God & Country

Obama Meets With Cardinal Francis George, America's Top Bishop

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March 18, 2009 RSS Feed Print
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By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country

President Obama met yesterday with the nation's top Roman Catholic bishop, Cardinal Francis George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The White House emphasized that the president and the cardinal, both of Chicago, already had something of a pre-existing relationship. "The president and Cardinal George have had several conversations over the months and had planned to get together in D.C. as soon as they could," said a White House source.

At least until recently, Cardinal George has taken the opposite tack, emphasizing his distance from Obama, according to Religion News Service:

Though Obama and George have both held prominent posts in Illinois, where they met a number of times, they never developed a relationship, the cardinal said last November. Obama, who is Protestant, was a state senator in Illinois from 1997 to 2004, when he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

"It's always been a friendly meeting, never substantive," George said at a November meeting of the USCCB in Baltimore.

No word on what was discussed during the half-hour meeting—the White House and the USCCB both released brief, oblique statements—but I have to believe it was pretty tense. Consider the three news releases that the Catholic bishops have issued about the White House since Obama took office:

Executive Order on Embryonic Stem Cells 'A Sad Victory of Politics over Science and Ethics,' Says Cardinal Rigali


Bishops' Pro-Life Official "Gravely Concerned" Over Threat to HHS Conscience Protection Regulation


Gallup Poll: Most Americans Disapprove of Mexico City Policy Reversal

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Relying on the politics of division has accompanied an increasing gap between rich and poor, a terrible economic crisis, and has offered no solution to the millions of people who go without health care coverage. But in the Catholic social tradition, the notion of the common good has specific demands and transcends partisanship. The government’s role is to serve the common good—not just the interests of a select few. I think the meeting of the President of the United States and The President of the USCCB is a step in that direction. The common good requires public policies that build a just and stable economy, and that meet basic human needs. America is hurting. I personally am grateful to a President and a Cardinal willing to meet and helping us move beyond division into effective policies that build a true culture of the common good. But more needs to be done to expand the dialog and to assist in the education of Catholics about the common good. One way to truly uphold the value of life, is that we need to work at ways to reduce abortions and pay attention to the economic reasons that remain core to abortion. It is imperative we not just say we value life with mere words but with viable actions. When was the last time you reached out to a woman living in poverty?

Sister Sharon of DC 9:34AM March 20, 2009

must've been a freakin' SHOCK for the cardinal: sitting in there alone with the possible Antichrist.

Someone out there has GOT to report on George's take on the conversation.

I want a report on it !!!!!!!!

mike of NJ 2:30PM March 19, 2009

It doesn't matter whether it is the economy or questions of ethics, Obama just seems to be compelled to do something anything whether it is right or wrong just so long as it is done quickly without evaluation or consideration.

I don't expect it to be too long before people will be pulling off their Obama bumper stickers so people won't know they voted for him. It is taking awhile but people are starting to see how they screwed up last November as they do every four years.

This might just turn out to be the biggest mistake since Jimmy Carter........Lord help us.

Joe of MI 1:16PM March 18, 2009

God & Country

Dan Gilgoff covers religion for U.S. News & World Report. He is the author of The Jesus Machine: How James Dobson, Focus on the Family, and Evangelical America are Winning the Culture War, and is a former politics editor at beliefnet. E-mail Dan at godandcountry@usnews.com.

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