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* Illinois Review has published a piece by Robert Klein Engler who wants Gov. Pat Quinn, Rep. Marty Moylan and others excommunicated from the Catholic Church. Moylan used Pope Francis’ statement about gay people “Who am I to judge?” to justify his vote for the gay marriage bill.

Engler is upset that Cardinal George has remained silent…

At one time, Cardinals in Chicago did speak up. In the summer of 1966, Lou Christie’s song ‘Rhapsody in the Rain’ was banned from airplay on WLS and WCFL–the two major pop stations in Chicago at the time, and the nation’s 2nd largest radio market.

The song was banned because of the objections of John Cardinal Cody. “The Cardinal thought that the rhythmic windshield wipers while “makin’ out in the rain” and “makin’ love in the storm,” were just a little too morally corrosive…”

* I’d never heard of that song before. Here it is…

Suffice it to say, Cardinal Cody probably did Chicago radio listeners a big favor.

* Anyway, back to Engler…

How can [the Cardinal] allow elected Catholic officials to go forward with an insult to all Catholics? If the Cardinal reasons that he cannot carry through with this excommunication, then he should give Catholics in the archdiocese an explanation as to why they must tolerate this insult to his office and the Church. […]

See how the mighty have fallen over 50 years in Illinois. Once, a Cardinal with ears wide open, had a song banned from the radio. Some say he was objecting to what could be considered only a venial sin. Another Cardinal, today, with eyes wide open, refuses to stop the Democratic enemies of the Church from inflicting great harm. He is silent about those who commit a mortal sin.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 2:53 pm

Comments

However it turns out Cardinal Cody was a big Hendrix fan, but did consider excommunicating Bob Dylan for going electric…

Comment by OneMan Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:01 pm
Drivel! Cardinal Cody was was the exact opposite of Pope Francis. Cody enjoyed the privileged lifestyle of a Prince of the Church and died extremely wealthy. Plus, he had an alleged mistress who received furs, jewels, and home in Boca Raton. One million dollars disappeared from church coffers during his “reign” in Chicago.

Comment by Nearly Normal Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:02 pm
Cardinal George is too silent on social issues? Wow - that’s a stretch.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:05 pm
Rumor was that Cody knew a thing or two about morally corrosive rhythm if you know what I mean.

Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:05 pm
That would seem to be a drastic step in comparison with the Cardinal’s peers.

Has any politician been excommunicated over the issue of abortion, same sex marriage, etc.? IIRC, none have.

But yeah, that post and a little more grandstanding will surely get the job done.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:05 pm
Perhaps this is more what they are looking for…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpGHNkQT63A

Comment by OneMan Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:06 pm
Does Illinois Review want some cheese with that whine????

Comment by train111 Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:07 pm
NN, http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/cardinal-sins/Content?oid=870710

Comment by 100 Miles West Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:08 pm
Hey, now, let’s go easy on the Lou Christie bashing. That was a heck of a falsetto.

Comment by Misterwhipple Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:17 pm
Thanks for the link 100 Miles west. It was worse than I remembered.

Comment by Nearly Normal Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:17 pm
Ahh, the Catholic Pharisees, I believe Jesus would have a bit to say to them about who should excommunicate who.

Comment by Phineas J. Whoopee Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:18 pm
Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. I’m not sure why some of my fellow Catholics cannot recognize that one can be opposed to a position morally while at the same time be opposed to government-sponsored discrimination. Or even hold a different view on a moral issue than the official Church position. This seems too much like a political litmus test which doesn’t generally work out so well for the extremists that try to use them.

Comment by thechampaignlife Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:21 pm
I grew up in the burbs and I heard that song on the radio quite a bit (in those days it was referred to as the windshield wiper song). Looks like Lightning Is Striking Again!

But to the topic, the power of the church is not what it used to be and throughout its history the church has many times favored intolerance over love and respect. Mr. Engler is clinging to a phantom righteousness of the past. The mighty may have fallen in the past 50 years, and hopefully taken their arrogance and hypocrisy down with them.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:21 pm
Cardinal Cody didn’t have a whole lot to say when the federal grand jury started subpoenaing bank records.

That was an explosive series by the Sun-Times and the federales couldn’t duck it.

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/101190/In-the-1980s-a-Chicago-Newspaper-Investigated-Cardinal-Cody.aspx

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:22 pm
Perhaps they should recommend excommunicating the Pope, who seems to be full of all sorts of unseemly notions.

Comment by Aldyth Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:26 pm
And then the Cardinal needs to work on getting Illinois to repeal laws allowing divorce and he needs to get contraceptives off of the shelves of stores. After that, he can work on shutting down Sunday alcohol sales.

Where is the Cardinal on these important issues offensive to all Catholics and an affront to the Church?!?

Comment by Pot calling kettle Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:27 pm
Excommunication? Can’t this all be cleared up through confession?

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:29 pm
aahh, Lou Christie–Lightning Strikes again and again…..loved Lou Christie!

Comment by Susiejones Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:36 pm
Still waiting for all of those calls to excommunicate those that voted to continue the death penalty.

Comment by dave Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:40 pm
As much as I would love to weigh in on the dead-enders who continue to cling to the wrong side of history, there is a much bigger affront to decency that must be addressed:

Lou Christie rules, and “Rhapsody In The Rain” is a great slice of 60s pop. For shame, Rich Miller. For shame.

Comment by South of Sherman Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:40 pm
Well, gee do you think they closed all those parishes and schools because there were too many people clogging up traffic getting to Mass?

The ArchDiocese of Chicago has suffered a hemorrhage of parishioners, some to the Diocese of Joliet and others to other churches or disenchantment. That does translate into loss of political clout. Plus don’t forget that polling has improved which means the pols can look at the good Cardinal and see that he, at most, can deliver maybe 1/3 of his flock on the issue of SSM.

Comment by cermak_rd Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:41 pm
Exactly, because what the Catholic Church needs right now is less members.

Comment by Knome Sane Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:42 pm
Mr. Engler’s insistence on conformity with Catholic teaching only goes so far, though. Among his articles for the amusingly-titled “American Thinker” website is one called, “Five Reasons to Resist the U.S. Bishops on Immigration Reform.”

Apparently, you only have to do what the bishops say until it conflicts with your xenophobia.

Comment by South of Sherman Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:51 pm
From the article:

“… a clear moral choice: Be Catholic and follow Catholic teachings or be a Democrat.”

Comment by Blue bird Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:54 pm
Mr. Engler, like so many other people who use their religion as a political sledgehammer, does the Church a disservice.

He is exactly the same as those who say the Church must represent THEIR political views. He wants those who disagree with him in the political arena to be punished in the Church.

It is also interesting in that Mr. Engler is neither a political nor religious figure. Just a cranky conservative who wants to send his enemies to Hell.

Contrary to the views of some progressives, Cardinal George is a gentle and peaceful man who holds firmly to his principles and his faith. He is unlikely to undertake a pogrom within the Church.

Comment by Adam Smith Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 4:08 pm
Interesting walk down memory lane with Cardinal Cody, but damn, that John Conroy piece in the Reader is long!

Comment by Ann Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 4:13 pm
“…He is silent about those who commit a mortal sin” of course we don’t want to discuss the “acquired” artifacts that the “church” oversees in the Vatican !! now do we?

Comment by railrat Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 4:16 pm
Hard to avoid an ad hominem attack with Engler.

He simply uses attacking the Church hierarchy as a method to broadcast an extreme political agenda. The Church, and others, would do well just to ignore him.

Comment by walkinfool Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 4:20 pm
Most of what I would like to say would get me banned. Robert Klein Engler, get over yourself!

Comment by Because I said so... Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 4:33 pm
Why is the Church tax exempt when it continually involves itself in politics and lobbying?

Comment by Archiesmom Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 4:40 pm
Rich,
I think it’s going to take me about a week to forgive you for posting that Lou Christie song. Ugh, that was painful.

Comment by Anonymour Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 5:05 pm
Cardinal George was oddly silent during the last days and weeks of the marriage debate. I think he realized how toxic he’s become. When he said all that hateful stuff to Mark Brown during the summer about Catholics who’d disagreed with him over the ICIRR funding, he did a lot of damage to his own standing.

Comment by Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 5:13 pm
Lou Christie banning just allowed Meat Loaf’s “Paradise by the Dashboard Light”

Comment by a drop in Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 5:15 pm
Could someone clue Engler the vote was to amend IL law and not the Sunday Missle

Comment by CircularFiringSquad Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 5:45 pm
“Rhapsody In The Rain.” Flashback to making out in the parking lot of a pizza place on Archer - no! Must think political thoughts, must think political thoughts ….

Comment by West Side the Best Side Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 5:48 pm
Wow - Lou Christie gets thrown into the marriage equality debate. Whooda thunk it?

In response to self-appointed censors like John Cardinal Cody (as Fahey Flynn and the Trib called him)Christie was forced to put out an edited version of the song where the line “our love went much too far” with “our love came like a falling star”.

This post made me chuckle and remember the Silver Dollar Survey. It is interesting that anyone today would expect to be taken seriously by calling for a return to 1966.

Comment by DuPage Dave Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 7:07 pm
I wonder what Lou Christie would think about all this! And, seriously, did anyone ever hear or read about the book written by the great Priest, Columnist and Author (may he rest in peace) Father Andrew M.Greeley? Although he denied it, in his VERY popular Book, THE CARDINAL SINS, from 30 years back, people throughOUT Chicagoland always wondered privately (and aloud) about whether there was an impliedly scandalous relation to the Cardinal, who Father Greeley had MANY a serious disagreement with…!

As far as Pat Quinn goes, as a “Catholic,” it’s well-documented that Cardinal George and many Illinois Bishops disdain some of his social positions and COULD reprimand him in some way, perhaps even as to serious consideration as to denial of Communion, although with PQ in a position as such a POWERful, influential Catholic, and as they DO, politically, represent an Autonomous State via the Vatican, diplomatically-speaking it’s not likely…

Comment by Just The Way It Is One Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 7:49 pm
Give the Cardinal credit: he may not choose his battles wisely, but he knows when the battle is lost, and withdraws to fight another day.

The Catholic Church hasn’t spanned three millenia by leaving it all on the battlefield. Who knows…sometime in the next
thousand years the world might swing the other direction on social issues.

Comment by Juvenal Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 9:02 pm
Its not good to throw stones, brother Engler.

When there are calls to excommunicate those pols that voted to end SNAP funding and other votes contrary to established church teachings, then get back to us.

Comment by low level Thursday, Nov 14, 13 @ 8:59 am