With the so-called Obama healthcare “reform” law and the horses out of the barn, Catholic leaders are now complaining with a fevered pitch that the administration’s definition of a “religious employer” is going to force Catholic and other pro-life healthcare providers to choose between violating their consciences or curtailing access to care. Catholic educational institutions will also be forced to provide employees with healthcare plans that are inconsistent with the Church’s moral teachings.
Testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee, the Chancellor and General Counsel of the Archdiocese of Washington, Jane Belford, said that if the definition of religious employer is not changed:
Catholic schools that teach abortion is morally wrong could have to pay for abortifacient drugs for their employees; and Catholic health clinics that refuse to provide contraception or sterilization for patients could have to subsidize contraception and sterilization for their employees.
Criticism has become more vocal since the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, approved new regulations that order nearly all private health plans to cover FDA-approved “contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling” as part of their “preventive services” for women. The new regulation defines a religious employer as a non-profit organization that “inculcates” religious values and primarily hires and serves people who share its religious tenets.
The problem this definition presents is that it excludes many “employers of conscience”—including Catholic hospitals, universities and social services—which serve all people in need, regardless of their religion and whose commitment to Christian service is not intended primarily to inculcate religious values.
The President and CEO of the Alliance of Catholic Health Care, William J. Cox, said this narrow definition HHS has overlooked “the contributions of Catholic health care and undid centuries of religious tolerance.” Cox testified:
It is particularly ironic that HHS is substantially burdening Catholic institutional ministries because they respectfully avoid inculcating religious beliefs, and compassionately serve persons of all faith traditions and those having no faith tradition at all…
Simply stated churches and religious institutions have the right to define and govern themselves free from government interference and entanglement.
The Catholic leaders were unanimous in imploring Congress to pass the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (HR 1179), which aims to expand the religious exemption allowed under Obamacare.
The criticism is accurate: The definition is exclusive rather than inclusive. It divides rather than unites. It’s dismissive of rather than accommodating.
At the same time, however, isn’t much of it a bit late in the “game”? After all, in the debate leading up to the passage of the so-called Obamacare “reform,” many Catholic leaders seemed very content to accept the “promises” the President and members of his administration offered them while lobbying for their support of the so-called “healthcare reform” scheme.
Having danced with wolves, why should the critics be unhappy that the wolves have bit the hand that fed them?
So, the horses are now out of the barn and the critics are hoping that the other side of the aisle will come to their aid. Let’s hope so!
But, having provided support in opening the barn door to this anti-life scheme, isn’t the criticism coming a little late? Who duped whom?
They were played like banjoes. Or, some knew this was coming but prefer to be
considered dupes rather than be known to be traitors.
Evidently the ‘good offices’ of the ACLU were used to craft the language of the
definition. This is a deliberate assault on the Church by this administration.
Myself, I cannot express my utter contempt for any Catholic who can continue to
offer his support to the reelection of this president.
Late to recognize the danger? Yes. Undoubtably. To late to resist tyranny? Never!
France and Britain fell into the same trap as many Catholics. It is easy to find excuses to avoid fighting. It seems so reasonable that one can overcome irrational state action with level-headed dialogue and engagement. I understand why Catholics were suckered in… The Obama machine applied a veneer of catholicity to everything.
It was almost too late when Europe woke up to the threat. It is a lot less late now.
JPII’s words ring all the more true in this time of trouble; “be not afraid.”
And by “to late to resist,” I mean “too late to resist.”
I just can’t get used to the touch screen typing.
The solution: vote Obama out in 2012.
I bet dollars to donuts they will 24/7 work for Obama in 2012, again.
Of course, it was willful ignorance. In 2008, the USCCB (and filthy schismatics everywhere) ignored abortion and sanctity of the family/marriage (gay marriage/don’t ask, don’t tell) two of the Pope’s four non-negotiables.
They are now raising a “stink” when it means nothing; except they can fabricate a narrative of opposition to mandated abortions and taxpayer funding for abortion/contraceptives after they actively supported same.
Too late, mate. All this wailing and gnashing of teeth: me parece mentira, sinverguenzas.
[…] Criticism of Obamacare is a Little Late in the Process, No? – Motley Monk, The Amrcn Cth […]
All of this is happening because the bishops wanted illegal aliensto have government healthcare. They were warned by me ( I wrote every cardinal, AB, and bishop in the U.S. that this Democrat dictated phony healthcare bill was creating death panels as well as taxpayer funded abortions) and I’m sure others did as well. But illegal aliens were more important to the bishops than anything else in this bill. Even after the 2010 elections, AB Dolan, president of the USCCB wrote that they were not going to try and repeal this horrible bill. Now, they are having to deal with the evil the pro-abortion party is throwing at them. If the bishops are really serious about fighting the Democrat attack on the U.S. Catholic Church, they will have all church-going Catholics hold up their Profession of Faith as a mirror and look at themselves in it to see if they really believe what they say they believe in church on Sundays after the Gospel and homily. In it they profess to believe God is the giver of life. That is one of the basic tenets in the P of F that one must believe in order to be called a Christian. If they do believe what they say they believe, than for their own spiritual sake, and to be true to their word, they should remove their name from the Democrat Party, the pro-abortion party, and never vote for another Democrat again until that party supports ending abortion-on-demand remaining the law of the land.
Another spiritual reason for such Catholics to do that is their praying the Lord’s Prayer standing before the Holy Eucharist in Mass in which they pray for God’s will to be done on earth, and to be delivered from evil. Is it God’s will to create life for it to be aborted? Is God in contradiction with himself? Or are Catholic Democrats in contradiction with what they say they believe and pray for? Abortion is a spiritual issue, not political. Catholics should be taught this starting with the clergy, and that includes the bishops and above. Do you believe what you say you believe? Do you really want what you pray for in the Our Father? Than act on it and remove all support for the pro-abortion party. Actions speak louder than words.
No, it is absolutely not too late to criticize; better late than never. What is the alternative? Take it lying down?
The solution?
Recognize that Catholics are exempt from the mandates of the federal government regarding sterilization, contraception, & abortion.
These “regulations”, regardless of “conscience exemptions”, specifically make it impossible for the free practice of our religion. As such, they are directly opposed to the First Amendment and are therefore unconstitutional edicts.
“No one is bound to obey an unconstitutional law and no courts are bound to enforce it.”
– Sixteenth American Jurisprudence, Second Edition, Section 177. (late 2nd Ed. Section 256)
Simple.
Catholics don’t even need to perform acts supportive of things that are intrinsically evil “until we can get a favorable court judgement.” The Church and all health care related arms in the US simply need to say “No” to the feds, and mail 1) a copy of the First Amendment and 2) the Catechism of the Catholic Church, especially paragraphs 2270-2279 on abortion & euthanasia.
The Bishops are not serious about fighting evil. The USCCB strongly criticized the critics of CCHD which is know to finance, aid and abet pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage and pro-Marxist organizations. Here’s the link to the news article where the USCCB comes out against reforming CCHD (yeah, they made one token reform this week – big deal!).
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=12287
And here’s a report from Catholics United for the Faith that exposes CCHD for the godless enterprise of sin and depravity that it is:
http://www.cufmilwaukee.org/files/3-15-11-CUF_Opposition_to_CCHD-Revision8.pdf
Now we’re supposed to believe the Bishops are serious about standing up for the Faith? Well a small minority is, but the rest need to heed Ezekiel 34:1-10 because judgment day is coming.
I won’t give another penny to anything Roman Catholic until this mess is cleared up and cleaned up – not when three out of four Roman Catholic clerics vote Democrat:
http://www.hprweb.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55:party-politics-and-the-priesthood&catid=35:older-articles&Itemid=54