Burke vs. Giuliani and matching wits with an unarmed foe

Mainstream journalism favors ruts, by which I mean regular, predictable patterns of reporting ... ready-made stories, as it were. "Open box and reheat contents" fare.

One issue (or rut) that American journalism favors during election campaigns is the "Catholic bishop threatens to deny pro-choice Catholic politician communion" story.

I'm not saying this isn't real news, I just wish the media would learn that there are other topics in which Catholic principles run up against contemporary political practice. Anyway, that's not my real point. I'll get to that in a bit.

To start us off, a(nother) report from the Associated Press:

Roman Catholic Archbishop Raymond Burke, who made headlines last presidential season by saying he'd refuse Holy Communion to John Kerry, has his eye on Rudy Giuliani this year....

.... Burke, the Archbishop of St. Louis, was asked by The St. Louis Post-Dispatch if he would deny Communion to Giuliani if the former New York mayor approached him for the sacrament.

"If the question is about a Catholic who is publicly espousing positions contrary to the moral law, and I know that person knows it, yes I would," the paper quoted the archbishop as responding.

Burke has said of Giuliani: "I can't imagine that as a Catholic he doesn't know that his stance on the protection of human life is wrong. If someone is publicly sinning, they should not approach to receive Holy Communion."

And what brilliant, philosophically-cogent, intellectually-nuanced response did Guliani give in return?

Asked about it Wednesday while campaigning in New Hampshire, Giuliani said:

"Archbishops have a right to their opinion, you know. There's freedom of religion in this country. There's no established religion, and archbishops have a right to their opinion. Everybody has a right to their opinion."

Is he trying to sound like a stuck record-player? Maybe he should finally switch-out the disc labeled "moral-relativist/religious-pluralist/double-speak" which he's had set on repeat for the last umpteen years. Laughable.

It's not even like Guliani was even caught-off guard by the question. He routinely gives these kinds of silly responses when asked about his Catholicism. Take another example from the same article:

Last week, Giuliani compared the scrutiny of his personal life marked by three marriages to the biblical story in which Jesus said only someone who was free of all sin should try to stone an adulterous woman.

"I'm guided very, very often about, 'Don't judge others, lest you be judged,'" Giuliani told the Christian Broadcasting Network.

"I have very, very strong views on religion that come about from having wanted to be a priest when I was younger, having studied theology for four years in college," he said.

Goodness gracious - did he study remedial theology?! I think my patience (never one of my strong points) with his ramblings and obfuscations is about at an end. Seriously, stop trying to fake being a Catholic to gain votes.

At least demonstrate some courage about your (lack of) convictions.

Oh! And don't even get me started on the cross-dressing. Yep, that's Giuliani on the left.

[/end of rant.]

(By-the-by: Good for Abp. Burke! Fidelis has more.)