The Parable of the Kosher Deli: Bishop Lori Before Congress Defending Religious Liberty

2/21/2012

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nation is indeed committed to religious liberty and diversity, these arguments carry the day. In response, those proposing the new law claim to hear and understand the concerns of kosher deli owners, and offer them a new "accommodation."

You are free to call yourself a kosher deli; you are free not to place ham sandwiches on your menu; you are free not to be the person to prepare the sandwich and hand it over the counter to the customer. But we will force your meat supplier to set up a kiosk on your premises, and to offer, prepare, and serve ham sandwiches to all of your customers, free of charge to them. And when you get your monthly bill from your meat supplier, it will include the cost of any of the "free" ham sandwiches that your customers may accept. And you will, of course, be required to pay that bill.

Some who supported the deli owners initially began to celebrate the fact that ham sandwiches didn't need to be on the menu, and didn't need to be prepared or served by the deli itself. But on closer examination, they noticed three troubling things. First, all kosher delis will still be forced to pay for the ham sandwiches.

Second, many of the kosher delis' meat suppliers, themselves, are forbidden in conscience from offering, preparing, or serving pork to anyone. Third, there are many kosher delis that are their own meat supplier, so the mandate to offer, prepare, and serve the ham sandwich still falls on them.

This story has a happy ending. The government recognized that it is absurd for someone to come into a kosher deli and demand a ham sandwich; that it is beyond absurd for that private demand to be backed with the coercive power of the state; that it is downright surreal to apply this coercive power when the customer can get the same sandwich cheaply, or even free, just a few doors down.

The question before the United States government-right now-is whether the story of our own Church institutions that serve the public, and that are threatened by the HHS mandate, will end happily too. Will our nation continue to be one committed to religious liberty and diversity? We urge, in the strongest possible terms, that the answer must be yes. We urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to answer the same way.

Thank you for your attention.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: HHS Mandate, HHS Edict, Kathleen Sebelius, Barack Obama, Contraceptive mandate, abortion, contraception, religious Freedom, Bishop William Lori, Deacon Keith Fournier

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1 - 10 of 30 Comments

Rob
1 year ago
I agree vance. The more they talk the more we see them for what they are. I wouldn't want to be out in public either. The public is better served by half truth attack adds and campaign slogans right?
vance
1 year ago
I hope this is the last debate conducted by the Marxist Media Complex. I'm sick and tired of the "Loaded Questions" and the "Diversion" of the issues to protect Obama. It is blatantly obvious that the Marxist Media Complex is for Romney and Paul. Both Gingrich and Santorum were slow on the draw against Romney and Paul. Ron Paul has spent over a quarter century but has not had a single piece of meaningful legislation passed. Romney "Voted" for Paul Songus, a full fledged Marxist, over a fellow GOP. Ron Paul opposes GOP BUT conspicuously never opposes Marxist Democrats. HMMMM!!
Rob
1 year ago
Andrew, you are right and I am not suggesting otherwise. But just because the "rule" is out there does not alleviate the clergy from responsibility. And to that point I would offer Matthew 23:4. "They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." As we all know being a disciple is hard and it takes all parties involved to do it (laity and clergy). I don't think it's wise for our leadership to assume just becuse the teaching is out there people are following it, know how to follow etc. This "head in the sand" approach is not working, it didn't work for the abuse scandal, and it's not going to work for this.
Andrew
1 year ago
Rob, you seem to have forgotten that the Church is not behind the times, it is beyond the times. People of every age have chosen to make excuses for why they know better than God. It always ends the same way.
Honeybadger
1 year ago
Proof positive that Obama and his cronies have been telling 'porkies' to the world! It thinks it can get away with grilling, chopping and smoking the Roman Catholic Church into being forcefed their twisted, divisive and destructive policies...

Please God soon, the administration will be slipping on its own grease and they'll have no-one to blame but themselves!

It's a great analogy of the Kosher Deli. I got it straight away - what a pity the so-called politicians let it go over their heads!

How about another couple of parables - one called the Muslim Casino and another called the Hindu Beefburger stall?

It would be interesting to guage the reaction then!
Rusty Tyler
1 year ago
The Bishop's message is spot on, but I would propose putting the parable in the context of a Muslim religious practice. What would be considered outrageous and blasphemous to a Muslim? Make THAT into a bill and send it to the House and Senate, and let's see if it would still pass the Obama administration.
Rob
1 year ago
Tech, while the decision Diana is making has implications (all sex outside of marriage is a sin), I think she speaks to the disconnect between our politicians and our church leadership. I know we want to flip some switch and go back to 1950 or whatever date things were supposedly all right with the world. Not sure when that was as there seems to always be something terrible we are overcoming. But I think at some point our leaders need to acknowledge where we are and they need to meet people where they are. We seemed to have developed this all or nothing approach with everything we promote as of late. While there can be no negotiation with sin, we definitely need to acknowledge the real situation on the ground. And in this instance what the American women is up against. I think our continued lack of acknowledgement of these issues does not bode well for our evangelization efforts. I think we are sending people a lot of mixed messages and I think we are doing it because we aren't listening. On the one hand we want to remove the financial safety net for people but on the other hand we want them to honor life. On the one hand we want folks to have an ultra sound with every pregnancy, regardless of the outcome for the child (disease etc), but we absolutely reject any sort of national healthcare program. Again, I know we can't negotiate with sin, but I do think we need to work on creating a society where people's fears are causing them to use contraception or worse procure abortions. We continue to ignore all of the societal issues at our country's peril.
John Milo
1 year ago
The question is not concerned with who pays for these services; it is the providing of them that is at issue. Obama and Sebelius's attempts to deflect the objections over into a discussion of payment are simply a plan to obfuscate the actual concern of Catholics. This concern says that HHS can not mandate an action for the Catholic Church that is against the teachings of the Catholic Church. Payment is irrelevant. Apparently Obama and Sebelius are too stupid to figure this out.
techwreck
1 year ago
Diana Strong, So you have chosen to teach your daughters promiscuity. Is that what Jesus would teach them to do? Or, would He teach them the path to self respect and good physical and mental health because He only wants what is best for them? Just asking.
Emma
1 year ago
Diana......"This is why the Catholic Church continues to lose followers in the US"..........where have you been? This is why the Catholic Church is beginning to gain followers. At least, where I come from. More and more young college students are entering into the Catholic Church. Do you know why? Because of it's authenticity. Because it is a mature religion. Because so many of us have lived through lives caused by just the type of pablum that you're feeding your daughters and we've chosen to turn our backs on that life style after seeing the damage it has caused in the lives of ourselves and our peers. My final "yes" to the Catholic Church came through my then future husband. Friends for some time before we started dating, I at one point asked him if he was gay. I was so used to wrestling matches on dates that one someone didn't maul me, I thought there was something wrong with him. His response left me speechless. "I respect you." It took me sooooooooooooo long to process that. That word, "respect". I realized that that was one word that our modern culture had not taught me. I excelled in studies, spoke all the right words, dressed correctly, engaged in social and environmental causes, but I had no self respect. Church or no church, you should be teaching your daughters to respect themselves and their own bodies. Then and only then will others respect them and treat them accordingly. But, no............among college age young people there is a revival within the Catholic Church. People my age are entering, not leaving.

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