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Obama lied to the Pope

Obama lied to the Pope
Obama: "Here in the United States, we cherish religious liberty"

By Mary Ann Mueller
VOL Special Correspondent
www.virtueonline.org
September 30, 2015

As Pope Francis was about to wing his way back to the Vatican Sunday, President Barack Obama was in New York schmoozing the Gay Pride crowd at a Democratic National Committee gala in their honor.

"Thank you, Democrats ... thank you, New York ... It is good to be in New York," Obama said, wading into his topic. "Although, I do apologize -- this week is rough for you guys. I mean, traffic is bad enough during the United Nations General Assembly, but you add the Pope to it and that's serious traffic."

A few days before while Pope Francis was at a welcoming ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House Obama told him and the American people, "You remind us that people are only truly free when they can practice their faith freely. Here in the United States, we cherish religious liberty. It was the basis for so much of what brought us together. And here in the United States, we cherish our religious liberty ... we stand with you in defense of religious freedom and interfaith dialogue, knowing that people everywhere must be able to live out their faith free from fear and free from intimidation."

Five days later Obama told the LGBT crowd, "We affirm that we cherish our religious freedom and are profoundly respectful of religious traditions. But we also have to say clearly that our religious freedom doesn't grant us the freedom to deny our fellow Americans their constitutional rights. And that even as we are respectful and accommodating genuine concerns and interests of religious institutions, we need to reject politicians who are supporting new forms of discrimination as a way to scare up votes. That's not how we move America forward."

While enroute to Rome aboard Shepherd One, the Pope fielded a question from ABC News, "Holy Father, do you also support those individuals, including government officials, who say they cannot in good conscience, their own personal conscience, abide by some laws or discharge their duties as government officials, for example in issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples? Do you support those kinds of claims of religious liberty?"

"I can't have in mind all cases that can exist about conscientious objection. But, yes, I can say conscientious objection is a right that is a part of every human right. It is a right. And if a person does not allow others to be a conscientious objector, he denies a right," Pope Francis replied.

Most recently, a Christian Kentucky county clerk was jailed for her refusal to issue same-sex marriage licenses. Kimberly Davis is not the only one who is standing upon their faith -- there are other clerks of court, county judges, bakers, photographers, pizza makers, florists, and even nuns scattered around the United States who also are standing firm on their understanding of Biblical principles and Scriptural truth and refusing to yield to secular and cultural pressure to violate their Christian beliefs.

In fact it has been reported, and confirmed by the Vatican, that at the Pope's request, Kimberly Davis met privately with Pope Francis at the Apostolic Nunciature, the Holy See's diplomatic mission in Washington. Francis commended her for her courage and advised her to "stay strong." Both promised to pray for each other.

"We affirm that we cherish our religious freedom and are profoundly respectful of religious traditions," Obama said at the LGBT Gala. "But we also have to say clearly that our religious freedom doesn't grant us the freedom to deny our fellow Americans their constitutional rights."

Aboard Shepherd-One (the papal airplane), Pope Francis elevated following one's conscience from a constitutional right to a human right.

"Conscientious objection must enter into every juridical structure because it is a right, a human right," he told the reporters flying with him. "Otherwise we would end up in a situation where we select what is a right, saying 'this right that has merit, this one does not.' It (conscientious objection) is a human right. It is a right and if we want to make peace we have to respect all rights."

Following his time at the DNC with the LGBT crowd, Obama addressed the same United Nations General Assembly that Pope Francis did just days before. The President told the UN General Assembly that he is committed to protecting human rights.

"I have made it clear that even when America's core interests are not directly threatened, we stand ready to do our part to prevent mass atrocities and protect basic human rights," the President said.

While still in Washington, the Pope quoted the Declaration of Independence while addressing the joint session of Congress. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

"We mean it when we say that all are created equal," Obama noted in New York. "And we understand that that has to be operative in our own individual lives, but we also have to express it through the common enterprise called government."

On Shepherd-One, the pontiff recalled the epic poem of Chanson Roland recounting the Battle of Roncevaux Pass that was fought between the Christians and Muslims during Charlemagne's reign.

"It always moved me when I read -- and I read it many times -- Chanson Roland, when the people were all in line and before them was the baptismal font -- the baptismal font or the sword," Francis explained. "And, they had to choose. They weren't permitted conscientious objection."

The Pope says conscientious objection is a fundamental right. "It is a right and if we want to make peace we have to respect all rights."

During the Pope's comments on the White House lawn he referenced Martin Luther King.

"To use a telling phrase of the Rev. Martin Luther King, we can say that we have defaulted on a promissory note and now is the time to honor it," he said explaining the need to take care of the earth our "common home."

In New York, Obama quoted Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in San Francisco.

"Harvey Milk once said, 'If a gay person makes it, the doors are open to everyone,'" Obama quoted.

Obama, who has clearly shown he is fundamentally supportive of the LGBT movement, posthumously gave Milk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award, more than 30 years after his death for his social activism. Others in that category include: Martin Luther King, Helen Keller, Jesse Jackson, Rosa Parks, Ethel Kennedy, and Andrew Young.

At the same time, the President also awarded tennis great Billie Jean King with the same medal more than a decade after she retired from professional tennis -- and following her coming out as a lesbian.

" So we've got to keep striving every day to treat each other the way I believe God sees us, as equal in His eyes," Obama noted in New York.

"Your Holiness, in your words and deeds, you set a profound moral example. And in these gentle but firm reminders of our obligations to God and to one another, you are shaking us out of complacency," Obama told the Pope last week. "You shake our conscience from slumber; you call on us to rejoice in Good News, and give us confidence that we can come together in humility and service, and pursue a world that is more loving, more just, and more free."

In New York, Obama uses political support of religious freedom is a ploy to get votes and a new form of discrimination.

"And that even as we are respectful and accommodating genuine concerns and interests of religious institutions, we need to reject politicians who are supporting new forms of discrimination as a way to scare up votes," he said. "We have a responsibility to stand up to bigotry ... We have a responsibility to stand up for freedom ... We speak up to condemn hatred against anybody ... we've got to be champions on behalf of justice for everybody, not just our own. That's what makes us human."

At the White House, the Pope said that humanity is defined by reconciliation, justice, and freedom.

"The efforts which were recently made to mend broken relationships and to open new doors to cooperation within our human family represent positive steps along the path of reconciliation, justice and freedom," he said.

Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular contributor to VirtueOnline

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