Catholics Go To Court To Resist Unjust HHS Edict. The Rising Tide of Catholic Resistance
Two major Catholic ministries announced that they have - or soon will - file Federal Lawsuits
Catholic Online will soon launch our effort to support the Bishops and the lay Catholic Catholic efforts responding at this urgent hour. It will include a call to fasting, protracted prayer and Catholic Action. That response must be undertaken on multiple fronts; on our knees, on Capitol Hill and in the Courts
PrintWASHINGTON, DC (Catholic online) - Over the last two weeks Catholics have heard read letters read at Mass which were written by the Catholic Bishops of the United States. We have been asked to rise up in prayer, fasting, Catholic Action in response to an unjust Edict issued by Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, on January 20, 2012.
This mandate requires all employers, including Catholic and other religious employers, to cover sterilization, abortifacients, and contraception in their health care plans. The "exemption" provided for religious employers does not cover hospitals, universities, soup kitchens, outreaches to the poor and many other vital expressions of our Catholic faith and mission.
Catholics understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ demands a response which goes beyond the walls of our Church buildings. We are our brother and sister's keeper. We do not reach out to people in need because they are Catholic. We reach out to people in need because we are Catholic.
This HHS Edict is a violation of the Free Exercise of Religion which is protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. It is an unjust law in the clearest sense of the expression. The Federal Government of the United States is trying to force the Catholic Church to act against its deeply held religious convictions and to violate conscience.
Failure to do so will bring punitive measures upon the Church and her institutions. This will occur in the form of onerous fines. They would have the practical result of closing many of the Church's outreaches, ministries and institutions of care and compassion. Certainly this not only injures the Church it injures American society.
The claim that such an edict is an unjust law is rooted in the western understanding of the nature of law. It is the same firm foundation upon which the American founders grounded their insistence that there are inalienable rights, endowed upon us all by a Creator, which cannot be taken away by any civil government. Positive law must reflect the Natural Law or it is unjust.
Saint Augustine said of an unjust law, "For it seems to me that an unjust law is no law at all." Saint Thomas Aquinas explained, "Human law is law only in virtue of its accordance with right reason: and thus it is manifest that it flows from the eternal law. And in so far as it deviates from right reason it is called an unjust law; in such case it is no law at all, but rather a species of violence." In doing so, they echoed Cicero, Aristotle and Plato and the entire Natural Law Tradition.
Martin Luther King, Jr., in his 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail, gave a this explanation of how one determines whether a law is unjust, "How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law."
This Edict from Secretary Sebelius came one day after Pope Benedict XVI addressed a group of US Bishops during their ad limina visit. He warned them of the growth of radical secularism in the United States and the accompanying threats to the fundamental Right to Religious Freedom so integral to the American experiment.
This Pope has repeatedly warned of the growth of a "Dictatorship of Relativism". Relativism is a philosophy which denies the existence of any objective truths to guide human behavior. This kind of philosophy expresses itself in this way: "your truth" is not the same as "my truth."
When there is a denial of the existence of anything objectively true - which can be known by all and form the basis of our common life - there can be no secure foundation for true freedom and solidarity. Instead, we teeter on the brink of social anarchy.
There has been an effort to paint all the moral positions we hold as Catholics as "religious". Then, in this increasingly anti-religious culture laboring under a mistaken application of the separation of Church and State, an attempt to force us to stay behind our Church doors. It is virulently anti-Christian. The Christian faith may be personal, at least in the sense that it invites a personal response. However, it is not private - it is profoundly public.
Our positions, for example our insistence upon protecting the Right to Life and the Right to Religious Freedom, are not just our "religious" positions. They are rooted in our conviction of the existence of a Natural Law which must inform any truly just positive laws.That Natural Law can be known by all men and women through the exercise of reason.
On January 24, 2012, Cardinal designate Timothy Dolan shared these words in an address at the Fordham Law School, "Natural Law is a concept of objective truth, known by anyone with the power of reason -- a truth not relativized by the special ...
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JoAnn, thank you for making an excellent point. We are meeting with our local pastor next week. We will be discussing this issue. I hope everyone follows your advice. God bless.
Vance: I am so sorry your parish is so silent. That is indeed unfortunate. Have you confronted them? Did you ask them why they haven't read the letters from Cardinal Dolan to the congregation? Ask them why they don't concur with the letters. If they give you an answer that you are not satisfied with, you can report them to the arch-diocese. (Provided they aren't corrupt too.) And if you can't get any satisfaction from your diocese, you can report it to the Cardinal or even write a letter to the Vatican. We all have to fight this evil. These rogues have to be flushed out and reprimanded. With this HHS attack on our 1st amendment rights, the Church is in a fightin' mad mood and they may start defrocking these traitors. Satan is alive and well in the Churches of all faiths, especially the Catholic Church. Prayers are wonderful but it's going to take more than prayers to fight this injustice. I encourage all Catholics out there that are truely in love with their Faith to send petitions/letters to the Vatican Get out in your parishes and get signatures from the people that feel the same way you do about the traitors in your parishes and send them to the Vatican. If we get fightin' mad too, maybe, just maybe we will be able to make a difference. One person, one family, one city, one state can make a difference and it only takes one step from one person to get it started. Show God, that we are no longer going to be "lukewarm" and He will be with us. God bless.
JoAnn, you are lucky to be a part of a dioceses such as yours. My dioceses is exactly opposite. The Bishop and priests have been dead silent on all the issues that have confronted us on a daily basis. So far there has been no word on HHS mandates.
Theresa H: Like I said, I have been very fortunate. The parishes that I belonged to were very much conservative. They were always teaching the evils of abortion and the likes. I don't know what churches you all belonged to. The majority of our priests and bishops DO instruct us from the pulpit. If we are not hearing the truth, we should confront our priests. I just don't want people thinking that because of the few "rogues" we have in our Church, it is the norm, because its not. You have to admit, that some Catholics DO hear the truth but CHOOSE to ignore it. There is nothing the priests can do about that. It's not that these Catholics are uninformed, it's just that they don't care. God will deal with them some day. As long as we walk on the side of God and truth, it is our responsibility to tell (with love and respect) the truth to our friends and family. A lot of those Catholics in the dark probably don't even go to Church, except maybe on Christmas and Easter. Maybe not even then. God bless.
Vance, you "hit the nail on the head" when you wrote that when priests (and bishops) are silent in the pulpit about abortion, contraception, etc., the people conclude that it's not all that bad or important Yes, Joan, we have a responsibility to know our faith, but many people do look for the "teaching" from the priest; the priest is still seen as the "source" for most Catholics. But they (the priests) see the dwindling attendance and don't want to see even more leave the Parish--so they are mostly silent on the "touchy" matters.... I also suspect many Catholics don't even know the Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC)] exists! They do in my Parish because I facilitate a class on the CCC and it is posted in the Parish Bulletin. Still, very few have shown any interest: not more than 6 attend! Some say they have no "time;" others say they "already know all that!" (I think to myself: "Really?"--None of us ever "knows all That!") Yes, indeed, we have an obligation to know our faith and the resource (the CCC) is available. The sad fact is that most Catholics--for one reason or another--just aren't that interested!
Vance: Thanks, my friend. My visit with my "angel" was way too short. They live in another state so I don't get to see them very often. Thank God for skype though. I know what you mean. People just don't know what responsibility for themselves means anymore. They are so used to someone telling them what to do. And, you must admit, a lot of it is just plain laziness. The Catechism of the Catholic Church should be in every Catholic home. But it isn't going to do any good if you don't read it. It's a beautiful book and should be read cover to cover many times just like the Bible. Like I said, I have been very fortunate. The parishes that I have been in were all very conservative and I got very good catechisis. As a matter of fact, one of my parishes actually had a study (kind of like a Bible study) on the Catechism. It took two years to actually go through it, and it was the best study I had ever had. And, of course, there is EWTN, Catholic radio and Catholic webs. Catholics really need to fall in love with their Faith like a child with a new toy. Like Jesus said, we have to be like little children. By the way, I'm glad to be back. I missed all you guys. God bless.
vance, well said. I agree completely. Our priest need to survey the situation and meet people where they are, not where they wished they were.
JoAnn, Let me join the chorus who are congratulating on your new grand baby "Angel". That is wonderful. You sound like someone like me. You are one who is self-driven and self-directed. You were a supervisor's dream. He didn't need to tell you what to do because you already knew what to do and did it 100%. I was a supervisor for many years and I loved those who were self-directed because it made my job easier. I learned years ago that MOST people need leadership. Most are ready and willing to work but will sit and wait until they are told what to do. Yes, this is why Priests need to "Remind" the faithful that Abortion, Homosexuality, etc. is morally evil. If nothing is said, then one might conclude that these amoral acts are OK because the priest has nothing to say about it. God Bless.
Re: Jean'sBistro2010's blog
Anyone interested in learning about our faith the above is a laywoman's blog on Catholic Christianity.
It also documents where you can go for more information regarding our faith, copies of the Bible, Catechism, websites and some of my artilces using You Tube videos.
Please feel free to stop over and visit my sight. Hope it is fulfilling to all on the Teachings of Jesus Christ.
Rob, Stephany & Vance: Thanks Rob, My great grandaughter is wonderful. That's where I was for vacation. She is my little angel. She'll be 2 months old already this Tuesday. I agree with you all about Sr. Keenan and the likes. Plus there are "Catholic"? organizations out there that fight the teachings also. I wish we could put muzzles on them. I guess I was more fortunate than others because I have belonged to really good parishes all my life. And, I'm one who questions everything, not just what I hear about my Faith. What I didn't learn in school or church, I took it upon myself to get the answers. And, you all know as well as I, that people DO hear the truth and CHOOSE not to live their faith. Example: right before the election in 2008, the priest in my parish really gave it to us about the "five non-negotiable" issues that we should all be aware of. During his sermon, some people were walking out. I heard one person say, "he isn't going to tell me how to vote." And, after his sermon, he got a standing ovation. The next day there was a very negative right up in our newspaper about him. The Catholics that vote Democratic have voted that way all their life. If you ask me, the lack of education is that they do not know what the Democrats have become. Or, they don't care. Common sense tells you that abortion is evil. So is euthanasia, homosexuality, embryonic stem cell research and cloning. Do we really have to hear that from the pulpit? Yes, the "rogues" out there do cause a lot of damage. But not to Catholics who know their Faith and live it. It's the Catholics who know their Faith and choose not to live it. God bless.