RUSH: Now to the pope. Saturday in Yonkers, a youth rally at St. Joseph’s Seminary. I said earlier that the pope knows more about American history than a lot of Americans do. He does love this country, and he knows more about what’s happening here cultural, the challenges the country faces than a lot of Americans do. Here is a portion of his remarks, again Saturday in Yonkers, youth rally, 25,000 minimum at St. Joseph’s Seminary.
POPE: Some today argue that respect for freedom of the individual makes it wrong to seek truth, including the truth about what is good. In some circles to speak of truth is seen as controversial or divisive, and consequently best kept in the private sphere. And in truth’s place — or better said its absence — an idea has spread which, in giving value to everything indiscriminately, claims to assure freedom and to liberate conscience. This we call relativism. But what purpose has a ‘freedom’ which, in disregarding truth, pursues what is false or wrong? How many young people have been offered a hand which in the name of freedom or experience has led them to addiction, to moral or intellectual confusion, to hurt, to a loss of self-respect, even to despair and so tragically and sadly to the taking of their own life?
RUSH: Now, this to me, I found this fascinating, when he was talking about the concept of freedom here. Let me, ladies and gentlemen, focus on this. He starts by saying, ‘Some today argue that respect for freedom of the individual makes it wrong to seek truth, including the truth about what is good. In some circles to speak of truth is seen as controversial or divisive, and consequently best kept in the private sphere.’ What this means is, truth is arrived at in a black-and-white way. Good and bad, good and evil, arrived at in a black-and-white way. The relativists don’t want there to be any bad; they don’t want there to be any wrong. Therefore, there can’t be any good. There just IS. You are free to do whatever you want, and anybody who condemns you is to be called on it. Now, the concept of freedom is not that. That is not what freedom is. Not in terms of our founding and not in terms of the way the pope was speaking about it here, because freedom — you know, we are all born as young little savages.
I know our babies look cute, and they goo-goo around and they spit up and do all these wonderfully cute things that people love, but if they weren’t socialized by parents — if they weren’t taught morality, if they weren’t taught right and wrong — they’d grow up savages. Many do. It is not a natural human thing to constrain one’s self. It is not a natural human thing to restrain one’s self. One has to be taught these things, and they’re taught in a black-and-white way: right and wrong, good and evil, and that constitutes a functioning freedom. He’s talking here about the moral relativism of nothing being wrong and nothing being evil. If you choose to do it, it’s okay. And then he proceeded to spell out the destruction that lies ahead for people who chose this path, choose this path, or who are taught this path. ‘But what purpose has a ‘freedom’ which, in disregarding truth, pursues what is false or wrong? How many young people have been offered a hand which in the name of freedom or experience has led them to addiction, to moral or intellectual confusion, to hurt, to a loss of self-respect, even to despair and so tragically and sadly to the taking of their own life?’ Because nothing has meaning. Because there was no truth. There was no good and evil. So people are desperately seeking for meaning, and you’re not going to find it if you’re unwilling to be open to truth; if you’re taught to reject it because it’s somebody’s discrimination against you or somebody’s judgmentalism against you. I thought this was… Well, most of what the pope said over the weekend was profound. It was in awe. I was in awe of the crowds. Here’s another portion of his remarks. Same place, St. Joseph’s Seminary Saturday in Yonkers.
POPE: Dear friends, truth is not an imposition. Nor is it simply a set of rules. It is a discovery of the One who never fails us; the One whom we can always trust. In seeking truth we come to live by belief because ultimately truth is a person: Jesus Christ. (applause) That is why authentic freedom is not an opting out. It is an opting in; nothing less than letting go of self and allowing oneself to be drawn into Christ’s very being for others.
RUSH: There is more, and we’ll get to it after this brief EIB obscene profit time-out.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: The pope left for Rome last night from hangar 19 out at JFK. There were about 3,200 people out there for the departure ceremony, and he flew on an Alitalia Boeing 777, and it was dubbed Shepherd One, and Vice President Cheney was the government representative at the departure ceremony. We have two sound bites from the remarks of Vice President Cheney.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Your Holiness, on your first apostolic visit to the United States, you’ve encountered a nation facing many challenges, but with more blessings than any of us could number. You have met a people of resonating faith who affirm that our nation was founded under God, who seek his purposes and bow to his will. You have seen a country where the torch of freedom, equality, and tolerance will always be held high; a country where you, a herald of the gospel of Jesus Christ and a leader of the Roman Catholic Church, will always be welcome. (applause)
RUSH: Right on, right on, right on. Vice President Cheney continued.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: You have moved us in particular by your visit to Ground Zero. (applause) There you prayed for eternal light and peace upon the innocent victims of September 11th, 2001. And you asked that the rest of us may live so that all who died on that morning may not have been lost in vain. That is our daily meditation as well, and it remains our daily prayer.
RUSH: And the pope, we had just one sound bite from his final words as he left the country.
POPE: My visit this morning to Ground Zero will remain firmly etched in my memory, as I continue to pray for the souls who died and for all who suffered in consequence of the tragedy that occurred there in 2001. For all the people of America and indeed throughout the world, I pray that the future will bring increased fraternity and solidarity as well as a mutual respect and a renewed trust and confidence in God, our Heavenly Father. With these words, I take my leave. I ask you to remember me in your prayers and I assure you of my affection and friendship in the Lord. May God bless America! (wild cheers and applause)
RUSH: (laughing) Is that not great? That is just great. Did you hear that applause erupt? Here’s somebody… I mean, ‘God bless America’ is said by rote all the time by people. It is interpreted as by rote, just perfunctory. When he says it, you know he means it. It sounds special.