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Newt Gingrich Fights Pope, Al Franken, Public on Union Rights
Recent Catholic convert Newt Gingrich is challenging Pope Pope Benedict XVI and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops over workers' rights to organize. In an encyclical released this week (hat tip to the AFL-CIO Now blog), the Pope embraced the right to form unions as essential to economic justice.
The Pope declared:
Through the combination of social and economic change, trade union organizations experience greater difficulty in carrying out their task of representing the interests of workers, partly because Governments, for reasons of economic utility, often limit the freedom or the negotiating capacity of labor unions. Hence traditional networks of solidarity have more and more obstacles to overcome...their rights must therefore be honored today even more than in the past, as a prompt and far-sighted response to the urgent need for new forms of cooperation at the international level, as well as the local level.
While stopping short of explicitly endorsing the Employee Free Choice Act that Gingrich and Big Business groups have demonized, the Pope's encylical adds to the growing array of Catholic scholars and organizations that are endorsing union rights -- and, in some cases, the proposed bill -- as a moral imperative.
In contrast, while the twice-divorced Gingrich who notoriously sought a divorce from his wife dying of cancer in her hospital bed, promotes himself as supporter of traditional values and economic freedom, he doesn't think that freedom should extend to workers' rights, so he also has denounced the Employee Free Choice Act as a "mortal threat to American freedom."
But as a newly converted Catholic, how does he square his anti-union views with the reverence he shows for his church and this new Pope, whose visit to the U.S. inspired him to join the faith of his latest wife, Callista:
The moment that finally convinced me [to convert] was when Benedict XVI came here [to the United States] and Callista in the church choir sang for him at the vespers service and all the bishops in the country were there. As a spouse, I got to sit in the upper church and I very briefly saw [Benedict] and I was just struck with how happy he was and how fundamentally different he was from the news media's portrait of him. This guy's not a Rottweiler. He's a very loving, engaged, happy person.
I'd first seen Pope John Paul II when he came to the U.S. when Carter was president and I was a freshman congressman. And I [later] met him as Speaker.The other sense is that the church has had two of its most powerful popes back to back, in their intellectual ability to engage the secular world on behalf of Christ.
He admires the Pope engagement in the secular world, of course, except when the Pope supports the workers' right to organize.
Even as clergy of all faiths are backing the proposed Employee Free Choice Act, the newest Senator, Al Franken, made co-sponsoring the Employee Free Choice Act his first official act in the Senate. As he told a reception at the AFL-CIO, as reported by the AFL-CIO now blog:
Franken, a strong supporter of workers' freedom to form unions and bargain, said his membership in four unions--AFTRA, SAG, WGAE and DGA--gave him, wife Franni and his family the opportunities that all working families deserve:
"Because of my membership in those unions, Franni and I had health care during the campaign. Because of my membership in those unions, we have a pension."We need to level the playing field. Unions built the middle class in this country, but we've seen the playing field become a steep hill. We've seen a great risk shift in this country."
You can see his remarks here and the cheering response to his support for the legislation:
In supporting the legislation and adding to a potential filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, he's also joining a majority of the public, as shown in independent polling, that believes workers have a right to organize and who accept the key principles of the Employee Free Choice Act.
Just like the Pope, in fact.
So that raises another question for Newt Gingrich: Is it time to make another confession, but this time, about opposing your church's teachings on union rights?
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NEWT! NEWT! What a tool.
People are done listening to all the poop that all the Repubicans are crying about. That is why we voted for change.
Does this mean all of the Catholic Bishops and Cardinals will rise up as one and rain down holy he!! on any Catholic University or College that dares offer him a chance to voice his anti-Papal screeds, like they did when Notre Dame hosted President Obama?
newt might be the fastest ex communication ever. as a catholic he disgusts me.
Who cares what Gingrich thinks? He an old Southern conservative White Male that has a very provincial understanding of the US and the world. He belongs on Faux News to mislead folks with wedge issues to keep their attention off the economy.
It seems Catholicism is lowering its standards if it accepts the likes of Newt Gingrich.
As i recall, when Jesus saw the loan officers and capitalists setting up shop in the temple, he went crazy, grabbed a weapon (a whip) and drove them out of the temple, a house for prayer. I think this is the only time Jesus ever felt compelled to use a weapon to convince people of His POV.
Against the capitalists, not the workers.
Hopefully Catholicism will not lower its standards to that of protestantism where it seems anything goes as long as you are white, conservatism and Republican.
Fanned and faved. LOL!
"He tried to be nice but they went too far this time. This summer He comes back, alright. *cut to Jesus cracking his knuckles* but not for what THEY think.
CHRIST'S REVENGE *big red font* Coming to your theater. This aint the Rapture, baby."
"It seems Catholicism is lowering its standards"
Hmm, is it possible to have standards lower than organized child-molesting, blatant soul-saving for cash & a willingness to manipulate, distort & lie about anything & everything that could possibly bring their house of cards tumbling down?
I think we are already at the bottom of the "standards" barrell.
Just to be fair, all the other "religions" (cults, IMO) fall under the same broad brush. None of you know what the **** you are talking about.
But you all seem to be pretty good at collecting that 10%.......
Unions need to organize ... Labor needs to keep it's head up if they do not want to be backstabbed by the business lobby and discarded by politcians.
As they say in the streets its time to "stack or starve".
Being a Republican is a mortal sin.
So, Callista the choir member and good Catholic would be the woman the married Gingrich was sleeping with at the time he was demonizing Bill Clinton? How do these people set themselves as paragons of virtue, knowing what is best for other people? While Gingrich was screaming for the impeachment of Clinton, he was with his girlfriend (not his wife) watching the proceedings on TV. What a prince of a guy. The g.o.p. "family values" crowd are really funny people.
1. And who he was with while divorcing his wife who was in bed dying of cancer.
2. Gingrich converted to Catholicism not because he liked the religion but because he
liked the Pope. What great beliefs in religion he has.
His first wife was undergoing cancer treatment while Newt was cavorting with his soon to be wife #2. He divorced wife #1 for #2. Then along comes Callista, who became wife #3 (lucky lady?) She would do well to remember the old saying "A man who marries his mistress creates a job opening" Newt might be in the process right now of improving the economy with at least one "job" I doubt if his new found religion will stop this ego-driven toad.
Why would you change to a religion if you don't believe/support it'sdoctine or in this case the Vatican's dictates?
It is quite possible for a Christian to find that there is no single church or denomination that he agrees with fully. For me, the most objectionable things about Roman Catholicism are the Marian dogmas, the doctrine of papal infallibility in certain situations, the doctrine of apostolic succession, and the doctrine of the sacrifice of the mass. The church's teaching regarding indulgences is especially offensive.
These are all theological objections. I tend to agree with a lot of the Roman Catholic teachings on social issues, such as the opposition to abortion and in vitro fertilization, though I think the organization goes too far in opposing all artificial contraception.
On the death penalty, the Roman Catholic church has clearly changed its teaching over the years. It used to approve of the death penalty.
He opposes the churches teaching on the death penalty, divorce, the Iranian war and many economic justice issues. The question is did he become Catholic for any other reason than getting some. Is it enough to call yourself Catholic by accepting the ban birth control while publicly opposing pretty much all other Catholic church stances? Apparently so. I have never heard of a bishop denying the Eucharist to any of the war mongering death penalty fans. Ask any governor, Americans want politicians who will kill. It is one of those baseline issues that must be answered before being considered for the job, be they Democrat or Republican.
Bravo Pope Benedict XVI. As a Roman Catholic I am happy to see the church weigh in on issues other than abortion.
America Works Best When We Say Union Yes.
The world will work better when more workers worldwide can say union yes.
Could not agree more. I think it's time for the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World), or something like it, to assert itself. Workers of the World, Unite!
This is Gringrichs' version of : Pope's should be seen and not heard!!
Maybe y'all Republicans should just do your own Christian thing and leave us Catholics to be ourselves - we've done fine without ya and your bogus walk into the kingdom.
The RC church has a very long history of progressive social justice, starting in the 19th century. It just doesn't apply to their own organization, which continues to operate on the medieval serfdom model.
Never forget - the RCC never condemned Germany or Italy during WW2. In exchange, they were given the Vatican by Mussolini.
Remember, Prostestant never apologized for the Holocaust of Native Americans. Interestingly, native Americans survive and married Europeans in Catholic countries. That is why many Hispanic Americans are of mixed race. But for the Catholic Church their ancestors would have suffer as much as Native Americans in the US.
Every now and then it is good to hear the Pope is getting back to the job of tending to the flock. Even if it does include the odd black sheep.
This is not the first time,(nor will it be the last time) that a politician will disagree with a religious leader, i.e. John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi regarding abortion.
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