A Papal Audience for Members
It sounds like layfolk still hoping to score tickets to tomorrow's papal Mass at Nationals Park are out of luck. But, as is often the case, members of Congress appear to have been blessed with better fortune. The Catholic ones, anyway.
More than 100 members of the House and Senate are expected to attend tomorrow's Mass, accoring to congressional sources. The lawmakers will be transported from the Capitol to the stadium on several chartered buses, presumably with a police escort that will help them avoid the street closures and traffic jams of biblical proportions that have been forecast. Dozens of Hill staffers are also expected to attend, though it is not clear how many will take the special buses and how many will simply find their own way to the stadium.
The Archdiocese of Washington handled ticketing for the event, choosing to invite congressional leaders and members from the D.C. area, as well as all Catholic lawmakers. "We invited Catholic members since this is a religious service," explained Archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Gibbs, pointing out that there was a civil event with Pope Benedict XVI at the White House today that non-Catholic lawmakers could attend.
How did the Archdiocese figure out which members were Catholic? "Religious affiliation is widely known," Gibbs said, adding that "the US Conference of Catholic Bishops also has staff that work with Congress."
Members' religious affiliations are indeed easy to find in several different reference books (though some lawmakers are vague, saying "Christian" or "Protestant" rather than giving specific denominations). At 29 percent, Roman Catholics make up the single largest faith group in Congress, according to this Religion News Service story.
Non-Catholic members interviewed by Capitol Briefing seemed unbothered by their lack of invitations to tomorrow's Mass. Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.), a Protestant who is active in the antiabortion movement, said the invite list made sense because "it means a great deal for Catholc members and their staffs to go. Obviously for the members who are Catholic it's much more important to them" than it would be to non-Catholics.
Catholic Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said he wasn't sure how the invitations or ticketing worked, but he was excited to be going. "I'm just getting on the bus. If I get a chance to see the Pope, I'm going to see the Pope," he said.
By Ben Pershing |
April 16, 2008; 4:44 PM ET
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, Senate
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Posted by: AMERICANS | April 17, 2008 10:26 AM
Wow!
No wonder the administration is making such a big deal about the papal visit. I'm sure that everyone in Washington must need extra prayers.
And again the media is doing their part, by not focusing on the real news.
Story 1: Bush admits that he approved of torture and water-boarding. War criminal?
Story 2: The US house is giving tax breaks for home-builders as a part of the fix for the mortgage situation because they were threatened to not receive campaign contributions.
Story 3: What war?
Story 4: We are not in a recession.
So the media chooses to focus on the pope. Half the people in the US do not even believe in God. The other half won't once armageddon starts.
Posted by: Yes We Can | April 17, 2008 1:39 PM
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FROM : ALL AMERICANS
HELP!!!
PEOPLE - - BEGIN TO RESEARCH and PROBE THIS ! ! ! !
SPECIAL "CLOSED SESSION" OF U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Word has begun leaking from last nights special,
Closed-door session of the United States House of Representatives.
Not only did members discuss new surveillance provisions as was the publicly stated
Reason for the closed door session, they also discussed :
1. The Imminent Collapse of the U.S. economy to occur by September 2008
2. The imminent collapse of US federal government finances by February 2009
3. The possibility of Civil War inside the USA as a result of the collapse
4. Advance round-ups of "insurgent U.S. citizens" likely to move against the Government
5. The Detention of those rounded-up at "REX 84" camps constructed throughout the USA,
6. The possibility of retaliation against members of Congress for the collapses
7. The Location of "safe facilities" for members of Congress and their families
To reside during expected massive civil unrest
8. The necessary and unavoidable merger of the United States with Canada
(for its natural resources) and with Mexico (for its cheap labor pool)
9. The issuance of a new currency - THE AMERO -
For all three nations as the proposed solution to the coming economic armageddon.
Members of Congress Have Been FORBIDDEN to reveal what was discussed
Several are so furious and concerned about the future of the country,
they have begun leaking info.
US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson
Has Already Received His PERSONAL BAIL-OUT
Under Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's .. Former leadership at
Goldman Sachs, the company has been instrumental to its penetration of Western
capital and other markets. - - Henry Paulson was vastly effective in Communist
China's .. Interests and enabling their access to Western economic assistance
and high technology
In late January 2006, Goldman Sachs purchased a stake in the Industrial and
Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China's biggest bank, for $2.58 billion
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson''''s .. Personal stake .. In this transaction
was $25 million
A PERSONAL BAIL OUT for : Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and His
Criminal Friends
(Mar 27, 2008 (ruters.com) BBC) ... White House Resists Pleas for .. Mortgage Bailout
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As clamor rises for federal help for homeowners
who face losing their homes .. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson .. Seems
to be digging in heels against the effort.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Paulson sounded a tougher note than ever against any
possibility of bailout for individual mortgage holders, singling out the growing number
going "under water" as their loans exceed the diminishing value of their properties.
please this is a simple thing to fix, why are you bending over for all of the wallstreet scum.
you have the right to do what this paulson/ben did for wallstreet,saying they had to to save america. so you can say the same thing, but this time you would be saveing america, and not wallstreet.
you must come out and stop the forcloseing of all these millions of homes, now,
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS MANDATE THAT ALL MORTGAGES THAT HAVE BEEN TAKEN OUT FROM 2000 TO 2007 BY ALL AMERICANS TO BE RE-FI A.S.A.P. NO EXCEPTIONS,
NO MATTER WHAT THE CREDIT IS, THEY WILL RE-FI EVERYONE AT JUST OVER PRIME, AND AT A RATE OF 40% OF WHAT IS OWED ON THE PROPERTY( PERSONAL HOMES ONLY)!!
WHY, BECAUSE MOST HOST ARE SELLING AT FORCLOSER FOR 20 TO 30 CENTS ON THE DOLLAR, SO AS TO WHAT PAULSON SAID TO BEARSTEARN 2 DOLLARS IS BETTER THAN NO DOLLARS SO TAKE THE DEAL..NOW REMEMBER ALL OF YOU, IF THIS COMPANY IN 6 MONTHS LOST 98% OF THEIR VALUE FROM 700 BILLION TO WHAT IS IT NOW. AND FOR SOMEONE TO COME IN AND BUY IT FOR NOTHING, WHAT IS THE REAL VALUE OF ALL THESE HOMES???NOBODY KNOWS, SO WHY NOT JUST START OVER??? AND STOP THE BLEEDING FOR ALL AMERICANS.
FOR-AMERICA@HOTMAIL.COM
DAVID A BELANGER
FOR COMMON SENSE THIS IS SO EASY TO FIX DONT MAKE IT HARDER THAN IT IS PEOPLE.
AND LOOK AT THIS MORNINGS NEWS, THE GREAT POTATOHEAD PAULSON,AND BEN ARE IN TALKS WITH ANOTHER WALLSTREET FIRM GOING DOWN. MERRILL LYNCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHAT MORE BAILOUTS FOR WALLSTREET COMING.