With all this in mind, Father Frank Pavone and the Priests for Life are engaged in a campaign of prayer and fasting to end abortion in the United States along with the evils perpetrated by Planned Parenthood.
Father, you
have created us in body and soul To honor
you and our neighbor And to
receive honor and respect in return.
Our bodies
are sacred. They
reflect you, our Creator. And we hold
sacred The bodies
of all the children in the womb.
Lord, we
are saddened That these
children are being killed, And
saddened again That their
body parts are being harvested and sold.
Have mercy
on our nation. Have mercy
on those who are perpetrating these evils. As more and
more people become aware of this, Turn their
hearts towards you, The
Fountain of life and love.
Give
consolation to all who have had abortions, And give
wisdom to our public officials That they
may respond adequately To the
corruption found in the abortion industry.
Grant that
we, The People
of Life and the People of Mercy, May
recommit ourselves to building a nation Without
abortion and without the many evils that flow from it.
May we
choose life; May we
choose mercy; May we
choose your Kingdom! Through
Christ our Lord. Amen
Some may wonder, why pray to end abortion, especially as the Lord's Prayer includes the intention "Thy will be done".
Perhaps the point is that is is our invitation to participate in building the Kingdom of God even through the power of prayer. Such sentiments echo Pope St. John Paul II's exhortation in Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life, 1995).
The United States Supreme Court has taken up the case of the Little Sisters of the Poor objecting to the HHS Contraception Mandate (through the Qualified Health Plans) in Obamacare.
Archbishop Lori has long served as the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishop's Chairman of Committee for Religious Liberty and has spearheaded the annual Fortnight for Freedom initiative to celebrate and educate Americans about our Fundamental First Freedom--the free exercise of religion.
St. Jeanne Jugan, Little Sisters of the Poor
Considering the ways the Roberts Supreme Court has contorted the law to preserve the so called Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare), prayers are in order to protect the Little Sisters of the Poor's continued apostolate to faithfully care for the underserved in America, as they have done since
This week, the hot ticket in the District of Calamity was getting tickets to see the Pope. Only 25,000 people were allowed entrance for the Mass at the Basilica in Catholic University. The White House allowed 15,000 people to see the Pope on the South Lawn of the White House (along with a couple of uncomfortable invitees for the Vatican). On Capitol Hill, 50,000 tickets were issued to see the Pope's address to the Joint Session of Congress, albeit many watching on the lawn.
But Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ 1st) rejected his two allotted tickets because of his belief that Pope Francis is too political. The Papal Encyclical Laudato Si was trumpeted by the secular press as being a bull about climate change (instead of being properly read as a all encompassing missive about the ecology of humanity). So Congressman Gosar made his protest and is presumably sitting at home for the speech.
While it is true that Pope Francis did speak in glowing terms about enacting climate change legislation, the pontiff did not let the power that be in the White House off easy. Pope Francis' remarks at the White House started with a subtle slam for President Barack Obama about respecting the fine American tradition religious liberty. Later in the day, Pope Francis made an unscheduled stop to visit the Little Sisters of the Poor, the religious order being forced to cover contraception against their consciences under Obamacare.
As a Jesuit, Pope Francis is all about dialog and encounter. It's a pity that Gosar as a practicing Catholic chose not to participate in that by politely hearing out a visiting Head of State and Holy Father to 1.2 billion Catholics. As a faith leader, Pope Francis is not bound to American ideological boxes of conservative or liberal and ought to instruct his faithful in ways that may make people feel uncomfortable. If Rep. Gosar has proper catechesis, he ought to know that not everything the Pope utters is infallible. In fact, Paragraph 189 of Laudato Si urges robust but honest and transparent debate over the matter. It is a pity that politics nowadays is sometimes degenerated to trolling for attention instead of seeking solutions through honest debate and deliberations.
Richard Dawkins, the acclaimed atheist ethologist from Oxford University stirred up a cyclone of controversy on social media with a Twitter posting on the morality of aborting a Down's Syndrome child in-utero. When someone commented that she would not know what she would do if she were pregnant with a child having an extra chromosome, Dawkins doubled down on his "progressive position". Dawkins answering like "Dear Abby (the atheist edition)" wrote: “Abort it and try again. It would be immoral to bring it into the world if you have the choice.” So abortion was not only an option for "The God Delusion" author, Dawkins demands that it is immoral for women to deliver a child afflicted with Down's Syndrome. Reading Dawkins declarations closely, it is quite revealing of his weltanschauung. As an atheist, Dawkins does not draw from any moral compass. So it is not surprising that he liberally latches unto "an individual woman's right to choose. Later referring to a fetus as "it", Dawkins detaches personhood from an unborn child. Dawkins pontificating that the only moral choice is to kill a defective child ought to please both Social Darwinists (survival of the fittest) and the ironically named humanists (the banner which binds British atheists activists). Two things should trouble the intelligentsia from Dawkins Down's Syndrome declarations. Firstly, Dawkins prefaced the right of women for early abortions, not abortion on demand until childbirth. So it seems at some point personhood is bestowed on an unborn fetus. Or is abortion just less mentally messy when the victim does not look like an unborn child. The other aspect which can be inferred from "Abort it and try again" aspires for a utopian perfection in offspring. Such a callous attitude can easily devolve into getting rid of undesirable elements in society, be it physically deformed, mentally challenged or part of an undesirable group. Sadly, Dawkins Social Darwinism for Down's Syndrome children seems prevalent in the United Kingdom. Currently, 92% of pregnant women diagnosed with Down's Syndrome children aborted their unborn children. Moreover, half of all such cases go unreported. There are concerns that if the National Health System (NHS) expands the super accurate Ariosa Harmony testing, this figure will become nearly total, especially if NHS threatens to withhold special care for Down's Syndrome children. It did not take long for former Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK) to respond to Dawkin's dialectic. Palin famously campaigned for Vice President in 2008 with her young son Trig, who has Down's Syndrome. Palin took her seven years of experience being a mother of a Down's Syndrome Child when she reached out to Richard Dawkins via Facebook.
. Palin's folksy riposte to Dawkins displays a positive sense of humanity that the learned professor lacks. In addition, Ms. Palin's Facebook posting alludes to her Down's Syndrome child as having a unique kind of absolute beauty. This echos Governor Palin's peroration when speaking before a Right to Life Conference.
Many will dismiss the message as it came from Sarah Palin, who our "intellectual betters" from academia and the media deemed as dumb "Caribou Barbie". Yet Palin's testimony rings true and advocates valuing the individual whereas Dawkin's tweets sound abstract and collectivist.
Even though Dawkins may have coined the concept of memes, however Sarah Palin has perfected the social media tactic. Palin dubbed Obamacare IPABs as Death Panels to deftly defending Down's Syndrome children.
So as these cultural catalysts clash on social media, perhaps it can bring us to understand how we approach ourselves and society. Our we driven by the selfish gene as Dawkins theorized in genetics or can we inculcate altruism? Palin preaches that mothers should be open to Downs Syndrome children, but is that openness a moral imperative?
To commemorate the 62nd consecutive year of the National Day of Prayer, there certainly were different approaches. Unlike his predecessor, President Barack Obama has not hosted an ecumenical service to commemorate the National Day of Prayer, the 44th President does issue proclamations each year. Mr. Obama's 2014 proclamation paid lip service to the importance of respecting religious liberty, which struck many political observers as ironic considering the manner which the Obama Administration has rolled out the Contraception Mandate portion of Obamacare.
On the other hand, Dr. James Dobson chose to play the prophet who will tell truth to power. Dr. Dobson was quite clear in labeling Mr. Obama as the "Abortion President". Dobson detailed how President Obama gave the keynote speech at the 2013 Planned Parenthood convention to brag how an expanded "womens' health services" would be part of Obamacare. Dobson also noted that Planned Parenthood garners $250 million a year for "reproductive health".
Dobson's group "Family Talk" recently won an injunction to block the Federal government from forcing it to impose the Contraception Mandate (which includes abortifacients). Dobson tearfully proclaimed: So come and get me if you must, Mr. President. I will not blow before your wicked regulation." Dobson urged his audience to fight on as: “We can win. And keep prayer because that’s what really made a difference here.”
Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX 1st) sympathsized with his colleague Rep. Hahn but he also recognized that Dr. Dobson considers abortion to be a sin and can not separate his religious belief from politics. Dobson's pointed speech was not partisan in the sense of party politics or advocating specific legislation but he did detail real world challenges to living in a morally inspired life. Should the National Day of Prayer be full of pretty pabulum about prayer which amounts to nothing or should it be prayerfully minded people who share their faith, even when it is challenges the conventions of the day?
Is it the event itself? There are thousands of National Day of Prayer events throughout the United States, but activities in the Federal City tend to dominate the spotlight. So having issues that are uncomfortable or contentious can threaten the non-political comity of the National Day of Prayer.
While that is true, what worth is the National Day of Prayer if it is just holding hands and singing Kumbaya? Sometimes following the path of prayer is not pleasant or readily placable. President Obama had the temerity to talk about religious liberty, while his Administration seeks to force the Little Sisters of the Poor to violate their consciences and submit to participation in the Contraception mandate which is abhorrent to their mores.
It may be that the subject matter of Dobson's defiance is the issue. Forty one years after Roe v. Wade, Americans are still uncomfortable about abortion. Pro Life and Pro Choice activists cite various polls on the acceptability of abortion. Legislatively, the trend is towards restricting abortion but the judiciary strikes such laws as threatening the progressive right. But language matters. Notice how pro-abortion politicos talk about "womens' reproductive health" or perhaps "a woman's right to choose" rather than killing a human life which has not been granted personhood.
It is easier for morally conscious people to support "womens' reproductive health" rather than deal with the gruesome realities of abortion. This may be why the Gosnell Movie troubles Kickstart in its crowd-sourcing funding efforts. The Gosnell film bills itself as dramatizing the life of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, America's most successful serial killer -- the doctor is sin. Abortion often incites a clear break among religiously oriented people, dividing social justice spirituality from traditional Bible believers.
The question is-- Did Dr. Dobson unduly politicize the National Day of Prayer?
As the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops concluded their semi-annual meeting in Baltimore, the USCCB issued a special message on the H.H.S. Mandate. The Bishops have been steadfast and vocal in their opposition to having the government force Catholics and other believers to violate their religious precepts in the pursuit of universal coverage.
During his tenure as President of the USCCB, New York Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan lead the faithful to conduct Fortnight for Freedom in 2012 and 2013 to celebrate, educate and advocate maintaining America's Fundamental Freedom--the First Amendment freedom: the freedom of exercise of religion.
As Cardinal Dolan passed the helm of the USCCB to Louisville Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, Dolan urged his brother bishops to make the protection of religious liberty around the world a priority as he believes that it is a central social issue of our times. Dolan recalled the words of Pope Blessed John Paul II that we are living in a new age of martyrs. Dolan stated:
We as bishops, as shepherds of
one of the most richly blessed communities of faith on the planet, as
pastors who have spoken with enthusiastic unity in defense of our own
religious freedom, must become advocates and champions for these
Christians whose lives literally hang in the balance, as we dare not
allow our laudable battles over religious freedom at home to obscure the
actual violence being inflicted on Christians elsewhere.
The USCCB's special message fleshed out this fidelity to religious freedom to practice one's faith in America.
The bishops of this country have just concluded their traditional fall
meeting in Baltimore and have spent time on issues important to them and
their people: help to those suffering from Typhoon Haiyan; an update on
the situation in Haiti; matters of worship and teaching; service to the
poor; and comprehensive immigration reform. Among those priorities is
the protection of religious freedom, especially as threatened by the HHS
mandate.
Pope Francis has reminded us that “In the context of society, there
is only one thing which the Church quite clearly demands: the freedom
to proclaim the Gospel in its entirety, even when it runs counter to the
world, even when it goes against the tide.” We stand together as pastors charged with proclaiming the Gospel in
its entirety. That Gospel calls us to feed the poor, heal the sick, and
educate the young, and in so doing witness to our faith in its
fullness. Our great ministries of service and our clergy, religious
sisters and brothers, and lay faithful, especially those involved in
Church apostolates, strive to answer this call every day, and the
Constitution and the law protect our freedom to do so.
Yet with its coercive HHS mandate, the government is refusing to
uphold its obligation to respect the rights of religious believers.
Beginning in March 2012, in United for Religious Freedom, we identified
three basic problems with the HHS mandate: it establishes a false
architecture of religious liberty that excludes our ministries and so
reduces freedom of religion to freedom of worship; it compels our
ministries to participate in providing employees with abortifacient
drugs and devices, sterilization, and contraception, which violates our
deeply-held beliefs; and it compels our faithful people in business to
act against our teachings, failing to provide them any exemption at all.
Despite our repeated efforts to work and dialogue toward a
solution, those problems remain. Not only does the mandate undermine our
ministries’ ability to witness to our faith, which is their core
mission, but the penalties it imposes also lay a great burden on those
ministries, threatening their very ability to survive and to serve the
many who rely on their care. The current impasse is all the more frustrating because the
Catholic Church has long been a leading provider of, and advocate for,
accessible, life-affirming health care. We would have preferred to spend
these recent past years working toward this shared goal instead of
resisting this intrusion into our religious liberty. We have been forced
to devote time and resources to a conflict we did not start nor seek.
As the government’s implementation of the mandate against us
approaches, we bishops stand united in our resolve to resist this heavy
burden and protect our religious freedom. Even as each bishop struggles
to address the mandate, together we are striving to develop alternate
avenues of response to this difficult situation. We seek to answer the
Gospel call to serve our neighbors, meet our obligation to provide our
people with just health insurance, protect our religious freedom, and
not be coerced to violate our consciences. We remain grateful for the
unity we share in this endeavor with Americans of all other faiths, and
even with those of no faith at all. It is our hope that our ministries
and lay faithful will be able to continue providing insurance in a
manner consistent with the faith of our Church. We will continue our
efforts in Congress and especially with the promising initiatives in the
courts to protect the religious freedom that ensures our ability to
fulfill the Gospel by serving the common good.
This resolve is particularly providential on this feast of the
patroness of immigrants, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. She was a brave
woman who brought the full vigor of her deep religious faith to the
service of the sick, the poor, children, the elderly, and the immigrant.
We count on her intercession, as united we obey the command of Jesus to
serve the least of our brothers and sisters.
It seems incredible that the USCCB needs to again issue such a pronouncement, but useful idiots arguing for Obamacare are still convicted that Catholics just want to push their beliefs on non-Catholics, rather than protection that unalienable right.
This pressure from society and government to avoid the expense and exasperation of having a Down Syndrome child should not be dismissed as something from afar. In the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) HHS Qualified Health Plan provisions which allow for "free" abortifacients. Moreover, the IPAB (a.k.a Death Panels) may decide that treatments associated with dealing with Down Syndrome people are no longer covered.
The marketing of this pill is targeting youthful minorities as an alternative to birth control pills, which might require a pesty and embarrassing visit to a physician while skirting some state's parental notification requirements.
When a dozen New York City high schools announced that they would be distributing the so called "morning after pill", New York Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan objected to distributing powerful drugs with serious potential side effects to girls as young as 14 without parental consent as being "tragic and misguided". Cardinal Dolan's modest proposal that:
The public schools would be better advised to promote
what truly works rather than continuing to follow a failed experiment
that will only lead to further problems for society and for young
people.
But of course inculcating an approach of abstinence before marriage is advocating morality and that can not be allowed in secular schools. But freely distributing morning after pills like Plan B while limiting aspirin, ear-piercing, tattoos or tanning beds without parental consent is fine because of potential health risks.
In New York City, 60% of all pregnancies to non-Hispanic blacks end in abortions. Nationally, it is the largest cause of death for African Americans since 1973.
Abortion advocates have long advocated that such a delicate decision should be made between a woman and her doctor. Now Plan B eliminates the doctor which may ameliorate those horrific statistics. And since it is an Over-the-Counter purchase, it eliminates the cost strain on the free birth control and abortofacients prescribed in Obamacare.
Abortion opponents like Dr. Alveda King have observed that the most dangerous place for African Americans is the womb.
The Plan B One-Step and the marketing towards minority youth seems to fulfill Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger's plan to weed out undesirable elements from the population. The irony is that the eugenics occurs at the hands of targeted population. What progress!
Then again, consider President Obama's blessing of Planned Parenthood during his re-election campaign in 2012.
Today is the start of the second Fortnight for Freedom as urged by the United States Council of Catholic Bishops. It is a period of prayer, fasting, education and action to preserve the fundamental natural right that is enshrined in the Bill of Rights–the Freedom of Religion. This effort was started last year by USCCB President New York Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan
Appreciating the First Amendment is particularly poignant as there are so many challenges to religious liberty and the freedom of conscience, such as the HHS Qualified Health Plan Mandate (a.k.a. the Contraception, Sterilization and Abortifacient rider), the exclusion of non-compliant adoption organizations who will not service same-sex couples, states which have approved , states co-ercing traditional marriage believers to conform to same-sex so called marriage, the military labeling Catholics and Evangelicals as extremist groups for upholding their moral beliefs, military chaplains being forced out of service if they did not tow the new Politically Correct line on homosexuality. When President Obama marked Religious Freedom Day in 2013, he framed religious liberty as the “freedom to worship as we choose.” That might have been acceptable public policy shorthand, but such a charitable assessment is not borne out by the actions of the Obama Administration. This is especially exemplified in the HHS contraception mandate. After the initial hue and cry when the Obama Administration aborted religious liberty with the Obamacare requiring free contraception, Mr. Obama supposedly backtracked by rescinding this reviled regulation. But as it turned out, the Obama Administration was just obfuscating authority regarding religious liberty. The rule for “free” contraception supposedly would not be applied to objecting churches themselves but would be effectively passed along by the insurance companies who were forced to pick up the tab for the unconscionable inclusions. However, this so called contraception compromise did not cover religiously affiliated groups, like religious orders, parochial schools etc... Moreover many of these organizations self-insure, so it still passed along these contraception costs for them. Furthermore, the same day that President Obama gave the public remarks about the contraception compromise, the Federal Register published the final rule for the Qualified Health Plan mandate with language that was unchanged from August 11, 2011. Mr. Obama’s contraception compromise did allow religious organizations to delay implementation for one year, or as Cardinal Dolan joked that: "We were given an extra year to change our morals."
Pope Francis
While some may dismiss the contraception controversy as it seems like a Catholic thing, those who care about religious liberty need to delve deeper. These regulations are defining what qualifies as a church in a narrow and strangling manner To receive First Amendment protections, the Obama Administration believes that an entity serve only who hold the same creed and serve only those professing the same faith. Aside from the absurdness of having a government bureaucrat defining what “Church” is, this understanding of freedom of worship misses the point. As Baltimore Archbishop William Lori points out : "Religious freedom protects more than the freedom to worship on Sunday; it also protects our ability to live out our faith the other six days of the week." Pope Francis also extolled: “We are not called to be part-time Christians...[W]e’re called to live our faith at every moment of every day.”
Religiously affiliated adoption agencies in three states and DC- the District of Calamity (sic) have been forced out of business because their organizations will not work with same-sex couples. Catholic charitable organizations have been criticized for withdrawing from immigrant programs which endorse Gay Marriage. Religious hospitals who maintain their ethical values will either need to serve their own flock or close down if they do not accede to the abortion requirements of Obamacare. But it is not just faithful Catholics who are under assault for upholding their faith in America. The Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School had to go to the United States Supreme Court to receive approbation to fire a called minister. Despite the 9-0 ruling from the nation’s high court in January 2012, the Obama Administration foisted the contraception clause on America the next week. The assault on religious liberty is being waged by more than the Obama Administration. New York City instituted a new policy which prevented the Bronx Household of Faith and other small religious groups from renting space in public schools on weekends even though other non-religious groups could do so. Christian groups on college campuses are being denied recognition (and funding) when they require their leaders to be Christians and strive to live a chaste life as being discriminatory.
Great Maryland Seal
Rhode Island 1st Gov. Seal
The Puritans were Englishmen who were self-exiled to Holland at the beginning of the Seventeenth Century so that they could have religious liberty. They decided to come to America so that they could raise their children as Englishmen who could have religious liberty in the New World. Roger Williams was a theologian forced out of the Massachusetts Bay Colony who founded what became “Rhode Island and Providence Plantations” in 1636 which separated church authority from religious authority. Maryland was settled by Cæcilius Calvert, the 2nd Lord Baltimore and others as a refuge for English Catholics. The Maryland Religious Tolerance Act of 1649 was first law ever to guarantee the right to worship regardless of denomination. Secular society has been championing a concept that America was founded on a separation of church and state and that religion was ancillary to education of the times. While it is true that there is not a state religion, history shows the profound motivation of our founders to pursue religious liberty. The Fortnight for Freedom should remind us of our proud history of religious liberty and point out how state incursions are strangling this fundamental freedom. Part of this education about religious liberty should include how sweeping state regulation of secular values will end vital social services in adoption, immigration, adoption, feeding the destitute and health care by religious groups which are serious about their core beliefs.
It is fascinating to witness how the gory details of the Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell’s capital murder case has made pro-choice people uncomfortable. The elite liberal media had to be shamed to cover the serial killing string infanticides of seven babies who were born but had their spinal cords “snipped” to “ensure fetal demise”. The New York Times, whose mast proclaims “All the News that is fit to print”, which tends to be the vanguard for the mainstream media (really the elite liberal media) stopped covering it because it had already published six articles. The New York Times’ editorial editor Andrew Rosenthal rationalized the Old Gray Lady’s lack of curiosity over the gruesome details of Gosnell by opining:
What does the trial of a Philadelphia doctor who is accused of performing illegal late-term abortions by inducing labor and then killing viable fetuses have to do with the debate over legal abortion?
That rhetorical question is easy to answer– it gives insights how some of our high ranking elected officials actually hold political positions which condone Gosnell’s acts of infanticide and how government officials and medical turn a blind eye to existing law protecting the newly born to ensure the viability of their perceived sacred right of abortion on demand.
***
Although this author is appalled by abortion, it is currently the law of the land with some caveats (like the 24 week rule, and Born Alive). But consider the appalling medical conditions described in the Gosnell trial, and the aforementioned Orlando abortion instance and the lack of regard for the Born Alive Protection Act. Does this type of treatment represent the sentiments which President Obama alluded to when quoting President Bill J. Clinton that “Abortion should be rare, safe and legal”.
***
If abortionists routinely skirt the law on infants born alive and give sub-par medical treatment to women wanting abortions on the cusp of legally recognized viability, then how does it bode for other medical treatment, especially under Obamacare?
Those who oppose abortion know that pro-choice people become uncomfortable when the ghastly facts about abortion as practice are exposed. That is why the Lamestream Media ignores cases like Gosnell and Hollywood stereotypes pro-lifers as hayseed, obsessed bitter clingers. But as we are all being fed into the machine of Obamacare, people should be fully cognizant how medical ethics are being skirted for profit and professional integrity as well as the ethics of removing the voice for the defenseless such as the unborn may soon imperil you.
{Andy Griffith [C] with Mayberry Statue, Mt. Airy, NC}
Actor Andy Griffith, made famous for his TV role as the widowed sheriff of the fictional town of Mayberry, NC as well as Matlock, has died at the age of 86.
The Andy Griffith Show was wildly popular during its eight year television run from 1960 to 1968. Griffith left the show with a year left on his contract but served as an executive producer of the spin-off show Mayberry, R.F.D. and appeared in a handful of episodes in its first year.
Griffith left to pursue a career on the silver screen, with less success than he hoped. Perhaps it was because he could not shake the typecasting. When he returned to television, he partially embraced that folksy persona in the legal drama Matlock, where he played a widowed country lawyer.
President George W. Bush awarded Griffith the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005 "for demonstrating the finest qualities of our country and for a
lifetime of memorable performances that have brought joy to millions of
Americans of all ages." So that gentile down home typecasting might not have been all bad.
While Griffith made his Democrat leanings clear with his avid support of North Carolina Governors Bev Perdue (D-NC) and Mike Easley (D-NC) as well as a government funded endorsement of Obamacare.
That being said, Griffith never managed to ultimately polarize his public.
Griffith studied for the ministry in his youth. This is reflected in a couple of Griffith's memorable quotes.
"I was baptized alongside my mother when I was 8 years old. Since then I have tried to walk a Christian life. And now that I'm getting older I realize that I'm walking even closer with my God."
and
"You know when you're young you think you will always be. As you become more fragile, you reflect and you realize how much comfort can come from the past. Hymns can carry you into the future."
May his soul revel in walking closer to his Maker.
In January 2012, as the Obama Administration began to bureaucratically buckle down to implement Obamacare, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius imposed a Qualified Health Plan mandate which basically required all qualified plans to offer “free” contraception, sterilzations, and abortofacient drugs. In addition, the clerical exception was so narrowly construed which does not extend beyond the Church’s sanctuary. In response to the public outroar that accompanied this Obama ukase, the Obama Administration claimed that conscientious objectors would not have to pay for repugnant treatments but insurance companies would pick up the bill. This laughable fudge was given the same day that the Federal Register published the original HHS mandate with no revisions.
Some polling indicates that Catholics do not appreciate that religious liberty is under assault. So the US Council of Catholic Bishops launched a Fortnight of Freedom, a coordinated nationwide effort of prayer, fasting and instrution to educate the Catholic laity as well as the general public on the importance of preserving Americans’ First Amendment rights to the unfettered exercise of religious beliefs.
Liberal leaning Catholics launch into tirades against the UCCB efforts, accusing the Bishops of unfairly involving themselves in politics. Such rantings about not mixing church and state are laughable as the LCRW inspired Nuns on the Bus Tour is out protesting the Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI 1st) budget proposal for suggesting changes to social service spending. Perhaps advocating for the Social Justice inspired acts of charity are not recognized as even being religious in nature but appeal to Social Gospel believers who are strong on social but queasy about gospel.
George Soros is funding a “Catholic” shadow organization “Faith in Public Life” to be the devil’s advocate working behind the scenes against the UCCB Fortnight of Freedom efforts. Prominent dissonant Catholic voices, like the outsed America editor Fr. Tom Reece and prominent feminist theology professor Lisa Sowle Cahill, have associated themselves with the “Faith in Public Life” front group. Expect the media to be fed questions by Faith in Public Life about conflating health policy quarrels with religious freedom, bluster about the fake HHS compromise and questioning if Catholics would stop social justice programs if they do not receive religious accommodation.
Archbishop Lori noted that the Fortnight for Freedom was launched on the eve of the feast of St. Thomas More, a Catholic Lord Chancellor of England who sacrificed everything, including his life, to keep faithful to communion with the Catholic Church in the face of King Henry VIII Act of Supremacy. Lori also invoked the example of St. John Fisher, who also shares the feast day with St. Thomas More, as Fisher was Catholic Cardinal who was martyred by a tyrannical English crown anxious to control the practice of faith in the nation. Archbishop Lori also noted that Charles Carroll (brother of first US Bishop John Carroll) the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence, risked his life and thwarted unjust law which legally prevented Catholics from being Maryland office holders.
Archbishop Lori’s homily also touched upon Catholic organizations affected by the narrow HHS construing of a religious exemption. Lori declares that organizations can have moral character and should not be forced to participate in practices that are repugnant to the group’s founding principles. Liberals have invoked the argument that it is all well and good for individuals to have moral positions, corporations can not take moral stands. This strain of thought posits that organizations like the Knights of Columbus must participate in what they believe is evil. Or Catholic Insurers need to offer coverage for contraception abortions and sterlizations because institutions can not have religion. This flight of fancy leads liberals to argue that Georgetown Law must offer contraceptives because most of their students and faculty are not Catholic, so damn the Catholic connections.
But this Fortnight for Freedom raising of consciences is not just coming from the clergy. Embodying the New Evangelizaton, the Catholic Association made a media buy to dispel the secular myth that one should confine their expressions of faith to the pews in church or cowering at home.
New York’s Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan will offer a Mass for the Fortnight of Freedom at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The Archdiocese of Washington is sponsoring a rally amongst other activities throughout the country. The Fortnight of Freedom will conclude with a noon Mass at the Basilica National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC on Independence Day celebrated by Philadelpia’s new archbishop Charles Chaput.
During this Fortnight of Freedom, the faithful are offered an appropriate prayer:
Almighty God, Father of all nations, For freedom you have set us free in Christ Jesus.We praise and bless you for the gift of religious liberty,the foundation of human rights, justice and the common good.Grant to the leaders the wisdom to protect and promote our liberties;By your grace, may we have the courage to defend them,for ourselves and for all who live in this blessed land.We ask through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, our patroness,and in the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,One God, forever and ever. Amen.
The HHS final rule on qualified health plans imposes a Contraception Mandate that poses a poison pill for faithful Catholic and other institutions that believe that life begins at conception. Mark Rienzi, the Becket Fund For Religious Liberty attorney who represents Ave Maria University, Belmont Abbey College, Colorado Christian University and ETWN , is confident that the outcome in federal courts will come out the right way and protect religious liberty in America. However, if Rienzi’s optimism is misplaced, he believes that Catholics could end up engaging in civil disobedience against an unjust law.
The civil disobedience with religious liberty protestors will not be like the sit-ins of the civil rights movement. Instead, Rienzi anticipates institutions not paying for the contraception, sterilizations and abortifacients. This would lead to crippling fines which eventually would put the charitable and educational missions out of existence.
In a perverse way, such a shuttering of Catholic identity might be the aim of the Obama Administration. The Obama Administration budgetary proposal for FY2013 sought to limit the deductability of charitable contributions for those making over $250,000 a year, exactly the demographic which makes substantial gifts to non-profit causes. As for Catholic hospitals, they make up 15% of all bed-space in America and they are often the only provider in rural regions. If conscientious Christians cede the field due to the Contraception Mandate (or being fined out of existence), the federal government will dominate the health-care playing field and be a major step towards a single-payer system.
It is not fine to force charitable institutions from living their faith by penalizing them for not acquiescing. It may be time to recall the Man of All Seasons, St. Thomas More who was a martyr for not submitting to an unjust law proffered from English King Henry VIII, the secular power that be.
