Archbishop: Obama Needs To Stop 'Intruding Into Internal Life Of Church'

[LisaA]

Obama is so quick to apologize for burnt korans but seems ok with offending Catholics. I hope “catholics” who voted for Obama in 2008 are waking up.

John

Me too. I was so horrified by the Obama bumper stickers when I went to Mass. Nice people and devout Catholics. They simply didn’t know or didn’t believe how pro abortion he was, how anti Catholic (anti Christian in general but seems to have a particular dislike for Catholics), how far Left and how totalitarian his attitudes.

The HHS Mandate was a real wake up call, when all the Bishops are aligned against it and Catholic institutions are dropping health insurance coverage because of it. Sometimes I think that because he never took Christianity seriously, he thinks everyone else is the same, using their faith for advantage or to put on appearances. He had no clue what fury he unleashed with his anti-life policies

Lisa

 

[Brad]

I would like to encourage all women that oppose the HHS Mandate to participate in the Pro Women Pro Freedom Campaign. In a country such as America, if enough average citizens stand up and have their voice heard, policy changes. We have in our power the ability to defeat this attack on religious freedom.

Freedom For Americans is just average people like you and I, standing up for freedom. If we do not, we will lose it.

Please spread the word, spread, spread, spread. We can defeat this not just legally but from a cultural perspective so that they will not think of taking away our freedom again.

youtube.com/watch?feature…&v=kxkJ37m6b3M

freedomforamericans.com/Pro-Women-Pro-Freedom.html

If you have any questions regarding, I can answer them.

God bless!

Brad

 

[_Abyssinia]

Catholic organizations across the country file suit against contraception mandate

Some of the most influential Catholic institutions in the country filed suit against the Obama administration Monday over the so-called contraception mandate, in one of the biggest coordinated legal challenges to the rule to date.

Claiming their “fundamental rights hang in the balance,” a total of 43 plaintiffs filed a dozen separate federal lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the requirement. Among the organizations filing were the University of Notre Dame, the Archdiocese of New York and The Catholic University of America.

foxnews.com/politics/2012/05/21/catholic-organizations-across-country-file-suit-against-contraception-mandate/#ixzz1vWMkYUFU

Statement from Cardinal Dolon:

We have tried negotiation with the Administration and legislation with the Congress – and we’ll keep at it – but there’s still no fix. Time is running out, and our valuable ministries and fundamental rights hang in the balance, so we have to resort to the courts now. Though the Conference is not a party to the lawsuits, we applaud this courageous action by so many individual dioceses, charities, hospitals and schools across the nation, in coordination with the law firm of Jones Day. It is also a compelling display of the unity of the Church in defense of religious liberty. It’s also a great show of the diversity of the Church’s ministries that serve the common good and that are jeopardized by the mandate – ministries to the poor, the sick, and the uneducated, to people of any faith or no faith at all.

University of Notre Dame statement:

This lawsuit is about one of America’s most cherished freedoms: the freedom to practice one’s religion without government interference. It is not about whether people have a right to abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception. Those services are, and will continue to be, freely available in the United States, and nothing prevents the Government itself from making them more widely available. But the right to such services does not authorize the Government to force the University of Notre Dame (“Notre Dame”) to violate its own conscience by making it provide, pay for, and/or facilitate those services to others, contrary to itssincerely held religious beliefs. …

If the Government can force religious institutions to violate their beliefs in such a manner, there is no apparent limit to the Government’s power. Such an oppression  of religious freedom violates Notre Dame’s clearly established constitutional and statutory rights.

The First Amendment also prohibits the Government from becoming excessively entangled in religious affairs and from interfering with a religious institution’s internal decisions concerning the organization’s religious structure, ministers, or doctrine. The U.S. Government Mandate tramples all of these rights.

Father Terrence Henry talks about Franciscan University lawsuit in video:

youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dI4NEUNR-V8

Noting that Franciscan University did not go looking for this battle, Father Henry said the University retained Jones Day, one of the world’s largest law firms, with whom the University has had a relationship for the past twenty years, “because it has the resources to fight the government as long as it takes, and we will settle for no less than a restoration of our First Amendment right to freedom of religion.”

Father Henry concluded, “Under no circumstances can Catholics be both in compliance with this new law and at the same time live the faith that we believe. Franciscan University will continue to stand with the Church in its opposition to this mandate. Our ancestors came to America because they knew that on these shores they would be free to faithfully live what they believed. This mandate is not only a grave infringement on religious liberty; it is a betrayal of those who sacrificed to make this country what it is today.”

hotair.com/archives/2012/05/21/43-catholic-institutions-file-suits-over-hhs-mandate

 

[_Abyssinia]

Editorial from ‘Our Sunday Visitor:’

It seems to us hardly a coincidence that this suit is taking place in our centennial year. Founded 100 years ago by then-Father John Noll, Our Sunday Visitor from its beginning sought to inform Catholics about the issues of the day, form them in the Faith, and defend that Faith from attack. It was Father John Noll who stood up to those who attacked Catholic immigrants as un-American and seditious. It was Father John Noll who faced down false preachers who spread slanders about the Church. It was Father John Noll who resisted the power of the Ku Klux Klan when it was such a powerful political force. And it is in his courageous spirit that we invoke as we engage in this great struggle today.

We know that many Americans — and even many Catholics — are confused about this debate. Politicians and elements of the news media have sought to make it a war against women or contraception, and they have portrayed the Church as seeking to impose its values on others or as being covertly political.

We also acknowledge that many Catholics do not understand the reasons for the Church’s moral opposition to contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs. This lack of understanding points to a significant catechetical need that the Church should address internally.

We reiterate, however, that this is not about the legality of such practices in society, nor is it about how many Catholics understand the Church’s position. It is about the Church’s right to practice what it preaches.

Statement from university of Notre Dame President Fr John Jenkins:

Let me say very clearly what this lawsuit is not about: it is not about preventing women from having access to contraception, nor even about preventing the Government from providing such services. Many of our faculty, staff and students — both Catholic and non-Catholic — have made conscientious decisions to use contraceptives. As we assert the right to follow our conscience, we respect their right to follow theirs. And we believe that, if the Government wishes to provide such services, means are available that do not compel religious organizations to serve as its agents. We do not seek to impose our religious beliefs on others; we simply ask that the Government not impose its values on the University when those values conflict with our religious teachings. We have engaged in conversations to find a resolution that respects the consciences of all and we will continue to do so.

This filing is about the freedom of a religious organization to live its mission, and its significance goes well beyond any debate about contraceptives.  For if we concede that the Government can decide which religious organizations are sufficiently religious to be awarded the freedom to follow the principles that define their mission, then we have begun to walk down a path that ultimately leads to the undermining of those institutions.  For if one Presidential Administration can override our religious purpose and use religious organizations to advance policies that undercut our values, then surely another Administration will do the same for another very different set of policies, each time invoking some concept of popular will or the public good, with the result these religious organizations become mere tools for the exercise of government power, morally subservient to the state, and not free from its infringements.  If that happens, it will be the end of genuinely religious organizations in all but name.

 

[_Abyssinia]

List of Catholic entities which filed against the Obama Administration (so far)

wdtprs.com/blog/2012/05/list-of-catholic-entities-which-filed-against-the-obama-administration

 

[Bubba_Switzler]

If the President and his apparatchiks at HHS thought the outrage voiced by various cardinals, bishops, and countless lay Catholics over the anti-conscience mandate was mere bluster, they got a wake-up call yesterday. On Monday, 43 high-profile Catholic organizations, including the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. and the University of Notre Dame, filed suit against the Obama administration. In an open letter, the Archbishop of Washington summed up the collective position of the plaintiffs by explaining that the mandate “fundamentally redefines the nation’s long-standing definition of religious ministry… HHS’s conception of what constitutes the practice of religion is so narrow that even Mother Teresa would not have qualified.”

spectator.org/archives/2012/05/22/catholic-institutions-revolt-e

spectator.org/archives/2012/05/22/the-irish-sue-the-feds

 

[LisaA]

spectator.org/archives/2012/05/22/catholic-institutions-revolt-e

spectator.org/archives/2012/05/22/the-irish-sue-the-feds

Wonderful articles. As that Priest said in his video “Here comes the Catholic Church.”

I am SO glad that the spokesmen for these suits made it clear that it is not the Catholic Church trying to impose its beliefs upon anyone else but the GOVERNMENT’S attempt to impose its will against the strongly held and very public position of the Church.

It’s interesting that the suits were filed before SCOTUS rules on the case. Also interesting that in direct opposition to the claims of Obamacare, the costs of health insurance will increase dramatically.

Lisa

 

[Ecoclimber]

This is what is so discouraging about the administration’s support of same sex marriage, the HHS mandate on contraceptives and abortion. This administration looks at the various surveys and polls concerning Catholics adherence to the teachings of the Catholic Church. Do you think they would have issued those controversial mandates if they knew they would lose the Catholic vote?

It is a sad commentary to me on the adherence of pew Catholics to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. The Catholic governor of the State of Washington has been a strong proponent of Same Sex marriage in Washington and has been instrumental in getting the measure passed in the state legislature. The Archbishop is now attempting to obtain signatures for a referendum to over turn that vote. There was discussion on this thread concerning Nancy Pelosi and Biden not being denied communion. And we had on this thread a discussion of a priest denying to communion to someone who was in a same sex relationship although she receive communion by the Eucharist minister at the same service

The Evangelical base is very strong again against abortion and same sex marriage. That is how Karl Rove got Bush elected to the surprise of pundits. Exit polls showed people voted for values over anything else and couldn’t support same sex marriage and abortion. The Democratic Party has been hijacked by extreme elements of this group Act UP which had the endorsements of the Hollywood elite.

The evangelical vote accounts for 40% of the electorate. Evangelicals denominations are not comprised of mainline denomination congregations such as the Episcopal, Methodist, Congregation or Presbyterian churches but by a loose federation of non denominational, charismatic, Pentecostal and Southern Baptist denominations, etc.

As one poster so accurately and aptly described the conflict that Christians in America face in choosing between one Party focused on social justice and the other Party focused on the prevention of same sex marriages and abortions. The GOP as Karl Rove in a later admission used the Evangelical voters to get the President elected. He could care less about them or their Christian agenda.

If the Catholics were made accountable some how to the Catholic Church’s teaching, then the significance could force both parties to focus on policies against same sex marriage, contraceptives and social justice. Secular society views the Catholic Church as hypocritical in allowing their members to participate in the life of the church while opposing the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. They also view the Catholic Church as having lost their moral authority over the sex abuse scandals the past few decades.

Many preachers in the Evangelical Churches believe you cannot legislative morality on an immoral society. A good example of that is Prohibition Era.

Many in the evangelical faith believe as you evangelize society to become more Christianize, then these problems will diminish. Such was the belief of Rev. Billy Graham when he was active and conducting crusades across America. I remember a time when Bishop Sheen and Oral Roberts were on National TV full time each week if you can believe that.

According to Pew Research, Catholics are the least accountable of all denominations to the teachings of that particular denomination’s tenets of faith 5%. In Evangelical Churches, if members are found to be in violation of the Pastor’s teaching they are asked to leave the church…known as the left hand of fellowship.

It’s a sad commentary of the times we live in when the Hollywood propaganda machine influence and shapes societal standards and culture through its sitcoms, movies, music and other forms of media. As one evangelical missionary most aptly stated, we are the most godless society on the face of the planet. Christ commands us to be a light to the world as Pope Benedict XVI stated. It is the Catholics in the Church that need to evangelize the world. catholic.org/hf/faith/story.php?id=40083

Blessings to all,

 

[Bubba_Switzler]

This week Catholic bishops are heading to federal courts across the country to defend religious liberty. On Monday they filed 12 lawsuits on behalf of a diverse group of 43 Catholic entities that are challenging the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) sterilization, abortifacient and birth-control insurance mandate.

Like most Americans, the bishops have long taken for granted the religious freedom that has enabled this nation’s diverse religions to flourish in relative harmony. But over the past year they have become increasingly concerned about the erosion of conscience protections for church-related individuals and institutions. Their top-rated program for assistance to human trafficking victims was denied funding for refusing to provide “the full range of reproductive services,” including abortion. For a time, Catholic Relief Services faced a similar threat to its international relief programs. The bishops fear religious liberty is becoming a second-class right.

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303610504577418201554329764.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304019404577418291623540400.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

 

[Bubba_Switzler]

If the Catholics were made accountable some how to the Catholic Church’s teaching, then the significance could force both parties to focus on policies against same sex marriage, contraceptives and social justice. Secular society views the Catholic Church as hypocritical in allowing their members to participate in the life of the church while opposing the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. They also view the Catholic Church as having lost their moral authority over the sex abuse scandals the past few decades. ,

The better option, in my opinion, is for Catholics, both clerical and lay, to engage in the debate and change minds. Starting with Catholics.

 

[Bubba_Switzler]

E. J. Dionne thinks it’s unfortunate that 43 Catholic institutions have filed suit against the Obama administration over the HHS mandate, because that might give the impression — in an election year, no less — that many Catholics are really, really unhappy with the Obama administration.

Well, yeah.

Dionne thinks this is “unfortunate” because, apparently, the only thing that can explain American Catholics being really, really unhappy with the Obama administration is, you guessed it, partisanship.

nationalreview.com/corner/300764/moral-clarity-partisanship-stephen-p-white

 

[Bubba_Switzler]

The lawsuits that the Catholic bishops filed against Sebelius’s department this week, on the other hand, are bad news for the White House, because they were filed not only on behalf of individual dioceses but on behalf of numerous other Catholic organizations as well – charitable groups, health care organizations, and a group of colleges and universities that included, yes, Notre Dame.

Whether these organizations win in court will presumably depend on how the judicial branch weighs the public health concern involved. It’s true that religious institutions can’t be exempt from every regulation they don’t like, and maybe the courts will accept the argument that it’s worth sacrificing a measure of religious liberty in order to marginally expand the number of insurance plans covering contraception.

But the mere existence of the suit, and the diversity of the institutions associated with it, creates a political headache for the Obama campaign. For decades, Democratic politicians have found ways to win Catholic swing voters despite taking positions that are at odds with the Catholic Church’s views on abortion, same-sex marriage, and yes, contraception. But it will be considerably harder for this White House to win over those same voters if it seems to be picking a fight with American Catholicism as a culture — with the local Catholic hospital, the local Catholic soup kitchen, and yes, the Fighting Irish.

campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/obama-vs-catholics-catholics-vs-obama/?hp

The bishops and the Vatican care passionately about putting women in chastity belts. Yet they let unchaste priests run wild for decades, unconcerned about the generations of children who were violated and raped and passed around like communion wine.

nytimes.com/2012/05/23/opinion/dowd-father-doesnt-know-best.html?_r=1&hp

 

[JimG]

The HHS mandate gives Catholic institutions a rather stark choice: You can cease being Catholic by deciding to follow the mandate while violating Catholic doctrine and morals, or you can go out of business. They might try for a third choice, to ignore the mandate and pay huge fines, but that ends up with them going out of business.

But hey, there is an exemption from the mandate for religious organizations! But guess what? Catholic hospitals, Catholic charities, Catholic soup kitchens, Catholic social services, Catholic schools–none of those are religious organizations according to the HHS. To be a Catholic religious organization, you must employ only Catholics, serve only Catholics, and be involved only in spreading the Catholic religion. Oh, but that’s not what the Gospel requires? Sorry, you are not a religious organization. No exemption for you. Violate your religion or go out of business.

 

[Bubba_Switzler]

Progressives and their media enablers have endeavored mightily to make this dispute about women’s rights. That is, quite simply, a lie. There is no more a “right” to contraception, which is cheap and widely available, than there is to cigarettes and beer, which are equally so. It is yet another effort by this administration to expand the reach of government, this time into the religious arena, and forcibly conscript people of faith to do the state’s bidding. If it succeeds, such people will have one of two choices. They can abandon their ability to administer services in education, health care, charities, and social services to government bureaucracies — or they can abandon their religion. Cardinal Dolan explained the implications. “Never before have we faced this kind of challenge to our ability to engage in the public square as people of faith.”

Not in America. But the history of other nations is replete with horror tales of socialists, Marxists and other assorted totalitarians who have sought to drive religion from the public square, or eliminate it completely. Why? Ironically, such efforts have invariably been associated with creating Socialist Utopias or a workers paradises. Just as ironically, no group of Americans has labored harder for “separation of church and state” than progressives — until it interferes with their sense of entitlement.

The archdiocese of Washington, D.C. illuminates the reason for the litigation. “This lawsuit is about an unprecedented attack by the federal government on one of America’s most cherished freedoms: the freedom to practice one’s religion without government interference,” it says on a special website created for the occasion. “It is not about whether people have access to certain services; it is about whether the government may force religious institutions and individuals to facilitate and fund services which violate their religious beliefs.”

frontpagemag.com/2012/05/23/suing-for-religious-freedom/

 

[Brad]

I continue to encourage people to tell the Administration what you think in your own words on video. Nothing is more powerful than the everyday American citizen showing that they are denitively wrong in their categorization of women.

Remember a picture is worth one thousand words. They used the pictures of Sandra Fluke to gain public support. We can do the same and 10x more.

Take a few minutes and do it on your own or email us for assistance.

youtube.com/watch?feature…&v=kxkJ37m6b3M

facebook.com/pages/Freedom-For-Americans/373484439348940?sk=app_237202476309340

 

[_Abyssinia]

Thread will be closed because it is has gone over 1000 posts. Let us continue posting HHS news on this thread:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=678033