What if Catholic bishops aren’t bluffing? (To close hospitals and schools because of HHS Mandate)

Hotair ^ | 03/01/2012 | Ed Morrissey

[massgopguy]

Really? What’s the profit margin on a Catholic Hospital?

[livius]

I agree, Obama probably will use this as a pretext for confiscating Church property.

But I think his real objective is to replace the Church, just as Henry VIII did. In other words, he’ll try to peel off enough bishops and clergy to create a sham organization and will let them keep certain properties (such as the church buildings) and continue purely “religious” activities.

He’ll probably find many if not most Catholics will be just fine with that. Remember, only one bishop (St John Fisher) refused to go along with Henry VIII.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

-——Not all. I’m Jesuit educated in the 1980’s and I’m probably one of the few kids who went into college an apathetic mind of mush and came out a coneservative.-——

It seems that there are only about 12 truly Catholic colleges left in America. The bishops have been negligent in failing to strip the word “Catholic” from the names of the nominal ones.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: It seems that there are only about 12 truly Catholic colleges left in America

Let me count a few...

Ave Maria University
Christendom College
Franciscan University of Steubenville
The College of Saint Thomas More
University of Dallas
University of St. Thomas (Houston, TX)
Aquinas College (Nashville, TN.)
Benedictine College
College of the Holy Cross

I am stump because I can’t think of any more (so people, help me out ).

I can’t include the following colleges anymore -—

University of Notre Dame, Georgetown, Marist, Fordham, Villanova and a whole heap of others because I think they will compromise ( Notre Dame awarded Obama an honorary degree a few years ago ).

[Venturer]

Ya got me.

[Little Ray]

I sincerely hope they are not bluffing.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

Holy Cross in MA? You’ll have to cross that one off.

You can add Magdalene, a very small college in NH.

[Buckeye McFrog]

I would not be surprised if some of those guys will go underground before they back down.

My late uncle, a Jesuit, would have been among them. He had already survived a Japanese internment camp, so nothing else in life seemed able to faze him.

[OldPossum]

My reaction is that this is all part of the plan of Obama and his minions: close down the economic contributions of the Catholics. Those bastards want the Catholics and all other religious groups out of the economy.

If this happens they will just replace them with governments entities.

[Sergio]

Bookmark

[Gumdrop]

OK, after reading all of the above posts, I wish to add my two cents worth.

The only way to get Obama to back down is to somehow force the government to arrest the leaders of the Church and these facilities. That cannot be done by closing the hospitals and charities and schools. [especially the schools - as the government wants a monopoly on all education].

Our bishops need to lead the laity in active rebellion against an unjust government mandate. They can do this by keeping open the facilities and by refusing to change their insurance programs - or by refusing to pay the fine imposed by their disobediance. Somehow, we need to confront them and their abusive use of federal power against otherwise law-abiding citizens who refute their ideology. Unfortunately I think the arrest and imprisonment of bishops, nuns and laity over this stupid government mandate may be necessary to finally open the eyes of the majority of U.S. citizens. It will fire up the “silent majority’ of hard-working and conservative-minded people like no other way.

[Graing]

This is no bluff.
I remember an article recently - I will have to see if I can find it - where a prominent bishop recently said that he fully expects to see priests and bishops imprisoned during his lifetime or that of his predocessor, with red martyrdom not too far behind in this country.

[Houghton M.]

The bishops aren’t bluffing. But I think the probably have authority to close only a few of these schools and hospitals. Many of them probably have autonomous boards of trustees. And many of the executives and governing board members will defy the bishops and keep the hospitals and schools open.

Elementary and some high schools are more directly under bishops’ control, but even many of the high schools are run by religious orders who only indirectly answer to bishops.

Bishops can withdraw the name “Catholic” but if they do that, in most cases, people will yawn and shrug.

[Truth29]

"The only way to get Obama to back down is to somehow force the government to arrest the leaders of the Church and these facilities. That cannot be done by closing the hospitals and charities and schools. [especially the schools - as the government wants a monopoly on all education].

Our bishops need to lead the laity in active rebellion against an unjust government mandate. They can do this by keeping open the facilities and by refusing to change their insurance programs - or by refusing to pay the fine imposed by their disobediance. Somehow, we need to confront them and their abusive use of federal power against otherwise law-abiding citizens who refute their ideology. Unfortunately I think the arrest and imprisonment of bishops, nuns and laity over this stupid government mandate may be necessary to finally open the eyes of the majority of U.S. citizens. It will fire up the “silent majority’ of hard-working and conservative-minded people like no other way."

I think you are correct. Simply closing the facilities will allow them to fade away with a whimper and the closures will be minimized and ignored by the MSM. We need high profile confrontations with the would be dictator to have any chance to turn back his effort to destroy Christianity in the US.

[grumpygresh]

Shutting down Catholic hospitals would obviously reduce access to care which in turn reduces the cost of government health care. I would imagine, with so much uncompenstated and undercompensated care that in many if not most cases, operating margins are very low or negative for these hospitals. Shedding health care will permit the Bishops to concentrate on their core mission; that is saving souls. I think that the Bishops are fully aware that if they are co-opted by 0bama, the Catholic Church will not be taken seriously; they will be finished.

[Chesterbelloc]

Here’s another:

Thomas Aquinas College (CA)

[Nebr FAL owner]

Don’t think so , millions of new students but no new facilities/staff also the students showing everyone else just how poorly the public schools really are.

[Nebr FAL owner]

Sadly I believe that you are correct in your assesment of the situation & analysis of the strategy & tactics needed to defeat the govt. sadly however the Church will not go along with it as it does not have the will to do so at the very highest levels do to a lack of discipline and will to fight .