Barack and the bishops (the coming confrontation with the Catholic church)

A potential big battle has begun, one of special interest to all Christians and guaranteed to generate a lot of attention from all Americans.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a stern warning to President-elect Obama and his incoming administration, highlighting grave concerns over what will happen to unwanted, unborn human life.

The statement was delivered at the end of the annual assembly that represents all American bishops-i.e., the full American Catholic Church. It was issued by Francis Cardinal George of Chicago, president of the USCCB.

The subject is the once unthinkable Freedom of Choice Act, which Barack Obama promised will be the "first thing" he signs as president. As the bishops forcefully noted, FOCA would eliminate countless reasonable restrictions on abortion enacted by bipartisan legislatures-Democrats and Republicans working together-over the past 35 years, including parental-consent laws and protection for babies who accidentally survive an abortion.

FOCA, wrote the bishops, "would coerce all Americans into subsidizing and promoting abortion with their tax dollars." Every American would be complicit in paying for abortions-you would have no choice.

This would not only be unprecedented in American history but light years removed from Obama's claim that he "respects" those with different points of view in the pro-life camp.

Most shocking, and of special concern to the bishops, is the fear that FOCA would eliminate the freedom of conscience of doctors, nurses and healthcare workers-Catholic, non-Catholic, you name it-to not participate in abortion procedures at their hospitals. The bishops noted that this would be an attack on Americans' free exercise of religion. FOCA "would have lethal consequences" not only for prenatal human life but for the most basic freedoms that living, working Americans have long held dear.

Further, the bishops dread that FOCA would require all hospitals with obstetrics programs to do abortions, a natural expectation given that Obama has spoken of abortion as a "fundamental right," a basic government service, and a vital component of America's "safety net." He calls groups like Planned Parenthood a "safety-net provider." The bishops fear that this aspect of FOCA would mandate Catholic hospitals to provide abortions, which would force the hospitals to shut down rather than compromise their beliefs.

The bishops thus stated, "[FOCA] would be an evil law that would further divide our country, and the Church should be intent on opposing evil." The consequences for what Pope John Paul II termed a Culture of Life are disastrous.

Many of those who voted for Obama will be shocked by all this. They shouldn't be. Obama openly made these promises. Sadly, it's a surprise to traditional pro-life Democrats who think they've voted for Harry Truman or Jack Kennedy.

As evidence of the rancor already taking hold in the Catholic Church, consider the striking scene at a parish in Greenville, S.C., last week, where the priest insists that any parishioner who voted for Obama must go to confession and do penance before taking Holy Communion. The priest's reasoning is based strictly on the radical abortion policies of Obama.

That reaction by the priest points to what I sense is an added motivation by the bishops: They feel partly responsible for what occurred on Nov. 4. Catholics, driven mainly by pocketbook issues-actually, driven by issues other than abortion-voted for Barack Obama over John McCain by a decisive margin of 54 to 46 percent. (John McCain won Catholics who attend Mass weekly, 50 to 49 percent, but lost in a landslide to Catholics who don't attend weekly, 58 to 40 percent.)

Catholics, who were 1-in-4 of all voters, delivered 17 million votes to Obama, twice the overall popular-vote margin. They arguably made Obama president. And they voted this way in spite of an extraordinary effort by bishops to warn their dioceses about things like FOCA. The bishops are also upset that Catholic politicians helped make this possible. A short list includes vice-president-elect Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, both pro-choice Catholics, and plenty of pro-life Catholic Democrats around the country, such as Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA), who worked his tail off to deliver Pennsylvania's crucial Electoral College votes to Obama.

And there were groups like "Catholics for Obama," men like Doug Kmiec and Pittsburgh Steelers' owner Dan Rooney, and all those young people who voted in hordes for Obama, including the 60 percent of students at Catholic colleges who believe abortion should be legal, according to a new study commissioned by the Cardinal Newman Center.

What's more, the bishops see that Protestants didn't vote the same way as Catholics; they went for McCain in an exact reversal, 54 to 46 percent, with evangelicals voting McCain by at least 2-to-1, and in some polls 3-to-1. That's painfully ironic to the bishops, since Protestants have no pro-life encyclicals like Humanae Vitae or Evangelium Vitae, no Catechism or Catholic dictionary or encyclopedia that in the first entry in the glossary defines abortion as "gravely contrary to the moral law," no 2,000-year prohibition against abortion, no adamantly pro-life man in Rome like Pope John Paul II or Pope Benedict XVI, no Magisterium that constantly denounces abortion.

The bishops understand that Catholics held the potential in this election to spare America another 35 years of Roe v. Wade, the first 35 years of which produced 50 million aborted babies.

Instead, the legal permanency of abortion in America now seems guaranteed. And now, the bishops are digging in for the political fight of their lives. Expect leading pro-life Protestants to join them.

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Paul Kengor is professor of political science and executive director of the Center for Vision and Values at Grove City College. His latest book is "The Judge: William P. Clark, Ronald Reagan's Top Hand" (Ignatius Press, 2007).

The bishops are very divided. Several bishops at the above conferenced told reporters that they thought about 50% of their brother bishops were Obama supporters, but I think, personally, that the number was lower and there were some rabid Bambi supporters and a bunch of go along to get along followers.

Fifty percent is the number Raymond Arroyo heard while he was at the conference. He said this to Laura Ingraham on her show.

The Bishops desperately need prayer.

Pray for LIFE!

Barack and the bishops (the coming confrontation with the Catholic church)
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Faith-Based Hospitals Could Close If Obama Signs Freedom of Choice Act
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Bella Babies: Lives Saved
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Dr. Alveda King stumps for Pro-life
Feminists for Life Rolling Out College Pro-Life Videos
FOCA remains a threat, Russell Shaw warns

Abortion Foes Open a New Front
Bishop Paul Loverde's Bold Defense of Life, 'Arrest me' [FOCA}
Catholic Bishop: "Go Right Ahead and Arrest Me" Rather than Obey Freedom of Choice Act
Priest: Voting For Obama Could Be 'Mortal Sin'
Calif. priest tells Obama supporters to confess
The Freedom of Choice Act showdown is coming; it will change everything
Doug Kmiec’s Departure from the Pro-life Movement
Jill Stanek: Counterfeit pro-lifers: A case of mistaken identity
FOCA's effects seen as dire, but chance of it passing considered slim
Why Kmiec Will Not Become The New Vatican Ambassador

Abortion Advocates Downplay Potential for Passing Radical FOCA Bill
Lose-Lose on Abortion; Obama's threat to Catholic hospitals and their very serious counterthreat.
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U.S. Bishops Cut All Funding to ACORN, Activities Funded Hard to Determine
Pew Study Finds Less Than One Percent of Election Coverage Included Abortion
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Cardinal [George]: Obama's Presidency Heals Racism, Now Time to End Abortion
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Barone: 'Liberal media' wanted Palin to abort
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FIRST THINGS: Obama and the Bishops
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Washington Post Admits Bias for Obama, Calls Pro-Life Policies "Offensive"
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Pro-Life Dem Breakthroughs (Bad News for FOCA?)
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Bishop Carlson: Our witness must grow stronger (Statement on election results)
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It’s true that every individual Catholic who voted for Obama sold out their Church. But my point was that I hope Obama doesn’t find some important publicly known Catholic, such as a bishop, to perform some public function for him. I’m not sure a bishop would dare to do so; what might happen, however, is that some prominent dissident priest, such as McBrien, will agree to serve Obama and the bishops will simply remain silent.

Looks like Obama and friends of Obama (FOO) are going to have a fight on their hands.

That will make us FOO Fighters! Count me in!

I'm usually wrong on predictions, but I think FOCA won't make it out of committee. That would allow pro-choice politicians to have their cake and eat it. Obama would be saved from a major campaign promise to NARAL.

As if NARAL types would ever vote for a non-Democrat.

Yes, there is a war. It is also not just flesh and blood but principalities and powers, Our prayers are very important to this war.

Eph 6:12
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
NKJV

The Lord Jesus hears and his Angels fight.

Dan 10:12-13

12 Then he said to me,”Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.

13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.
NKJV

They helped get him elected. For years promoting the "seamless garment" drivel. And they have done little to rein in the pro-abortion Catholics like Biden, Pelosi, Kerry, and the Kennedys. They do next to nothing to see that the Catholic faith and Catholic moral teachings are taught at Catholic colleges. Now they reap the harvest, the totalitarian secular humanism, moral relativism, and brutal culture of death of America under Obama and the Obammunists. You can't abandon the faith for years, even at Catholic colleges, and expect no consequences. Where were they three months ago? Or a year ago? Biden and Pelosi both should have been excommunicated after they promoted heretical pro-abortion views on life issues in televised interviews. They still won't excommunicate them and they expect Obama, an actual apostate heretic who does NOT attend church, to listen to them? Maybe they could try explaining the issue to Caroline Kennedy ...um...you know...like...

I think it is time for all (not just Catholics) who believe that "The Little Ones" should not be killed by abortion, contact the local bishops in their areas and ask them to individually speak out against FOCA.

Bishops listed by Diocese

Bishops by Name

And the one I like best: Bishops listed by state

I'm wondering if Catholics could become “conscientious objectors” and refuse to pay taxes that will be used to fund abortions that is against their religion.

The argument is that we pay taxes into a general fund, and can't prove how much, if anything, each of us individually would pay for abortions.

It's not like voluntarily earmarking $1.00 of our taxes to a Presidential campaign account, which we have the option of doing on our Federal Income Tax returns every year. IMO, governmental pro-aborts would be too nervous to do that. Never give the people a choice, when one has the power to grab whatever is desired.

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