Faith

Cupp: Is the New Pope a Blessing for Republicans?

Mar. 14, 2013 1:23am

S.E. Cupp is a New York Daily News columnist and TheBlaze TV host that has previously written for the Washington Post, Slate, Human Events, American Spectator, FOXNews.com, NASCAR.com, the Detroit Free Press and others. As a political commentator, Cupp appears on TheBlaze TV's 'Real News' and MSNBC's 'The Cycle' daily.

S.E. Cupp is the author of Losing Our Religion: The Liberal Media’s Attack on Christianity (Simon & Schuster, 2010) and co-author of Why You’re Wrong About The Right (Simon & Schuster, 2008).

Read more about S.E.'s work at www.thesecupp.com

Cupp: Is the New Pope a Blessing for Republicans?

VATICAN CITY, VATICAN – MARCH 13: Newly elected Pope Francis I waves to the waiting crowd from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica on March 13, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican. Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as the 266th Pontiff and will lead the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics. (Credit: Getty Images) 

With the stunning announcement out of the Vatican yesterday that the conclave had chosen its next Pope from Latin America, all eyes were on the slight, bespectacled, kind cardinal from Argentina. Who was Jorge Mario Bergoglio? What kind of Pope would he be? Was he a Pope in the mold of Benedict XVI? Or was he more in line with the Pope who appointed him to the College of Cardinals, John Paul II?

But for Western audiences, and Americans in particular, the politics of the new Pope are top of mind. And his new charge to lead the world’s Catholics opens up fascinating possibilities for the future of Catholicism in the United States.

American Catholics have been struggling with an identity crisis in the past two decades, reconciling their politics with their faith in surprising and – to many Catholic leaders – disappointing ways. Catholics have moved leftward on social issues, voting twice for a president who arguably has the most liberal and extreme positions on right-to-life issues, the foundation of Catholic teachings, ever elected to the office.

A booming Latino population has also aligned electorally with Democrats in presidential elections, a trend that Republicans are acutely aware of and trying to reverse.

For decades Republicans have asserted that Hispanics were a winnable demographic because they are largely Catholic, and thus socially conservative. The numbers, stubbornly for the GOP, have not borne that out.

There’s cause for both optimism and cynicism in the expectation that Pope Francis will influence the country’s Hispanic and Latino Catholics in their political evolution.

But first, the facts.

Bergoglio is doctrinally conservative and, not surprisingly, strict in his orthodoxy on social issues like abortion and gay marriage.

He’s described the pro-choice movement as a “culture of death,” and opposed the distribution of contraceptives in Argentina.

About gay marriage, he was just as blunt:

“Let’s not be naïve. We’re not talking about a simple political battle. It is a destructive pretension against the plan of God. We are not talking about a mere bill, but rather a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.”

He argued that adoption by same-sex couples was a form of discrimination against children, a position that earned some scolding from the Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who accused him of harkening back to “medieval times and the Inquisition.”

If there were any hopes that the new pope was somehow going to coax the Catholic Church toward a liberal softening on these issues, Pope Francis will likely disappoint.

How this will square with Hispanic Catholics is a mixed bag. According to 2007 Pew research, Hispanic Catholics are 12% more likely than white, non-Hispanic Catholics to be pro-life, but 4% less likely to oppose same-sex marriage.

As J.J. Ziegler detailed in Catholic World Report in 2011, as Hispanic Catholics assimilate into American culture, they become markedly less pro-life. Hispanic Catholics who say that abortion should be illegal go from a majority to a minority in the span of one generation.

And more recent research shows that, like white, non-Hispanic demographics, the number of Hispanics who identify as Catholic is declining. According to a February Gallup poll, self-identification has dropped from 58% to 54% between 2008 and 2012. They are also less religious than their Hispanic Protestant counterparts.

But as Elizabeth Dias outlined in Time recently, the demographic shift is mirrored in Latin America, where the number of Catholic Hispanics has dropped 11% from 1996 to 2010, while the number of evangelicals has risen 9%.

There are nuanced and important reasons why Latinos and Hispanics in the United States are becoming less Catholic, not easily explained or accounted for by doctrinal impulses alone. Some of it is cultural, some has to do with language barriers. But nonetheless, all this would seem to indicate that Hispanic Catholics in the United States are becoming more socially liberal.

But Hispanics are nevertheless crucial to Catholicism in this country and elsewhere. As Dias points out, nearly half of all Catholics under 40 in the US are Hispanic, and the top two Catholic countries in the world are Hispanic ones – Brazil and Mexico.

Which brings us to Bergoglio. With 480 million Catholics in Latin America alone, his appointment signals the enduring influence of Latinos the world over on the Church. And for Hispanics and Latinos in the United States, Bergoglio potentially brings a highly personalized and deeply-felt sense of pride in their Catholic faith, which may inject a renewed enthusiasm and vigor into a religious and ethnic demographic that has often times felt like outsiders in both their country and their church.

Politically, this could, again, mean one of two things. The looming figure of Pope Francis brings Hispanic Catholics in the United States toward him on social issues like abortion and marriage, helping to reform Catholicism back to its traditional orthodoxy. Or, Bergoglio’s staunch positions strike a discordant and anachronistic tone with Hispanic Catholics who have already evolved leftward, pushing them further away from the church, and further away from conservatism.

The final wrench in the equation is the new Pope’s affinity for the social justice aspects of Catholic teaching, which ascribe greater significance to the role of government in adjudicating and responding to societal injustices and economic inequality. How he decides to invoke social justice will play an important role in determining how Hispanic Catholics – two groups that have grown increasingly comfortable with that idea – respond politically in the coming years.

There are, however, plenty of Hispanic Catholic leaders who have thoughtfully tried to address waning influence of the Church on Hispanics here in America. And they’re presumably hoping the election of a Latin American Pope will help guide their followers back to founding principles.

Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, in speaking to Loyola Marymount University in 2011, delivered a clarion call to all Catholics that they remember the role of Hispanic Catholics in the founding of the country (as recounted by Ziegler):

“And in the face of widespread religious indifferentism and elite disdain for religion, I believe it is more necessary than ever that we recover the spiritual legacy of our country’s Catholic ‘founders.’ America needs our Hispanic Catholic witness for the renewal of her national soul. To the beautiful Puritan idea of America as the ‘city upon a hill,’ we need to propose in our evangelization a beautiful Hispanic-Catholic vision of America as El Camino Real, the King’s Highway.”

What role Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis I, will play in renewing America’s national Catholic soul remains to be seen.

 

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Comments (69)

1 2
  • woodyee
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 5:11pm

    Look, folks, it’s this simple. For leftists — and leftists today are Democrats. I mean, the Democrat Party is the repository for liberals and leftists today, and their church is the state. There is a reason why Karl Marx and every communist, socialist philosopher has wanted to do away with religion. They want there to be only one faith: the state. Blind, unalterable faith in the state. And the church, any church, is a competitor and therefore a threat. People who exhibit blind faith in their religion must be found and turned. I don’t care where you go, I don’t care what communist philosopher you read, they have to wipe out religion. And they go to great lengths to convince their people that there is no god.
    The old Soviets used to do it. Fifth grade classrooms or whatever the equivalent, they’d put two pots, each containing flowers, in a window. They would tell the students, “We’re gonna water one. We’re gonna take care of one. We’re gonna leave the other one to God.” And of course the flowers that they took care of and watered and fed bloomed and flourished, and the ones that they left alone withered away and died. And they said, “See, the flowers left to God died. There is no god.” And that’s how they did it. And they did it with many more examples than that. This is why, folks, I am so unalterably opposed to liberalism. One of the many reasons why I am just unalterably opposed to liberalism.

    -Limbaugh

    Report this comment

    woodyee  
    • woodyee
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 5:12pm

      The state is not the repository of all the answers. The state is not where you ought to have your blind faith. The state will never care as much about you as you care about yourself. The state will never care for you as much as you care for yourself. The state will never be as concerned about you as you will be for yourself. But it’s hideous. And so that’s why all these leftists in the media and elsewhere constantly attack the Catholic Church and the pope. Competitors. They are competitors. That’s why they must be discredited or manipulated, intimidated into reforming. It won’t happen, but that’s what the effort is and why it will never go away.

      - Limbaugh

      Report this comment

      woodyee  
    • SamIamTwo
      Mar. 17, 2013 at 1:48pm

      In spite of his obvious dislike of and anger towards religion, Marx did not make religion the primary enemy of workers and communists.

      Had Marx regarded religion as a more serious enemy, he would have devoted more time to it.

      Report this comment

      SamIamTwo  
  • woodyee
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 5:09pm

    Well CUPP, you skipped CPAC because?…

    …I guess the selection of this Pope means you won’t be attending Mass any time soon. Not me; I’d rather a conservative Pope than to c.u.p.p…

    Report this comment

    woodyee  
  • The Third Archon
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 3:09pm

    “If there were any hopes that the new pope was somehow going to coax the Catholic Church toward a liberal softening on these issues, Pope Francis will likely disappoint.”
    Who cares? Why should the Catholic church’s opinion on ANYTHING matter to ANYONE at all, JUST by virtue of their status as the Catholic church? If they have something intelligent to say, it doesn’t matter that they’re the Catholic church, or that they’re popular–if they don’t (and for the most part, they don’t), then the’re nothing but noise. So the Pope can bluster, pontificate, and cajole all he wants on the issues of same-sex marriage, contraceptive use, and abortion–he’s not going to turn the tide. Might as well try to stop the sunrise.

    “As J.J. Ziegler detailed in Catholic World Report in 2011, as Hispanic Catholics assimilate into American culture, they become markedly less pro-life. Hispanic Catholics who say that abortion should be illegal go from a majority to a minority in the span of one generation.”
    Awesome.

    “And in the face of widespread religious indifferentism and elite disdain for religion…”
    ‘Indifferentism’? LOL–they don’t train ecclesiastics like they used to. Also, you lose a few percentage points from your flock and suddenly the sky is falling? Damn, those theists are skittish–you’d they’d lost their MAJORITY, their status as single largest plurality of world religious belief, or that an atheist MAJORITY had actually emerged somewhere, ANYWHERE.

    The Third Archon  
    • Walkabout
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 9:08pm

      What do you want 3rd Archon?

      Absolution of your lifestyle choice by the CDC via Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, an AIDS drug cocktail, or a vaccine?

      In the past before indoor plumbing or antibiotics what did the lifestyle choice do to people? Death by e. Coli infection where it should not be?

      What will it be in the future?

      Report this comment

      Walkabout  
  • tljjjjcline
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 2:22pm

    Jesus did not come and die on a cross so that he could so he could conform to the wicked. He came and made place so the wicked could conform to his teachings and find eternal life with him. If you appose his teachings and do not accept them then you have a big problem. We do not accept what pleases us and throw out the rest. It’s all of his word or nothing. There is an after life of heaven or hell. Take your pick. The problem with the church catholic or other wise is that it has become a political entity, Not a Spiritual body of believers who’s only desire is to love and serve him. Now a days they are all after power and that my friend is an evil spirit, It is demonic.

    Report this comment

    tljjjjcline  
  • conservativewoman
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 12:34pm

    The more non-Catholics talk about Catholicism, the more they reveal how little they know.
    You would think if a person is going to comment on a subject, they would take the time
    to really know the facts. Instead, all people do is give their opinion – blah, blah, blah.

    First, I would ask, why do you care what the Catholic Church does? Then I would ask, why do
    you want to spread lies and misinformation? Your criticism says more about you than it does
    the person or thing you are criticizing.

    Report this comment

    conservativewoman  
    • propel7
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 1:49pm

      Jesuits are the ones responsible for taking all of the treasure out of the New World. They created the first banks and never lost control, creating FRONT groups like the Illuminatis, Communists and Nazis, World Bank, Federal Reserve, etc. Read their OATH and compare it to the Illuminati. These have NOTHING to do with Christ other than in name and outward appearance. “Pick up your cross” means you will be a martyr, therefore not one Pope can claim to be compared to an Apostle or Jesus Christ. The WORD is truth. The Papacy is a false lie. Catholics that love Jesus and the Word are saved, just as those others who are called Christians. Christ rejected the world and all that is in it. The Papacy embraced and robbed the wealth of it. It is a satanic contrivance and nothing more. The near future will show this true. “Come out of her my People”. Christ Himself would not allow even Himself to be called Father, let alone Peter who denied Him. He said, “Call no man Father upon the earth”. “Call no man Holy upon the earth”. This is utter blasphemy. There is ONE Holy Father and He has never been a Pope. Constantine murdered his wife and son after he was supposed to have become a Christian. He never stopped worshipping his pagan Gods either, yet most Catholics have been brainwashed to equate him with an Apostle. Read your Bible that was kept from you for their own purpose. God may open your eyes yet. No priset stands between you and God other than Christ.

      Report this comment

      propel7  
    • brother_ed
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 1:57pm

      @CONSERVATIVEWOMAN

      I am rinsed of a quote my daughter told me:

      What Susie says about Sally says more about Susie than Sally.

      Report this comment

      brother_ed  
    • The Third Archon
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 3:33pm

      “…-why do you care what the Catholic Church does?”
      (1) Discouraging use of contraceptives in AIDS stricken Africa (until very recently when they FINALLY acknowledged that hey, MAYBE it’s actually OKAY to use condoms when slow death by torturous illness is on the line).
      (2) Discouraging the use of contraceptives and abortion in parts of the world (that is, EVERYWHERE) where vast numbers of people that ALREADY exist don’t have sufficient access to resources to live (or even survive).
      (3) Refusing to cooperate with law enforcement to prosecute child raping clergy and ACTIVELY working to prevent their discovery and prosecution, perpetuating yet more child rape among some of the most vulnerable populations.
      (4) Torture and coercion of ‘heretics’ and ‘infidels’ (yeah, that’s not EXPLICIT policy ANY MORE–good to see their moral sensibilities haven’t been TOTALLY anesthetized).
      (5) Active and/or encouraging suppression of scientific discovery.
      (6) Sponsorship of homophobia.
      (7) Discouraging autonomous critical thinking human beings in favor of arbitrary and credulous adherence to ecclesiastic authority and purportedly authoritative interpretations of archaic and static moral codes on the basis of a fallacious appeal to authority and tradition.

      Yeah…I think everyone with any sense of morality should SERIOUSLY care about what the international criminal syndicate calling itself the “Catholic church” does.

      The Third Archon  
    • The Third Archon
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 3:52pm

      I didn’t have room for:
      (8) Preying on the hopes and trust of their parishioners to redistribute the wealth from the needy parishioners and from gainful use, to funding the opulent, and at BEST redundant (and in SO many ways positively harmful to humanity), existence.
      (9) Encouraging the adoption of blasphemy laws in jurisdictions like northern Ireland.
      (10) Although not unique to Catholicism, like virtually EVERY religion throughout human history it has sponsored, directly and indirectly, countless acts of gratuitous and costly violence among humans.
      (11) Inculcating acceptance of patriarchal and hierarchical, as opposed to egalitarian, conceptions of power via the belief system they sell.

      And probably dozens more crimes against humanity, especially if you examine the whole of the sordid institution’s history.

      The Third Archon  
  • eaglesoverhead
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 12:07pm

    Zorro, what is your problem? Get over yourself. Shut up already.

    Report this comment

    eaglesoverhead  
  • PDfromToledo
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 11:56am

    Can’t politics just stay away from this … for a change.

    Report this comment

    PDfromToledo  
  • ThoreauHD
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 11:22am

    He despises Liberals in all of their degenerate mentally ill forms. I love him.

    Report this comment

    ThoreauHD  
    • zorro
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 11:46am

      And there is no Catholic vote. This means nothing in American politics. SE Cupp needs to STFU.

      Report this comment

      zorro  
    • LookTowardsTheLight
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 12:12pm

      S.E. Cupp, I really don’t trust you. Especially after this whole CPAC and GOProud thing that was really not a big deal but you made it out to be. Boo whoooo, you didn’t go to CPAC. Get over yourself that you think that you are so important.

      I don’t trust atheists….and neither should you Glenn Beck.

      Report this comment

      LookTowardsTheLight  
    • LDSmommy
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 11:23pm

      CPAC blacklisting everyone and everything to do with anti-sharia law is a HUGE concern. The last thing conservatives need right now is other conservatives denouncing them, especially when there is ample proof of the power and reach of the Muslim Brotherhood.
      Personally, I like hearing the views of conservative atheists and I like S.E.

      Report this comment

      LDSmommy  
    • neverending
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 11:35pm

      @ATLOOKTOWARDSTHELIGHT – couldn’t agree more. AND don’t understand why she is even commenting on the issue since she is an atheist!

      Report this comment

      neverending  
  • NILAP
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 11:21am

    The new Pope stated recently that the Falkland Island residents are usurpers and that they should be come part of Argentina. Here is some facts on the Falkland Islands. You decide on the judgement of this new Pope. Does not sound very democratic to me.

    Britain first settled the Islands in 1765, whilst Spain did not arrive until 1767. The United Provinces (Argentina’s predecessor) claimed they inherited the Islands from Spain in 1810, but they did not colonise them until they sent a garrison in Oct 1832. This garrison murdered their own commanding officer, raped his wife in front of his children & terrorised the inhabitants. They were asked to leave by the Royal Navy less than 2 months later.

    Spain continued to claim the Islands until 1863, when they recognised that Britain had sovereignty. The only time that Argentina was ever on the Islands was in 1982 & the UN ordered them to leave & they refused.Britain had to eject them with the loss of 907 lives.

    Report this comment

    NILAP  
  • ghostlyspirit
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 11:04am

    Please visit website http://WWW.GODANDSPIRIT.COM ty

    Report this comment

    ghostlyspirit  
  • NILAP
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 10:53am

    This is a day when regular folks not Popes or religious leaders is who the Creator is speaking to. Folks around the world are more and more becoming aware that gay or straight sexuality in monogamous relationships and in marriage is what the Creator has always taught as well as the equality of men and women. This is not a liberal thing this is the eternal truth of the Creator as it applies to humanity. The Pope and other religious leaders of all faiths will be blessed by what the Creator is revealing to humanity. God works in mysterious ways.

    Report this comment

    NILAP  
    • brother_ed
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 11:25am

      @NILAP

      The Creator (sic) has always revealed that monogamy – straight or gay – is the way? Really?

      There are two voices…be careful you don’t confuse the two.

      These are the days when we call good evil, and evil good – most people are listening to the wrong voice.

      God is the same today as He was yesterday.

      He has always called people to lead his church.

      The Catholics believe that today the leader is Pope Francis.

      Precious few are there that go to a leaderless church. Even those folks who are against a hierarchy probably at least believe their particular preacher was called if God and given the gift of teaching in order to lead a particular flock.

      I also believe the day is coming when all men may have the gift of prophecy, but that does not preclude the idea of a leader.

      God never did, and never will, sanction gay relationships.

      Report this comment

      brother_ed  
    • termyt
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 1:26pm

      Hmm. Maybe. I’ll have to look up the definition of “abomination” again.

      Report this comment

      termyt  
  • brknhrt
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 10:20am

    Why would anyone care what an atheist thinks about the new pope?

    Report this comment

    brknhrt  
    • brother_ed
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 10:52am

      @BRKNHRT

      Because athiests aren’t stupid?

      Report this comment

      brother_ed  
    • zorro
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 11:48am

      SE Cupp is. So why should we care what an idiot athiest thinks of the Pope? Is this a better question?

      Report this comment

      zorro  
    • carbonyes
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 12:30pm

      Brother Ed, atheist are greatly deceived. That puts them in a position where they are open to even greater deception, for they know not the Truth. For your information and clarification, Jesus Christ is Truth. Simple but profound.

      Report this comment

      carbonyes  
    • brother_ed
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 12:36pm

      From a religious standpoint, atheists are only those who have yet to see the light.

      I count many atheists as friends.

      Even Saul fought against the church before he was Paul, then look at all the good he did!

      Report this comment

      brother_ed  
    • neverending
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 11:37pm

      Amen – read this after I posted.

      Report this comment

      neverending  
  • Catholic_Conservative
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 10:01am

    Regardless of whether or not you follow the pope, or whether or not you’re catholic, I think its high time Christians of all denominations begin to band together in order to fight for what is truly right by fighting against the “progressivism” that is morally plaguing our country. I believe Pope Francis will be a wonderful leader, and I believe is anyone out there who follows Christ, regardless of denomination.

    Report this comment

    Catholic_Conservative  
  • Locked
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 10:00am

    Not sure why SE Cupp is getting all this flak from people here… as to the article, it had some glaring issues.

    “Cupp: Is the New Pope a Blessing for Republicans?”

    As most Catholics in the US vote for socially liberal candidates, the answer is “Probably not.” As is pointed out time and again, most US Catholics don’t see eye-to-eye with their church’s teachings. While the new pope may bring some wayward members back into the Church, it will likely be because of the social justice image and not because they suddenly realize contraceptives are inventions of the devil.

    “For decades Republicans have asserted that Hispanics were a winnable demographic because they are largely Catholic, and thus socially conservative. The numbers, stubbornly for the GOP, have not borne that out.”

    It’s not surprising that Cupp fails to mention the obvious here: while socially conservative Hispanics may agree on some social issues, Republicans have for years perpetuated the stereotype of Hispanics as lazy, English-illiterate, poor illegal immigrants. While some certainly fit this image, stereotyping it to be the norm is shooting yourself in the foot. Complaining “Why won’t they vote for us?” is ridiculous: you don’t offer a handshake with one hand and a punch in the face with the other and expect people to just focus on the handshake.

    Unless the GOP treats Hispanics as people, and not just potential votes, they won’t win.

    Report this comment

    Locked  
    • DeniseJ
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 11:55am

      You are the one confusing the issue. The GOP complaint is ILLEGAL immigrants. Not legal ones, and the immigrants in question are majority Hispanic.

      Report this comment

      DeniseJ  
    • sta
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 12:38pm

      I’m not sure if you’re Latino, Catholic or where you’re located, but let me explain something to you. Catholics of all flavors have gotten crappy Catechisis since the hippy days of the 60s when the libs grabbed “Vatican II” to make Kumbaya Catholic lite. JPII in his later years, Benedict in his entire term and brought serious Catholic teaching back to Catholics. Francis I (God willing) will keep it up. When we know WHY we are conservative, ProLife Catholics, we grow.
      Our local Spanish language parish is one of the most conservative around. It is FILLED with Pro-Life happy young families. When you go to their parking lot you still see Romney/Ryan stickers on the Family Buses (you know, 10 passenger vans filled with siblings). They priest uses books for their Religious Formation classes that are right out of the catechism.
      Benedict corrected the Roman Missal, closed seminaries that housed the Lavender Mafia and smacked down polyester nuns with New Age tendencies.
      Things are changing.

      Report this comment

      sta  
    • termyt
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 1:32pm

      “Republicans have for years perpetuated the stereotype of Hispanics as lazy, English-illiterate, poor illegal immigrants.”

      You are off a little. This should read, “Democrats have for years perpetuated the stereotype that Republican believe Hispanics are lazy, English-illiterate, poor illegal immigrants.”

      Report this comment

      termyt  
    • Locked
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 1:49pm

      @Denisej

      ” Not legal ones, and the immigrants in question are majority Hispanic.”

      Right, we haven’t ever read comments here about how English should be a requirement for citizenship?
      Or that it’s totally fine to pull over folks on the suspicion that they might be illegals?
      Or that Rubio should be put forward as a candidate, because that alone will secure the Latino vote?

      I’m only reporting on the perception that’s being presented – and not in liberal circles, but from comments on sites like these. If you think Hispanics should be voting for the GOP while ignoring what message they’re getting from Republicans, you’re going to continue to be confused about why the GOP is losing elections.

      Report this comment

      Locked  
  • willbedone
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 9:47am

    Much ado about nothing!
    Both The Blaze and Cupp could do better.

    Report this comment

    willbedone  
  • Listen_then_think
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 9:39am

    Didn’t read it. Don’t give a crap what Cupp says. She needs to be fired.

    Report this comment

    Listen_then_think  
  • RayOne
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 9:35am

    The WH, wWingBoysClub, & EliteFriends are rolling the dice on this Pope. Much like the threat to the SupremeCourt at the first SotU speech. They want him to ‘earn’ a NobelPeacePrize.
    Let Pope Francis,
    Speak for himself and his church.

    Report this comment

    RayOne  
  • texaspug
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 9:29am

    I USED to like Cupp… but now, I don’t care for her writings…. is ignoring, so publicly, a group HERSELF going to help anything!

    I like many gay people and TRUST them more than I do many non-gay people. I like them because they are nice honest people… THAT is who they are… I doubt their niceness and honesty has anything to do because they are gay…. but I don’t like things shoved in my face… and I feel that is what Cupp is doing… is it her right?…. YES! but I also DON’T have to listen to her! I have stropped watching ANYTHING she is in….

    Report this comment

    texaspug  
    • MRSBoJangles
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 5:04pm

      I agree. I can’t help but thinking thqt she drank the koolaid. This progressivism is potent stuff. And if I here the word “nuansed” one more time…

      Report this comment

      MRSBoJangles  
  • SIG40ONDAHIP
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 9:26am

    I couldn’t care less, he’s just a man in a robe, I worship God not a man

    Report this comment

    SIG40ONDAHIP  
    • sligresda
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 11:05am

      thank you! i was excoriated yesterday when i suggested that catholics treat the pope like he is God.

      Report this comment

      sligresda  
    • zorro
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 11:50am

      Both of you are idiots.

      Report this comment

      zorro  
    • sta
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 12:45pm

      I’m Catholic and the only man I worship is “True God and True Man” Jesus Christ Our Lord.
      That’s how it is with all Catholics. None of us worship the Pope.

      Report this comment

      sta  
  • americanfirst
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 9:07am

    …not a Catholic.

    Report this comment

    americanfirst  
  • americanfirst
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 9:04am

    Actually ehhh not so much…
    the majority may use contraception maybe… but understand the problem with extra-marital sex and sexual promiscuity.
    Catholics don’t belive in abortion – period.
    The don’t believe in gay-marriage at all but like any red blooded human are sympathetic to everyone’s plight. Love the sinner – hate the sin! Homosexuals are claimed as God’s children too but just like heterosexuals, their sins are not.
    Can’t speak to masturbation but it is a given that personal gratification at the expense of personal discipline (that is the capacity to tell yourself “no” to you vaman) is specifically the greater part of all society’s social disfunction.
    The guy in the funny hat – authoritative or not (baed on anyone’s beliefs) serves a very important key function. He sets a standard for the world to follow and that is incredibly important.
    Human beings left to their own devices (with NO established standards) don’t historically behave like adults, Vaman.
    Rather they tend to be our 30, 40 and 50 year old adolescents in our societies that refuse to grow up – largely because living a standard and exercising a personal code of behavior is too hard for these adult children!
    Most people adhering to “a” standard have the maturity and the personal fortitude to see this life through with the intended grace and dignity that gives worth to our souls.
    You need to quit being part of the problem – and start being part of the solution.
    And for the record – I am

    Report this comment

    americanfirst  
    • carbonyes
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 9:25am

      Very aptly said. Continue in your living as you have well spoken.

      Report this comment

      carbonyes  
    • brother_ed
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 11:03am

      @AMERICANFIRST

      VAMAN uses examples of those who who gave been shown ‘the way’ and have decided that it was too hard to follow thus leaving them only their own self-justification to congratulate themselves for leaving the path.

      It is a common oh if the Left.

      In my experience, the biggest detractors of religion are those that have left.

      They can leave the church, but they can’t leave the church alone.

      Report this comment

      brother_ed  
  • PlanetReality
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 9:03am

    Lets pray he is blessing for a lost nation and brings a stronger faith in our lord’s word and the church which needs structure and balance!!
    Still cant understand the percentage of our faith that support abortion!!!
    Isaiah 66:18

    Report this comment

    PlanetReality  
  • carbonyes
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 8:57am

    It is good to see that the conclave selected a conservative on the well defined issues of gays and their perverted lifestyle as well as the issue of abortion. We will see how that plays out – a victory for truth and righteousness.

    Report this comment

    carbonyes  
  • tmctester
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 8:50am

    Francis will be a sign of contradiction to those who can only view the world through political eyes. SE Cupp’s interest in how Francis will pull people right (based on his pro-life/marriage work) or left (concern for the poor) bears this out. People who are compelled to put everything into Republican or Democrat boxes are going to have a hard time understanding Francis, just as they have a hard time understanding Ron Paul’s views on foreign intervention and war. I’ll enjoy watching the heads of Glenn Beck and his Blaze visitors spin.

    Report this comment

    tmctester  
    • carbonyes
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 9:21am

      TMCTESTER,
      as most conservatives would well agree, it is a good thing to be concerned about the poor. The conservatives do not have a problem with helping the poor. Many do so out of their own pocketbooks. Rarely will you see the liberals do the same. The liberals like other people to part with their money but greedily guard their own stash.
      It is particularly a good thing for the church to help the poor, which translates into helping those you have a responsibility to. Biblically, the Good Samaritan types would always help the poor. Traditional Americans had it in their blood to do so. Sad to say, the selfish mind sets that today occupy many in modern America have little or no affinity to parting with their money. That would not have anything to do with the expulsion of the Bible, prayer and Judeo-Christian values form nearly every facet of our social-cultural-political environment and most notably the school system, would it? Most absolutely so!
      One of the main differences between a liberal and a conservative is that liberals are always giving things away, most notably other people’s money and that to curry favor – their vote, while true conservatives are their to help with a hand up, which may initially involve parting with money, usually their own, with the objective of getting someone less fortunate on their feet to be able to help themselves and maybe further down the road to help another.
      Huge difference in both impact and result.

      Report this comment

      carbonyes  
    • Chazael
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 10:22am

      @ carbonyes

      Yep.

      It is about not giving to Caesar what is God’s (Matt 22:21).

      Report this comment

      Chazael  
  • vaman
    Mar. 14, 2013 at 8:47am

    The majority of catholics in this country have marginalized their church, as they use contraception, believe in abortion and gay marriage and masturbate*…all of which are strictly prohibited by the man in the funny hat. They have become adults and see how ridiculous it all is.

    Report this comment

    vaman  
    • neocon1
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 9:38am

      vman

      speak for your self….ESPECIALLY on masterbation and homosexuality.

      Report this comment

      neocon1  
    • sta
      Mar. 14, 2013 at 12:42pm

      Speak for yourself, cause you sure are speaking about the Catholics I know.
      Look, there is a difference between “Born Catholic” and “Practicing Catholic”.
      If you’re dressing up and going on Christmas and Easter, if you’re using artificial birth control, if you’re actively supporting homosexual marriage, etc. you’re not really Catholic, you’re playing Catholic.
      But the MSM accepts anyone, including Rainbow Sash people as Catholic if they say they are.
      That’s who they poll.

      Report this comment

      sta  
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