Biden and the Bishops

President Biden said he doesn't think the U.S. bishops will deny Holy Communion to him or other pro-abortion Catholic politicians. And for once, I agree with Biden--not that he's doing to the right thing by violating both church law and the dignity of the most powerless and poor, but that the Bishops will cave to the demands of the world. We'll have to let Jesus sort this out on Judgement Day.

The ignorant right

Sometimes I can’t believe the way some conservative talk show hosts, bloggers, on-line news hounds and website owners underrate President Obama. Folks, he’s not dumb, or careless, or naïve.  He would be if he had core American values, but he doesn’t.  Why does the right continue to fall for this, putting out insipid cartoons, wringing their hands, and thus taking their eyes off the November 2014 prize?

It’s no coincidence that we’re having this flurry of gay marriage law suits and gay coming out parties.  Obama was firmly in the traditional marriage camp until he found out the U.S. Catholic Bishops finally got a spine and were going to hold the line on just who created this universe. The Catholics are leading the fight on abortion and the HHS mandate--compulsory contraceptives in insurance forced on religious agencies despite the assurances of the first amendment.  I guess they figured out from closing their adoption agencies that the thugs in government meant business, and they’d better not concede another inch. 

Compulsory abortions and euthanasia in government health plans are not outside the realm of possibility if the social thugs just use the same tactics--a few cute TV shows to soften the brain and conscience, celebrities yukking it up with Bill Maher, ridiculing people on Twitter who want to save mama or the disabled, and then calling anyone a bigot or racist who disagrees.

The Roman Catholic Church is the largest provider of social services in the world, the only organization/entity that can compete with a government—any government. The Protestants, totally fractured and disorganized into thousands of competing groups, are a push over for Obama. He talks and walks their language. Learned it in Chicago.  They’ve already got divorced pastors, gay choir directors and “committed partners” teaching Sunday School.  They are not even worth worrying about in the social/cultural battle.  He will have to take on the only church that still stands for something and has some power—and unfortunately there are enough squabbling, petty Christians around who will help him do it.

Why did Catholics support Obama?

Fifty seven percent of practicing Catholics (attend mass at least once a week) voted for Romney.  Forty three percent who call themselves Catholic but rarely attend services, voted for Obama, the pro-abortion president. Every U.S. Bishop opposed the HHS mandate,  and it clearly looked like Obama stabbed them in the back after they’d supported him on immigration, taxes, etc.  But they just couldn't fight the fact that Catholics have been primarily Democrats for way too long.  I can’t imagine that they couldn’t see this coming when they supported a pro-abortion candidate in 2008.  So that also means that 43% of practicing Catholics think it is OK for Catholic charities and schools and hospitals to go under because of Obama's mandates.

http://www.lifenews.com/2013/02/15/why-did-so-many-faithful-catholics-vote-for-obama-again/

These are the liberals . . .

Sorry, I can’t even quote them . . .

http://twitchy.com/2012/09/07/liberals-cuss-out-archbishop-timothy-cardinal-dolan/

And they probably vote.

HHS Mandate vs. God's people

"The LORD frustrates the counsel of the nations; He thwarts the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation. Happy is the nation whose God is Yahweh--the people He has chosen to be His own possession!" Ps 33:10-12

I love that word "thwarts." All those consonants smothering and beating up on one little old vowel. One can make a difference in this world. You can even rearrange the letters and find other words, "tsar start that war" (HHS tsar Kathleen Sibelius). Today demand to be given back the religious freedoms our founders intended and wrote into the Bill of Rights, and not just this latest dust-up. The erosion didn't start in January 2009! Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg doesn't appreciate our Constitutional liberties, but we do.

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Why is Obama offending so many voters?

Answer is becoming clear: So he can create chaos and have an excuse to call off the elections. The Occupiers probably won't have the stamina or desire to stick it out--but the Catholics might. They'll be peaceful, just like the Tea Party or the 9/12 groups, but that won't matter. To the leftists like Pelosi, they are "terrorists." So if they do take to the streets, Obama can seize control. Very clever, and right out of Saul Alinsky's little guide book and Bill Ayers coaching.

The battle over the Obama administration’s contraception mandate continues to heat up. On Monday, Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, made some bold proclamations regarding just how hard the Catholic Church plans to fight the government’s requirement that religious-affiliated schools and organizations cover contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs.

“Never before, unprecedented in American history, for the federal government to line up against the Roman Catholic Church,” said Donohue. “This is going to be fought out with lawsuits, with court decisions, and, dare I say it, maybe even in the streets.”

Here, Donohue is calling for Catholics and supporters of religious freedom to join in peaceful protest against the mandate. Similar action (peaceful marches and events) has been taken in New York City, where religious groups have converged to fight a local ban on the use of public schools for worship.

Upon reading the news this morning, Glenn said that “every alarm bell in me went off.”
“Because something is not right here. There’s no way this President can lose the Catholic vote.”
Glenn said that President Obama relies heavily on the Hispanic voting bloc for support, the majority of whom are Catholic. There were also many members of the Catholic clergy who helped lobby for ObamaCare to pass just a few years ago. Glenn said that the Catholic community believes in social justice, but that a segment of them believe that government should play a role in bringing it to fruition rather than relying on individual charity. Those that follow the more progressive philosophy sided with Obama on ObamaCare, not now he has turned against them.

Glenn Beck radio show, Feb. 7, 2012

Obama won't back down on contraceptive requirement for Catholics

[Jay Carney] said the president had no plans to reconsider the mandate in spite of the outcry from leaders of the Catholic Church and other religious organizations.

“This is not a decision of politics,” Carney stated. “This provides an important preventive service for people around the country and is not in any way a violation of the conscience clause.”

However, this is not the viewpoint of many legal experts who say the new mandate clearly violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).

Read the rest of the article here.

In my opinion, this is not an issue about contraception or abortion insurance, this is an issue of power. Who will stand up to the mighty federal government. No one, says Obama.

As a Lutheran, formerly in the ELCA synod, I was very disappointed to learn that ELCA has mandated insurance coverage that includes elective abortions, even for gender selection. I didn't know this, and neither did any member of UALC that I've talked to.Read a statement about this here.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America maintains a pro-choice position for fetuses that are aborted before viability outside of the womb. The ELCA position statement says abortion should be an option of last resort, the ELCA community should work to reduce the need for elective abortions, and that as a community, "the number of induced abortions is a source of deep concern to this church. We mourn the loss of life that God has created."[47][48] The ELCA Social Statement on Abortion adds: "The church recognizes that there can be sound reasons for ending a pregnancy through induced abortion. These are the threat to a woman's physical life; when pregnancy has resulted from rape, incest or sexual violence; and fetal abnormalities incompatible with life.[49] The church opposes legal restrictions on abortion and provides health-care benefits to its employees that cover elective abortions. Some hospitals affiliated with the church perform elective abortions.[50] Wikipedia based on ELCA.org

http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/Social-Issues/Social-Statements/Abortion.aspx

Are Protestant churches standing up for religious freedom?

I haven’t seen any evidence that Lutherans, Methodists, Brethren, Baptists, Presbyterians, Anglicans, etc. have stepped up to support or comment on the U.S. Bishops’ letters read to their parishes throughout the USA on January 29 calling for civil disobedience related to mandated insurance coverage for contraception, sterilization and abortifacients for Catholic institution employees.

They might want to take another look at something completely unrelated but still a challenge to PPACA, and that’s Medicaid mandates. Medicaid was created in 1965. It is the nation’s largest health insurer. In 2010 Medicaid spending totaled $400.7 billion from the federal government and $129.8 billion from state and local governments, with a 20.3% increase by 2014 projected because of PPACA’s expansion. (figures and story from New England Journal of Medicine, Jan. 12, 2012)

You’ve probably heard about the challenge in the courts of the individual mandate to purchase insurance. Were you aware that 26 states (Florida + 25) are challenging the mandated expansion of Medicaid as a violation of the U.S. Constitution? (The spending clause) The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the challenge.

Do you know what the number one argument the government will have? The states were warned from the beginning that Congress reserved the right to make changes to Medicaid, and it has done so many times over the years, and with each subsequent amendment you didn’t challenge it.

It’s time to challenge the government in this intrusion into church teaching and it’s stripping us of our first amendment rights.

It has never been about health care--you've been conned

Today I was reading something from the American Roman Catholic Bishops about why they supported the health care bill--"the anguish of mothers who are unable to afford prenatal care, of families unable to ensure quality care for their children, and of those who cannot obtain insurance because of preexisting conditions." If that's all this health care bill was about, that could have been taken care of in a hundred pages or so. Isn't it amazing with all the food programs we've had in place since WWII, like SNAP (food stamps), WIC, commodity supplements, school lunch programs, summer feeding programs, after school snacks, school breakfast programs, fresh fruits and vegetables for the low income, TEFAP and food banks, the government only expands its assistance but never succeeds in feeding the poor? And even with all the Medicaid and Medicare, the SSDI, SCHIP plus all the non-profits and the power and wealth of the churches, all these people don't have health care? Whose pockets are being lined, who is taking a giant cut if it isn't getting to the needy? Why are more trillions needed if everything thrown at it since the 1960s isn't working?

And what exactly is a pre-existing condition? Our U.S. Census now reports that one sixth of us--50 million--are disabled. Other websites say that 111,000,000 have eating disorders, and 44,000,000 have mental problems. TV ads tell us that one in ten are autistic. And the stats on obesity and diabetes seem to change with the season. Soon, we will not have a single healthy, well-fed person in the United States! Won't the illegals be disappointed when they sneak in!! They could have been sick at home! These government programs must keep expanding, not because we are less healthy than 1950 or 1900, but because we are. No government program wants to go out of business due to success!

The ObamaCare travesty/takeover was never about better health; it has always been about government control and power. The Bishops should have seen this one coming, and raised a few more red flags, and not just about abortion. Millions of Catholics have lost their lives not just to legal abortion, not just to do-gooder DDT bans, but to democide--death by government. In gulags, in death camps, in reeducation camps, in starvation through collectivization. President Obama is ridiculing his opposition--he, the biggest advocate for abortion in the highest office in the land, in the formerly most powerful country in the world. Why in the world would the Bishops trust him with the rest of our lives?

Only the Word of God stands up to earthly powers. It's time to use it.