Cardinal Stafford Speaks His Mind at CUA

Cardinal Stafford said Catholics must deal with the "hot, angry tears of betrayal" by beginning a new sentiment where one is "with Jesus, sick because of love."

WASHINGTON, D.C.(Inside Catholic) - Cardinal Stafford was the Archbishop of Denver before Archbishop Chaput. He was in the Vatican for many years and is now the Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary for the Tribunal of the Holy See. Last Thursday night he spoke at Catholic University of America.

I'm amazed his speech has not made the headlines, but then, give it time.

I have been told that most of the Vatican curia were hoping Obama would be elected. Well, Cardinal Stafford is definitely not one of them.

"For the next few years, Gethsemane will not be marginal. We will know that garden," Stafford said, comparing America's future with Obama as president to Jesus' agony in the garden. "On November 4, 2008, America suffered a cultural earthquake."

Cardinal Stafford said Catholics must deal with the "hot, angry tears of betrayal" by beginning a new sentiment where one is "with Jesus, sick because of love."

I've interviewed Stafford before -- he is a man who speaks his mind, always. Some of what he said to me, I didn't put in print, to protect him from a media backlash.

Again quoting from the very fine article in the Catholic University newspaper:

"If 1968 was the year of America's 'suicide attempt,' 2008 is the year of America's exhaustion," said Stafford, an American Cardinal and Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary for the Tribunal of the Holy See. "In the intervening 40 years since Humanae Vitae, the United States has been thrown upon ruins."

This destruction and America's decline is, in part, due to the Supreme Court's decisions in the life-issue cases of 1973, specifically Roe v. Wade. Stafford asserted these cases undermined respect for human life in the United States.

"Its scrupulous meanness has had catastrophic effects upon the unity and integrity of the American republic," said Stafford.

It's nice to know that there is someone other than Archbishop Burke [corrected] in the Vatican who understands the reaction of many American Catholics to the election.

Stafford pointed, as have many others, to the continued importance of Humanae Vitae in understanding the tide of contemporary culture:

Humanae Vitae ("On Human Life") reaffirms traditional Catholic teachings regarding abortion, contraception, and other human life issues. Pope Benedict XVI said in May it is "so controversial, yet so crucial for humanity's future...What was true yesterday is true also today."

The article in the CUA paper has a nicely edited video of the Cardinal's address.

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Congratulations to Catholic University, its president, Fr. David O'Connell, the JP II Institute for Marriage and Family, and all concerned for hosting Stafford's lecture.

I'm sorry I missed it.

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