St. Thomas More on Reputation

St. Thomas More on Faith

SCOTUS Sartorial Stylings at the Inauguration

While there has been a buzz in the Lamestream Media as to the sartorial stylings of First Lady Michelle Obama at the 57th Presidential Inauguration, some astute observers had admired unusual haberdashery on the dais.

[Front L. Justice Sotomayor, R.  Justice Scalia; Back L. Justice Thomas, R. Justice Kagan]

Associate Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wore some distinctive head-wear to the public swearing in ceremony.  Scalia donned a hat which was a gift from the St. Thomas More Society from November 2010 that is a custom made replica based on the 1527 portrait of St. Thomas More by Hans Holbein. What is more interesting than the fashionista question: "What are you wearing?" would be "Why are you wearing that hat?"  Was this just an opportune occasion to wear a stylish cap?  Or might the sartorial choice be subtle statement which echoes the inspiration for the Fortnight for Freedom?

[L.] . Justice Scalia at Inauguration [R] Detail of St. Thomas More portrait by Hans Holbein (1527)

Last summer, when the US Council of Catholic Bishops sought to educate the public about the encroachment of Obamacare into our foundational freedom of religion by the HHS Qualified Health Plan   (contraception) mandate.  The kick off mass celebrated St. Thomas More, a faithful Catholic who sacrificed his high position as Lord Chancellor (Prime Minister) as well as his own life when the secular sovereign demanded him to abandon his faith. You be the judge. h/t: First Things

Forcing Catholics Institutions Out of Charity Not Fine with US

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.



h/t: CNS News