1. Old-Line Catholic Hierarchy vs. Today’s.
Last night before going to bed I was reading “Before the Storm: The Rise of Barry Goldwater and the Making of the American Consensus” by Rick Perlstein—and I was struck by one thing. In the California presidential primary of 1964, a newly-divorced and remarried Nelson Rockefeller…who had just broken up another family as well as his own to marry a mother of four young children, a woman who lost custody of her children but who married Rockefeller anyhow…was running for president. He was opposed by Barry Goldwater.
In the campaign, Francis Cardinal McIntyre, the prelate of Los Angeles, announced Catholics loyal to the tenets of their faith should not vote for Rockefeller because of his willingness to break his marriage vows. By today’s standard this would be an astounding thing for a Catholic archbishop to say. But McIntyre said a Catholic’s duty is to do all he can to ensure that the moral stricture of the country is observed—not only by Catholics but by people Catholics elect to high office.
Two questions: Can you imagine the uproar this would have today in the country as well as the Church? But it was not regarded as unusual in 1964 because Catholicism’s view of marriage was taken as a given…and to no surprise, Cardinal McIntyre expressed the church’s position and drew his conclusion.
Was McIntyre judgmental? The 70-year-old Rockefeller…former vice president of the United States and well-known moral invertebrate … died in the arms of his 25-year old mistress with whom he was cheating on his second wife who had given up her children’s custody to marry him. Where do we find prelates like McIntyre today?
2. Will Rogers Films. Why Can’t We See Them?
When I was a child, Will Rogers was not only a popular daily columnist and former Ziegfeld star but was a film actor with a good many movies to his credit. Yet…I don’t know about you…but I have never, ever seen one on late-night or anywhere else. I wonder why not. For that matter in this era when old-time films are being resurrected, why haven’t we seen Harold Lloyd who was one of the funniest comics of all time?
3. Eddy Curry Role Model.
There he was on page 8 of the “Sun-Times”…the slack-jawed seeming moral invertebrate Eddy Curry, the former Thornwood high school basketball standout who now plays for the New York Knicks. One could call him an animal scattering his seed where it will…seemingly impervious to anything remotely like the moral law…but animals don’t come on to one another of the same sex—and Curry is being sued by his former driver for allegedly propositioning him for gay sex.
This role model for black youth is married with four children and has sired two children (one now dead) child by a woman who was slain reportedly by her former boyfriend who is being held without bail. The murdered woman leaves a 3-year-old illegitimate child of Curry named Noah. Now a judge has ordered that Noah be consigned to live with Curry and his wife and children. Can you imagine how this kid is going to be treated by Curry’s wife and children? Fighting for custody of the 3-year-old is his grandmother, mother of Curry’s late girlfriend.. Can anyone not hope that she will win her appeal of the court ruling?
Let's add this vital background to the first item. Cardinal McIntyre was a racist, and his other views veered close to the John Birch Society. No wonder he disliked Rockefeller.
ReplyDeleteAs best I recollect, divorce was once considered a giant negative for any American politician, regardless of religion. It wasn't until Reagan that it became acceptable to wink at it.
ReplyDeleteIf Cardinal McIntyre was willing to state publicly in 1964 that it was wrong to vote for a divorced and remarried candidate, imagine the position he would have been in that year had JFK lived and run for reelection...wouldn't he have been forced to declare his opposition to a Catholic president who was known to be commiting adultery?
ReplyDelete