Cardinal George: no Catholic hospitals in 2 years unless HHS mandate is rescinded
"I tell ya Dave, it's GOOD to see a plan come to fruition!"
Posted on 02/27/2012 9:15:01 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Warning that the Church is being “despoiled of her institutions” as “freedom of conscience and of religion become a memory from a happier past,” Cardinal Francis George of Chicago observes that “the Catholic Church in the United States is being told she must ‘give up’ her health care institutions, her universities and many of her social service organizations.”
“So far in American history, our government has respected the freedom of individual conscience and of institutional integrity for all the many religious groups that shape our society,” he continues. “The government has not compelled them to perform or pay for what their faith tells them is immoral. That’s what we’ve meant by freedom of religion. That’s what we had believed was protected by the U.S. Constitution. Maybe we were foolish to believe so.”
Cardinal George adds:
What will happen if the HHS regulations are not rescinded? A Catholic institution, so far as I can see right now, will have one of four choices: 1) secularize itself, breaking its connection to the Church, her moral and social teachings and the oversight of its ministry by the local bishop. This is a form of theft. It means the Church will not be permitted to have an institutional voice in public life. 2) Pay exorbitant annual fines to avoid paying for insurance policies that cover abortifacient drugs, artificial contraception and sterilization. This is not economically sustainable. 3) Sell the institution to a non-Catholic group or to a local government. 4) Close down …“If you haven’t already purchased the Archdiocesan Directory for 2012, I would suggest you get one as a souvenir,” he continued. “On page L-3, there is a complete list of Catholic hospitals and health care institutions in Cook and Lake counties. Each entry represents much sacrifice on the part of medical personnel, administrators and religious sponsors. Each name signifies the love of Christ to people of all classes and races and religions. Two Lents from now, unless something changes, that page will be blank.”
Freedom of worship was guaranteed in the Constitution of the former Soviet Union. You could go to church, if you could find one. The church, however, could do nothing except conduct religious rites in places of worship-no schools, religious publications, health care institutions, organized charity, ministry for justice and the works of mercy that flow naturally from a living faith. All of these were co-opted by the government. We fought a long cold war to defeat that vision of society.
The strangest accusation in this manipulated public discussion has the bishops not respecting the separation between church and state. The bishops would love to have the separation between church and state we thought we enjoyed just a few months ago, when we were free to run Catholic institutions in conformity with the demands of the Catholic faith, when the government couldn’t tell us which of our ministries are Catholic and which not, when the law protected rather than crushed conscience. The state is making itself into a church.
That’s fine with the left.
In their opinion, Catholic hospitals and charities are usurping the purview of the government to provide these services.
The list, Ping
Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list
>>>The state is making itself into a church.
Bears repeating.
I wonder if Notre Dame and other Catholic colleges will comply?
The Courts should NEVER allow this mandate to stand!
Who would have ever thought that this could happen in America.?
When the Bishops were pushing for Health care for everyone they thought they were doing the right thing, but the fact is that when you give in to a piece of a Socialist country it isn’t long before the whole thing blows up in your face.
The Health Care Bill that Democrats passed and that so many voted on without knowing what was in it is-—in it’s entirety an Unconstitutional act.
The whole thing needs to be tossed in the trash can and used in the future to show what happens when a really bad bill is herded through the Congress by people with no conscience, patriotism. or morals.
If this bill is allowed to stand it will reach a lot farther than just the Catholic Church, It will destroy Christianity in this country.
He cannot build hospitals fast enough, I’ll be 1/2 of all hospitals are religious, catholic the most but also baptist hospitals...
Bears repeating."
And Obama would become the god worshiped by the masses of the state church.
They will just be sold for pennies on the dollar.
Obama in response: “your terms are acceptable. Goodbye.”
“If this bill is allowed to stand it will reach a lot farther than just the Catholic Church, It will destroy Christianity in this country.”
Well worth repeating.
I wish people would wake up to the fact that Obama wants only Muslims to rule our thinking.
I said I know because this hospital removed my cancer two weeks ago and now I am getting all my surgeries done there.
The place is filled with Catholic nerds... The nurse who ordered me out of bed like a Drill Sergeant so they could give me a longer bed, the doctor who took blood “for breakfast” and then spent a good deal of time explaining that he was joking...twice! The cute nurse with the mushroom slippers who walks by falling forward and makes the goofiest faces when talking to you. The other cute nurse who apologizes for cold hands and can't get over that you are from NYC... As well as others. I love Catholic nerds.
25% of all hospital beds in the US are in a building with the word “Saint” on the door. Closing them would cause “a crisis”.
I wonder who Obama turns them over to?
This is what the Catholic voters get for voting for Obama, all of the Kennedys, Pelosi, Mikulski, etc. Their real religion is the Democrat /Socialist Party.
Obama’s dream come true: VA-quality treatment for all proles, with no alternatives.
The dream is breathing down our necks.
IRONY:
The country that was founded by Christian people seeking religious freedom is being destroyed by a political ideology, an anti-Christian movement, and a godless leader determined to destroy religious freedom in general and Christianity in particular.
Actually, the Catholic Church will not give up “her health care institutions, her universities and many of her social service organizations.”
Catholics will just move those facilities and efforts to countries where there is more religious freedom and a less tyranical, dictatorial, anti-religious government.
That not only means that those services and benefits will no longer be available to all American citizens, it means that the sizable financial investment and annual cash expenditure made to establish and operate these institutions will leave the US economy. It also means more lost jobs.
Obama certainly did promise “CHANGE”.
Many foolish Catholics and other Christians voted for him because of his black skin without considering what kind of change he really intended to bring to America.
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.