Posted on 10/09/2013 9:09:16 AM PDT by Kaslin
The Obama administration has prohibited the Kennedy family from practicing its Catholicism, and the Kennedys now intend to ask the Supreme Court to restore their First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion.
Their case could become one of the most consequential in our nation's history. The issue: Will the most fundamental liberty of all -- freedom of conscience -- survive in post-Obama America?
John Kennedy serves as president of Autocam and Autocam Medical, Michigan-based companies that produce automobile components and medical devices. He and his family own the companies, which employ 661 people in the United States.
The Kennedys strive to live all parts of their lives -- including their business lives -- in keeping with their Catholic faith.
"We're called into different vocations or different occupations," Kennedy told me in an interview this week, "but we are supposed to respond to that call and try to basically show the teachings of Jesus Christ in everything we do."
"You have an obligation to treat everyone justly, and, in my mind, you are supposed to treat all people that you come across in life as part of your family," said Kennedy.
Autocam pays it workers an average of $53,000 per year -- which is more than the median national household income -- and provides its workers with a generous self-insured health care plan through which it pays out an average of "about $11,000 to $12,000" per employee per year.
Among those annual benefits is $1,500 the company deposits in Health Savings Accounts controlled by the individual workers.
But there is one thing the Kennedys won't do: Pay for sterilizations, artificial contraceptives or abortions -- including abortions induced by drugs. In keeping with Catholic teaching, they believe these things are "intrinsically evil" and that it would be wrong for them to pay for them.
Nonetheless, the Kennedys employees retain the right to buy these things with their own money -- including with money withdrawn from their Health Savings Accounts.
A year ago, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued a "preventive services" regulation under Obamacare. This regulation requires almost all health care plans to cover, without fees or co-pay, sterilizations, artificial contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs.
The U.S. Catholic bishops unanimously condemned this regulation as a "violation of personal civil rights" and an "illegal and unjust mandate."
Many Catholic bishops declared: "We cannot -- we will not -- obey this unjust law."
With great moral courage, the Kennedys made a similar determination.
When I interviewed John Kennedy this week, I asked him: "Can your family-owned company, in keeping with the way you have run it in accordance with your Catholic faith, obey that regulation?"
"No," said Kennedy. "I can't see how we can do that."
"So you have no doubt that the Obama administration, through this regulation, is trying to force you to act against your faith?" I asked.
"Yes," said Kennedy.
"They have essentially prohibited you from doing what you have always tried to do, which is to live your life everywhere and at all times in accord with your Catholic faith?" I asked.
"Correct," said Kennedy.
"They have essentially prohibited you, as a business owner, as an employer of hundreds of people, from practicing your religion?" I asked.
"Yes," he said.
In October of 2012, the Kennedys and Autocam sued Sebelius in U.S. District Court. "Plaintiffs are adherents of the Catholic faith as defined by the Magisterium (teaching authority) of the Catholic Church," said their suit. "These teachings prohibit the Plaintiffs from participating in, paying for, training others to engage in, or otherwise cooperating in the practice of contraception, including abortifacient contraception and sterilization."
"Plaintiffs's sincerely held religious convictions also prevent them from adopting the spurious position that their religious beliefs do not apply when they enter the world of work," said the suit.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit concluded last month that the Kennedy's could not sue to protect themselves from the regulation because: "The decision to comply with the mandate falls on Autocam, not the Kennedys."
It does not matter that the Kennedys own Autocom. "[W]e agree with the government that Autocam is not a 'person' capable of 'religious exercise,'" said the court.
Thus the administration and this court have declared that the federal government can force Catholics to act against their faith, if they have the audacity to create and incorporate a business.
The administration has further declared that individual Catholics must comply with sterilization-contraceptive-abortifacient regulation when they buy insurance in the Obamacare exchanges. Thus, President Obama -- through his HHS -- is prohibiting the practice of Catholicism, not just for business owners such as the Kennedys, but also for Americans generally.
The Kennedys intend to take their case to the Supreme Court. But before it gets there, the House of Representatives should comply with the request of the Catholic bishops to attach language to either the must-pass continuing resolution or debt-limit bill protecting Americans forever from being ordered by an Obamacare regulation to buy or provide health-insurance coverage in violation of their moral principles or their faith.
If Obama wants to shut down the government or stop the Treasury from borrowing more money until Congress allows him to retain the usurped power to attack the freedom of conscience, let him try it. Then let's have a national debate about just how un-American and tyrannical Obama's attack on religious liberty is.
If you had bothered to read the thread of 34 posts before attacking my informational post of post 35, then you would have noticed that at least 21 of them were related to the Catholic Royal American family, and that others were related to Catholicism in general.
Moral law, by definition, has to exist at a higher level than those bound by it. On a personal level, it would soon be reduced to selfish desire; while in society, it would degenerate into mob rule.
Conscience and empathy are as rare as common sense.
The greatest contribution to America from the Judeo-Christian ethic was understanding the inherent depravity of man. This doesn’t mean that any individual is depraved, but that every individual is capable of depravity. This was the reason for the separation of powers and the checks and balances in the Constitution.
“The Catholic Church can be accused of many things, but its prolife stand is not extra-biblical. God’s law is pretty clear regarding abortion.
Protestant churches are too chicken to scare their seat-warmers away by teaching Biblical truth in the area of sex and marriage. BTW, I am not Catholic.”
You’re not just whistling Dixie brother! This past Sunday was suppose to be a “march for life” in our county (around the nation really). I wanted to attend but did not get there till late because our Mass is at a funny time and Father could not change the time. Well we drive like a bat out of hell looking for the walk for life. I thought with as many churches in our town they’d be out there. There was only 1 church! I was told all churches were going to be on the side walk so we both were shocked to find no one. One of the churches I stopped into ask “where is the walk for life?” was a protestant church that runs a Christan school. The same Christain school I attended as a child! Would you believe this? Some lady I did not know just said “our church is not participating in that”. I was stunned! When I got back to the other lady who was with me I told her this and said “thank you God I left that place and thank you I’m Catholic now!!!!!” I don’t want to be a part of any church that does not stick up for the unborn!
Many of the “progressive” churches don’t even bother mentioning such divisive topics. Seeker friendly, you know. Blech...
Not a single protestant church will, but individual protestants might.
IIRC, the sister, Eunice, was said to be truly seeking to live and grow her love of God.
The infamous Kennedy family you speak of did NOT follow the rules, but the family members mentioned in the article apparently are.
>> The most Catholic pomp and ceremony we see in America is in honor of the Kennedys.
Nonsense.
I think for most American Catholics and Americans, when we see politicians meeting the Pope and taking communion at the Vatican and these kind of Royal/religious ceremonies below, we associate them with Democrat politicians and especially the Kennedys.
Thank you for you valuable input.
One of my old taglines:
“But once life has begun, no matter at what stage of growth, it is my belief that termination should not be decided merely by desire. ~Ted Kennedy, 1971
The Supremes said corporations have the right to make political contributions and engage in political speech.
But not religious speech? What ridiculous, b.s. distinction are we supposed to take seriously here? But wait .... I hear footsteps .... oh, is that a Supreme Court messenger bearing a writ of prorogation? Yeah, it might just be.
Time for the Judiciary to get their act together on "free exercise" by "artificial persons". Next thing you know, corporations will be voting in elections and getting married.
oBAMA = NONSENSE
Perhaps a fixation to the “Kennedy” name is at fault for the strident bigotry, and its unfortunate inclusion to a thread that’s obviously concerned with the 1st Amendment and Life.
Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:
Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of general interest.
The article is fallacious. Kennedy does not “own” the company. Kennedy is merely a stockholder in a publicly traded company. He is president and majority stockholder but merely a stockholder. He will lose 9-0 even if the Ct takes the case. You are reading propaganda not facts.
Don’t be so hard on yourself for being fixated on the Kennedy name and what ever bigotry it stirs in you although I hope that bigotry is about leftists politics not something more ugly, dozens of people have commented on America’s most powerful and famous Catholic family on this thread, not just you.
They are a family that led to the final destruction of America with their immigration agenda.
I’m obviously defending Catholicism in response to the bigotry you injected into the thread; the same Catholicism also under attack by the Obama regime as described in the article.
You are becoming quite the stalker, I should have recognized that you intended to launch a continuing personal attack because of some personal grudge you carry from thread to thread.
Post 35 has nothing to do with any sort of bigotry being injected into the thread, instead it was a simple observation about the Kennedys and the democrat leadership and the Catholic denomination in America and the more than half century of spectacle and ceremonies that America has watched, it was something like the 22nd mention of the Kennedy family on this thread at that point, a name that you appear to be obsessed with judging by the way you keep pestering me about them.
You need to release this personal baggage you carry and try to stay with the subject of the posts.
Posting thread-relevant objections is not stalking, but for you to say so is slander. I urge that you avoid making such baseless charges given the likelihood of any critical discussions you initiated on any other thread. Should we review? I’m not interested, but if you insist on making these accusations, maybe it’s warranted. That said, given your characterization of stalking, I presume you will never again initiate a disagreement with me, or anyone else that you previously engaged.
Regarding your reference to “Catholic Royalty”, it has nothing to do with the 1st Amendment and Life central to the article. I consider it an opportunistic bigoted remark unrelated to the article.
Rather than do this stalking thing, and the endless personal attacks that you do, why not just read post 35, and tell us the Catholic family in America that has been more honored and celebrated with pomp and ceremony by their church than the Kennedys of the last 60 or 70 years, and the democrat politicians who are Catholics?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.