| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Culture Wars |
| Bishops Calls On Catholics To Defy 'Obama's Law' |
| 2012-01-28 |
| Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix, in opposition to Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services' dictate that health-insurance plans, including those offered by Catholic groups, must provide birth control, has called on Catholics to defy the law. "This is an alarming and serious matter that negatively impacts the church in the United States directly and that strikes at the fundamental right to religious liberty," Olmsted wrote in the letter, which is expected to be read this weekend at Catholic Masses. "Unless the rule is overturned," Olmsted wrote, "we Catholics will be compelled either to violate our consciences or to drop health coverage for our employees." Olmsted added, "We cannot -- we will not -- comply with this unjust law." Penalties for not following the rule, if it is adopted, are unclear. Government contracts, if any, could be jeopardized, and employees who are not covered in circumstances where coverage is required could seek legal remedies. A week after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told individuals and institutions who oppose contraception "to hell with you," as one bishop put it, members of the U.S. Catholic hierarchy were mobilizing their followers to fight. Bishops across the country -- including Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta, Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans and Bishop Robert N. Lynch of St. Petersburg, Fla. -- were preparing letters to be read at all Masses during the Jan. 28-29 weekend. But one of the most strongly worded reactions to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' Jan. 20 announcement that religious organizations could delay but not opt out of a requirement that all health plans cover contraception and sterilization at no cost came from Bishop David A. Zubik of Pittsburgh, in a column titled "To hell with you." Sebelius and the Obama administration "have said 'To hell with you' to the Catholic faithful of the United States," Bishop Zubik wrote. "To hell with your religious beliefs. To hell with your religious liberty. To hell with your freedom of conscience. We'll give you a year, they are saying, and then you have to knuckle under." He called on Catholics in the Pittsburgh Diocese to "do all possible to rescind" the contraceptive mandate by writing to President Barack Obama, Sebelius and their members of Congress about this "unprecedented federal interference in the right of Catholics to serve their community without violating their fundamental moral beliefs." Bishop Daniel R. Jenky of Peoria, Ill., enlisted the aid of St. Michael the Archangel in fighting "this unprecedented governmental assault upon the moral convictions of our faith." In a Jan. 24 letter to Peoria Catholics, he directed that the prayer of St. Michael be recited "for the freedom of the Catholic Church in America" during Sunday Masses at every parish, school, hospital, Newman center and religious house in the diocese. The prayer reads in part: "Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil" and "cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls." "I am honestly horrified that the nation I have always loved has come to this hateful and radical step in religious intolerance," Bishop Jenky said in the letter. "While it is primarily the laity who should take the leading role in political and legal action, as your bishop it is my clear responsibility to summon our local church into spiritual and temporal combat in defense of Catholic Christianity," he added. "I strongly urge you not to be intimidated by extremist politicians or the malice of the cultural secularists arrayed against us." Several sources to the above, with the most recent as the link. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #23 He just lost the Hispanic vote. Predominately Catholic and the Bishops will rally even them against the Obama "mandates" (aka Dictates). In the New Testament St Paul stood before the magistrate and was warned to denounce his beliefs or be flogged. He responded politely that he could not go against the will of God. He was flogged and released and was greatfull to count the scares as badges of honor. North Korean Christians were persecuted in Labor Camps and sang while be beaten by irritated guards who became even more enraged by their convictions, and were then sent to the "electric room" where no one ever returned alive. An American student was recently asked in class about what he thought about homosexuality and he politely responded that his faith did not accept homosexuality and was suspended from the public school for his beliefs. And of course we know of the fate of recent Miss America finalists who hold Christian beliefs. The Democratic Party embraced immorality years ago, the spiral has been downward ever since. The questions is, will America succumb to this low level of morality or will America overcome this now dictatorship? We will soon know the answer one way or the other. |
| Posted by: Ebbaique Spereting5364 2012-01-28 21:03 |
| #22 Bishop Olmsted's letter (.pdf file) http://www.diocesephoenix.org/uploads/docs/RELIGOUS-LIBERTY-INSURANCE-LETTER-012512.pdf |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2012-01-28 20:21 |
| #21 Pebbles: this has nothing to do with tax exemptions. It's an F8-key response. Nothing to do with the article. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2012-01-28 20:18 |
| #20 One thing Obama and Sebelius and the other should thank God for: the 5th commandment. Yes they have many of us that angry. Rot! The 5th Commandment presents no restraint. I believe it was once written as "Thou shalt not murder!". And was rewritten in its current form as a part of the taming of the Church. There is no prohibition against killing in Gods name in defense of the Church. There are millions dead over the centuries to prove that. And Militant Christianity is already awake and stirring. I mentioned that very thing here many months ago. If they (Obama & crew) haven't gone too far yet, rest assured they will. The stage is set, the actors are in place and there will be a second Civil War. And the Left will be expunged. I see no way back from where this Nation is today without that conflagration. |
| Posted by: Secret Asian Man 2012-01-28 19:04 |
| #19 Glenmore, aside from the birth control it also requires paying for abortifacients - the "morning after" pill, and I think it also forces coverage of sterilizations, which are forbidden. And it really doesn't matter what those cafeteria Catholics think, because it is still 100% the government forcing actions that are against the conscience and teachings of the Church. And down that path lies dictatorship - if you can force unfaithful acts on faithful people, you re no better than Stalin, Mao or Hitler. They all did their evil "in the name of the people and nation", just like Obama. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2012-01-28 17:57 |
| #18 I'm not Catholic, and this pisses ME off. Everything person X gets for free has to be paid for by person Y. It's the principle, either way. Birth control pills are cheap. If you've got enough of a life to need them, you've got enough of a life to pay for them. OTOH: if BHO thinks alienating every possible segment of the population is a winning strategy, well, as Napoleon (?) said: never interrupt the enemy when they're making a mistake. |
| Posted by: RandomJD 2012-01-28 17:25 |
| #17 Just another non-thought out horrible and needless policy excreted from the know nothing in chief. |
| Posted by: newc 2012-01-28 16:58 |
| #16 #11 Bright Pebbles. Render unto Ceasor that which is Ceasors, render that which is God's to God. Ceaser is not allowed to divert that that is given to God too himself. |
| Posted by: Chenter Barnsmell9450 2012-01-28 16:45 |
| #15 Old Spook, while birth control may be forbidden by the Church it is very widely used by a great many otherwise-practicing Catholics. Sadly, that is even true of abortion. Neither the Church nor the Government will win that confrontation in THIS world. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2012-01-28 16:26 |
| #14 Surprisingly, Kathleen Sebelius is, according to Wikipedia, herself a Catholic. As are Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, the former Ted Kennedy, and a variety of other Democrats. Nancy Pelosi claims that the Church's stand on life issues (abortion, contraception, etc.) is fairly new. SHE IS WRONG!!! Personally, if I were one of their bishops, I would have excommunicated them a long time ago. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2012-01-28 16:18 |
| #13 After 300 years of freedom, the persecution of the faiths has now begun in the USA. I'd make it closer to 100. Check out the various Blaine laws. These folks are playing a dangerous game and one they aren't well positioned for. I'll start to take them seriou8sly when they excommunicate and stop serving the sacraments for the Catholic legislators who voted for the bill. Until then, this is just politicking from the pulpit and that doesn't end well either. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2012-01-28 15:56 |
| #12 Yes Catholics are over-represented in SOCOM, and at a those agencies that require high security clearances - Catholics and Mormons, for some reason. Pebbles: this has nothing to do with tax exemptions. This is forcing Catholic Church to do something that is absolutely morally abhorrent, and completely against its fundamental creed, dogma and belief. It violates the conscience. It is government interference with our First Amendment right to practice our religion freely. Sebelius and Obama's act is an assault on the moral conscience of ever good practicing Catholic, and if obeyed would condemn us with a mortal sin against God's commandments, the sanctity of life, an natural law. If they really want to wake the Church Militant, that's a very good way of doing it. They;d best be careful, because once we start, its very hard to stop. This is a fight Obama and his henchmen will not win - eventually we will destroy them. In the immediate, it has painted them as the evil dictatorial monsters that they are. One thing Obama and Sebelius and the other should thank God for: the 5th commandment. Yes they have many of us that angry. They better be glad we are forbidden to taking up arms in that way - otherwise their lives would end in the sights of a high powered rifle or kicking at the end of a rope. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2012-01-28 15:44 |
| #11 I'd like to see all organisation either tax exempt or pay tax. No special exemptions. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2012-01-28 15:24 |
| #10 God's laws and statutes trumps man's laws and statutes. Period. After 300 years of freedom, the persecution of the faiths has now begun in the USA. |
| Posted by: Snease Hupuper4845 2012-01-28 15:05 |
| #9 Or that the Catholic population is overrepresented in the combat arms of the US military, and the US Special Forces? Starting a religious war with 25% of the country is a grand way to initiate a full-scale civil war throughout the country. And besides which, you give the ones fighting for the Church martyr status since they are being killed or arrested for their faith. Ask the Roman Empire how well that worked out for them. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2012-01-28 14:41 |
| #8 So Zero wants to start a war with the Catholic Church? Does he not realize that the Catholics are a significant part of the police, fire, and EMT services of all major Eastern cities, and can effectively shut those cities down? Or that the one of the most successful terrorist organization on the planet is the IRA, which could easily start operations protecting Catholics from government oppression in this country? |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2012-01-28 14:36 |
| #7 Maybe the Catholic Church should simply incorporate and enjoy all the rights of a living person. |
| Posted by: bigjim-CA 2012-01-28 12:25 |
| #6 How about that. Took only three years for Obama to get enough balls to begin acting like what he aspires to be, a third world dictactor of the United States of America. |
| Posted by: One Eyed Hitler4342 2012-01-28 12:20 |
| #5 I am not a lawyer, but it may be problematic to take away the tax exempt status of the Catholic (or any other) Church. There was a Supreme Court case long ago that said that states could not tax the federal government because the unlimited power to tax is the power to destroy. Now, destroying the Catholic Church may be considered to be a feature not a bug for Obama and his progressive henchmen. However, I truly hope that the Supreme Court would see the enormous damage that it would do to the First Amendment for the government to destroy a religion. Of course, the majority of the current members of the Supreme Court are Catholic, which might help. :) |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2012-01-28 12:03 |
| #4 #3 Yup. However, government-imposed penalties are always subject to change. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2012-01-28 11:10 |
| #3 Obama's law may result in many others (not religious) to drop employer-subsidized health coverage for employees. Penalties (so far) for doing so are much cheaper than the cost of compliance. That's a feature not a bug. |
| Posted by: Beavis 2012-01-28 10:15 |
| #2 Bishops & priests need to be careful lest they jeopardize their outfit's tax-exempt status. Obama's law may result in many others (not religious) to drop employer-subsidized health coverage for employees. Penalties (so far) for doing so are much cheaper than the cost of compliance. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2012-01-28 10:09 |
| #1 Kathleen Sebelius (and BO), secretary of Health and Human Services' dictate that health-insurance plans, including those offered by Catholic groups, must provide birth control Dictate! Who the hell do these people think they are? Approximately 25% of the people in this country are Catholic. Somewhere around 130 million people voted in 2010 (although the potential voting population is larger). If 25% of 130 million people who vote are Catholic that is ~ 30 million plus - a sizable block of voters who could swing a Presidential election. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2012-01-28 10:06 |