Obama's war on the Catholic Church isn't just insensitive – it's un-American

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | February 9th, 2012 | Tim Stanley

[Mrs. Don-o]

No Democratic president ever picked a fight with the Catholic Church in quite the way that Barack Obama has. One of the first things that Jimmy Carter did when he came into office was to scrap federal funding for abortions,... Even Bill Clinton – the “sex president” – supported some limits on partial birth abortion [snip]

Yet Obama’s attempt to force Catholic employees to provide contraception coverage in employee healthcare plans has united the entire Church establishment – Left and Right – against him. And this is the establishment that garlanded him with honours three years ago at Notre Dame University... Bishops, conservative and liberal, are now a single voice in their disgust with the administration’s move. The scale of Left-wing outrage is astonishing. Even the columnist EJ Dionne – the Polly Toynbee of American Catholics – complained that “progressive” Catholics who had put their reputations on the line to support Obamacare had been “thrown under the bus.”

Why is the Church so agitated, the liberal press asks? After all, the majority of Catholic women use some form of contraception... [snip]

The answer is that Obama’s diktat violates the American principle of freedom of conscience.

Imagine that you’ve been happily wearing a neck tie since the age of thirteen (imagine you are Mitt Romney). Then, one day, a government bureaucrat knocks on the door to tell you that it’s now the law of the land that you have to wear a neck tie, 24/7. The first reaction of any freedom loving, self-governing individual would be to tear the neck tie off (and maybe use it to throttle the bureaucrat).[snip]

And what is astonishing is the brute determination of Obama to get this one through. Barack Obama loves birth control. Freaking loves it. {snip]

...even basically full birth abortion.

[PA-RIVER]

Ramadan is not on the list, how odd.

[MrB]

As far as being “un-American”,

we shouldn’t expect anything else from someone that has no loyalty to the concept of America in the first place.

[DNA.2012]

"Back in my home country of Kenya there are no such rights like these that you stupid Americans whine about losing..."

"...I mean, my home country of USA, fellow Americans."

/BARACK

[Tzimisce]

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;

-1st Amendment of the US Constitution

Obama carried the Catholic vote in 2008. He'll probably carry it again.

[Tzimisce]

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;

-1st Amendment of the US Constitution

Obama carried the Catholic vote in 2008. He'll probably carry it again.

[maryz]

This law isn't conditioned on taking gov't money or exemptions -- it applies to every employer.

[A.A. Cunningham]

well, 1st the Church, should give back the 501(c)3 EXEMPTIONS...that’s what gets them this kind of trouble when they excepted(sic) them they give the govrnment(sic) the green light to TELL them what to say and how to conduct business! Don’t cha think?

I think you should brush up on your history and learn exactly why the state granted the Church its exemption; it predates the Republic, which it didn't ask for, to begin with.

You might start by reading Walz vs. Tax Commission of the City of New York and work backwards.

[LZ_Bayonet]

I ask what the WSJ asks: Why is birth control covered by insurance at all?

[boop]

Help me understand the liberals reasoning.

Abortion is a religious, moral decision best left between a woman, her god and her doctor... so it MUST therefore be legalized. (Roe vs. Wade)

A Cross on public land is an endorsement of religious, moral views, so therefore it MUST be made illegal, and removed at taxpayer expense.

Taxpayers who oppose abortion or birth control on religious or moral grounds do not have a say in how their tax dollars are spent, and MUST pay for things that explicitly violate their private, moral views.

What am I missing here?

[A.A. Cunningham]

Unscientific and unreliable exit polls are to the illiterate as smack is to a junkie.

[chooseascreennamepat]

He is a tweaker. Create an uproar and see how it plays out. He keeps doing this to upset the voters so he can pull out the stops and declare the suspension of the Constitution. That is why he is absolutely unconcerned about losing in November. He will make a proclamation of national importance. His regal leadership/ruling. Please note, he calls himself a ruler, not a leader.

[chooseascreennamepat]

Notice Biden is silent. I wonder how the other Catholics in the administration feel?

[Graybeard58]

Why is the Church so agitated, the liberal press asks? After all, the majority of Catholic women use some form of contraception... [snip]

The answer is that Obama’s diktat violates the American principle of freedom of conscience.

This issue is of course primarily about freedom but is usually framed as being about "birth control". Birth control tends to bring ho-hum responses from most Americans. Let's stress what this is about after the primary concern of loss of freedom and that is abortion and sterilization and that is not "birth control", which also must be covered under Obama's plan. A lot more "religious" people besides Catholics would object to that.

I am Baptist and Baptists have hospitals, as well as Methodists, Lutherans, Jewish and other religions and those organizations, which still officially object to abortions, have employees which will be affected by this monstrosity too.

It's time for all Christians and Jews to unite to fight our common enemy, which is evil, personified by Obama and his minions.