“In good King Charles‘s golden days,
When Loyalty no harm meant;
A Furious High-Church man I was,
And so I gain’d Preferment.
Unto my Flock I daily Preach’d,
Kings are by God appointed,
And Damn’d are those who dare resist,
Or touch the Lord’s Anointed.
And this is law, I will maintain
Unto my Dying Day, Sir.
That whatsoever King may reign,
I will be the Vicar of Bray, Sir!
When Royal James possest the crown,
And popery grew in fashion;
The Penal Law I shouted down,
And read the Declaration:
The Church of Rome I found would fit
Full well my Constitution,
And I had been a Jesuit,
But for the Revolution.
And this is law, I will maintain
Unto my Dying Day, Sir.
That whatsoever King may reign,
I will be the Vicar of Bray, Sir!
When William our Deliverer came,
To heal the Nation’s Grievance,
I turn’d the Cat in Pan again,
And swore to him Allegiance:
Old Principles I did revoke,
Set conscience at a distance,
Passive Obedience is a Joke,
A Jest is non-resistance.
And this is law, I will maintain
Unto my Dying Day, Sir.
That whatsoever King may reign,
I will be the Vicar of Bray, Sir!
When Royal Anne became our Queen,
Then Church of England‘s Glory,
Another face of things was seen,
And I became a Tory:
Occasional Conformists base
I Damn’d, and Moderation,
And thought the Church in danger was,
From such Prevarication.
And this is law, I will maintain
Unto my Dying Day, Sir.
That whatsoever King may reign,
I will be the Vicar of Bray, Sir!
When George in Pudding time came o’er,
And Moderate Men looked big, Sir,
My Principles I chang’d once more,
And so became a Whig, Sir.
And thus Preferment I procur’d,
From our Faith’s great Defender,
And almost every day abjur’d
The Pope, and the Pretender.
And this is law, I will maintain
Unto my Dying Day, Sir.
That whatsoever King may reign,
I will be the Vicar of Bray, Sir!
The Illustrious House of Hannover,
And Protestant succession,
To these I lustily will swear,
Whilst they can keep possession:
For in my Faith, and Loyalty,
I never once will faulter,
But George, my lawful king shall be,
Except the Times shou’d alter.
And this is law, I will maintain
Unto my Dying Day, Sir.
That whatsoever King may reign,
I will be the Vicar of Bray, Sir!”
“Douglas Kmiec, former legal counsel for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, also said that while he has given “no thought” to the prospect of serving as Obama’s ambassador to the Vatican, he would “never rule anything out.”” National Catholic Reporter October 1, 2008.
When Ronaldus Maximus took the helm
To navigate the nation through the storm
I could tell we were entering a new realm
And took part in his reform
Legal protection for the most innocent
Small government, liberty and justice for all
To all of which I gave my assent
And my contribution was not small
And this is law, I will maintain
Unto my Dying Day, Sir.
That whatsoever King may reign,
I will be the Vicar of Bray, Sir!
When The One came to reign supreme
And all appeals for life fell flat
I offered my service to his regime
And I became a Democrat
Good is evil and evil good
I proclaim from this day forward
And lest it be misunderstood
A federal judgeship to be the reward
And this is law, I will maintain
Unto my Dying Day, Sir.
That whatsoever King may reign,
I will be the Vicar of Bray, Sir!
I doff my cap in homage Rick!
Oh- that was the game. Should lead to lovely private conversations with His Holiness. About fidelity and the like.
Rick,
I bow down to the prince of poetry.
Donald,
Thanks for sharing this poem.
Donald,
This is petty and most unfair, and I think you know it.
You can do better. Your preferences in music are proof itself.
Nothing unfair about it Mr. DeFrancisis, or perhaps you have some other explanation as to how in the space of two months Kmiec could go from being on Romney’s legal advisory committee to being a supporter of Obama? Kmiec’s own explanations have been incoherent in the extreme and flatly contradict positions he had held fervently throughout his adult life.
Sometimes life deals us Saul to Paul moments…
If such a transformational moment occurred, one would imagine that a law professor would be able to defend a whole-sale shift in positions with reason and logic. I defy anyone to claim with a straight-face that Kmiec has done this.
Donald,
Maybe so. But we are all on our way…
I am praying for Obama to have his road to Damascus moment before he is inaugurated.
[…] being appointed U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican. Many American Catholic contributors have expressed their opinions of Mr. Kmiec during the recent election. To be clear, the problem with Kmiec was not that he […]
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