What a freakin' idiot!:
Admission to Pope Francis's Thursday address to a joint session of Congress is easily one of the toughest tickets in Washington in years. But one Catholic congressman says he will not be taking his seat for the speech, in protest of papal activism against climate change.
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) said in an op-ed published Friday on Townhall.com that he has "both a moral obligation and leadership responsibility to call out leaders, regardless of their titles, who ignore Christian persecution and fail to embrace opportunities to advocate for religious freedom and the sanctity of human life."
"If the Pope stuck to standard Christian theology, I would be the first in line," he wrote. "If the Pope spoke out with moral authority against violent Islam, I would be there cheering him on. If the Pope urged the Western nations to rescue persecuted Christians in the Middle East, I would back him wholeheartedly. But when the Pope chooses to act and talk like a leftist politician, then he can expect to be treated like one."
The Vatican has not indicated which themes and topics might be included in the papal address. But climate change is widely expected to be among them, given the publication earlier this year of "Laudato Si," Francis's encyclical on the global environment, which calls climate change a "global problem with grave implications."
Gosar cited "media reports" that indicate Francis "intends to focus the brunt of his speech on climate change." He describes himself as a "proud Catholic" and holds undergraduate and dental degrees from Creighton University, a Jesuit institution in Omaha.
A spokesman, Steven Smith, said Gosar attempted to schedule a meeting with Pope Francis or Vatican officials to share his concerns before the speech but was unable to do so.
Gosar is in his third term representing a swath of western Arizona. A practicing dentist before he entered politics, Gosar was elected in the tea party-fueled wave of 2010 and is considered among the House's most conservative members. He has been a frequent critic of the Environmental Protection Agency, recently calling for the impeachment of Administrator Gina McCarthy, and is an outspoken opponent of government intervention to address climate change.
"The earth’s climate has been changing since God created it, with or without man," he wrote Friday. "On that, we should all agree. ... If the Pope wants to devote his life to fighting climate change then he can do so in his personal time. But to promote questionable science as Catholic dogma is ridiculous."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...cott-pope-francis-over-climate-change-stance/
Admission to Pope Francis's Thursday address to a joint session of Congress is easily one of the toughest tickets in Washington in years. But one Catholic congressman says he will not be taking his seat for the speech, in protest of papal activism against climate change.
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) said in an op-ed published Friday on Townhall.com that he has "both a moral obligation and leadership responsibility to call out leaders, regardless of their titles, who ignore Christian persecution and fail to embrace opportunities to advocate for religious freedom and the sanctity of human life."
"If the Pope stuck to standard Christian theology, I would be the first in line," he wrote. "If the Pope spoke out with moral authority against violent Islam, I would be there cheering him on. If the Pope urged the Western nations to rescue persecuted Christians in the Middle East, I would back him wholeheartedly. But when the Pope chooses to act and talk like a leftist politician, then he can expect to be treated like one."
The Vatican has not indicated which themes and topics might be included in the papal address. But climate change is widely expected to be among them, given the publication earlier this year of "Laudato Si," Francis's encyclical on the global environment, which calls climate change a "global problem with grave implications."
Gosar cited "media reports" that indicate Francis "intends to focus the brunt of his speech on climate change." He describes himself as a "proud Catholic" and holds undergraduate and dental degrees from Creighton University, a Jesuit institution in Omaha.
A spokesman, Steven Smith, said Gosar attempted to schedule a meeting with Pope Francis or Vatican officials to share his concerns before the speech but was unable to do so.
Gosar is in his third term representing a swath of western Arizona. A practicing dentist before he entered politics, Gosar was elected in the tea party-fueled wave of 2010 and is considered among the House's most conservative members. He has been a frequent critic of the Environmental Protection Agency, recently calling for the impeachment of Administrator Gina McCarthy, and is an outspoken opponent of government intervention to address climate change.
"The earth’s climate has been changing since God created it, with or without man," he wrote Friday. "On that, we should all agree. ... If the Pope wants to devote his life to fighting climate change then he can do so in his personal time. But to promote questionable science as Catholic dogma is ridiculous."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...cott-pope-francis-over-climate-change-stance/
