Posted on 07/04/2012 5:46:32 AM PDT by I-ambush
I apologize in advance for the fact this a vanity post.
As I have struggled to come to grips with the disastrous and, from a constitutional perspective, inexplicable Obamacare decision by John Roberts, I have read a wide spectrum of opinions, everything from the idea that the Chief Justice is a political genius, who wants to cement a Republican victory in November, to speculation that he was a closeted homosexual who was blackmailed into changing his opinion.
However, a thought occurred to me that I have not seen expressed so far (and I'm sure that someone here will correct me if it has), that Roberts may have been convinced to flip on Obamacare by the Catholic hierarchy. Consider that the healthcare law has been strongly backed by the Catholic bishops, and that Roberts is a devout Catholic. Could he have been contacted by American bishops, or even the Vatican, and pressed to "save" the law, even at the cost of betraying his conservative principles and the Constitution? This perspective may also help explain the constitutionally unacceptable opinion on the Arizona illegal immigrant law, which was also opposed by the Catholic hierarchy.
I write this from the perspective of a cradle Catholic and cradle conservative; two of my earliest memories are of the Latin mass and campaigning with my parents for Goldwater.
When Obama in essence attacked religious beliefs by using Obamacare as his weapon.
Now I don't believe after this experience that Bishops would contact Roberts and ask him to sell America out, but if they did then they just sold out Catholicism.
This speculation makes no sense at all to me.
No. Pressure from the Obama Chicago machine is far, far more likely to be the cause of his inexplicable switch. Remember what team Obama did to Senator Jack Ryan in 2004. I suspect something similar here.
I doubt this very much, for the simple reason that while many clergy originally backed ObamaCare the hierarchy now knows they will be footing the bill for it and any additional money siphoned from its flock by the government will result in lower revenue for the churches.
As far as the Vatican is concerned, while it generally promotes a greater good the Church itself is adamantly anti-socialist, with popes publicly writing against it. It is a violation of private property rights, and seen as a sort of theft of wages.
With all due respect...you must be joking.
So all of the lawsuits filed by the Church over the abortion/contraception/sterilization violation of conscience mandates are just cover?
Rejected, no thanks.
no.
Nancy Pelosi is a cradle Catholic too. I don’t believe that Roberts was influenced by the Catholic hierarchy.
Hey, all I’m saying is Albino Assassin Monks can be pretty persuasive...
Freegards
The speculation comes from the fact that ObamaCare originally had many cheerleaders within the ranks of the Catholic heirarchy. I doubt they pushed Roberts after they realized they’d be sharing the costs of ObamaCare, but the US hierarchy merits the suspicion.
the Catholic church is at the end of a two week Novena called “Forthnight for Freedom”- its basically asking people to pray to end everything obama has done as far as obamacare (contraceptive laws and forced abortion in Catholic hospitals), forcing churches to perform gay marriage, ect...
the past two weeks the homily’s at mass have been as political as i’ve ever seen in the Catholic church and I never miss a mass (48YO) and went to Catholic school all my life..in my uber liberal town in NY they basically said, without saying, the way to change this all is vote obama out in November...my sister in law, who goes to a Catholic church in Orlando, says the people in church have freely and openly state obama must be voted out and they talk to the kids about what liberty and freedom really mean...
the answer to your question in No....
and you are right about that- something i took up with our parish priest after the first weekend mass which started Fortnight to Freedom- i thanked him for the homily and said it was very necessary.... i also told him the Catholic church has no one but itself to blame for blindly going along with “healthcare” legislation from someone who would not take a stand against live birth abortion...my parish priest, a former Marine who was on a Navy boat in the gulf during the hostage crisis in Iran in late ‘80, early ‘81, agreed...
I don’t think this is as complicated as some would like to make it.
Roberts knew “his” court was in danger of being viewed as entirely politicized and decided to do something about it by stretching the guiding principle of deference to the legislature that goes something like (IIRC) “if a law can reasonably be construed as constitutional it should be..etc” in order to cross the line.
The idea that he’s some sort of evil political genius who turned to the dark side with a view to the elections.. I mean, c’mon, I know Emperor Palpatine wore a dark robe too, but these divinations of the man’s inner motivations are getting a bit eccentric.
Makes perfect sense given a long American history of the eeeeeeeeeeevvvvvvvvvviiiiiiiiiiillllllllll Catholic hierarchy being considered “un-American.”
Maria Monk, anyone?
A novena - from the Latin novem - lasts for nine days not a fortnight - fourteen.
Duh, the Catholic Bishops, Ave Mria University, Franciscan University just for starters have come out against this months ago.
The Catholic Church would lobby the Supreme Court?
Could you come up with a precedent for such an accusation other than sheer paranoia and bigotry?
Obama would have never been elected if the American Catholic Church had done its job; now they are asking the same parishioners who it originally sold out with ObamaCare (and Obama himself) to campaign to exempt them from footing the bill we ourselves are going to get.
I am a Roman Catholic in good standing with the Church; at this point it is a place I receive sacraments and little else. I certainly have little to help subsidize them.
LLS
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