Awake O Sleeper! It's Not About Healthcare, It's About Religious Freedom!

By Randy Sly
2/15/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

But it's also about Healthcare!

"The simple fact is that the Obama administration is compelling religious people and institutions who are employers to purchase a health insurance contract that provides abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization. This is a grave violation of religious freedom and cannot stand. It is an insult to the intelligence of Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims, and other people of faith and conscience to imagine that they will accept an assault on their religious liberty if only it is covered up by a cheap accounting trick." - From an open letter to President Obama entitled "Unacceptable"

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WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - The recent move by the Obama Administration in general and the Department of Health and Human Services, in particular, mandating the provision of contraception, abortion and sterilization services by Catholic Hospitals, Organizations and Institutions has unleashed a firestorm of reaction that goes far beyond the boundaries of the Catholic Church.

Days later the President tried to backtrack with a quasi-compromise that did nothing but increase the level of angry responses.

On Tuesday, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty reported that they were among the over 100 college presidents, academics, religious leaders and journalists who signed a letter, entitled "Unacceptable," which denounces President Obama's "accommodation" to the contraception mandate for failing to "remove the assault on religious liberty."

"The simple fact," the letter states, "is that the Obama administration is compelling religious people and institutions who are employers to purchase a health insurance contract that provides abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization.

"This is a grave violation of religious freedom and cannot stand. It is an insult to the intelligence of Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims, and other people of faith and conscience to imagine that they will accept an assault on their religious liberty if only it is covered up by a cheap accounting trick."

This issue is not going to go away any time soon. The President has made it clear that no issues of conscience on the part of the Christian citizenry in the United States is going to stop his assault on the life of the pre-born. His claimed concern about "women's health" is a subterfuge.

While there are some who have tried to be critical of the Catholic bishops during episode, no group of religious leaders has cried out so powerfully, accurately and for a sustained period of time as our bishops.

In a letter to their brother bishops in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal-designate Dolan, USCCB president, along with Cardinals DiNardo and Wuerl joined their voices with Bishops Lori and Blair to continue to call for unrelenting action on the part of the American Church.

"We remain fully committed to the defense of our religious liberty," they wrote, "and we strongly protest the violation of our freedom of religion that has not been addressed. We continue to work for the repeal of the mandate.

"We have grave reservations that the government is intruding in the definition of who is and who is not a religious employer. Upon further study we are very concerned that serious issues still remain and we have found numerous problems which we will raise in this letter."

To be honest, my greatest concern is not for our bishops but the cadre of Catholics in the pews who may not take seriously this incredible assault on our religious liberty, moral conscience and health.

Like the proverbial frog in the kettle, many of our brethren may have fallen asleep and on their way to experiencing the death of the freedoms. This is a time when we must cry out with a Scripture that is quoted in the breviary readings for Holy Saturday, "Awake, O sleeper and rise from the dead!"

An Issue of Religious Liberty

Make no mistake of what we are facing. The president and his administration are requiring that people of faith deny their deeply held religious and moral convictions - and violate their conscience - to comply with initiatives imposed by the government.

If this sounds familiar, just look back at sixteenth century England when Henry VIII required Catholics to accept his authority on divorce. What they ended up with was a state church.

This can and will affect more than Catholics. If this can happen in healthcare, it can happen in other places as well, where the government can mandate a policy in contradiction to Christian convictions. Leaders from across Christendom have joined in sounding the alarm.

In the "On Faith" section of the Washington Post, Jordan Sekulow, Executive Director of the American Center for Law and Justice wrote, "The Obama Administration's Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) decision to force religious institutions to provide insurance coverage for abortion pills is nothing short of a war on religious liberty. And President Obama did nothing to change this fact with his latest 'accommodation.'

"This is not just an assault on life, or even Catholics, it is a direct attack at the heart of religious freedom and free exercise - the very essence of the First Amendment.

"Make no mistake; this regulation is not just about contraceptives. The regulation at issue will ...

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1 - 10 of 24 Comments

vance
1 year ago
Rob, How many people reject their insurance coverage for supplying contraceptives? The answer is ((( NONE ))). Why? Because they don't cover it unless the government ((( FORCES ))) them to do so. I know you're catching spears and arrows for your Dear Leader but 'The Faithful' are not the bad guys. Your Dear Leaders the Marxist Democrat Party are the bad guys.
Juan Blanco
1 year ago
Sarah thank you for your words. This is the best post I have seen in a long time here.
eithena
1 year ago
I hope you can remember because i can an interview mr o gave on abortion in which :he said i want to thank you women ,and then in a very old joking way he said and we men do thank you women now tell me is that a president of a great country or a men,s club any grandfather that would put is grandchild to death is not a president, any man that puts the minority vote on marriage first is not a president, any man who can not respect the religion of another is not a president any man that can sit down with a dictator[china] that kills its people is not a president THIS MAN IS NOT A PRESIDENT HE,S A PAWN FOR A PRICE move out we need A PRESIDENT THAT IS FOR THE PEOPLE VOTED BY THE PEOPLE and you are no longer that [WANTED A PRESIDENT ] , WILLING TO WORK FOR HIS PEOPLE, TO PUT HIS PEOPLE FIRST,FROM THE WOMB TO THE TOME, TO CARE FOR THE WEAK,TO LIFT UP THE DOWNTRODDEN, TO PUT PEOPLE BEFORE MONEY ,TO FEED THE HUNGRY, TO STAND FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM TO WORK UNDER GOD apply now job vancant
hoosiertoo
1 year ago
It's not about life or healthcare; it's about government power.
JoAnn
1 year ago
Joe Blake: I don't know where you are getting your news but the Bishops as a whole did not ever support Obamacare. And they are very much aware that we are fighting to retain our 1st amendment right. Please check your facts before you write such errors that may confuse people of the Faith. God bless.
renton
1 year ago
the church, the military and the republican party have many similarities, ( obedience to superiors and only one person making final decisions for two examples)
renton
1 year ago
there are many people who do not have health care in this country and we still pay for them shrn thr go to the emergency room. we need to require every onr to be responsable to have mandatory health insurance just as it is required to have car insurance. this type of requirement binds everyone for rhe commen good of society. government required insurance takes care of those who are discriminated against if they don't believe like the jufgemental people of the world do.
j
1 year ago
@CurtisJasper: You are missing the point. This is not about priests wishing to impose their will and as you say, "go back to the era of women as birthing chattel." Read sir. History and church teaching. Do some research on our democrat president. Have you done some independent research and vetted him for yourself? I am not talking about the made for tv interviews in which he gives his views on his policies. Sound bites are what I am afraid many of our fellow citizens settle for now. I am speaking of his previous governance on late term abortions while a senator in Illinois. I am also referring to his questionable associations with radical anti-American leftists. There are any number of books that have now been published by independent authors on Obama's background.
Catholic
1 year ago
It is not only in USA but all over the world. For example see the Hungarian case. We have a Christian government just as a Christian society. Now the whole EU, IMF and the liberal world try to bring down Hungary which is going on a while now because we have a strong christian society. Our Hungarian constitution starting with the Lords name, which also are protecting the traditional marriage. This why Hungary now under attack by the western world and they try to bring down our recent government by falsified news's as the media do a very good job on it as usually.
Here is a video as the Hungarian population stand up for the recent Hungarian government to support our government, our democracy and our christian freedom. Many other countries felt on it by the western force and by their falsified media news as they replaced most of the governments with a IMF specialist anarchic leader without the citizens approval.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OBWmuhLftw&feature=player_embedded
Rob
1 year ago
Just out of curiousity, how many of you have rejected your employer's health insurance coverage because of contraception coverage? Are we morally outraged enough to do that?

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