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(Pittsburgh Bishop Zubik comments:) HHS delays rule on contraceptive coverage
Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh ^ | 1/26/2012 | Bishop David A. Zubik

Posted on 01/26/2012 5:46:55 PM PST by markomalley

Decision unchanged on HHS exemptions

HHS Edict Will Force Catholics to Violate Conscience

‘To Hell With You’

By Bishop David A. Zubik

It is really hard to believe that it happened. It comes like a slap in the face. The Obama administration has just told the Catholics of the United States, “To Hell with you!” There is no other way to put it.

In early August, the Department for Health and Human Services in the Obama administration released guidelines as part of the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The guidelines mandated that by Summer 2012 all individual and group health insurance plans, including self-insured plans, cover all FDA-approved contraception, sterilization procedures and pharmaceuticals that even result in abortion.

A million things are wrong with this: equating pregnancy with disease; mandating that every employer pay for contraception procedures including alleged contraceptives that are actually abortion-inducing drugs; forcing American citizens to chose between violating their consciences or providing health care services; mandating such coverage on every individual woman without allowing her to even choose not to have it; forcing every person to pay for that coverage no matter the dictates of their conscience.

Let’s be blunt. This whole process of mandating these guidelines undermines the democratic process itself. In this instance, the mandate declares pregnancy a disease, forces a culture of contraception and abortion on society, all while completely bypassing the legislative process.

This is government by fiat that attacks the rights of everyone – not only Catholics; not only people of all religion. At no other time in memory or history has there been such a governmental intrusion on freedom not only with regard to religion, but even across-the-board with all citizens. It forces every employer to subsidize an ideology or pay a penalty while searching for alternatives to health care coverage. It undermines the whole concept and hope for health care reform by inextricably linking it to the zealotry of pro-abortion bureaucrats.

For our Church this mandate would apply in virtually every instance where the Catholic Church serves as an employer. The mandate would require the Catholic Church as an employer to violate its fundamental beliefs concerning human life and human dignity by forcing Catholic entities to provide contraceptive, sterilization coverage and even pharmaceuticals that result in abortion.

There was a so-called “religious exemption” to the mandate, but it was so narrowly drawn that, as critics charged, Jesus Christ and his Apostles would not fit the exemption. The so-called exemption would only apply to the vast array of Catholic institutions where the following applied:

Practically speaking under the proposed mandate there would be no “religious exemption” for Catholic hospitals universities, colleges, nursing homes and numerous Catholic social service agencies such as Catholic Charities. It could easily be determined that the “religious exemption” would not apply as well to Catholic high schools, elementary schools and Catholic parishes since many employ non-Catholics and serve both students and, through social outreach, many who do not share Catholic religious beliefs. Such a narrow “religious exemption” is simply unprecedented in federal law.

Last September I asked you to protest those guidelines to Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services, and contact your political leadership in the federal government. I asked that you request that this flawed mandate be withdrawn because of its unprecedented interference in the religious liberty and freedom of conscience of the Catholic community, and our basic democratic process.

You did. And you were joined by Catholics throughout the country (and many others as well) who raised their voices against the mandate, raised their voices against a meaningless religious exemption.

On January 20, 2012, the Obama administration answered you and me. The response was very simple: “To Hell with You.”

Kathleen Sebelius announced that the mandate would not be withdrawn and the religious exemption would not be expanded. Instead, she stated that nonprofit groups – which include the Catholic Church – will get a year “to adapt to this new rule.” She simply dismissed Catholic concerns as standing in the way of allegedly respecting the health concerns and choices of women.

Could Catholics be insulted any more, suggesting that we have no concern for women’s health issues? The Catholic Church and the Catholic people have erected health care facilities that are recognized worldwide for their compassionate care for everyone regardless of their creed, their economic circumstances and, most certainly, their gender. In so many parts of the globe – the United States included – the Church is health care.

Kathleen Sebelius and through her, the Obama administration, have said “To Hell with You” to the Catholic faithful of the United States.

We’ll give you a year, they are saying, and then you have to knuckle under. As Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops responded, “in effect, the president is saying that we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences.”

As I wrote to you last September, with this mandate the democratic process is being ignored while we are being ordered to ignore our religious beliefs. And we are being told not only to violate our beliefs, but to pay directly for that violation; to subsidize the imposition of a contraceptive and abortion culture on every person in the United States.

It is time to go back to work. They have given us a year to adapt to this rule. We can’t! We simply cannot!

Write to the president.

Write to Secretary Sebelius.

Write to our Senators.

Write to those in Congress.

Use the PA Catholic Advocacy Network to send an email message, too.

I have included the addresses in a box accompanying this article. Here’s what you can write:

"Dear (Representative):

“In early August, the Department for Health and Human Services released guidelines that would force Catholic institutions to subsidize through their health care plans contraception, sterilization procedures and pharmaceuticals that even result in abortion.

“It was announced on January 20thby Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services, that this mandate is affirmed and that non-profit institutions, including the Catholic Church, have one year to adapt to the mandate.

“This is a direct threat to the religious liberty of Catholics, freedom of conscience and the social service ministry of the Catholic Church. The so-called ‘religious exemption’ in the mandate is no exemption at all as it would require any Catholic institution (that serves non-Catholics or employs non-Catholics) to violate Catholic belief, discontinue to provide health care, or close its doors.

“I ask that you do all possible to rescind the ‘Preventive Service Mandate’ as an unprecedented federal interference in the right of Catholics to serve their community without violating their fundamental moral beliefs.”

This mandate can be changed by Congressional pressure. The only way that action will happen is if you and I take action.

Let them know that you and I will not allow ourselves to be pushed around (or worse yet) be dismissed because of our Catholic faith.

Let them know that you and I will not allow our religious freedom to be compromised.

Let them know that you and I will not allow our religious liberty to be rescinded.

Nobody, not even the president of the United States or anyone who represents him, has the right to say to you and to me as U.S. citizens, as Catholics, or as both: “To Hell with You.”

The president and our elected leaders need to hear from you and me and to listen to us NOW.

And if NOT now, HOW can we get the president to listen to us???

Contact your political leaders

President Barack Obama, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20500 (202-456-1111).

U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, 332 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515 (202-225-2565), D-PA District 4.

U.S. Rep. Mark Critz, 1022 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515 (202-225-2065), D-PA District 12.

U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, 401 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515 (202-225-2135), D-PA District 14.

U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, 515 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515 (202-225-5406), R-PA District 3.

U.S. Rep. Timothy Murphy, 322 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515 (202-225-2301), R-PA District 18.

U.S. Sen. Robert Casey Jr., 393 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510 (202-224-6324), D-PA.

U.S. Sen. Patrick Toomey, 502 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510 (202-224-4254), R-PA.



TOPICS: Catholic; Religion & Politics
KEYWORDS:
I like a bishop who speaks his mind. The money quote:

Kathleen Sebelius and through her, the Obama administration, have said “To Hell with You” to the Catholic faithful of the United States.

  • To Hell with your religious beliefs,
  • To Hell with your religious liberty,
  • To Hell with your freedom of conscience.

We’ll give you a year, they are saying, and then you have to knuckle under…

H/T to Fr. Z

1 posted on 01/26/2012 5:46:59 PM PST by markomalley
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To: markomalley
unfortunately, a lot of Catholic voters voted for Obama not to mention the Catholic congress people who voted for the bill.
2 posted on 01/26/2012 6:00:43 PM PST by martinidon
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To: markomalley

Good for Bishop Zubik! We have thousands of Catholic voters here in SW Pennsylvania. The need to vote ObaMao out of office and fire his rubber stamp boy Casey Jr. along with him.


3 posted on 01/26/2012 6:00:43 PM PST by Vigilanteman (Obama: Fake black man. Fake Messiah. Fake American. How many fakes can you fit in one Zer0?)
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To: markomalley

This makes me smile!!! :-D

I love to see my bishop speaking quite frankly about this!!! Obama cannot win Pennsylvania without the Catholic vote here in Pittsburgh. I hope Catholics tell Obummer “to hell with you”


4 posted on 01/26/2012 6:13:47 PM PST by surroundedbyblue (Live the message of Fatima - pray & do penance!)
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To: Vigilanteman

Casey the Lesser voted for this???


5 posted on 01/26/2012 6:14:07 PM PST by Mach9
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To: markomalley
It is really hard to believe that it happened.

Really? Where have you been, Bishop honey? Only the willfully clueless are surprised by this.

However, as I've said before, if you really want your objections to gain traction with anyone else, emphasize the fact that this rule requires every insurance policy to privilege anti-birth drugs and surgery over *every other* type of medical care ... no deductibles or copayments, along as it's treatment to prevent births.

Where's the money for the "free" stuff going to come from? From the charges on drugs and surgery for people who are actually sick, that's where.

6 posted on 01/26/2012 6:19:07 PM PST by Tax-chick (View new baby pictures on the Tax-chick page!)
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To: markomalley

Zubik should push this issue.

He can influence a lot of people in a key swing state.


7 posted on 01/26/2012 6:23:34 PM PST by WPaCon
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To: Tax-chick
"From the charges on drugs and surgery for people who are actually sick, that's where. "

Don't bother yourself about the economics, they've already figured out exactly who won't get what in order to ensure important things like contraception and abortion are well funded. Now, problem pregnancies, children who don't fit master race ideals, those who are too old or no longer fit to be of service to the State, things like that are are waste and can be eliminated to pay for the important stuff. So, don't worry, AIDS treatments, contraception, abortion, STDs, all of that will be on a solid financial footing.

When "Beyond Freedom and Dignity" was applauded by the old beards in the liberal nest and adopted as the new ideal of "enlightened caring" by those rising in the ranks of the fascist universities and social services agencies, it was a crystal clear of where the democrat fascist crowd were headed. The fact that people wouldn't believe the book outlined the same old Nazi master race propaganda in new packaging just shows just how long folks have been sound asleep and can't see what's right in their face.

JMHO

8 posted on 01/26/2012 6:41:17 PM PST by Rashputin (Obama stark, raving, mad, and even his security people know it.)
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To: markomalley

The Bishops are getting a spine aren’t they?


9 posted on 01/26/2012 6:42:44 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: martinidon
Not so fast there -- what about the other voters and the other religions?

Obama won the overall religious vote, 52 percent to 46 percent, reversing President George W. Bush’s 51 percent to 48 percent “values voter” victory over Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry in 2004. Obama also won the Catholic vote, persuaded young evangelical voters to choose him and began to squeeze shut the so-called “God gap” yawning between religious Democrats and Republicans during the Bush era.

How will the roughly 9.1 million evangelical Christians who voted for Obama vote in the next election? Will Obama's actions compel the 31.2 million evangelicals who didn't vote in the 2008 election to vote next time?

Obama Receives 77% of Jewish Vote-- More Than Kerry
White US Catholics move toward GOP, Hispanic Catholics toward Democrats
Among Catholics, Obama job approval rating decreases to 50 percent

10 posted on 01/26/2012 6:44:08 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: martinidon
And you can see -- these are older numbers that other denominations are also droppiung their support of Obama. Why do you always bring up only the Catholics?

50 percent of Catholics (Catholics make up about 22 percent of the U.S. population.) approve of his presidency, down from 67 percent in his first six months in office.
DOWN 17 POINTS
 
among non-Catholic Christians, who make up 55 percent of the U.S. population, had fallen from 58 percent to 43 percent.
DOWN 15 POINTS
 
Mormon respondents, who represent about two percent of U.S. adults, fell from 43 percent to 26 percent
DOWN 17 POINTS
 
About 78 percent of Muslim respondents approved of the Obama presidency, down eight percentage points from when the question was first asked.  (86)
DOWN 8 POINTS
 
atheists, agnostics, and members of other non-Christian religions, who comprise about 13 percent of the U.S. population -- While about 75 percent of these respondents approved of President Obama at the start of his term, their approval declined to about 64 percent.
DOWN 11 POINTS
 
Jews were the religious group third likeliest to approve of President Obama, giving him 61 percent approval. This too is a decline: in January-June 2009, their approval rating of the president was 77 percent.
DOWN 16 POINTS
 
Overall, 48 percent of Americans approve of President Obama’s job, down from 63 percent in the first months of his presidency. Gallup claims that its survey of over 276,000 adults claims an overall margin of error of plus or minus one percent.
DOWN 15 POINTS


 
 
 
 

11 posted on 01/26/2012 6:45:37 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Rashputin

Good observations.


12 posted on 01/26/2012 6:56:47 PM PST by Tax-chick (View new baby pictures on the Tax-chick page!)
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To: markomalley

The Holy See could place the United States under interdict until Obama is voted out of office.


13 posted on 01/26/2012 7:06:59 PM PST by Oratam
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To: martinidon

I’d like to see stats for the Catholic vote in Western Pa.

There are a lot of Catholics here compared to other places in the country, so the Catholic vote is extremely important.

I’m not sure if it actually goes to Democrats in the majority here, though. The Catholic vote at least causes many candidates to pretend they’re pro-life or de-emphasize their pro-abortion stances.

Zubik and the other bishops need to pound away at Obama. A lot of people here reflexively vote democrat or are persuaded to by the media. If the Bishop speaks out strongly, it will be sure to make the news. If not, parishioners should get the message in the church bulletins.

Pennsylvania is a swing state that Obama is desperate to win and one where Catholic bishops may have the most influence.


14 posted on 01/26/2012 7:07:27 PM PST by WPaCon
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It is really hard to believe that it happened.

Zubik cannot be that obtuse.

15 posted on 01/26/2012 8:08:15 PM PST by A.A. Cunningham (Barry Soetoro is a Kenyan communist)
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