The following comes from a March 17 New York Times article by Michael Paulson:
Twenty years after Jeb Bush converted to Catholicism, the religion of his wife, following a difficult and unsuccessful political campaign that had put a strain on his marriage, his faith has become a central element of the way he shapes his life and frames his views on public policy. And now, as he explores a bid for the presidency, his religion has become a focal point of early appeals to evangelical activists, who are particularly important in a Republican primary that is often dominated by religious voters.
Many of his priorities during his two terms as governor of Florida aligned with those of the Catholic Church — including his extraordinary, and unsuccessful, effort to force a hospital to keep Terri Schiavo on life support, as well as less well-known, and also unsuccessful, efforts to appoint a guardian for the fetus of a developmentally disabled rape victim and to prevent a 13-year-old girl from having an abortion. He even, during his first year in office in 1999, signed a law creating a “Choose Life” license plate.
“You hear people say, ‘I don’t want to impose my faith,’ ” Mr. Bush told the newspaper The Florida Catholic days after leaving office in 2007. “Well, it’s not an imposition of faith. It’s who you are.”
Jeb and Columba Bush raised their three children as Catholics, and Mr. Bush went to Mass with his family. “It played an important part in our lives,” he said by email.
In 1994, Mr. Bush ran unsuccessfully for governor, employing language that some viewed as mean-spirited, in part because of a comment suggesting that he did not see a role for government in helping African-Americans, and in part because of an ad he ran criticizing the incumbent governor for what he said was slow action on executing the murderer of a 10-year-old.
After his defeat, he acknowledged that his marriage was experiencing some stress and said he was going to take some time to regroup. During that period, he began the formal process of becoming a Catholic, taking classes at Epiphany Parish in South Miami.
Mr. Bush has suggested that concerns about the Episcopal Church, which has moved steadily to the left on social issues and liturgical matters, played a role in his decision.
“I love the sacraments of the Catholic Church, the timeless nature of the message of the Catholic Church, the fact that the Catholic Church believes in, and acts on, absolute truth as its foundational principle and doesn’t move with the tides of modern times, as my former religion did,” he said in the speech in Italy in 2009.
Mr. Bush’s second campaign for governor, in 1998, was characterized by modulated language; he trumpeted a newfound compassion, and won.
One can not vote for someone merely because he is a “Catholic” and has done some good things in the past.
Campaigning only on religious hot buttons must make us look deeper.
What does Jeb Bush 9and others) believe about the following
and what does he personally intend to do about it – if elected ?
1) Violations of the Immigration Law – “Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986” regarding both employers, and illegals;
and open borders ?
2) The Federal deficit of over $18,000,000,000,000.00.
3) Able bodied American citizens and legal immigrants – (physically and mentally able to work) – who can not, or will not, find employment;
and are on some form of government assistance.
4) Government GRANTs to faith based groups which require them to violate any tenants of their Faith.
And the tax dollars wasted in bureaucracies when Grants are given from the government to one group, and that group in turn gives grants to other groups.
5) How would you cut down on Government waste ? – per agency – including but not limited to number of government employees and retirees with benefits.
6) How would you protect Social Security for those who have and are paying into this system?
7) Do you believe that any American should be forced to purchase government sponsored health insurance ?
And pay for abortions, contraceptives, euthanasia, voluntary sterilization, sex change operations with hormones for life ?
8) The Supreme Court ruled that Obama was lying and that Obamacare is a tax.
cont. (somehow the last part was cut off)
8) The Supreme Court ruled that Obama was lying to the American people and that Obamacare is a ” tax”. Do you believe that ALL taxpayers should be forced to pay for the immoral intrinsic evil activities of others such as:
abortions, contraceptives, euthanasia, voluntary sterilization, sex change operations with hormones for life ?
and what do you intend to do about it. ?
Very sorry “MIKE” I accidentally used your name.
Was talking to my son at the same time as posting – and his name is Mike also. Will try to pay better attention.
St. Michael the Archangel defend us in Battle.
Mac has hit the nail on the head. An old saying comes to mind: you can empty a gas can, but the can still smells like gas. Many of Bush’s ideas are more Methodist than Catholic. If Mass is where one is supposed to pray, and direct attention to God, why is Bush turning around shaking hands, UNLESS this was during the kiss of peace. Many Catholics are Catholics in name only, like RINO republicans. To vote for Bush just because he is Catholic does not make sense. After all, Hitler, Castro and a host of other evil dictators were cino too. A liberal, or middle of the road Republican CANNOT defeat the Democrat.
OK – but the current president voted (while a senator) against aid to infant survivors of abortion to leave them to die on a surgical tray, and in the first week of office overturned the Mexico City Policy so he could start funneling U.S. tax dollars to pay for foreign abortions. It has gotten worse from there. Obama’s problem isn’t that he has no birth certificate, but that he has no baptismal certificate. He hates Catholics. Jeb Bush may be a political moderate, and not my ideal candidate, but he is not a pro-abort Catholic ala Joe Biden and a host of others. He championed Terry Schiavo’s cause in Florida. He’s way better than even his father or brother in that regard, neither of whom are Catholic. Jeb saw fit to convert during adulthood. That says something. The pro-abort Catholic pols are always cradle Catholics. The problem isn’t that candidates are CINOs, the problem is that the Catholic population are CINOs, 54% of whom voted for Obama, for God’s sake. Give Jeb Bush a break for crying out loud.
The man can’t even put on a sportcoat, let alone a necktie, when he goes to meet the Lord of Lord and King of Kings at Mass?
“When you are about to enter the palace of the King, compose your demeanor and your gait, for the angels are present, since the Lord’s house is full of incorporeal powers.” — St. John Chrysostom
Reading some of the comments on here reminded me of what a friend told me one time. She said, “If you are going to get flack no matter what you do, you might as well do what you want.” She was right a least for some situations.
I should have placed the above comment under Janek’s comment at 7:32 a.m. where my other one is, so I am sorry for the confusion.
I meant to put this post along with the one I posted at 10:26 a.m. I am sorry for the confusion. By the way, I have no idea for whom I am voting.
No more Bush’s please EVER….
Mac’s proposed questions to the candidate are succinct and trenchant. Mac would be an effective moderator of presidential debates for either party. Neither Bush nor any other candidate should be allowed to slide past questions with trite platitudes that are so general they have no meaning. I will vote for the presidential candidate that has a past record of enacting and/or voting for issues I care about, is honest, and intelligent. Because Bush is Catholic makes him neither good nor bad. From what I have read about Jeb Bush so far, he seems to be a pleasant run-of-the-mill liberal RINO posing as a Republican. There is an over-supply of those, we don’t need any more.
The Myth of a ‘catholic’ (small ‘c’) Camelot in the JFK Administration has been shredded by time and Truth – which has taken long to surface from where Kennedy Money submerged it.
About the only thing remotely connected to Catholicism and the Kennedy Behaviors was when the Chicago Political Machine under Mayor Daily brought out the dead – to Vote, which is an old tradition in many places, and yet far less scandalous than a few hanging chad to a fawning ‘free press’.
Speaking of a Fawning ‘free press’, our own POTUS Barry Soetoro received well over 100% of the vote in a number of Ohio Counties – and of course, would never made the ballot in Indiana in 2008 and thus lost to H-Clinton – except for the Petition Forgeries (including the Governor’s signature – repudiated by him) that sent his supporters to Prison and Barry to the Oval Office where now reside his Pen & Phone of Power.
He is just a Novus Ordonarian with the “kiss of peace handshake bit” once again people are worried about the person next to them and not having the focus on our Lord front and center as we do in The Traditional Latin Mass. We need a president who is a Roman Catholic who attends the True Mass of All Times not the “man made” Novus Ordo fabricated by Bugnini a proven Mason and six protestant ministers so the Holy Mass would look just like a protestant worship service not the Holy Sacrifice of The Mass.
A TLM Catholic president? Give me a call – I’ve got some beachfront property in Nebraska for sale.
Whatever ones opinion of Jeb Bush, more than likely he is trying to blend in with the “common folk” here. Let face it, if he were better dressed, there would be people who would call him a rich snob who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
Well, I don’t know if he is a snob or not (actually I don’t think so), but he pretty much was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. I don’t think that’s should be held against him, but it’s just reality.
Anonymous, what I was getting at was that Jenek’s reason was a rather silly one for not voting for Jeb Bush, even though I disagree with some of the policies of the candidate. And, no, neither of the Bush sons could be considered snobs. George Bush the younger even went to public school, probably because the parents wanted him to “rub elbows” with the working class and ordinary people.
Rubbish!
We need a President with moral character no matter which of the two valid Mass forms he attends, or which church he/she belongs to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZurFnbV_2U&feature=youtu.be
The Passion of the Mass
SandraD what a beautiful video. Thank you for sharing it with us. I have many things that are testing my faith right now and this video gave me strength. Also I visited One of the parishes from churches worth driving to from this website St John the Baptist with the norbertine priests. The OF mass was very reverent and holy.
No matter his religion, Jeb’s perspective on the common core system is enough to DQ him:
“I know what I believe. I believe in higher standards that develop critical thinking skills.”
As it appears that he isn’t very strong in his Faith when it come to gay marriage, https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/jeb-bush-has-already-evolved-on-marriage-and-his-advisers-are-at-war-with-s , it’s time to move on. (He is all for Common Core, as well, and I don’t like dynastic – Clinton, Bush, Kennedy – entitlements anyway).
I just finished listening to Ted Cruz announce that he is running for president. He spoke very eloquently for over 40 minutes without the aid of a teleprompter, and even though he is a Baptist, ad not a Catholic, Ted Cruz is more Catholic than Jed Bush ever was. I hope this conservative Christian will win, since Ted Cruz has what it takes to put America back on track.
Pilar, what I like about Ted Cruz is that he has been willing to stand for his principles, which is following the Constitution of the United States. Every elected official swears to uphold the Constitution but clearly this is just a formality for the vast majority of them. Cruz has proven that he is a principled man.
No more Bushes. The first one gave us Clinton, and the second one gave us Obama. Two strikes and you are out.
and they both gave us ridiculous unnecessary wars in Iraq!
The title should read: Jeb Bush: ‘Some of my best friends are Catholic’
Jeb Bush is Hillary Clinton Lite!