It’s impossible to tell how much influence these figures have, but it’s an interesting group:
Near the end of a bumpy first year in office, President Obama readied for a Christmas vacation in Hawaii, but before he left, he called on a group of five ministers for a spiritual recharge.Like previous prayer calls, this one was more personal than political.
“He certainly does not ask us how we would run the country and what issue to pursue or not pursue,” said Bishop Charles Blake of the Los Angeles-based Church of God in Christ, who was on the phone last December.
For 10 minutes, the president and the pastors prayed for peace, an economic recovery, protection for U.S. soldiers, and for Obama to be guided by a wisdom and power beyond himself.
Glimpses into Obama’s spiritual life have been rare since he became president. He split with his longtime Chicago pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, after the fiery minister nearly derailed Obama’s campaign, and has not joined a church in Washington.
“Having been burned, for lack of a better word, during the campaign and early days of his administration, I would not be surprised that he would be rather discreet about any revelations of his religious life,” Blake said.
Still, Obama continues to champion the role of faith in public life, frequently summoning the spirits of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr and even St. Thomas Aquinas to frame his policies in moral terms.
Like previous presidents, he regularly seeks the counsel of longtime Washington insiders, including Sojourners founder Jim Wallis, Reform Rabbi David Saperstein and retired Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, to shape decisions about the Iraq war, health care reform and the economy.
But Obama has also turned to a group of fresh — and relatively unfamiliar — faces to manage religious issues in his administration. They are recalibrating America’s engagement with Muslims, revamping the White House faith-based office and tending to the president’s own soul. A year into Obama’s presidency, each of the following seven people has become an essential member of what might be called his “spiritual cabinet.”
Read on for more about this group.
posted March 10, 2010 at 5:02 pm
I wonder who inspires his agenda of murdering innocent children?
posted March 10, 2010 at 5:29 pm
It appears President Obama gets good progressive Catholic advice. His Excellency Cardinal McCarrick also signed the Landolakes resolution (which started the secularization of Catholic Higher Education), and feels uncomfortable denying comunion to pro-abortion politicians.
posted March 10, 2010 at 8:31 pm
Do da, do da, do da day! Oh do dA day!
posted March 10, 2010 at 8:50 pm
If I ever needed evidence that conservative Catholics are indecent, the commenters here provide it.
posted March 10, 2010 at 9:04 pm
Mike,
Get over it. And stop judging people by some silly, anonymous comments on a blog. Please tell me you’re a bigger person than that.
posted March 10, 2010 at 9:57 pm
Another Mike: “And stop judging people by some silly, anonymous comments on a blog.”
How else are we to judge them if not by their anonymous postings? Are we to give them the same benefit of the doubt that they give others in their postings?
posted March 11, 2010 at 10:02 am
After living with Obama for over a year and expierencing his half lies and BS……. why would one believe he is a man of God and listens to Catholics. He suports government led abortions…. Your article is more fantasy than reality!
posted March 11, 2010 at 3:27 pm
Wow! What a silly article. This man is not a Christian…not even if he plays one on TV. Plus, hanging out with liberal cardinal does not prove anything to faithful Christians except to solidify the view that the Catholic Church and Obama and his Dems are in cahoots.
posted March 11, 2010 at 8:10 pm
Gee, Mike, it sounds like you were already made up about your judgments against “conservative Catholics.” So much for the self-congratulatory “judge-not” defense with which so many co-religionists choose to wrap up self and practice self-lobotomy at unpleasant realities. So I hope you’ll realize it would be rather hypocritical of yourself to judge me adversely.
Getting to the facts, which were almost completely obscured here
(a talent almost genetic to the excellent Mr Obama) — the Obama healthcare bill which Cardinal McCarrick supports will enable the liquidation of thousands, nay hundreds of thousands of children in the womb; the active euthanasia of costly elderly and disabled, like
my autistic and obviously worthless brother; and remove the autonomy and control of the individual from their decision-making, because the government will inevitably decide the cost of treatment and service and maintenance. Mike, and others, doesnt it seem a high cost to take away so much free will (if you are a Catholic; it is one of the Imago Dei identities of the created left by the Creator) for such a cause?
Oh, nay again: these facts must go unanalysed: we are being
“indecent”.
The ‘fruits of Vatican II’ show clearly a full-fledged Marxist-socialist utopianism (“worker’s paradise”, remember?) shared by Obama, McCarrick, and so many of the NCCB as though such a political philosophy had any coherence with Catholic belief and teaching.
It is a hallmark of Marxist-communist-socialism as a political system that it arrogates seizes control of private property, capital, and persons and centralizes power in a politburo-type central government.
When that philosophy is shared by the shepherds of the Church, then
truly, “the smoke of Satan has invaded the Church, even unto its
altars.” [Caution, Mike: that was Pope Paul VI being indecent, too,
in a rare conservative-Catholic like moment for him.]
posted March 12, 2010 at 12:54 am
This article is so politically myopoic. It appears Deacon Greg has recieved orders to call everyone to the main pavillion and drink the kool-ade. Taste great, can’t wait! We’ll all be joining Barrack Obama and Jim Jones’ at the mothership singing “Kumbaya” as we’re marched single file into social utopian nihilsm. I want to barf. Dan Rather has a bette chance of selling watermellon on the side of the rooad with the Obama patrol stopping traffic.
posted March 12, 2010 at 8:05 am
Rubbish!
posted March 12, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Thank you for attempting to show that President Obama is not the Devil incarnate. Nor is Cardinal McCarrick. The vitriol shown in the above responses against Vatican II and those named in the “spiritual cabinet” is unworthy of the name Christian, not to mention their lies about the health bill.Read it, People!!!! #1150-1190!!!
posted March 13, 2010 at 1:06 am
sorry greg, while i have enjoyed some of your blogs in the past, you missed the mark gravely here. love you still though, brother, and i’ll pray for whatever has you too preoccupied to see the truth here. God bless, and thanks for your vocation.
posted March 14, 2010 at 12:18 am
Even so, it is amazing that I have never been able to get Obama supporters (as in the above threads) to answer the facts of Obama and his deeply Marxist-socialist political philosophy (which he repeatedly underscores in his own autobiography),and the love-affair so many US Bishops have with him and his system, a system which is inimicable to Catholic belief and teaching. A central healthcare system destroying the autonomy and free will of the individual is quintessentially Marxist.
Also, it was in fact a hallmark of some of the proponents of the Vatican II (esp. John XXIII as nuncio in France, where he tried to somehow justify the “worker-priest movement” he co-authored there, which was a disaster for French diocesan priesthood) that an “accomodation” with Marxism and Catholicism could
somehow be achieved. Those efforts at rapprochement were repeatedly corrected by John Paul II, even as he otherwise supported the internally contradictory pronouncements of Vatican II.
Now I have laid out some assertions here which are well-buttressed by easily obtainable facts. Can any of the Obama-McCarrick types
answer the facts? Or will they regress to the vague claims of
“indecent” comments or “vitriol”. (I think vitriol is defined
as any unpleasant facts by the loyal left.)
posted March 14, 2010 at 10:00 am
“Still, Obama continues to champion the role of faith in public life, frequently summoning the spirits of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr and even St. Thomas Aquinas to frame his policies in moral terms.”
He’s summoning spirits? And “framing” HIS policies isn’t quite the same thing as seeking guidance from Our Lord in forming policy which reflects the will of God as revealed in our day. We do believe that God’s will is discernible and it doesn’t contradict Scripture nor the teachings of the Magisterium. Obama’s faith seems to be in his own policies and he is willing to lie and manipulate to get us to buy them…sorry…for me it seems he is summoning the wrong spirits.
posted May 23, 2010 at 6:56 am
The Catholic Church hates the sin of abortion but always loves the sinner. I am shocked that my comment “rubbish” which was intended for Catholics has been taken out of context and given top billing on this blog. “Rubbish” refers to consulting with Christian leaders “who would tolerate the sin of abortion.” The function of the Church is to enlighten the world not lead it deeper into sin. Unfortunately not all so called Catholics “walk the walk, or talk the talk.” I actually thought this was a Catholic Blog. I was linked here by another so called Catholic website with no warning that this is not a Catholic Blog for Catholics. I apologize anyone who thus misunderstood my comment. I think it is laudable whenever a political leader consults with religious leaders. On the issue of abortion as a Catholic I wish President Obama would read the book the Pope gave him on his visit to Rome and cut out some of the errant middlemen.
posted May 23, 2010 at 9:14 am
Warning all Catholic commenters! Anything you say on this Blog can and will show up on Google and Yahoo and not in context or ina complimentary form! This is not restricted to Catholic Readers who will be able to interpret your comments in an informed and loving way. Notice how almost noone making comments use their real names. Do not use your real name! You may regret it!
posted August 2, 2010 at 7:39 pm
Was Obama born in Hawaii? Yes.
Is he a Muslim? No.
Is he an arrogant, preening narcissist who’s in way over his head? Yes.
Those are my poll numbers.
posted September 30, 2010 at 7:38 am
but it is still not the right for the church to intervene with the government.
they have no right to intervene with politics,
posted November 13, 2010 at 11:31 am
We all know that even do church have there own law.. hope they will just gonna respect one another for having different rules…
posted November 13, 2010 at 12:42 pm
abortion is always the main issue.. government already did help my implementing the safe sex method but still the church dint agreed on this kinda of method..
posted November 13, 2010 at 1:31 pm
This topic is very important and should be expose much… so many comment and share some different idea of resolve this issue..
posted February 14, 2011 at 9:28 pm
Nice thing that our president is a God fearing politician.
I pretty much like this idea praying for peace, economic recovery, protection for U.S. soldiers. I believed we should include those to our prayers. That way God will answer our prayers.
posted December 15, 2011 at 3:19 pm
The power of prayer is under estimated by so many and for the president to reach out on a regular basis and ask for prayer is in my book amazing. God hears all prayer. And when you have a group praying for the same thing like peace,healing,economy crisis…miracles tend to happen. You just have to “believe” and have faith to see them.