Dolan describes Obama’s about-face on contraception mandate

Catholic World Report ^ | March 31, 2012 | Catherine Harmon

[NYer]

The Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto has a fascinating interview with New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan, in which the president of the US bishops’ conference discusses the interactions he’s had with President Barack Obama over the last several months regarding the birth-control mandate handed down by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Dolan describes the 45-minute meeting he had with Obama last November, at which he understood the president to say that the Catholic Church’s religious freedoms would be protected as the health-care law was implemented:

“I said, ‘I’ve heard you say, first of all, that you have immense regard for the work of the Catholic Church in the United States in health care, education and charity. . . . I have heard you say that you are not going to let the administration do anything to impede that work and . . . that you take the protection of the rights of conscience with the utmost seriousness. . . . Does that accurately sum up our conversation?’ [Mr. Obama] said, ‘You bet it does.’”

The archbishop asked for permission to relay the message to the other bishops. “You don’t have my permission, you’ve got my request,” the president replied.

Dolan describes himself as “chagrined” at Obama’s apparent change of heart when, at the end of January, he received a call from the Oval Office telling him that not only would the birth control mandate be enforced, but that the bishops had until August “to find out how you're going to be able to comply.” Dolan says he told the president: “Well, sir, we don't need the [extra time]. I can tell you now we’re unable to comply.”

Dolan tells Taranto that for the USCCB, the primary issue remains religious freedom, not contraception.

What rankles him the most is the government’s narrow definition of a religious institution. Your local Catholic parish, for instance, is exempt from the birth-control mandate. Not exempt are institutions such as hospitals, grade schools, universities and soup kitchens that employ or serve significant numbers of people from other faiths and whose main purpose is something other than proselytization.

“We find it completely unswallowable, both as Catholics and mostly as Americans, that a bureau of the American government would take it upon itself to define ‘ministry,’” Archbishop Dolan says. ...

It also amounts to penalizing the church for not discriminating in its good works: “We don’t ask people for their baptismal certificate, nor do we ask people for their U.S. passport, before we can serve them, OK? . . . We don’t serve people because they’re Catholic, we serve them because we are, and it’s a moral imperative for us to do so.”

Dolan does say that a lack of clarity on Catholic teachings regarding sex is partly to blame for the recent furor over contraception; even many Catholics don’t understand the Church’s prohibition of birth control, and use it without scruple.

For this he faults the church leadership. “We have gotten gun-shy . . . in speaking with any amount of cogency on chastity and sexual morality.” He dates this diffidence to “the mid- and late ‘60s, when the whole world seemed to be caving in, and where Catholics in general got the impression that what the Second Vatican Council taught, first and foremost, is that we should be chums with the world, and that the best thing the church can do is become more and more like everybody else.”

Dolan also takes aim at the attitude of many American Catholics toward public service and religion, epitomized by John F. Kennedy’s assertion that, as Dolan puts it, “my Catholic faith will not inspire my decisions in the White House.”

“That’s worrisome,” Archbishop Dolan says. “That’s a severe cleavage between one’s moral convictions and the judgments one is called upon to make. . . . It’s bothersome to us as Catholics, because that’s the kind of apologia that we expect of no other religion.” Read all of Taranto’s interview with Dolan here.

[MHGinTN]

What a surprise! The child of the father of lies lies to a CArdinal! Oh the huge manatee. Shirley this account is wrong. no mental giant like barry the bastard would lie to a Cardinal!

[MHGinTN]

Little barry bastard knows such institutions in the name of a religion work to proselytize, that’s why he send so many of our tax dollars to Hamas! Of course, with a dead-soul media that truth never surfaces there.

[the invisib1e hand]

My first response re Tim Cardinal Dolan restrained by a lent-sized exercise of prudence and self-denial.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

There was no "about face."

This was the plan all along.

The bishops knew Ubama was a serial liar.

They knew they were being lied to, but the lie gave them plausible deniability.

[loveliberty2]

Thanks for posting.

This and other threads have prompted the kind of discussion among Freepers that needs to be going on all over America today.

As a matter of fact, this is the discussion which GOP presidential candidates need to have with voters for Obama's so-called "progressive" "redistributive" vision for America conflicts with his oath to uphold the Constitution.

The very arrogance of Obama's words with a religious leader lies in the fact that the Constitution which he swore to uphold withheld from him, and all elected officials, any power to infringe on religious liberty or the freedom of conscience.

Those who have bought into the touchy, feely "shared responsibility," or "obligation to others" seemingly benevolent descriptive terms used to persuade voters, never bother to tell us that the "progressive" vision requires a heavy-handed political regime to enforce its mandates, and that regime, in whatever combinations it may try to manifest itself, is precisely what the U. S. Constitution is designed to prevent.

That is why they are frustrated. The Constitution stands in the way of their custom-designed method of "changing" America from a free society to one in which some imperfect people plan, direct, manage and control all the other imperfect people.

That is their perverted vision of "justice," and they cannot enforce it without "changing" the Constitution, and they know that they cannot "change" it according to its own provisions; therefore, they must use Trojan Horses like "health care" and "shared responsibility" to trick "the People" into abandoning individual freedom.

"Until the people have, by some solemn and authoritative act, annulled or changed the established form, it is binding upon them collectively, as well as individually; and no presumption or even knowledge of their sentiments, can warrant their representatives [the executive, judiciary, or legislature]; in a departure from it prior to such an act." - Alexander Hamilton

In the first of the eighty-five "Federalist Papers," Alexander Hamilton emphasized that:

"... it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection or choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force."

The Framers knew that the passage of time would surely disclose imperfections or inadequacies in the Constitution, but these were to be repaired or remedied by formal amendment, not by legislative action or judicial construction (or reconstruction). Hamilton (in The Federalist No. 78) was emphatic about this:

"Until the people have, by some solemn and authoritative act, annulled or changed the established form, it is binding upon them collectively, as well as individually; and no presumption, or even knowledge of their sentiments, can warrant their representatives in a departure from it prior to such an act."

Last 5 paras. excerpted from

Our Ageless Constitution - Part VII (1987) "Do We Have a Living Constitution?" (Publisher: W. David Stedman Associates; W. D. Stedman & La Vaughn G. Lewis, Eds.) ISBN 0-937047-01-5       (Essay adapted by Editors for publication in this Volume in consultation with Dr. Walter Berns from Berns' article by the same title in National Forum, The Phi Kappa Phi Journal, Fall 1984)

[Salvation]

You must not be aware of the long list of Bishops who objected to that Notre Dame visit. Please investigate before you bash the Catholic Church,,,,,,please!

 Know that there were more bishops who spoke out against Notre Dame, but this is the list I have.

The bishops who have so far expressed disapproval of Notre Dame's invitation to Obama (in alphabetical order) are:

SOUTH BEND, Indiana, May 6, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Following is an alphabetical list of bishops who have so far expressed disapproval of the University of Notre Dame's invitation to President Obama to give the commencement speech and receive an honorary law degree May 17.  Included are links to the original source as well as LifeSiteNews.com coverage. 

Current count: 77 bishops

Bishop Joseph V. Adamec - Altoona-Johnstown, PA
Statement: http://www.ajdiocese.org/documents//April_8__2009_-_Notre_Dame_University.pdf
LSN http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09050718.html

Bishop John D'Arcy - Fort Wayne-South Bend, IN
Statement: http://www.diocesefwsb.org/COMMUNICATIONS/obama.htm
LSN Report: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09032408.html

Bishop Samuel Aquila - Fargo, ND
Statement: http://www.fargodiocese.org/Bishop/Homilies/StatementNotreDameLtr4-5-09.pdf
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040906.html

Bishop Gregory Aymond - Austin, TX
Statement: http://www.austindiocese.org/newsletter_issue_view.php?id=211
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09032707.html

Bishop Robert Baker - Birmingham, AL
Statement: http://www.ewtn.com/library/BISHOPS/bpbakernd.HTM
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040807.html

Bishop Gerald Barbarito - Palm Beach, FL
Statement: http://www.diocesepb.org/bishop/Acrobat_files/Bishop
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09041406.html

Bishop Leonard Blair - Toledo, OH
Statement: http://proecclesia.blogspot.com/2009/04/bishop-blair-responds-to-notre-dame.html
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042003.html

Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua (Archbishop Emeritus) - Philadelphia, PA
Statement: http://patricknovecosky.wordpress.com/2009/05/04/cardinal-bevilacqua-addresses-notre-dame-controversy/
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09050509.html

Bishop Lawrence Brandt - Greensburg, PA
Statement: http://www.dioceseofgreensburg.org/DH/Pages/NotreDamestatement.aspx
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09050509.html

Archbishop Daniel Buechlein - Indianapolis, IN
Statement: http://www.archindy.org/criterion/local/2009/04-10/notredame.html
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040807.html

Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz - Lincoln, NE
Statement: http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/News/tabid/54/ctl/Details/mid/452/ItemID/495/Default.aspx
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040906.html

Archbishop Eusebius Beltran - Oklahoma City, OK
Statement: http://newsok.com/speech-by-obama-faces-catholic-foes/article/3357948
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040204.html

Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cantú - San Antonio, TX
Statement: http://www.archdiosa.org/txtfiles/attachment_153.pdf
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040704.html

Archbishop Charles Chaput - Denver, CO
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042905.html

Bishop Paul Coakley - Salina, KS
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042003.html

Bishop James Conley - Denver
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09050815.html 

Bishop Edward Cullen - Allentown, PA
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09050403.html

Bishop Nicholas Di Marzio - Brooklyn, NY
Statement: http://thetablet.org/05092009/columns_bishop.html )
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09050718.html

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo - Houston, TX
Statement: http://www.texascatholicherald.org/columnists.html
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09032717.html

Archbishop Timothy Dolan - New York, NY
Statement: http://www.620wtmj.com/podcasts/charliesykes/sundayinsight/42081097.html?video=pop&t=a

Bishop Thomas Doran - Rockford, IL
Statement: http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/CardinalNewmanSociety/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/435/ItemID/470/Default.aspx
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040204.html

Auxiliary Bishop John Dougherty - Scranton, PA
Statement: http://www.dioceseofscranton.org/News/ScrantonBishopsProtestNotreDameDecisionApril2,2009.asp
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040302.html

Bishop Robert Finn - Kansas City-St. Joseph, MO
Statement: http://catholickey.blogspot.com/2009/04/we-are-at-war-bishop-finns-gospel-of.html
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042003.html

Bishop Joseph Galante - Camden, NJ
Statement: http://www.camdendiocese.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1282:catholic-a-mere-label&catid=33:press-releases-a-latest-news
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042807.html

Bishop Victor Galeone - St. Augustine, FL
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042211.html

Bishop John Gaydos - Jefferson City
Statement: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09050814.html
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09050815.html

Cardinal Francis George - Chicago, IL; President, USCCB
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09033106.html

Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger - Evansville, IN
Statement: http://www.themessageonline.org/local/2009/04-17/bishop.html
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042003.html

Archbishop José Gomez - San Antonio, TX
Statement: http://www.archdiosa.org/txtfiles/attachment_153.pdf
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040704.html

Auxiliary Bishop Roger Gries - Cleveland, Ohio
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051101.html

Bishop Bernard Harrington - Winona, MN
Statement: http://www.dow.org/documents/09mayweb.pdf
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09043004.html

Bishop Robert Hermann - St. Louis, MO
Statement: http://stlouisreview.com/article/2009-04-30/i-thought-you-should-know
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09050403.html

Bishop William Higi - Lafayette, IN
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040704.html

Archbishop Alfred Hughes - New Orleans, LA
Statement: http://blog.nola.com/elections_impact/2009/04/Hughes%20letter.pdf
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040704.html

Bishop Michael O. Jackels - Wichita, KS
Statement: http://cdowk.org/advanceonline/2009/04/09/bishop-jackels-letter-to-notre-dame/  
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09050105.html

Bishop Sam Jacobs - Houma-Thibodaux, LA 
Statement: http://www.htdiocese.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=hUtmQlVJbos%3d&tabid=565 
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09050815.html 

Bishop James V. Johnston - Springfield-Cape Girardeau, MO
http://home.catholicweb.com/diocspfdcape/index.cfm/NewsItem?id=263157
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09043004.html

Bishop Peter Jugis - Charlotte, NC
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042807.html

Bishop Joseph Latino - Jackson, MS
Statement: http://nems360.com/pages/full_story?page_label=news&id=2300764-Mississippi+bishop+opposes+Obama+commencement+speech&widget=push&article-Mississippi%20bishop%20opposes%20Obama%20commencement%20speech
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042003.html

Bishop John LeVoir - New Ulm, MN
Statement: http://www.dnu.org/bishop/041309statement.html
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042302.html

Bishop Jerome Listecki - La Crosse, WI
Statement: http://www.dioceseoflacrosse.com/ministry_resources/ministries/resources/Notre%20Dame%20Invitation.pdf
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040711.html

Bishop William E. Lori - Bridgeport, CT
Statement: http://www.bridgeportdiocese.com/folder_bridgedocs/FCC%204-4-09.pdf
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040704.html

Bishop Paul Loverde - Arlington, VA
Statement: http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/CardinalNewmanSociety/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/435/ItemID/522/Default.aspx
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042302.html

Bishop George Lucas - Springfield, IL
Statement:http://www.dio.org/bishop-lucas-weekly-column/from-east-to-west-we-must-witness-to-the-truth.html
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042003.html

Bishop Robert Lynch - St. Petersburg, FL
Statement: http://bishopsblog.dosp.org/2009/03/27/week-end-update/
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09033103.html

Bishop Joseph Martino - Scranton, PA
http://www.dioceseofscranton.org/News/ScrantonBishopsProtestNotreDameDecisionApril2,2009.asp
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040302.html

Bishop John McCormack - Manchester, NH
Statement: http://www.catholicnh.org/public-issues/fcn-archive/und/
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09043004.html

Bishop Robert Morlino - Madison, WI
Statement: http://www.catholiccitizens.org/views/contentview.asp?c=49889
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09033103.html

Bishop William Murphy - Rockville Centre, NY
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09050105.html

Bishop George Murry - Youngstown, OH
Statement: http://cathexpo.org/articledetails.aspx?articleid=240
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040704.html

Archbishop John J. Myers - Newark, NJ
Statement: http://www.rcan.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=feature.display&feature_ID=1299
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040106.html

Archbishop Joseph Naumann - Kansas City, KS
http://www.theleaven.com/columnist/archbishop_column.html
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042709.html

Bishop R. Walker Nickless - Sioux City, IA
Statement: http://www.catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=32936
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040106.html

Archbishop John C. Nienstedt - St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN
Statement: http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/CardinalNewmanSociety/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/435/ItemID/460/Default.aspx
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09033103.html

Archbishop Edwin O'Brien - Baltimore, MD
Statement: http://www.catholicreview.org/subpages/storyarchnew.aspx?action=5978
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040807.html

Bishop Thomas Olmsted - Phoenix, AZ
Statement: http://www.americanpapist.com/2009/03/exclusive-bp-olmsted-tells-nd.html
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09032605.html

Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk - Cincinnati, OH
Statement: http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/CardinalNewmanSociety/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/435/ItemID/514/Default.aspx
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042003.html

Bishop Reymundo Pena - Brownsville, TX
http://www.cdob.org/bishop/column/2009/4-24-09.htm
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09050403.html

Bishop Glen Provost - Lake Charles, LA
Statement: http://live.lcdiocese.org/bishop-provost/writings/285-bishop-provost-comments-on-notre-dame-university-decision.html
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042807.html

Bishop David Ricken - Green Bay, WI
Statement: http://www.thecompassnews.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=345:notre-dames-quandary
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09050509.html

Cardinal Justin Rigali - Philadelphia, PA; Chairman, USCCB Pro-Life Committee
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042803.html

Bishop Kevin Rhoades - Harrisburg, PA
Statement:http://www.catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=33146
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040106.html

Bishop Alexander Sample - Marquette, MI
Statement: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=15630
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040807.html

Bishop Edward J. Slattery - Tulsa, OK
Statement: http://www.dioceseoftulsa.org/article.asp?nID=907
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040106.html

Bishop John Smith - Trenton, NJ
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051101.html

Bishop Richard Stika - Knoxville, TN
Statement:http://www.dioceseofknoxville.org/?news=3585&menu=1462&level=1
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09041406.html

Bishop Anthony Taylor - Little Rock, AR
Statement: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/note.php?note_id=66338251686
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040704.html

Bishop George Thomas - Helena, MT
Statement: http://www.diocesehelena.org/thomas/050109%20letter.pdf
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09050509.html

Bishop Robert Vasa - Baker, OR
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042003.html

Bishop Michael Warfel - Great Falls-Billings, MT
Statement: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200905011500/NEWS01/90501007
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09043009.html

Bishop Thomas Wenski - Orlando, FL
Statement: http://www.orlandodiocese.org/who_we_are/bishop_wenski/columns/200904_und.php
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042003.html

Archbishop Donald Wuerl - Washington, D.C.
Statement: http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/godingovernment/2009/04/dc_archbishop_nips_georgetown_for_biden_event.html
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042709.html

Bishop Emeritus John Yanta - Amarillo, TX
Statement: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051407.html
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051408.html

Bishop David Zubick - Pittsburgh, PA
Statement: http://www.pittsburghcatholic.org/newsarticles_more.phtml?id=2466
LSN: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042302.html%20

URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09050607.html

 

Bishop Donald Trautman - Erie, PA

Bishop's Trautman's statement

[Salvation]

Obama worked a miracle here --tongue in cheek statement -- 100 percent of the Bishops stood up and spoke out against the HHS mandate. Where have you been?

(NY Cardinal) Dolan: ‘We Can’t Back Down’ (Appears on the O'Reilly Factor)
Obamacare Mandate in Deep Trouble
ACTION ITEM ALERT! Pres. Obama, through a minion, attacks Catholic chaplains once again
Contraception mandate violates federal law, say legal experts
Virginia AG: If Obama's Mandate Stands, the Gov't ‘Can Order You To Do Anything’
What the media doesn’t want you to know: Americans hate the HHS mandate
As Health Care Law’s Trial Approaches, Two-Thirds Say Ditch Individual Mandate
Catholic Bishops Declare Obama's 'Unjust and Illegal Mandate' 'A Violation of Personal Civil Rights'
Health-Care Challenge Evokes Roosevelt New Deal High Court Clash

First Secular Business Sues Over HHS Mandate
Evangelical leaders urged to mobilize against administration contraception policy
Obama Admin Widens Abortifacient Birth Control Mandate to College Students
Do They Know Who They’re Messing With? (Obama Administration vs. the Catholic Church?)
Religious Freedom and Protecting Healthcare for Women and Children
U.S. Catholic bishops pressured Komen breast cancer charity over Planned Parenthood
New York Times accused of Catholic bashing, double standard on religion
Liberal Catholics Spooked by United Bishops for Religious Freedom
US Bishops Dig-in on Threats Against Religious Liberty: USCCB Statement on HHS Mandate
US Bishops Decry ‘Illegal and Unjust’ HHS Mandate, Call for Prayer and Penance
President Obama Perplexed by 'War on Religion' Charges
No Compromise
BISHOPS DON’T BUDGE ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY (Catholic Caucus)
Bishops Consider Broader Focus in Birth-Control Fight
Bishop [Lori] Hopes to Restart White House Contraception Talks
Obama Admin Finalizes Rules: $1 Abortions in ObamaCare
Obama's HHS mandate will destroy the Little Sisters of the Poor's ministry to the elderly
Amish, Ok. Catholics, No. (HHS Mandate)
Gloria Purvis: Opposing the Contraception Mandate
Ave Maria University Files Lawsuit Against Obama Administration
Obama’s Contraception Spin Machine (Administration misreads the Catholic Church yet again)
Obama the Apostate (Reckoning with the Catholic Church)

Dolan: White House invoked support of “enlightened” Catholics in refusing to budge on mandate
Deadly health risks for women: The unspoken side of the Obama birth control mandate
HHS mandate threatens Little Sisters of the Poor elder care
The Noise-to-Signal Ratio at the USCCB
Catholic Missionary Suing Government Willing to Risk Health (Crohn's) Over HHS Mandate
Cardinal Dolan: White House Lectured My USCCB Staff On How to Interpret Catholic Teaching
Obama Admin lectures Card. Dolan and USCCB. Dolan responds. (Fr Z Fisking of Article)
HHS mandate could close 13 percent of the nation’s hospitals
Bishop Lori rips America editorial on HHS mandate Priest warns Obama: Better knock the Catholic Church out now - you’ve awakened the giant
Irony - Bar Boots Denver Bishop giving private talk on threats to religious liberty
Top U.S. Bishop to All Bishops: ‘We Did Not Ask for This Fight, But We Will Not Run From It’
Obama Risks $100 Billion If Catholic Hospitals Close
Catholic bishops exhort faithful to oppose Obamacare in a Sunday message
Congress Told HHS Mandate Fines Could Total $620,000
Cardinal Dolan blasts White House contraception plan as 'freedom of religion battle'
The Coming Persecution (a priest's projection on what is to come if Obama re-elected)
The HHS Mandate: Cardinal George and the Bishops Are Fighting the Last War (Excellent Analysis)
Cardinal Dolan indicates possible legal actions; rebuffs "cave-in" Catholics
From Cardinal Dolan: “We Have to be Realistic and Prepare for Tough Times…”

Biden: We 'Screwed up' Contraception Mandate
Priest To Planned Parenthood: ‘Here Comes The Catholic Church’
The Catholic Diaspora and the Tragedy of Liberal Catholicism
A sermon explaining what Pres. Obama is doing.
Holder: 1st Amendment Allows Gov't to Force Catholics to Buy Sterilizat-Contracept-Abortn Insurance
Sebelius Excludes Bishops From Obamacare Mandate Compromise Talks
On "Things Not Subject to Human Government"
Church Could Be Forced To 'Give Up' Public Work, Cardinal George Warns
Cardinal George: No Catholic Hospitals in 2 Years Unless HHS Mandate is Rescinded
The Way Freedom of Religion Should Work
Religious Liberty Homily
Obama Faces More Lawsuits Over Pro-Abortion HHS Mandate
Pope Benedict Defends Religious Liberty
The Sisters and Universal Health Care: Forgetting What Religion Is
Time Magazine Op-Ed: Perhaps “Some Time in Jail” for Catholic Bishops Defending Religious Liberty
Baptist College Sues Over Contraceptive Mandate
Government Assault May Have Just Begun, Cardinal Dolan Warns
Responding to Your Questions for MORE! (Eblast from Grace Before Meals priest)
Catholic CEO calls mandate compromise 'divide and conquer' strategy

Catholic Bishop's Prez: Our Rights Don’t Depend on Obama
Obama's defense of religion {Mega BARF-Alert - talk about spin...}
Contraception and the Culture War [Deepening Catholic-Evangelical Relationship]
Cardinal Timothy Dolan issues strongest statement yet against the HHS mandate
Clergy Declare State of Emergency for Churches Over Obama Demands
Father, We're Ready for that Homily on Contraception Now
Contraception, Against Conscience [Why EWTN Will Not Comply With Obama's Mandate]
Bishops Decry Obama birth Control Plan, Yet Catholic Hospitals Report Sterilizations
The Catholic Betrayal of Religious Freedom
Obama Responds to Belmont Abbey Lawsuit. Epic Fail.
Catholic Charities Insists it has not Endorsed HHS Mandate
Chaput emerging as a warrior-bishop
Archbishop Chaput: It’s not a ‘compromise,’ and it needs to be rescinded
Pro-Abortion Fingerprints on HHS Mandate
Dem (Congressman) Scolds Bishop (at House Oversight hearin)
Evangelicals & Catholics Together: In Defense of Religious Freedom (vs. Islam, Secularism)
Catholic priest, pro-life activists arrested outside White House protesting Obama mandate
Obama Contradicted: HHS Banned Consideration of ‘Cost Effectiveness’ in Developing Contraception
BREAKING: Every Single Bishop Has Condemned the Obama/HHS Mandate!
Pro-life nuns: We’re not exempt - Obama mandate would force us ‘to pay for abortion-inducing drugs’

Contraception ruling: Democrats accuse clergy of complicity with GOP at hearing
Catholic League on Sebelius’s admission before a Senate committee
Voris: Obama Able to Neutralize Catholic Resistance Thanks to Bishops’ Past Complicity
Abortion, Contraception and the Church Fathers (Catholic teaching unchanged for 2000 yrs)
Head of U.S. bishops: Obama compromise on mandate ‘a hill of beans’; opposition intensifies
USCCB President: 'Harder and Harder' to Accept Obama's Word
White House Criticizes Bishops, Trumpets Support from CHA, Catholic Charities
Political Science 101: how the White House snookered the USCCB on the 'compromise'
What Did CHA's Carol Keehan Know and When Did She Know It?
Pope Shares Remarks on American Culture with Bishops; Issues Call to Laity By: Msgr. Charles Pope
USCCB President says Obama offered next to nothing; expresses disappointment with Sr. Keehan
Evangelical Leaders Call for Civil Disobedience Against U.S. Government
Liberal Jews Speak Against HHS Mandate
Top nun who supported Obama mandate thanks pro-choice group in private e-mail
Catholic Health Association collaboration with Obama admin on mandate a ‘scandal’: Catholic leader
Obama's revised HHS mandate won't solve problems, USCCB president says
Fr. Frank Pavone: No compromise - the mandate has to go, period
Time To Admit It: The Church Has Always Been Right On Birth Control
Culture with Local Bishops and Issues a Call to the Laity [Ecumenical]
Bishops Reject Obama's 'Accommodation' - President's political hemorrhaging to continue.

HHS Mandate - Nothing Has Changed (Donald Cardinal Weurl)
Obama Chief of Staff: New Pro-Abortion Mandate Here to Stay
WH: We Are Done Negotiating With Catholics
Opponents launch new White House petition rejecting Obama rewrite of birth control mandate
Did the Leaders of the Catholic Church Make a Deal with the Redistributionist Devil?
Archbishop Chaput: HHS mandate insulting and dangerous
Cardinal-Designate Dolan no longer trusts Obama
American Catholicism’s Pact With the Devil
Notre Dame Faculty to Obama: ‘This Is a Grave Violation of Religious Freedom and Cannot Stand’
White House: No More Compromise on Contraception
Obama's anti-religious implosion
Lew: Obama's latest stance on birth-control mandate final, puts issue to rest (CAPTION)
Pat Buchanan: 'Obama is trampling on God's turf' (Video)
W.H. official: Contraceptive rule stands
Obama chief of staff: No more compromise, contraceptive rule is done deal
Bishops Reject White House’s New Plan on Contraception (Obama continues his "War On Religion")
Faith/Pro-Life Leaders to Challenge Mandate by Praying and Risking Arrest in Front of the WH
Catholic Bishops: Don't Revise, Rescind
Obama's contempt for the Constitution
How the Catholic Church Became Cool Overnight

Chuck Colson Reacts to Obama’s “Compromise” on Required Abortion Care for Church Employees
US Bishops: Obama's 'Compromise' Has No Clear Protection...(Needless Government Intrusion)
Protests Continue Over Insurance for Contraception, Abortifacients (Feds Under Increasing Pressure
Bishops to Obama: No dice
Paul VI: “danger of this power passing into the hands of those public authorities ...”
Michael Moore Goes On Anti-Catholic Twitter Rant, Distorts Contraception Debate
Religious controversy burns Obama again (the rookie Hussein is in WAY over his pay grade)
Another Catholic college vows it will ‘not violate conscience’ on Obama mandate
Lutherans join chorus of voices slamming HHS contraceptive mandate
The Obama HHS 'Compromise' Switches the Tiger for the Lion (Not all Catholics buying Obama's bull)
Hannity on now with Priests, Pastors and Rabbis. Please watch
EDITORIAL: Obama’s free abortion pills
U.S. bishops ‘express concerns’ about Obama mandate ‘accommodation’
What Compromise? This Policy Leaves Religious Liberty in Peril and Planned Parenthood Smiling (Albert Mohler Opinion)
Bishops Renew Call To Legislative Action On Religious Liberty
Southern Baptist leader: Obama gave Christians ‘the dismissive back’ of his hand
Obama's Act of Tyranny
Bishops Were Prepared for Battle Over Birth Control Coverage
'Accounting gimmick' -- Obama compromise still threatens religious liberty, leaders say
Bishops ‘concerned’ over reworded mandate; other Catholic leaders slam as ‘insult to injury’
Obama Bows to Pressure, but His Religious 'Accommodation' Even Worse

Don't Be Deceived! Evil Obama Policy Now Even MORE Evil!
Obama’s Contraceptive 'Compromise' Doesn't Pass the Smell Test ("It doesn't change a thing")
Compromise or Accommodation, it’s still unacceptable. (updated from Catholic Vote)
Pres. Obama’s “Plan B” compromise, Sr. Keehan, and the Magisterium of Nuns
Land Says Obama Mandate Most Anti-Catholic Government Action in 150 Years
Motive, Means and Opportunity: Obama’s Assault on Catholics
(Exempt Catholics) Joe Biden, Bill Daley warned of contraceptive backlash
(Tim) Thomas makes second political statement (Stands With Catholics)
Southern Baptist leader: If Obama mandate isn’t changed, Christians will go to jail
Over 150 congressional leaders demand repeal of HHS mandate
Boehner vows to overturn Obama’s birth control coverage rule
Boehner: Congress to overturn birth control policy if Obama does not reverse course
O'Brien says Archdiocese of Baltimore won't offer birth control coverage
Archbishop of San Francisco says Obama ruling strikes at religious freedom
How Obama Lost the Catholic Vote
‘I am going to stick with fellow Catholics’ in Pres. Obama’s war on Catholics. Wherein Fr. Z rants.
Unholy War
Six Things Everyone Should Know about the HHS Mandate
Santorum: Obama Hostile to Christians
Understanding Oppostion to the HHS Mandate (Part 1): Why the Church Won’t Pay for Contracept

The Bishops Chickens Coming Home to Roost.
65 Orthodox Church bishops call on Obama to ‘rescind’ the ‘unjust’ contraception mandate
Doug Kmiec Writes Obama: 'Friendship Will Not Permit Me to Disregard Duty to Faith and Country'
Catholic Outcry Over Obama Administration's Birth Control Decision Could Factor In Presidential Race
Standing with the Bishops [Catholic Caucus]
Updated: *167* Bishops (More Than 90% of Dioceses) Have Spoken Out Against Obama/HHS Mandate
Outrage!… Military Tells Chaplains What They Can and Can’t Say About HHS/ObamaAssault on Religion
Updated: *153* Bishops (Over 80% of Dioceses) Have Spoken Out Against Obama/HHS Mandate
href="http://www.sundayscripturestudy.com/this_week.html">An Affront Catholics Agree On [Liberal and Conservative Catholics Against Obama Mandate]
Army Silenced Chaplains Last Sunday
Catholic Military Archdiocese & Chaplains interfered with last Sunday by Pres. Obama’s Admin
The Anti-Catholic President v. the Catholic Bishops
Sen. Rubio introduces bill to reverse Obama birth control mandate
Churches balk at birth control rule - Catholics won’t comply, Bishop Kevin Rhoades says
Protestants and Jews declare to White House: We stand with Catholics
Checking the Air Outside [Bp. Zubik's follow up to Obama's “To Hell with You”]
Mohler [Southern Baptist] Says Insurance Mandate Not Just 'Catholic' Issue
An Open Letter to President Barack Obama Concerning Recent Tyranny (With Pictures!)
Lincoln bishop: prepare for 'suffering' under HHS mandate
Bishop David Zubik confronts Obama
Obama’s ‘war on the church’

Pope hits out at 'radical secularism'
‘We Will Not Comply’: Catholic Leaders Distribute Letter Slamming Obama Admin Contraceptive Mandate
‘We Will Not Comply’: Catholic Leaders Distribute Letter Slamming Obama Admin Contraceptive Mandate
Bruskewitz: Fight Insurance Ruling [Sebelius a "bitter, fallen away Catholic"]
Letter from Archbishop John G. Vlazny on the matter of freedom of conscience and decisions by HHS
Bishop Olmsted's Letter to Catholics [Catholic Caucus]
Liberty for the Amish & Quakers but not Catholics. . .
Contraception mandate prompts Peoria bishop to instate St. Michael Prayer (Catholic Caucus)
Phoenix bishop (Olmstead): defy feds on birth control
A letter from Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr concerning HHS edict
Speak honestly: abortion is ‘the killing of tiny human beings in the womb’ – Denver bishop
Bishop [Daniel Jenky] Blasts Secularist Intolerance, Calls For ‘Assertive Action’ to Defend Church
(Pittsburgh Bishop Zubik comments:) HHS delays rule on contraceptive coverage
Dolan: Natural law, not religious preference, dictates all life sacred
Religious leaders blast HHS over contraception mandate
Mandated Contraception, Sterilization: Caesar Demands Church Violate Conscience
OBAMA’S CONTEMPT FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY (mandates coverage of sterilization & contraception)
Implications of Obama Admin move to force Cath hospitals to provide contraception and sterilizations
Catholic doctors’ group launches petition against contraception mandate
Contraception mandate tramples religious freedom, US bishops say

[Salvation]

Evangelization has always been the main purpose of the priest. The final blessings of the new translation in the Mass say it all.

One is “Go forth glorifying the Lord with your life.”

I’m writing from memory here, but there are several others.

[benldguy]

Let's face it ... the dirty little secret is that the Catholic Church in the U.S. has effectively become an arm of the state. IIRC the USCCB gets about $150 Million a year from the Feds.

[Kenny Bunk]

....he uses sharp turns to deceive folks, gives them no time and wants to hammer them, look at the health care law and God knows what else he has slipped into the pool that we have not heard about yet..all I know is we need to get the scum out of the pool before he calls on his minions to do his dirty deeds...

The Resident has very little to do with anything beyond reading what is put on his teleprompters. He is the quintessential backgroundless front man.

[Huber]

Knock it off or you’ll force me to intellectually tear you apart. You won’t like it.

[Gumdrop]

“Let’s face it ... the dirty little secret is that the Catholic Church in the U.S. has effectively become an arm of the state................These institutions” are nothing more than businesses that would close tomorrow if they could not avail themselves of government money. “

That’s not entirely true(only a little bit of it is true!).

Moat of the government money given to hospitals is for care of the indigent who cannot pay a penny for their health care. So, Catholic hospitals agree to give the free care - in an much less expensive manner than public hospitals do. I imagine this is the case with other religous hospitals too. As for local food shelves, most of the money is from donations from individuals and from businesses who are civic minded (another word for genuine charity).

The trouble with Obama and his leftist buddies is that they cannot comprehend the concept of freely given charity, and the benefits of private charity over the coerced excessive taxation of the citizens for public handouts.

Private donations are properly called CHARITY and this is not a dirly little word - but is a theological virtue. The Holy Spirit is involved in charity. Not so the liberal alternative which is the wasteful spending of tax dollars used more for consolidating a voting constituency than for genuine concern for the poor. Such a policy does not build up the spirits of the donors, nor the gratitude of the recipients, but rather resentments in the public and a feeling of entitlement in the recipients. Charity builds character in both the donor and the recipient, while the liberal alternative tears down these attributes. For that reason I believe the liberal viewpoint is a sin against the Holy Spirit.

[The_Media_never_lie]

You must not be aware of the long list of Bishops who objected to that Notre Dame visit. Please investigate before you bash the Catholic Church,,,,,,please!

Know that there were more bishops who spoke out against Notre Dame, but this is the list I have.

Ok, sorry about that. I see that there are lots who have not completely lost their minds. I guess the ND president was star struck and liberal, and felt he just had to invite a rabble rouser who is against everything the Catholic Church is for, and for everything the church is against.

Other denominations have had similar problems with their flagship universities leading down the liberal path and away from the majorities. This is not just the Catholics!!!!

[Alberta's Child]

Go ahead and get started.

I've had enough of these half-@ssed bishops who run around trying to curry favor with "Catholic" politicians and try to make these back-room deals to look the other way while those politicians pursue a political agenda that has no place in Catholicism.

[Alberta's Child]

You notice that Islamic institutions haven't uttered much of a protest (if any) over this ObamaCare mandate? That's because they have no problem meeting the religious exemption under ObamaCare ... they really are religious.

[Alberta's Child]

The problem the Catholic bishops face is that they've spent the last 50 years turning their religious institution into little more than a political action group. There isn't much "religious" about the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at all. That's why: (1) they're located in Washington D.C., and (2) they've got their own registered lobbying arm. This is taken directly from the USCCB website (emphasis is mine):

USCCB Government Relations (GR) represents the USCCB before the U.S. Congress on public policy issues of concern to the bishops. GR coordinates and directs the legislative activities of the USCCB staff and other church personnel to influence the actions of the Congress. A specific set of issues is assigned to each congressional liaison staff person, who in turn, works in collaboration with particular policy departments at the USCCB.

Unfortunately for conservative Catholics like me, most of what the USCCB lobbies for has no basis in Catholic doctrine and is nothing more than thinly-veiled Marxism.

And now they feel betrayed by the Marxist-in-Chief? Cry me a river, Archbishop Dolan.

[Alberta's Child]

On a related note, most prominent "Catholic" universities such as Notre Dame and Georgetown effectively ceased to exist as religious institutions after they became signatories to the Land O' Lakes Statement on the Nature of the Contemporary Catholic University in 1967. At that time, they explicitly acknowledged that their Catholic identify was subservient to their "academic freedom."

[Alberta's Child]

It's not just public vs. private funding that needs to be considered when discussing true "charity" as a theological virtue. There is an enormous difference between charity in a theological sense and philanthropy as a means of personal generosity for some tangible human benefit.

Mother Teresa was engaged in acts of charity, while wealthy people like Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg engage in philanthropy. There is an absolute and unequivocal religious element to the former, while the latter two might be accurately described as completely amoral radical secularists.

I highlighted those items in Post #14 to demonstrate that even the USCCB must admit that much of the Catholic Church's "charity" isn't really built on any religious foundation. If that's the case, then these organizations (Catholic Charities, for example) really shouldn't be covered by any kind of religious exemption because they are little more than the Kiwanis or Rotary International ... with the word "Catholic" in their name.

[MHGinTN]

And ‘Catholic’ democrats have learned nothing. They will continue to blindly vote for where their herd is pointed by their democrap and union masters.

[Campion]

That's why so many of the "religious institutions" the Catholic bishops are claiming to represent can't meet the terms of the religious exemption built into ObamaCare. These "institutions" are nothing more than businesses that would close tomorrow if they could not avail themselves of government money.

Wrong. Totally wrong. Completely wrong.

First off, Catholic elementary and high schools don't get government money. They "can't meet the term of the religious exemption built into Obamacare" because they employ non-Catholics and often serve non-Catholics.

Do you want them to stop? Get them immunized and indemnified against lawsuits citing job discrimination, then.

Catholic hospitals, like any other hospitals, have no choice but to take government money, because they are required by law to take all patients, including those whose payment for services rendered will come from government programs. Not taking "government money" means automatic bankruptcy. That's how the law works.

You want them to stop? Fine: change the law so they can turn people away who won't, or can't pay. We don't want to do that, but the economics are such that we'd have to.

And by the way, the same comment goes for them as for the schools mentioned above. They can't comply with your stupid "religious exemption" because they serve and employ non-Catholics.

So while you're at it, change the law so as to immunize them from the job discrimination lawsuits mentioned above, so they can be permitted to employ only Catholics and serve only Catholics.

But don't demonstrate how little you know of the situation by pretending that Catholic schools and hospitals are somehow at fault for trying to obey the law as it's currently set out!!