Obama
at prayer: As Washington's Protestant Churches vie to
make him a member, many members of the Catholic Church -
particularly at Notre Dame, avail him for his stance on abortion.
Le Monde, France
U.S. Churches Bid for - and Squabble Over - Mr. Obama
"Every
Sunday, full of hope, Washington's parishioners wait. Will he come? Barack
Obama hasn't yet chosen a church. … In Obama's case, the choice is even more
delicate because of the divisions between communities. Black
church? White? Mixed? ... Meanwhile, traditionalists reproach Obama for reestablishing U.S. subsidies for family planning and with authorizing federal support for stem cell research."
By Corine Lesnes
Translated By
McKenzie Zeiss
May 13, 2009
France
- Le Monde - Original Article (French)
Every
Sunday, full of hope, Washington's parishioners wait. Will he come? Barack
Obama hasn't yet chosen a church. He let Easter go by, and then his first hundred
days, without showing a preference. Like Harry Truman, Jimmy Carter went to First
Baptist [photo, right]. Bill Clinton went to the Foundry United Methodist Church two kilometers
from the White House. The Obama family was once seen at the Baptist Church on
19th St., and twice at the St. John Episcopalian Church. But the Obamas haven't yet announced their choice.
Finding a church in the
United States is a complicated affair (to say nothing of mixed couples, such as
Pentecostal-Presbyterian, Lutheran-Unitarian, etc., who are forced to make
drastic decisions at the moment of marriage). The possibilities are infinite. On
Washington's 16th St. alone, also known as "Church
Row," there are fifty houses of worship, including a monumental Masonic temple [photo, above left] guarded by
two sphinxes and modeled after the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
[built between 353 and 350 BC].
In Barack Obama's case, the
choice is even more delicate because of the divisions between communities. Black church? White? Mixed? When he
renounced his congregation in 2008 following the controversy over his pastor Reverend
Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama promised to wait until the election was over to
choose a new parish.
Since January 20, invitations have been piling up. Here, the first
Black congregation (First Baptist
Church Georgetown, photo, right), founded by a former slave, where he recalled
that, "there's nothing like a Black church to make you feel at home
[translated quote]." There they have a mixed community, which would go
better with his "post-racial" message. For the local churches, it
will be a consecration. "The international press is even interested in the
dog the Obamas chose, so imagine the church!"
said a pastor to the Washington Post.
For a president who prides himself on his pragmatism, St. John's [photo, left] would be the
ideal choice. It's a "safe
bet," as the Post says. Since James Madison, it has been known
as the "Church of the Presidents," and pew 54 is reserved for them. Drawback:
The Episcopalian rite isn't the most joyous. Little outward emotion is shown. During
the second mass, Sasha was yawning already (whereas at the Baptist church, she
stood up from her seat so she could see the children's choir!)
While
waiting to find a place more likely to satisfy everyone, Barack Obama will be
among Catholics on Sunday, May 17, at Notre Dame, the Catholic
university in Indiana. Founded in 1842, Notre Dame is an institution. It has
one of the best college football teams in the country and one of the best
collections of 19th century stained glass in the world. It also has its own Grotto of Lourdes,
where students can light candles before their exams.
This
year, the president of the university, Father John Jenkins, invited President
Obama to give the traditional commencement speech [watch President Obama's address to Notre Dame]. Since then, petitions have
given way to hostile demonstrations against "the most radical,
pro-abortion" president there has ever been, according to Republican Newt
Gingrich - who recently converted to Catholicism. Three hundred sixty thousand
people have signed a petition declaring that by inviting Barack Obama, Notre
Dame has chosen "popularity over morality." In the skies over the
university, a small aircraft circles pulling a banner: a picture of a bloody
fetus. Notre Dame has become a symbol of the divisions within American
Catholicism.
A protest truck at Notre Dame, May 8.
The
traditionalists reproach Barack Obama for having reestablished American
subsidies for family planning overseas, and with having authorized federal support
for stem cell research. Seniors planned to boycott his address and withdraw to
the Grotto: "We cannot sit idly by while the university
honors someone who believes that an entire class of human beings is undeserving
of the most basic of all legal rights, the right to live."
The insurrection would be
just an anecdote if it hadn't attracted dignitaries. Seventy bishops have taken
a position against the Notre Dame initiative, including Cardinal Francis
George, the archbishop of Obama's hometown of Chicago. The religious base their
position on the text of the 2004 Bishops'
Conference on Catholics in Political Life, which stipulates that Catholic
institutions not give medals or platforms to those who act in contradiction to
the "fundamental moral principles" of the Church. The result: fifty
two percent of Americans now think Notre Dame shouldn't have invited the
president, compared to 60 percent of Catholics (even though he received 54
percent of the Catholic vote in November).
Paradoxically, Barack Obama's
defense has come from the Vatican. In a carefully written article, the Osservatore Romano noted that the new
president had certainly lifted the interdiction against stem cell research, but
he has put conditions on it. In the same manner, he has re-centered the
Democratic position on abortion. In short, "fears of a radical change have
not been confirmed."
Now all that remains is
to convince the bishops …
CLICK HERE FOR FRENCH
VERSION
[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US May 15, 8:35pm]
