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Cardinal George: No Catholic Hospitals in 2 Years Unless HHS Mandate is Rescinded
Catholic Culture ^ | 2/27/12

Posted on 02/27/2012 9:59:56 AM PST by marshmallow

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What will happen if the HHS regulations are not rescinded?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 ...

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..........

(Excerpt) Read more at catholicculture.org ...


TOPICS: Catholic; Current Events; Moral Issues; Religion & Politics
KEYWORDS: cardinalgeorge; hhsmandate
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To: marshmallow

The Church seemed OK with O’care at the time of passage. It forces me to do thing I don’t want to do. NOW the Church gets it? Better late than never.


21 posted on 02/27/2012 11:46:26 AM PST by bajabaja (Too ugly to be scanned at the airports.)
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To: Bryanw92
We’re going to have to fight and defeat this wannabee tyrant in the only way that is appropriate to depose a tyrant.

Yes.

22 posted on 02/27/2012 11:48:51 AM PST by Tax-chick (I used to be difficult, but after watching 48 episodes of "Lie to Me," I'm impossible!)
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To: marshmallow

It is what I’ve been posting from day one.

The regulation is merely a cat’s paw to easy government takeover of a block of hospitals in order to undercut the rest with subsidies and take them all over for national healtcare.

****** If the Catholic Church is forced to close them, it must also demolish the buildings on the way out so they can’t be used by the government. *******


23 posted on 02/27/2012 11:52:31 AM PST by UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide (REPEAL WASHINGTON! -- Islam Delenda Est! -- I Want Constantinople Back. -- Rumble thee forth.)
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To: Nervous Tick
IMHO the excommunication track is the only track to go.

I recommend that the Catholic Bishops of America excommunicate a national politician every Wednesday and every weekend - our most religious days. The excommunications should be public and widely published. Included in the excommunication decree is a phrase that makes every catholic to supports the excommunicated politician eligible for excommunication.

Then after 60 days start excommunication those fallen followers. When this happens, another major church should start the excommunication process. Does anyone thing Obama et al will just stop with the Catholic church?

The current ruling class has declared war on all religious organizations in America and they, all the churches, must return the favor.

24 posted on 02/27/2012 11:56:47 AM PST by Nip (TANSTAAFL and BOHICA)
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To: marshmallow
Slightly off topic but I gotta rant:

These baby butchering fiends aren't even trying to destroy the church over abortion per se but over them wanting everyone else to pay for their butchering. All of this isn't even over whether one can get an abortion or not but wanting abortion on demand AND not having to pay for it.

25 posted on 02/27/2012 12:02:57 PM PST by Let's Roll (Save the world's best healthcare - REPEAL, DEFUND Obamacare!)
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To: marshmallow
3) Sell the institution to a non-Catholic group or to a local government.

I believe that is what the 0bamorrhoids want.

26 posted on 02/27/2012 12:14:35 PM PST by ArrogantBustard (Western Civilization is Aborting, Buggering, and Contracepting itself out of existence.)
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To: Rutles4Ever
... if they disagree with government policy.

Has anyone out there seen a US Flag atop a veteran's coffin during a Catholic funeral ceremony?

Catholics take that US flag off and replace it with a church flag before taking the coffin to the altar area.

27 posted on 02/27/2012 12:48:15 PM PST by OldNavyVet
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To: butterdezillion
How did Catholic institutions handle it when Romneycare made the same demands?

I'd like to know that answer, and I hope and pray that the Church learned from any failures in that situation. We are facing pure evil, and we cannot waver.

28 posted on 02/27/2012 2:37:48 PM PST by Pollster1 (Natural born citizen of the USA, with the birth certificate to prove it)
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To: OldNavyVet; Rutles4Ever
Catholics take that US flag off and replace it with a church flag before taking the coffin to the altar area.

Catholics take any national flag off of the coffin before taking it into the church. They replace it, not with a Vatican flag, but with a white pall. The purpose of the white pall is to recall the baptismal garments.

You may wish to consider Rev 3:4 and Rev 6:9-12 before casting aspersions on something you may not have full understanding of.

29 posted on 02/27/2012 2:53:25 PM PST by markomalley (Nothing emboldens the wicked so greatly as the lack of courage on the part of the good-Pope Leo XIII)
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To: markomalley

Just passing the word so that people know what to expect.


30 posted on 02/27/2012 3:31:12 PM PST by OldNavyVet
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To: Rutles4Ever
Staying open and fighting will be a powerful witness but a short-term solution. The IRS is empowered by Obamacare to levy fines and I’m sure there are provisions for imprisonment somewhere in that monstrosity of a bill.

Then we must be willing to go to prison.
31 posted on 02/27/2012 3:54:49 PM PST by Antoninus (Mitt Romney -- attempting to execute a hostile take-over of the Republican Party.)
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To: kidd

**The Bishop needs to go nuclear. Notify the public that if they are forced to close Catholic facilities, THEY WILL NOT BE SOLD.**

My thoughts, exactly!


32 posted on 02/27/2012 4:05:37 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: marshmallow

Well Cardinal, lie down with dogs...I am honestly amazed at how blind some of our Bishops have been. At least it appears they seem to be waking up to the realities of tacitly and actively supporting a party that has supported virtually every anti-family and anti-Catholic agenda that has made its way the culture in the last 40 years.


33 posted on 02/27/2012 5:52:20 PM PST by conservonator (God between us and the devil!)
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To: marshmallow; lilycicero; MaryLou1; glock rocks; JPG; VinceASA; Monkey Face; RIghtwardHo; ...
+

Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:

Add me / Remove me

Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of general interest.


34 posted on 02/27/2012 5:58:04 PM PST by narses
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To: bajabaja
The Church seemed OK with O’care at the time of passage.

No, the US bishops opposed it on the same grounds.

35 posted on 02/27/2012 6:29:48 PM PST by D-fendr (Deus non alligatur sacramentis sed nos alligamur.)
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To: D-fendr

Thanks for the correction, D-fendr. I thought their support was one of the last “major group” endorsements. I stand corrected.


36 posted on 02/27/2012 6:41:31 PM PST by bajabaja (Too ugly to be scanned at the airports.)
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To: bajabaja

No problem, it’s a common misconception. The regime also did the same thing then and trotted out “Catholic” groups as supporting it. It’s pernicious.


37 posted on 02/27/2012 7:26:42 PM PST by D-fendr (Deus non alligatur sacramentis sed nos alligamur.)
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To: OldNavyVet
Catholics take that US flag off

It's any secular symbol, not just the US flag. Any national flag, any emblem of a club or a secular honor, etc.

And not all Catholics do that. I can attest to that personally, since it wasn't done at my father's funeral.

38 posted on 02/28/2012 8:10:06 PM PST by Campion ("It is in the religion of ignorance that tyranny begins." -- Franklin)
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To: Campion

Thank you for your observation and three cheers for the Pastor that allowed it. My negative experience happened at my mother’s funeral. She was a WW-I Army nurse ... on her way to a National Cemetery.


39 posted on 02/28/2012 10:31:25 PM PST by OldNavyVet
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To: OldNavyVet
Catholics take that US flag off and replace it with a church flag before taking the coffin to the altar area.

No ... we remove ANY secular symbol, and replace it with a white funeral pall (symbolizing the resurrection and recalling the white garment worn at our baptism). It is NOT a "church flag"; indeed there really is no such thing.

What should happen during a Catholic American military veteran's funeral is:

His casket is brought in to the church draped in the US Flag.

The US Flag is removed with appropriate ceremony and replaced with the white Funeral Pall.

The Requiem Mass / Mass of the Resurrection is offered on his behalf.

After the conclusion of the Mass, the white Funeral Pall is removed and replaced with the US Flag.

The casket is removed from the church and either transported directly to the cemetery for burial, or placed in storage awaiting burial at a later date. The latter may be necessitated by weather, or by scheduling concerns at national cemeteries.

This procedure is not intended to be offensive, and should not be taken as such. It is a right ordering of priorities. ANY Christian should see himself as a Christian first, above all else. Placing one's first loyalty to ANY created person, place, or thing rather than to God is idolatry.

40 posted on 02/28/2012 11:07:43 PM PST by ArrogantBustard (Western Civilization is Aborting, Buggering, and Contracepting itself out of existence.)
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