I have been disappointed in past elections but never in my life have I been devastated, to the point of heartbreak, of tears. I can’t say despair because that is not in my genetic makeup, nor does my faith allow this sentiment.

My hopes and prayers for a better future have been dashed because I have seen how the Obama administration has worked in the past. Obama certainly did not get a mandate yesterday and his margin in the popular vote was very small. We can only hope that deep within the president there is some spark of something we have never seen in the past – humility - that will allow him to recognize and acknowledge that the results are not a mandate.

I like this headline from the November 7 Opinion page of the Christian Science Monitor: “Exit polls show President Obama should go on listening tour, not take victory lap.”

So many Americans - the almost 50 percent who did not vote for the president – so many people I have talked to here and in Italy, before and after the election - absolutely cannot fathom why people voted for Obama given the horrible economic news, the high unemployment rate (expected to go up now), higher taxes on the horizon, the predicted “fiscal cliff,” huge increases coming up for health care, and the spiraling debt which, if Obama carries out announced economic plans, will go to 20 trillion dollars by 2016.

Not to mention the erosion of values and constitutionally guaranteed rights!

And what in the name of high heaven does this mean for the Church – vis-à-vis the HHS Mandate?!

What “signs of the times,” what tea leaves, were the Obama supporters looking at!

Or was Obama’s victory, as Herman Cain said Wednesday morning, simply that of a popularity contest winner? That would be the scariest of all theories put forward!

As we know, the single most important campaign effort was made by the secular, liberal media.

Wall Street seems to be the best indicator of reality today, telling us what 50 percent of Americans failed to realize about Obama policies: it has fallen more than 30 points as I write these words.

I spent election night at a private dinner hosted by Dave Bossie of Citizens United, along with Newt and Callista Gingrich and about 20 invited guests. I knew most of the people there as we had met several times in Rome when they were with Newt and Callista as they filmed their video about Blessed John Paul – “The Nine Days That Changed the World. ” It was a fascinating evening, though any optimism that Romney might be the next president faded as the numbers slowly appeared on television.

Many guests last night were Catholics and, in addition to questions we had about the future of the country, we also wondered about the future of the Catholic Church and her many wonderful institutions that have played such an important role in our country, a nation founded on religious freedom. The HHS Mandate looms high and dark over the Church, and we ask: Is there any hope in a second Obama administration that the HHS mandate will be changed to allow the Church to exercise her right to run schools, hospitals, without being forced to offer insurance that mandates Catholics to go against their beliefs.

To refresh your memory about the HHS mandate, here is some EWTN news from February 9:

“On Thursday, February 9, 2012 EWTN Global Catholic Network filed a lawsuit in US District Court in Birmingham against the Department of Health and Human Services, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and other related government agencies asking that the court intervene and stop the imposition of the HHS Department’s recently announced mandate regarding contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs. For Catholics and for a Catholic apostolate like EWTN, these procedures are immoral and unacceptable.

“If the mandate stands, EWTN finds itself with a serious moral dilemma. EWTN will be forced to either comply with an unjust law that violates our conscience and our constitutional rights as Catholics or we are forced to eliminate health care coverage for EWTN employees and their families and in so doing face fines from the government in excess of $600,000 for failing to provide mandated health insurance coverage. Neither of these options is acceptable. The only other option available to EWTN at this point is to seek relief from the courts. Doing so is the only viable means of defending the mission of EWTN from this unjust attack by the government.”

I find the wording of the papal message to Obama on his re-election and the words of Fr. Lombardi very revealing in the following story. They seem much more of a warning than a warm message of heartfelt congratulations. We can only surmise that many prayers will be raised in the apostolic palace for the future of America and of the Church in American. We must add our prayers to those.

POPE WRITES OBAMA UPON RE-ELECTION

Pope Benedict, through the apostolic nunciature in Washington, has sent a message to Barack Obama, congratulating him on his re-election as president of the United States of America.

In his message, said the announcement Wednesday from Holy See Press Office director, Fr. Federico Lombardi, the Holy Father expresses his best wishes to the president on his new term, and gives assurances of his prayers to God to help him carry out his serious responsibilities, both in his own country and within the international community. The Pope also speaks of his hope that the ideals of freedom and justice, which guided the founding fathers of the Unites States of America, may continue to shine out as the nation progresses.

Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. also made a brief comment on the re-election of President Obama. "As we all know," he said, "the U.S. president has an immense responsibility, not only in his own country but also towards the rest of the world, given the role the U.S.A. plays at an international level."

"For this reason we hope that President Obama will respond to his fellow citizens' expectations, serving law and justice for the good and development of all people, and respecting essential human and spiritual values while promoting a culture of life and religious freedom."

USCCB LETTER OF CONGRATULATIONS TO OBAMA

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops today released a letter of congratulations to the newly re-elected president of the United States, as is their tradition on the day following presidential elections. New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the USCCB, wrote on behalf of all the bishops:

“Dear President Obama,

“In my capacity as President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, I write to express my congratulations on your re-election as President of the United States. The people of our country have again entrusted you with a great responsibility. The Catholic Bishops of the United States offer our prayers that God will give you strength and wisdom to meet the difficult challenges that face America.

“In particular, we pray that you will exercise your office to pursue the common good, especially in care of the most vulnerable among us, including the unborn, the poor, and the immigrant. We will continue to stand in defense of life, marriage, and our first, most cherished liberty, religious freedom. We pray, too, that you will help restore a sense of civility to the public order, so our public conversations may be imbued with respect and charity toward everyone.

“May God bless you and Vice President Biden as you prepare for your second term in service to our country and its citizens.”

BENEDICT XVI ANNOUNCES SPECIAL ENVOY TO SYRIA

At the end of today’s weekly general audience, Pope Benedict launched an appeal for peace in Syria, saying, “I continue to follow with great concern the tragic situation of violent conflict in Syria, where the fighting has not ceased and each day the toll of victims rises, accompanied by the untold suffering of many civilians, especially those who have been forced to abandon their homes.

The Pope said that, "As a sign of my own solidarity and that of the whole Church for the Syrian people, as well as our spiritual closeness to the Christian communities in that country, I had hoped to send a Delegation of Synod Fathers to Damascus. Unfortunately, due to a variety of circumstances and developments, it was not possible to carry out this initiative as planned, and so I have decided to entrust a special mission to Cardinal Robert Sarah, President of the Pontifical Council 'Cor Unum'.

"From today to November 10,” announced the Holy Father, “he will be in Lebanon, where he will meet the pastors and faithful of the Churches present in Syria. He will visit a number of refugees from that country and will chair a meeting of Catholic charitable agencies to coordinate efforts, as the Holy See has urgently requested, to provide assistance to the Syrian people, within and outside the country.

"As I make my prayer to God, I renew my invitation to the parties in conflict, and to all those who have the good of Syria at heart, to spare no effort in the search for peace and to pursue through dialogue the path to a just coexistence, in view of a suitable political solution of the conflict. We must do everything that is possible, because one day it may be too late!"

The Pope is offering a donation of $1 million to help in these efforts.

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