Posted on 10/28/2011 7:19:45 AM PDT by marshmallow
WASHINGTON — In an escalation of the U.S. bishops’ campaign against “grave threats to religious liberty,” Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., endorsed three bills designed to strengthen First Amendment rights.
The bishop, who heads the newly established Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops testified before Congress yesterday, Oct. 26.
“I am here today to call to your attention grave threats to religious liberty that have emerged even since June — grim validations of the bishops’ recognition of the need for urgent and concerted action in this area,” said the bishop. “I focus on these because most of them arise under federal law and so may well be the subject of corrective action by Congress.”
He appeared before the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution to endorse three bills that would strengthen the religious freedom and conscience rights of Catholic institutions and individuals: the Protect Life Act (H.R. 358), recently approved by the House in a bipartisan vote; the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 361) and the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R. 1179).
“All three go a long way toward guaranteeing religious liberty and freedom of conscience for religious employers, health insurers and health-care providers,” said Bishop Lori in his testimony.
His appearance in Congress was the latest step in an increasingly visible campaign by the bishops to fight federal regulations they view as hostile to the religious freedom of Catholic institutions and believers — from hospitals and schools to social agencies that serve the needy, here and abroad.
‘Illegal Conditions’
Most recently, the USCCB Office of Migration and Refugee Services was denied federal funding for its highly regarded services that aid trafficking victims, after HHS stressed a preference for grantees that provide family-planning services.
Bishop Lori asserted that the “illegal conditions"..........
(Excerpt) Read more at ncregister.com ...
Maybe the Church needs to forgo “federal funding” when the federal govt is IMMORAL
Exactly my feelings too. Don’t sell your rights and then whine about it.
Why?
That money is ours. The government took it off us and now tells us we don't have a say in how it's spent?
Furthermore, the government ruling that private employer health plans include coverage for contraception and sterilization has nothing to do with "federal funding".
No, there's a real issue here, over and above the acceptance of federal funding and turning our backs on the government won't work because the government is coming after us.
It actually no longer matters whether an organization takes federal funding or not. Once upon a time, that was a way out.
But the attack they are using now is through the “anti-discrimination” laws, which apply to any entity. Having to comply with these things (”marrying” gays, giving children in foster care or adoption to gay parents, etc.) would make their work in many if not all charitable fields impossible.
tax money serves some other entity - pseudonym “Caesar”
Caesar's money, Caesar's rules
I realize this means the works done by the church will have to be reduced, but why keep trying to do great works with blood-stained money?
Because the Feds have enforcement powers.
They’d be perfectly happy to drag Catholics out of their churches or charitable institutions for infringing one of the Federal anti-discrimination laws.
Maybe time for the “Forth Crusade”, except this time it isn’t against the muslims.
The term "funding" is somewhat misleading. They're talking about contracted fees for services provided, not handouts. So would you rather the federal government contracted for, e.g., adoption or foster placement services with Steve and Bruces Gay Adoptions'R'Us, or with the Catholic Church? It's your tax money.
What the left is basically trying to do is to set up a full-on boycott, by the government, of any group that endorses traditional morality.
The problem is the federal government is insisting the Catholic church use the same adoption criteria as Steve and Bruces Gay Adoption.
In medical services and education the federal govt is (or will be) insisting the Catholic church hire atheists and open fornicators, fund birth control and abortion, and provide euthanasia under future obamacare. The federal govt may someday insist the Church perform homosexual marriage or lose tax exemptions.
Catholics must prepare now to say “NO”.
To maintain its moral values, the Church needs to decouple from immoral government and learn to live without federal money, rather than accept being ruled by the federal government.
and yes, the left setting us up for a boycott.
So who will win and what do we lose if we surrender?
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