WASHINGTON (CNN) – Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has signed a bill into law banning the use of some state funds for embryonic stem cell research.

The move puts the DNC chairman at odds with President Obama, who signed an executive order earlier this month reversing the Bush administration’s ban on federal funding for research on embryonic stem cells.

Kaine approved the Virginia bill on Monday, according to the governor’s office, the same day he enacted legislation that would permit “Choose Life” license plates in the commonwealth — an act that angered state and national abortion rights advocates.

It is nice to be able to praise a Catholic Democrat for a change.

Lynda Tran, the governor’s communications director, said that Kaine’s decision is “in keeping with his faith and his personal beliefs.”

What keeping with his faith and personal beliefs? Didn’t he get the memo about not having to do this?

“The governor is opposed to the use of state funds to fund embryonic stem cell research, but he generally agrees with the national platform broadly, that there are scientific values to stem cell research,” Tran said. “In Virginia, where there has been strong opposition to embryonic research, he has chosen to focus on other forms of research like adult and placental stem cell research.”

Feddie asks at Sounthern appeal “Who would have thought that the DNC chairman would be more prolife than the GOP chairman?”

On Thursday Hillary Clinton visited the Virgin of Guadeloupe’s Basilica in Mexico City Mexican and is seen here with Monsignor Diego Monroy.

On Friday she is given an award by Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards for her work with women’s health issues protecting abortion. The award is called the Maggie named after racist-eugenicist Margaret Sanger.

Quite a transition from visiting the miraculous painting that has become so iconic for the pro-life movement where so often a painting bearing this image is carried during pro-life marches and then to receive an award that is the total antithesis of the pro-life movement.

It also looks like she was not given any information about Our lady of Guadeloupe before visiting the Basilica.

After observing it for a while, Mrs. Clinton asked “who painted it?” to which Msgr. Monroy responded “God!” Reference

Our lady of Guadeloupe pray for us.

“Early ‘markers’ [of Obama’s record on the life issues] are not encouraging in this regard but hope needs to spring eternal and while Notre Dame may have acted way too early and too generously, I am more alarmed that the rhetoric being employed is so uncivil and venomous that it weakens the case we place before our fellow citizens, alienates young college-age students who believe the older generation is behaving like an angry child and they do not wish to be any part of that, and ill-serves the cause of life. Notre Dame has in the past and continues to give this local Church fine, professional and very Catholic women and men who both know and live out their faith. Most of them I know are ardently pro-life and like myself are probably disappointed with their alma mater. They and I will choose to convey our sadness to the Board of Trustees and Administration in a calm and dignified manner.”

— Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg.

Yes once again more alarmed at the rhetoric than a President that advances death of the innocent. Though I would agree agree that angry reactions will to little to advance the pro-life cause. Though I wonder if he would include the Cardinals and Bishops who have spoken out and with the President of the USCCB Cardinal George today calling it an “Extreme embarrassment” to Catholics?

As for him being ardently pro-life. Yesterday was the 4th anniversary of the forced starvation of Terri Schiavo and unfortunately Bishop Lynch was her bishop. His voice was not one of those opposed and upset about this murder and in fact he called it a “family dispute.” After her death he issued a press release that didn’t even manage to spell her name right. Adding insult to injury he later allowed Michael Schiavo to get married in a diocesan parish despite the fact that he probably incurred the canonical impediment known as crimen (1983 CIC 1090 § 1) for his part in his wife’s death.

He also was rather dismissive about the effects of FOCA on Catholic hospitals and allowed a man to be charged with”criminal trespassing” for handing out pro-life flyers in the parking lot of St. Jude’s Cathedral during mass. The same bishop reduced the practice of exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in local parishes and allowed the dissident group Dignity to hold Masses in the diocese.

Greg and Jennifer Willits of The Catholic Channel’s show “The Catholic’s Next Door” interviewed Professor Scott Appleby of the University of Notre Dame. It was not an official response by the administration of Notre Dame, though no doubt his reasoning followed closely what the defenders of this decision generally beleive.

One of the things the professor mentioned is that a straw poll before the election showed the majority of the student body support then-Sen. Obama. I was wondering why he brought this up since it seems to me that this should be something the university should be rather ashamed about. While the university is made up of people other than Catholics, murdering the innocent is something everybody can come to know it wrong via the Natural Law. A Catholic university that can’t even impart the Culture of Life to their own students is failing on some fundamental levels. Though no doubt many of these students voted for Obama for reasons other than abortion.

It seems to me that these Obama supporting students have made the exact same flaw as the administration. They voted for him largely despite the fact that he was the most radical abortion supporting candidate for the presidency and Fr. Jenkins selected him despite the very same fact. The idea is that just as long as your selection is based on another criteria then it makes the selection perfectly fine.

One of the prevalent pieces of defense of this has been to “reach out” to the President. To open up lines of communication and to dialogue and to create “teaching moment” as the Head of Holy Cross order said. I think it is a bit silly to consider that the President flying in giving a speech and receiving a law degree and then flying out could do any such thing. It reminds me more of appeasement than anything. I just wonder by these arguments exactly what is beyond the pale? If you can support murdering the innocent and experimenting on them then I guess a President could do anything and could still be invited. This President has not exactly been someone reaching out to Catholics (unless they were pro-abortion) and has continuously ignored and slapped the face of faithful Catholics by his actions and nominations. When you ignore the evil somebody is doing you are not helping them. I guess John the Baptist should have reached out to Herod and invited him to speak by the Jordan River instead of rebuking his irregular marriage. St. Thomas More should have created a teaching moment by signing the document and hoping his capitulation would lead to lines of communication.

Professor Appleby got a bit perturbed by Greg’s questions and wanted a yes or no answer to whether it was a reasonable interpretation to think that Notre Dame was honoring the President for his support of abortion. Greg didn’t really want to give a yes/no answer since this really wasn’t the right question. What the invite does is present a relativistic view in regards to abortion and minimizes the evil of it. This is certainly how the majority of pro-lifers see this. The professor though did understand why people were troubled by the honorary law degree given to someone who supports Roe V. Wade. If the President was just invited to speak the case could have been made (wrongly I think) about opening lines of communication, but the honorary law degree really sticks in the craw of those who want to protect life.

When you have 2 cardinasl, your diocesan bishop, and a number of other bishops speak out that you messed up – you probably messed up. Though no doubt we will continue to have a Kmiecation of them trying to justify a bad decision. Cardinal George today called it an “Extreme embarrassment” to Catholics.