Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum to stop perpetuating ugly racial stereotypes on the campaign trail.”

In the lead up to Saturday’s primary in South Carolina, Newt Gingrich has frequently blasted President Obama as a “food stamp president” and implied that some African Americans are more content to collect welfare benefits than work. Rick Santorum attracted scrutiny for telling Iowa voters he doesn’t want “to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money.”

The open letter reminds the two presidential candidates, vying for Christian conservative voters, that U.S. Catholic bishops have called racism an “intrinsic evil” and consistently defend vital government programs such as food stamps and unemployment benefits that help struggling Americans.

The full text of the statement and signatories follow.

An Open Letter to Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum:

As Catholic leaders who recognize that the moral scandals of racism and poverty remain a blemish on the American soul, we challenge our fellow Catholics Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum to stop perpetuating ugly racial stereotypes on the campaign trail. Mr. Gingrich has frequently attacked President Obama as a “food stamp president” and claimed that African Americans are content to collect welfare benefits rather than pursue employment. Campaigning in Iowa, Mr. Santorum remarked: “I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money.” Labeling our nation’s first African-American president with a title that evokes the past myth of “welfare queens” and inflaming other racist caricatures is irresponsible, immoral and unworthy of political leaders.

Some presidential candidates now courting “values voters” seem to have forgotten that defending human life and dignity does not stop with protecting the unborn. We remind Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Santorum that Catholic bishops describe racism as an “intrinsic evil” and consistently defend vital government programs such as food stamps and unemployment benefits that help struggling Americans. At a time when nearly 1 in 6 Americans live in poverty, charities and the free market alone can’t address the urgent needs of our most vulnerable neighbors. And while jobseekers outnumber job openings 4-to-1, suggesting that the unemployed would rather collect benefits than work is misleading and insulting.

As the South Carolina primary approaches, we urge Mr. Gingrich, Mr. Santorum and all presidential candidates to reject the politics of racial division, refrain from offensive rhetoric and unite behind an agenda that promotes racial and economic justice.

Francis X. Doyle
Associate General Secretary
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (retired)

Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Institute Leadership Team:
Sisters Patricia McDermott, RSM (President) Eileen Campbell, RSM Anne Curtis, RSM Mary Pat Gavin, RSM Deborah Troillett, RSM

Sister Pat Farrell, OSF
President
Leadership Conference of Women Religious

Rev. Bryan N. Massingale
Associate Professor of Theology
Marquette University

Rev. Clete Kiley
Director for Immigration Policy
UNITE HERE

Rev. Anthony J. Pogorelc,  M.Div., Ph.D.
The Catholic University of America
Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies

Rev. David Hollenbach, S.J.
University Chair in Human Rights and International Justice
Boston College

Sr. Patricia J. Chappell, SNDdeN
Executive Director, Pax Christi USA

Marie Dennis
Co-President, Pax Christi International

Rev. John F. Kavanaugh S.J.
Professor of Philosophy
St. Louis University

Rev. Jim Keenan, S.J.
Founders Professor in Theology
Boston College

Rev. Thomas J. Reese, S.J.
Senior Fellow
Woodstock Theological Center
Georgetown University

Sister Mary Ellen Howard
Executive Director
Cabrini Clinic, Detroit

Rev. James E. Hug, S.J.
President
Center of Concern

Sister Simone Campbell
Executive Director
NETWORK, A Catholic Social Justice Lobby

Steven Schneck
Director
Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies
The Catholic University of America

Sister Karen M. Donahue, RSM
Justice Team
Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community

Sister Mary Ann Hinsdale
Assoc. Prof. of Theology
Boston College

Tom Allio
Cleveland Diocesan Social Action Director (retired)

M. Shawn Copeland
Associate Professor of Theology
Boston College

Sister Maria Riley, OP
Senior Advisor
Center of Concern

Todd Whitmore
Associate Professor
Department of Theology
University of Notre Dame

Terrence W. Tilley
Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., Professor of Catholic Theology
Chair
Theology Department
Fordham University, Bronx, NY

Michael E. Lee
Associate Professor
Theology Department
Fordham University, Bronx, NY

Paul Lakeland
Aloysius P. Kelley S.J. Professor of Catholic Studies
Director, Center for Catholic Studies Fairfield University

Lisa Sowle Cahill
Monan Professor of Theology
Boston College

Eric LeCompte
Board Member
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good

Tobias Winright
Associate Professor of Theological Ethics
Saint Louis University

Christopher Pramuk
Assistant Professor of Theology
Xavier University, Cincinnati

John Sniegocki
Associate Professor of Christian Ethics
Xavier University, Cincinnati

Kathleen Maas Weigert
Carolyn Farrell, BVM Professor of Women and Leadership
Loyola University, Chicago

Daniel K. Finn
Professor of Theology and Economics
St. John’s University, Minnesota

Gerald J. Beyer
Associate Professor of Christian Social Ethics
Department of Theology and Religious Studies
Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia

Jeannine Hill Fletcher
Associate Professor of Theology
Faculty Director
Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice
Fordham University, Bronx, NY

Sister Mary Ann Hinsdale
Assoc. Prof. of Theology
Boston College

John Inglis
Professor and Chair
Department of Philosophy
University of Dayton

Anthony B. Smith
Associate Professor
Department of Religious Studies
University of Dayton

David O’Brien
University Professor of Faith and Culture
University of Dayton

William L. Portier
Mary Ann Spearin Chair of Catholic Theology
University of Dayton

Alex Mikulich
Research Fellow
Jesuit Social Research Institute
Loyola University, New Orleans

Susan M. Weishar
Migration Specialist
Jesuit Social Research Institute
Loyola University

Kristin Heyer
Associate Professor
Religious Studies
Santa Clara University

James Salt
Executive Director
Catholics United

Vincent Miller
Professor of Religious Studies
University of Dayton

Nancy Dallavalle
Associate Professor and Chair
Department of Religious Studies
Fairfield University

Source: http://www.faithinpubliclife.org

From the BBC:

North Korea has called on the country to defend the new leader, Kim Jong-un, to the death, in a New Year message.

The army, ruling party and people should be prepared to act as “human shields” for the son and successor of Kim Jong-il, the message released by state media said.

It added that the nation must launch an “all-out drive” to achieve prosperity.

Yup.

And then this:

On Friday, he was appointed supreme commander of the country’s 1.2 million-strong armed forces, according to state media.

“Glorify this year 2012 as a year of proud victory, a year when an era of prosperity is unfolding,” the message released by the official Korean Central News Agency said.

Yup. Then there’s that.

Strange beyond strange.

From the BBC

A Swedish woman has discovered her wedding ring on a carrot growing in her garden, 16 years after she lost it, says a newspaper.

Lena Paahlsson had long ago lost hope of finding the ring, which she designed herself, reports Dagens Nyheter.

The white-gold band, set with seven small diamonds, went missing in her kitchen in 1995, she told the paper.

Although the ring no longer fits, she hopes to have it enlarged so she can wear it again.

Francis Cardinal George, winner of the first-annual Turning Left Rainbow Flag Award.

Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George easily won Turning Left’s first-annual Rainbow Flag award after comparing — and then defending his remarks regarding – the city’s gay pride parade to a rally of the Ku Klux Klan.

Yes, the KKK.

Honestly, what was this man thinking?

Some gay rights activists in Chicago asked the Cardinal to apologize for his remarks, calling his remarks “hurtful,” “brazen” and “bigoted.”

But George, always one to hold steadfast to his conclusions, refused.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Linking the KKK to gay rights activism led to criticism of the cardinal. On Tuesday, he issued a statement on the Archdiocese of Chicago web site defending his comments.

“The Chicago Gay Pride Parade has been organized and attended for many years without interfering with the worship of God in a Catholic church,” the cardinal’s statement said. “When the 2012 Parade organizers announced a time and route change this year, it was apparent that the Parade would interfere with divine worship in a Catholic parish on the new route.

“When the pastor’s request for reconsideration of the plans was ignored, the organizers invited an obvious comparison to other groups who have historically attempted to stifle the religious freedom of the Catholic Church. One such organization is the Ku Klux Klan which, well into the 1940’s, paraded through American cities not only to interfere with Catholic worship but also to demonstrate that Catholics stand outside of the American consensus. It is not a precedent anyone should want to emulate.”

How can the Cardinal possibly miss the fact that this really was not about him, or any “Catholic parish on the new route”?

Why would he possibly think that this change completely revolved around the Catholic Church, and the mass schedule of one parish?

Worst of all, the Cardinal lumped all parade participants in the same category with the KKK.  He did not distinguish.  The insult was to all of our GLBTQ brothers and sisters.

The change of time for the parade, believe it or not, was actually initiated to keep inebriated people from sullying the streets of Chicago. Thanks to your efforts, the parade will now launch at Noon, and the drinking will continue.

Here’s the rub:

Alderman Tom Tunney (44th Ward) and organizer Richard Pfeiffer meet with church representatives last week to discuss the parish’s concerns about the route and proposed start time of 10 a.m., which is one hour before the church’s morning mass.

As Chicago’s first openly gay alderman and a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Tunney was caught in the middle.

Now parade organizers say the 2012 parade will be pushed back to Noon – the previous start time – to help accommodate Sunday services along the parade route.

“After consulting with the various City departments, we believe this is an agreeable compromise to help keep the parade safe and manageable while respecting the diversity of our neighborhood,” Tunney and Pfeiffer said in a joint statement.

Congratulations to FRANCIS CARDINAL GEORGE, winner of Turning Left’s first-ever annual Rainbow Flag Award!

Christa Dias, a former teacher at Holy Family and St. Lawrence Catholic schools in Cincinnati, Ohio, claims she was fired for becoming pregnant using artificial insemination.

Ms Dias was fired in October 2010 when, at five and a half months pregnant, she approached her employer about maternity leave options.

And this is truly despicable:

The schools initially fired Ms Dias, 32, for being single and pregnant, Cincinnati.com reports. 

When the schools discovered that violated several federal and state anti-discrimination laws, they said she was fired because she became pregnant using artificial insemination.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

And Cardinal George in Chicago defends likening the Gay Pride Parade to a Ku Klux Klan rally.

How sad for him.

How saw for Catholics everywhere.

If there were any doubts that Fox’s reign of offense extended beyond English speaking borders, may they now be laid to rest.

In a Fox Latin America Facebook poll promoting a National Geographic Christmas special, they asked:

Who Do You Think Is Responsible For The Death of Christ?

A. Pontius Pilate
B. Jewish People
C. High Priests

More from AddictingInfo.

Ron Paul with white Supremacists Don and Derek Black

Ron Paul says he “wouldn’t be happy” with support from the white supremacists, survivalists and anti-Zionists who have rallied to his support, but he will not disavow their support, saying, “They’re endorsing what I do or say — it has nothing to do with endorsing what they say.”

So Ron Paul will accept support from Neo-Nazis. He simply won’t endorse anthing they say, except, of course, that, for whatever reason, they support Ron Paul.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

The American Free Press, which markets books such as “The Invention of the Jewish People” and “March of the Titans: A History of the White Race,” is urging its subscribers to help it send hundreds of copies of Ron Paul’s collected speeches to voters in New Hampshire. The book, it promises, will “Help Dr. Ron Paul Win the GOP Nomination in 2012!”

Don Black, the director of the white nationalist website Stormfront, said in an interview that dozens of his members were volunteering for Mr. Paul’s campaign, and a site forum titled “Why is Ron Paul such a favorite here?” has no fewer than 24 pages of comments.

“I understand he wins many fans because his monetary policy would hurt Jews,” read one. Far right groups like the Militia of Montana say they are rooting for him as a stalwart against government tyranny.

If Notre Dame will permit this kind of thing to take place on campus, can official recognition of the University’s gay groups Outreach and GALA be far behind?

Let’s go, Irish!

In a surprise move, the nation’s health secretary stopped the Plan B morning-after pill from moving onto drugstore shelves next to the condoms, deciding Wednesday that young girls shouldn’t be able to buy it on their own.

The Food and Drug Administration was preparing to lift a controversial age limit and make Plan B One-Step the nation’s first over-the-counter emergency contraceptive, available for purchase by people of any age without a prescription.

But Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius intervened at the eleventh hour and overruled her own experts.

Plan B instead will remain behind the pharmacy counter, as it is sold today — available without a prescription only for those 17 and older who show an ID proving their age.

That this comes from this sometimes-perplexing Democratic administration is one thing. That the move comes in direct opposition to the administration’s own experts baffles me.

Thanksgiving.

Enjoy.

I really don’t care for Chicago politics. Let me start with that disclaimer.

I don’t understand how there are churches in the Chicagoland area that can be so overtly political, while others work overtime to keep the pols out of the pulpit.

I don’t understand how Carol Moseley Braun can vanish so completely from the public eye affter leaving office, and then return only to be christened in a church as the leading black candidate for mayor in Chicago.

Don’t get me wrong. I supported Moseley Braun when she ran for the United States Senate. Even joined her and Senator Durbin for a morning gathering of coffee and rolls with others from Illinois.

That was more theater than substance.

And that is pretty much my impression of Carol Moseley Braun: more theater than substance.

I will watch the mayoral drama unfold from 30-and-some-odd miles south of the Loop.

No desire to be a part of it.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

NPR has fired longtime news analyst Juan Williams, also a commentator on the Fox News Channel, after he told Bill O’Reilly that he gets nervous when he sees people in Muslim garb on an airplane. Sarah Palin has called for NPR to lose its federal funding over Williams’ firing.

In a statement late Wednesday, National Public Radio said it was terminating Williams’ contract as a senior news analyst over his comments on Fox’s "The O’Reilly Factor."

NPR executives had previously complained about his remarks on Fox and asked him to stop using the NPR name when he appeared on O’Reilly’s show.

The latest comments came Monday, when O’Reilly brought on guests to discuss his own appearance last week on ABC’s "The View," during which Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg walked off the set to protest his views on Muslims.

"Where am I going wrong here, Juan?" O’Reilly asked.

Williams, 56, responded that too much political correctness can get in the way of reality.

"I mean, look, Bill, I’m not a bigot. You know the kind of books I’ve written about the civil rights movement in this country," Williams said. "But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous."

He went on to say that not everyone in a religious group — Christian or Muslim — should be lumped together with extremists.

In statement on her Facebook page, Sarah Palin called for NPR to lose its federal funding over the incident.

Sarah Palin, the Pol Who Quit, campaigns from Facebook.

God Bless America.

One of the things that I most admired about President Bush was after 9/11, him being crystal-clear about the fact that we were not at war with Islam.  We were at war with terrorists and murderers who had perverted Islam, had stolen its banner to carry out their outrageous acts.  And I was so proud of the country rallying around that idea, that notion that we are not going to be divided by religion; we’re not going to be divided by ethnicity.  We are all Americans.  We stand together against those who would try to do us harm.

And that’s what we’ve done over the last nine years.  And we should take great pride in that.  And I think it is absolutely important now for the overwhelming majority of the American people to hang on to that thing that is best in us, a belief in religious tolerance, clarity about who our enemies are — our enemies are al Qaeda and their allies who are trying to kill us, but have killed more Muslims than just about anybody on Earth.  We have to make sure that we don’t start turning on each other.

And I will do everything that I can as long as I am President of the United States to remind the American people that we are one nation under God, and we may call that God different names but we remain one nation.  And as somebody who relies heavily on my Christian faith in my job, I understand the passions that religious faith can raise.  But I’m also respectful that people of different faiths can practice their religion, even if they don’t subscribe to the exact same notions that I do, and that they are still good people, and they are my neighbors and they are my friends, and they are fighting alongside us in our battles.

And I want to make sure that this country retains that sense of purpose.  And I think tomorrow is a wonderful day for us to remind ourselves of that.

I support President Barack Obama, and wish to thank him and President Bush for remaining clear and consistent on that matter.

What follows is a summary of the lecture by Kathy Kelly, and additional perspective by Ostenburg, including the following:

While I agree with Ms. Kelly in principle, that the sincere and consistent efforts of even a handful eventually can reap genuine rewards, I also am inclined to believe that it is extremely difficult to control the behaviors of any individuals — or even nations – who have hatred in their hearts. Turning the cheek is a personal act that any one of us can take (I might even say, should take), but those charged with the responsibility of protecting the public at large face additional responsibilities that reach beyond that. As Christians, Ms. Kelly and her compatriots do well to imitate the actions of Jesus Christ in how he showed love for those who extended ill toward him; however, even Jesus took up the whip to expel the money-changers in the Temple because of the social ill they were spreading.

As such, I find it difficult to accept that absolute pacifism is enough to effect the kind of change that Ms. Kelly would like to see. Lest we forget, law enforcement also was a necessary component of the changes that ultimately brought major controls on racial hatred in the 1960s and 1970s. People had to be arrested, sentenced, and sent to jail; federal officers often had to engage in strong tactics in order to bring the wrongdoers to their knees. And — even with all the combined efforts of peaceful protest and effective law enforcement — things today are far from perfect and the ugly head of racism still rises all too often and spews its hateful venom.

So, from my perspective, it is legitimate for the U.S. to seek to curtail hateful acts by Al-Qaeda and/or the Taliban. But I also believe the methods we employ in our efforts at self-protection must likewise be legitimate.

An explanation of the Catholic Church’s Just War Theory follows.

What strikes me as fascinating in all of this is this line from Ostenburg’s post, "Even Jesus took up the whip to expel the money-changers in the Temple because of the social ill they were spreading."

Yes, He did. And I never thought about that in connection to warfare.

Read this post in full, and ask yourself, is America, polarized as it is today, ready for a truly nuanced discussion of war — and peace?

Anyone who thinks alcohol is not a crisis issue with our young people has their head up their a$$.

No kidding.

From ENEWSPF:

>I have no sympathy for young, self-entitled adults extending their adolescence with alleged illegal behavior, particularly when it comes to alcohol. I would never argue for prohibition, but regulation is important. Notre Dame undergraduates, like those at many other colleges and universities, don’t deal well with alcohol and often act stupidly.

The article then quotes from Notre Dame’s Observer. We will quote more extensively here than the original article at ENEWSPF did:

The second major police raid last weekend resulted in a broken-down door, landed a police officer in the hospital and brought the total number of alcohol-related arrests since students returned to school to nearly 60.

The incident, in which students reportedly refused to open the door and one person punched and kicked an officer while resisting arrest, sent 35 people to jail.

The recent trend to arrest — rather than cite — students for underage drinking has caught the attention of both students and the University.

University spokesman Dennis Brown said the administration is working to address the issue.

“We clearly don’t condone underage drinking or gatherings that infringe on the rights of others,” Brown said. “At the same time, the welfare of our students is our highest priority.

“We have concerns about the handling of some recent incidents that we are actively addressing through appropriate channels.”

Indiana State Excise Police busted a party on Turtle Creek Drive Sunday morning and arrested 32 people for minor consuming alcohol, one person for public intoxication and one person for furnishing alcohol to minors.

One person was also arrested for resisting law enforcement, battery to a police officer, disorderly conduct and minor consuming alcohol.

Tim Cleveland, excise police commander for the district, said many of those arrested were Notre Dame students, but he could not confirm that all were students.

The excise police were in the area of the party because South Bend police asked them to check a location of another party. When officers arrived, the party they had been called for was not occurring, but they discovered the party on Turtle Creek Drive, Cleveland said.

“They stumbled across the one at Turtle Creek,” he said.

Meanwhile, South Bend police received a call for trespassing at the same party.

“There were individuals who were climbing the fence to gain access to the pool, which was closed,” Cleveland said.

South Bend and excise police officers were denied access to the apartment and waited for two hours to obtain a search warrant. Once the warrant was obtained, the residents continued to deny officers entry and South Bend police broke down the door. (Emphasis added)

Cleveland said officers decided to arrest rather than issue citations for underage drinking because of the resistance they encountered.

“They still didn’t open the door even though they knew we had a search warrant,” he said. “Then when we did gain access into the residence, people were hiding in closets and everywhere else that they could find.”

A police officer was injured when one person resisted arrest. He spent most of Sunday at South Bend Memorial Hospital.

Personally, I have no patience with people who behave as idiots, and even less when their behavior results in the injury of a police officer.

These children have a lot of learning ahead of them.

Yes they do.

Notre Dame officials seem to be considering PR, and nothing else.

ND would be wise to issue a simple statement, "We support the efforts of law enforcement officers to keep the peace, and we do not support students who break the law."