-255x255.jpg "EWTN photo")
IRONDALE, Ala. — Eternal Word Television Network filed a lawsuit today in U.S. District Court in Birmingham, Ala., seeking to halt the federal government’s imposition of its contraception mandate and to have the court declare the federal rule unconstitutional.
The lawsuit names Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other federal agencies, as defendants.
The network released a statement today regarding the action.
The network is the first lay Catholic organization to challenge the constitutionality of the HHS final rule, approved by the Obama administration on Jan. 20. North Carolina’s Belmont Abbey College and Colorado Christian University, based in Denver, have both filed suit. All three are represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the public-interest law firm that recently won a unanimous Supreme Court ruling in Hosanna Tabor v. EEOC, a closely watched First Amendment case. Becket is representing EWTN pro bono.
The Register is a service of EWTN.
Michael Warsaw, EWTN’s president and CEO, expressed regret at the necessity of taking legal action to defend the network’s constitutional right to the free exercise of religion.
“We had no other option but to take this to the courts,” said Warsaw. “Under the HHS mandate, EWTN is being forced by the government to make a choice: Either we provide employees coverage for contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs and violate our conscience or offer our employees and their families no health-insurance coverage at all. Neither of those choices is acceptable.”
In the wake of Sebelius’ Jan. 20 announcement that there will be no expanded religious exemption in the controversial final rule, the resulting outcry from the U.S. Catholic bishops and other religious leaders in the nation has reportedly caught the White House by surprise. Media coverage of the furor has focused on church-affiliated social agencies, hospitals and universities that will be forced to provide abortion-inducing drugs and other “preventive services for women” mandated by the health-care law.
But Warsaw noted that virtually all employers who morally object to such services will still be required to provide them — whether they run nonprofit, explicitly Catholic organizations like EWTN or mainstream businesses like restaurants or corporations.
“Catholic institutions may be especially hard hit,” he said, “because their religious mission embraces a broad swath of society — anyone in need, irrespective of creed.” But he also expressed concern regarding the conscience rights of individual believers.
“We are taking this action to defend not only ourselves, but also to protect other institutions — Catholic and non-Catholic, religious and secular — from having this mandate imposed upon them,” said Warsaw.
The federal rule not only requires the inclusion of services that the Church deems morally illicit; it also directs employers to facilitate the use of those services.
“The government is forcing EWTN, first, to inform its employees about how to get contraception, sterilization and abortifacient drugs, a concept known as ‘forced speech.’ To make the matter worse, the government then will force EWTN to use its donors’ funds to pay for these same morally objectionable procedures or to pay for the huge fines it will levy against us if we fail to provide health-care insurance,” said Warsaw.
“There is no question that this mandate violates our First Amendment rights. This is a moment when EWTN, as a Catholic organization, has to step up and say that enough is enough. Our hope is that our lawsuit does just that.”
Kyle Duncan, general counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and a former Louisiana solicitor general, said that unless the federal rule was changed, EWTN could face $600,000 in penalties each year for refusing to underwrite these services.
Mark Rienzi, a law professor at The Catholic University of America and a senior attorney for the Becket Fund, joined with Duncan to file the lawsuit on behalf of EWTN.
Rienzi predicted that legal challenges would be filed against the federal government throughout the nation. But he noted the significance of EWTN’s case.
“EWTN’s lawsuit is important because the network is not a church. They are a lay-run organization, and they have a right to live by and practice their faith and project the messages they want to project. For the government to say that only churches have religious liberty — but individuals do not — is contrary to what the First Amendment is all about,” said Rienzi.
Americans should understand that “the mandate affects not only schools, but every religious owner in the country. The administration has given no indication that it has considered people who happen to run businesses and have religious objections to paying for abortions.”
Reasons for Optimism
The Becket Fund contends that the three plaintiffs challenging the federal rule so far have reason to be optimistic.
“The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion,” said Rienzi. “And the federal rule clearly violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which prohibits the government from burdening people’s religious freedom in this way.”
Passed in 1993, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act states that the government cannot impose substantial burdens on anyone’s practice of religion unless it has a compelling reason, and the burden on religion is the least restrictive way of meeting that compelling interest.
“Secretary Sebelius and the White House keep talking about this as if it’s a health-care-access issue. There is no issue in this country regarding access to emergency contraception and contraception,” Rienzi asserted.
“In Alabama, the federal government already directly provides contraceptives to more than a 100,000 people from 80 federally funded clinics. If they think more people need it, they know how to give it to them. There is no need to involve EWTN.”
Further, Rienzi suggested that the 2011 unanimous Supreme Court ruling in Hosanna Tabor v. EEOC offered additional reason to believe that the high court still sought to uphold the free exercise of religion.
In Hosanna Tabor, the justices “had the opportunity to consider President Obama’s narrow view of religious liberty and rejected that view as ‘extreme,’ ‘untenable’ and flatly inconsistent with the First Amendment.
“That decision was reached by a court that included two justices appointed by President Obama, and I think everyone in the country will understand that the Supreme Court takes these religious-freedom issues very seriously.”
The Obama administration has argued that more than 28 states already have some kind of contraception mandate for health plans, and thus the HHS final rule should not be seen as a significant intrusion of the state in the affairs of church-affiliated groups.
But Rienzi calls the administration’s claim, “at best, a half truth. Other states have some requirements related to contraception. But they all have either broader religious exemptions or other ways for religious individuals and organizations to avoid the requirement — such as by self-insuring or using a federal ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) plan.”
“This mandate from the federal government is completely new and far more coercive than anything that existed before, which is precisely why the government is dealing with the broad-based outrage it is currently facing,” Rienzi said.
He expects that more organizations will challenge the federal rule in court now that the administration has announced it will hold to its policy, despite the controversy.
While media coverage this week has suggested the White House may be looking for a “compromise” measure, vocal critics of the federal rule are expressing concern that the administration can no longer be trusted.
Michael Warsaw stressed that legal action may still be necessary, whatever the outcome on Capitol Hill.
“EWTN also chose to go forward with this legal action because we feel the best possible resolution to this matter is likely to come from the courts. Although Congress may try to pass legislation to repeal the mandate, that legislation would still require the president’s signature to take effect, and that is not very likely.”
“Even if the administration chooses to make changes to the mandate, those changes still may not be acceptable for EWTN and other Catholic institutions,” he noted.
“For example, if the mandate were modified to adopt the so-called ‘Hawaii compromise’ in which religious institutions still are required to provide information about these immoral services, then that does not really address the forced-speech argument that EWTN is making in its legal filing. These sorts of proposed solutions are not really solutions, because, at the end of the day, EWTN is still likely placed in a position of being forced to act contrary to its values,” stated Warsaw.
Yesterday, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., confirmed plans to move legislation through the committee and the House that would repeal the federal law.
“Americans from across the ideological spectrum are speaking with one voice against this unprecedented and unprovoked encroachment on religious freedom. From faith leaders to opinion leaders, a loud and growing chorus of voices are demanding action to restore the conscience protections threatened by this administration’s misguided mandates,” said Upton.
“The Energy and Commerce Committee began examining this controversial proposal when it was first offered last year, meeting privately with the administration and urging them to reconsider this threat to religious freedom. I am deeply disappointed with the recent decision to ignore long-standing protections of religious conscience, and I plan to move quickly, working with my colleagues who share the commitment to the First Amendment to advance legislation that restores the protections that are now imperiled.”
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is reviewing its options and is expected to approve parallel legal and legislative strategies.
Bishop William Lori, the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, said: “The bishops are holding firm. We are calling upon the administration to rescind those parts of the mandate that force private insurers, whether churches or individuals, to cover abortifacients, sterilization and contraceptives.”
Joan Frawley Desmond is the Register’s senior editor.
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Send a message right.in.the.White.House.living.room! There’s a way to do that. ==>>(http://wh.gov/kl3) http://shar.es/fizjK
A big thank you to EWTN for standing up for our rights.
We all need to stand by our God,Church,Pope,Priests,Nuns,and EWTN.
Mr. Obama has made a big mistake thinking he is bigger than our Lord and Savior,Jesus Christ. Fight the good fight, let your voice be heard, and follow in Jesus’s footsteps.
Maybe we can all file a class action law suit as lay Catholics for the severe mental distress Mr. Obama is causing us.
Jesus I TRUST IN YOU!!!
Sending a contribution to The Beckett Fund today!
GO EWTN! RESIST THE TYRANT!
Wow! Prayers.
YAY EWTN!!
Thank you, EWTN, for standing up not only for church-affiliated organizations, but also for lay organizations run by Catholics.
Thank you - our prayers and my donation (to come soon) are with you. God bless all at EWTN. Dave
Praise the Lord! Thank you EWTN. Toni, I sure wish we practicing Catholics could file a class action law suit against this very evil attempt to usurp the right of conscience. Any lawyers out there? Is it possible?
Thank you, and may God bless your efforts! I pray that justice prevails .
I think that with the U.S. Legislature and now the Court in Alabama, there is an orderly way to address this First Amendment Issue of Religious Libery
that is being threatened by the Jan.20th edict from HHS. — PRAY!
ALRIGHT!!!!! Rock on, EWTN! I hope that other buisness owner, insitutions, and companies who identify themselves as Catholic will follow your example. I know nothing about lawsuits, though, is there anything we can do to help EWTN?
Everyone reading this,
Please vote Rick Santorum 2012. Vote for the good against evil. Get involved. Vote for Rick Santorum.
And yet one more reason to be grateful to EWTN!
BRAVO.It is apt that we raise up our voice and prayers in unison to overturn
this totalitarian government and their minions. St. Michael the archangel pray for us!
Well, Obama is following Karl Marx’s philosophy. There is no doubt that he is a Marxist socialist. If he could have his way, he would take God out of everything. For those are doubters, remember history constantly repeats itself. Look at what the Germans and the Jews said when Hitler came into power. No one thought then that he would take everything over and kill over $6 mil Jews AND Catholics and others. Isn’t it time that the Church publicly communicates Kathleen Sibeliu, Joe Biden AND Nancy Pelosi? Why wasn’t the Church the first one to file a lawsuit? Moving to slowly has gotten the Bishops in lots of trouble before. You would think they had learned that lesson.
Thank you EWTN!!!
I watched Cardinal-designate Dolan of the CBS news this morning and he was on the mark as ever. But I had a frightening thought of anyone dealing with the Obama administration is exactly like the british PM Chamberlin going to meet Hitler at Munich, coming back with promises after promises and publicly stating “Peace in our time”. My thoughts ran to Obama at Notre Dame promising a “conscience clause for Catholics(!)” (as they arrested priests and people outside).
While ABP Dolan is truly well formed and well armed for this “Munich” it will take the people of the US to be his “divisions” of supporters against the offerings of the Obama Administration, which have been, as we have seen, nothing but “lies wrapped in a tissue of deceit”.
Forewarned is forarmed…. Don’t let history repeat itself !
EWTN and a few other Catholic ministries have avoided the pit. By and large, however, the Church has been compromised and betrayed by its leaders in return for the proverbial mess of pottage.
This Affordable Care Act is not particularly anti-Catholic, it is plainly un-American. It is a gross over-reach by the federal government and therefore destructive of the entire (Catholic) concept of subsidiarity and the basis of our republican form of government. It not only violates the First Amendment, it subverts the Constitution as a whole.
The Church in America has aided and abetted the unconstitutional growth of the central government and its intrusion into areas reserved for the states and the people. It has applauded the substitution of coercion for charity as Catholic “charitable” groups and goals (think Catholic Campaign for Human Development) benefited from federal largess (expropriated tax payer money). The American Church - hardly Catholic, even in the Ordinary rite of the Mass that is mostly Protestant - has applauded and supported the Democrat socialization of America.
Well, comrade bishops, welcome to the kinder, gentler central government that can give you anything - and take everything as well. Your outrage about this and that around the edges is unconvincing. An accommodation will be made with you ... for now. But, you will continue to demand that the government take more and do more, and they will. You are the willing - no, enthusiastic, accomplices to the theft of our freedoms - in the name of “social justice.”
Toni: I like the idea of a class action lawsuit for stress. I would really rather be outside in the sunshine enjoying the grass growing than fighting to the death for my right to think. Have you heard? Pelosi has got a “quality of thinking” now, people are the intellectual property of the state. STRESS.
THANK YOU! My prayers are with you! GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
Go Team Mother Angelica!!!
This is good. Why should any business owner be forced to pay for elective services for his employees that he is morally opposed to? I think that all employer and government involvement in health care ought to go the way of the Dodo, but if the administration is really interested in truly preventive care, why don’t they at least focus on things that many of us would find helpful and no one would argue against, like requiring health care insurance to cover fluoride pills for children who live in areas without fluoridated water?
Pray Pray Pray Pray PRAY!!!
Well done, EWTN. You and your lawyers will be in my prayers!
This story is bogus. They are trying to lump contraception and abortion together. If women want to use birth control that is their choice and that is a totally different issue than abortion. I can now see why the Catholic religion is losing millions of followers every year. it is outdated.
What can we do to help you in this?
Go EWTN! You shall have my prayers.
WOW! Praise Jesus! Thank you! pray, pray, pray!
I increased my monthly donation to EWTN today. I will also donate to the
Beckett Fund. We should all pray.
Good on you EWTN.
If President Obama doesn’t want to defend a law such as DOMA, he shouldn’t expect us to follow this mandate as well.
I’m praying like never before.
I increased my donation to EWTN today and plan to give to the Beckett Fund. Let us all do this to show Planned Parenthood how faithful Catholics can raise money to support our causes. Also, let us pray the rosary.
i believe sebelius automatically just excommunicated herself.
Thank you, EWTN. Love the station and love the register!
I KNOW THAT THIS IS WHAT MOTHER ANGELICA WOULD DO AND I AM PROUD THAT YOU ARE KEEPING UP THE GOOD WORK.
THE BISHOPS ARE SUGGESTING PRAYERS AND FASTING. REMEMBER THAT OUR BLESSED MOTHER SAID @FATIMA THE NEED TO SAY A DAILY ROSARY AND OFFER OUR SUFFERINGS TO HER, AND HER IMMACULATE HEART WILL TRIUMPH. THANK YOU AGAIN EWTN. AVE MARIA.
Will someone please start a public poll for Obama supporters to vote not to vote for him at again at least until this HHS Mandate is rescinded. Please do this NOW God bless us all Raymond Ryan, Ct
I applaud EWTN and Belmont Abbey College for this bold step to protect the freedom’s guaranteed by the constitution. I wonder where the other large Catholic Lay Organizations and Colleges are on this such as Catholic Charities, Knights of Columbus, Notre Dame University, Georgetown, etc. Seems like some of these groups have been speaking out but are they ready to take action or just make noise? Also it seems like the response from us individuals in the pews is rather weak as well as I’ve been signing various petitions and the numbers of signers seems pretty paultry. One such only has 30,000 signers. Seems to me that if we have 60+ million catholics in this country then we should be able to get at least several million signers on some of these petitions. Come folks we all need to get involved in this.
Wow! This is tremendous news. Thank you EWTN for being part of the “David” that’s going to bring down the tyrannical “Giolath”. May the Lord God Sabaoth be with us. Our Lady of victories, pray for us.
Raymond, we should vote against Obama, even if he does remove the HHS Mandate. Because he has shown us all how little he regards our freedoms, therefore he no longer deserved to be president of this great nation.
Steve Fitzgerald comments deserve an A+ for pointing out that the Affordable Care Act is just plain un-American. Rick Santorum and others warned the Bishops early on but they have been working for what they term universal health care (socialized medicine) for nearly a century. Let’s face it, some have been duped, others are socialist. It should be noted that according to Robert Samuelson in the Washington Post, the “wild card is immigration.” Illegals have been counted in regarding the uninsured.
Looks like the Bishops are MORE concerned about giving health care to illegals than Senior Citizens who have earned and deserve good care as Obamacare will ration health care and the elderly will be hardest hit.
The outcry by the Bishops regarding the Insurance Mandate to fund contraception is actually leading the public to think that is the most serious if not only problem with Obamacare. The USCCB should oppose Obamacare period and tell ALL the problems with the health plan which is not really about health care at all. It will provide HEALTH INSURANCE as opposed to the OUTSTANDING HEALTH CARE American Citizens have had for decades.
The Bishops should be telling all Catholics to vote for the strongest pro-life candidate in the Primaries. God Bless the Show-Me State which voted for Rick Santorum in all 114 Counties. We had the letter from the Archbishop regarding the Mandate regarding contraception, etc. read from our pulpits last Sunday but no directive to vote this past Tuesday for a strong pro-life candidate in our parish church in St. Louis, MO.
MF
Thank you EWTN and Beckett!!!
Thank you EWTN!!! We all need to put our best foot forward. Thanks for the example!
Way to go EWTN!!!! Rally the faithful to the banner!!!!
Our prayers are with you…
Awesome & admirable move EWTN! I thank you & applaud you! You are in our prayers.
Thank you for the courage to sue President Obama.
One question: Why is Kathleen Sebelius, who has professed being a Catholic, not penalized in the Church. Or is there some action brewing about this that we have not heard yet?
Well done, EWTN!
Blessings from New Zealand.
February 9, 2012
I am a Roman Catholic and my parish is Immaculate Conception in Astoria, NY.
According to the U.S. Constitution & Bill of Rights (this is not China or communist territory) no one has the right to force someone’s religious beliefs - this is going too far and is 100% evil.
This obama administration has to cease and desist. I am all for signing a lawsuit against this administration in favor of religious liberty. This is going too too far.
I make reference to page 82 of book “The U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights by Charles E. Pederson:
Praise the Lord for EWTN, I support you all the way EWTN!
“Either we provide employees coverage for contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs and violate our conscience…”
This should say “violate our freedom of religion”
I’m not Catholic, but my prayers are with my Catholic brothers and sisters!
Blessings on all of you!
Wonderful news. Thank you EWTN.
And we’ll be making our first contribution to the Becket Fund this month…
Thank You Mother Angelica for what You & Jesus started. I always lean on EWTN for what I need to know about the catholic faith. support them monthly money wise.
Thank you & Gods Blessings on all who are helping.
St. Michael the Archangel send out Your Legions of Angels.
Filing a suit cuts both ways.
So why should non-catholic employees of a hospital corporation that happens to be owned by the RCC be denied equal access to healthcare that is the law of the land because of a religious dogma (that is largely ignored)?
Have fun defending that in front of a female jury in courtroom when 1,000 non-catholic nurses file a discrimination class action law suit.
Don’t mess with Mother. God gave her this network for a reason. Thank God for EWTN.
Obama’s plan for a universal health plan is being built on Catholic institution by Catholic Institution and any other religious organization. All who will have to cave in and cease to provide insurance coverage for their employees thus making it necessary for employees to buy their insurance from the Federal government. Remember, Satan is clever and behind all this. He likes toying with us.
To Randy who posted on Thursday, Feb 9, 2012 1:11 PM (EST): Please understand that contraception such as birth control pills can cause abortions. Research it on the web. One such website that will explain this is http://www.chastity.com: “When a woman ovulates, she can become pregnant…. the Pill has mechanisms that can cause an abortion before a woman knows that she has conceived. If a sperm does fertilize the egg, the newly conceived baby (zygote) may be transported more slowly through the fallopian tubes because of how they have been altered by the Pill. Thus, the child may not reach the uterus, where he or she needs to implant and receive nourishment for the next nine months. Because the fallopian tubes are changed, the baby may accidentally implant there, causing an ectopic or “tubal” pregnancy, which is fatal to the baby, and can also be life-threatening for the mother.” Also, the reason that contraception is not women’s “choice” is that it is not morally acceptable. Each act of marital union must be open to conception…leaving that to God, not man (or woman).
Lorenzo, I have the same suspicion. I think this is the hope of this administration. The Catholic Church provides care for the poor, hospitalization, care for immigrants, and education. As my husband put it, that’s moving in on the “government’s territory”—or so they would think of it as theirs. Let’s face it, that’s what that awful communist president wants: the closing of all Catholic schools, hospitals, and charities so that the government can be in control of it all.
John Paul II, pray for us! Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us! You know the horror of living under such regimes. Mother Mary, intercede for our country and our Church.
The only way to defeat this administration at election time is to take away the social issues from them. The Democrats have always been the party of the “social issues.” That’s why a lot of Catholic voted for them. But, this administration has gone too far and they’ve chosen to stand on the WRONG social issues. From gay marriage, to “choice”, to “environmental” rights, to “women’s rights,” etc., they continue to NOT get it right. The Republicans need to be about the social issues first, economy second. Too often, they are about money first and ignore the social issues. That’s precisely why Santorum had the night that he did on Tuesday.
Thank you EWTN and for those of you lamenting the lack of direction from the Bishops, please recall that in 2008, the then Archbishop of Denver. Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M Cap., wrote a book on this very subject: “Render Unto Caesar”. Given our present situation, it can be said, without fear of contradiction, it went unread and unappreciated.
I support your stand. Freedom of religion must be respected
I wish we could find a way to keep tax monies from being used to pay for these things under Medicaid.
The Catholic fathers have for years winked at reprobate people like the Kennedy family (John, Ted, etc) and women like Nancy Pelosi. Why shouldn’t a wicked man like Obama think that the Catholic fathers would do anything BUT look the other way now? The fathers have been looking the other way for years. What good is excommunication if nobody is ever excommunicated for anything? Ted Kennedy got away with murder and received Last Rites? What’s up with that?
Fire Obama! No votes ever again, even if he tries to fake Catholics out with a sham rescinding of the mandate [I bet he does that]. Go Santorum! Come on Bishops! We’re with you EWTN!
Boy, oh boy, did we ever slide down the slippery slope in our country faster than I thought possible. Pray for forgiveness and pick up your Rosaries!
This is a watershed moment in history. Rarely can we expect to see such a major issue thrashed out in our own lifetime in the sausage grinder we call ‘government’; when the really critical concepts and powers come to deadly blows.
Thank God we have Justice Roberts heading the Supreme Court. Thank Almighty God! I was so thrilled to see him during the confirmation hearings, (he was so brilliant), but was somehow lamenting that he wasn’t running for President. But then I stopped and thought, wait a minute, Presidents have term limits and the Supreme Court is the real final word. And I thought, what great men we had to found this great nation 200+ years ago who had the forethought and considered the nature of tyranny borne of power unchecked. But then, they knew tyrants first hand, and that’s the key, to never forget. And I saw God’s Almighty Hand at work and knew that this great man Chief Justice Roberts had a place in the course of history in the near future and here it comes. We should all be praying for the Supreme Court, not wasting our time trying to convert the child king.
Amen.. Let’s support EWTN all the way….We have to take this fight to them like they never imagined. Sebelius has to go.
Way to go EWTN!!!!!!
Thank you!!!
If Obama takes out the mandate will the Catholic Church support the rest of Obamacare? This insane law has destroyed our family budget
If Obama take out the mandate, will the Catholic Church support the rest of Obamacare?
I was so glad to hear that you are doing this—I wish our Catholic leaders here in LDS Church country would speak out more on this also. I listen to Immaculate Heart Radio all the time - I love learning more about my faith. I wish people did not look upon Catholics as if they were lepers! Thank you for sticking up for our faith!
The oath of office of the President of the United States is an oath or affirmation required by the United States Constitution before the President begins the execution of the office. The wording is specified in Article Two, Section One, Clause Eight:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
PROVE IT Mr President
A Catholic Hospital is open to the public, serves the public and hires the best people they can find. As such, running a hospital is loaded with government mandated laws and regulations from the local fire dept, board of health, to FDA, OSHA, EPA. This health mandate is only one of many. Is it the Church’s position that they can pick and choose which regulations they will follow based on their beliefs? That they can take public money and exempt themselves from any law or regulation they wish purely on religious grounds and the public has to acquiesce? Isn’t this really what the church is saying?
I do not see the religious freedom issue. Just because you do not like the regulation or law, and it is against your belief, doesn’t necessarily mean it infringes on your freedom. It may impose on your values, but not your freedom to practice and believe. You are still free not to use contraception or have an abortion. You still have liberty of conscience to make a choice for yourself. But the church wants to take away liberty of Conscience for anyone who doesn’t agree with them, including non-Catholics. They want to make the choice for you.
Anyway this liberty of conscience argument is just a rouse and insincere. I was raised catholic and went to catholic school and I was taught obedience and not to think for myself. The last thing the church wants is a bunch of parishioners thinking for themselves. Otherwise you wouldn’t need this hierarchy of clergy to dictate morality and biblical interpretation. Catholics who think for themselves are either “cafeteria Catholics” or become Protestant.
Lastly, the council of Bishops is making desperate attempt to regain some legitimacy. You have a bunch of old men who live and in work in a mid-evil male dominated institution, who covered up sexual abuse and basically lost the argument with Catholics on not using contraception. They are now making a desperate attempt to become relevant. They are pathetic.
The ultimate authority of the Church is excommunication for the enablers of this “law”, such as “we have to pass it to find out what is in it”, Speaker Pelosi, Joe Biden, John Kerry and most importantly, Kathleen Sebelius. The same for the LDS Church and Harry Reid. What threshold of deviant behavior must they pass for consideration to receive the boot?
Our Lady of Guadalupe, our constant help, save our nation, sustain our faith.
God bless EWTN and guide the attorneys from the Becket Fund.
Amen!
Well done EWTN!! I pray that every Bishop in North America stands beside you!!! with Mother and the sisters praying this action by the American government has to be defeated because what ever happens in American, us Canadians bring into law shortly thereafter.
Catholics are now waking up. The doubting Thomases among them have to look deep into the teachings of the Church to enable them to look up and say “My Lord and my God”. Many of the politicians and bureaucrats and intellectuals became doubting Thomases for various reasons. They all have to be brought in by our prayer. It is time for all believers especially christian believers to fight against the ungodly laws of the State.
The President is backing down. Thank God that we still have religious freedom. Now if we would only use our religious freedom to be true disciples of Jesus Christ in all aspects of living and speaking.
Too often, we pick and choose the teachings of Jesus Christ that are the easiest to follow according to our own moral, political, or personal biases and strengths. Too often, we leave out the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ that are contrary to our political biases, and personal weaknesses.
Even when Obama is voted out in November, he stiil has 2 more months in Office to appoint another Supreme Court Justice, should Anthony Kennedy retire. Then we`re in REAL TROUBLE!
kEEP READING THE National Catholic Register and watching EWTN for all the news that is news. Keep praying and fasting as suggested by our bishops.
One of the many intentions for our family Rosary each evening has been religious freedom, and protection for Holy Mother Church! Hearing my precious babies (ages 4, 6, 7, & 8) pray to our Lady, and ask St. Michael for intercession is going to make a difference, their prayers are so innocent. God will hear the prayers of all who pray from the heart. But there is something good that is already coming out of this whole debacle. Catholics are being confronted with TRUE teachings of the Church, in a way that they have not been on Sundays at Mass! I assure you that the majority of the (cafeteria) Catholics who support this mandate AND contraception in general do not fully understand the teachings on this and MANY other issues. We are largely uncatechized, unlike pre-Vat II days. May God give strength and courage to our Bishops and Priests…to speak the truth from the pulpit…even though it is not popular. +JMJ- I love you, save souls!+
Ernest and Mary,
But don’t forget: his appointment would still have to go through the Senate and this will take a while and the Democrats will hoopefully lose seats this coming November.
We need all who are able to resist the tyrranical rule being mandated by our government. And we need to get the word out there - this is about our freedom as Americans- all Americans- Catholic, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Atheist…
Thank you, EWTN for defending the truth and freedom.
I hope a few more people out there can now see that Obama is pushing a straight Marxist aganda. This is no American. What is one of the Marxists’ first imperatives? Crush religion…Especially the Catholic Church! It’s time to call this guy what he is, based on what he’s doing. This is not politics as usual!
I’m convinced that private health insurance is just a scam to
over-medicate, over-diagnose and over-treat, and it’s obvious now
with this mandate legalizing their money making agenda.
We could be better off without insurance.
God Bless EWTN !!!
A little more info for you. Did you Know The Obama Administration sent millions of our taxpayer dollars to Kenya in Africa to rewrite their constitution to include Birth control and Abortion !!! As a result WE THE PEOPLE are paying our tax es to kill babies in Kenya and other countries as well just so they can receive healthcare services with our money !!! Lord have Mercy !!! This President can’t be trusted under any circumstances !!! Pray the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet every day !!! And vote for Rick Santorum and ask God for Divine intervention !!!
God Bless EWTN !!!
A little more info for you. Did you Know The Obama Administration sent millions of our taxpayer dollars to Kenya in Africa to rewrite their constitution to include Birth control and Abortion !!! As a result WE THE PEOPLE are paying our tax es to kill babies in Kenya and other countries as well, just so they can receive healthcare services with our money !!! Lord have Mercy !!! This President can’t be trusted under any circumstances !!! Pray the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet every day !!! And vote for Rick Santorum and ask God for Divine intervention !!!
It cannot be a large step from penalizing employers who fail to provide government-mandated services to penalizing citizens for not using them.
U S drones land in Pakistan. People(made in God’s image) are killed. What does ENTW say about thiis?
EWTN Rocks!
JOHN HARBINSON….Errr….actually the drones don’t land on the targets. You might not be very well informed on the technical part of the matter that you have brought up. The people (made in God’s image - as all people are) who are the targets are terrorists. Well, at least that is the situation as it is presented. So, the question that you want to pursue is either jus ad bellum or jus in bello, great topics! But, not the topic here being discussed. Your attempt to change the subject or, more accurately, confuse the subject betrays your unwillingness to face the facts about the tyrannical diktats from this steeped-in-the-culture-of-death administration.
I have been donating to EWTN for years and have never been so full of appreciation for what it has done as I am in this matter. Bravo, EWTN. You have given me more hope than I have had in the past three horribly discouraging year. It’s not only the economy that brings despair, it was the total disregard for God shown by our “leaders”, especially the cafeteria catholic ones. Perhaps this is a revealing moment a lot of catholics needed to shake them up to the reality of the state of this nation. Another term by this president and this nation will never be the same, home of the brave and the FREE!!!
Thank you, EWTN, Belmont Abbey College, Colorado Christian University, and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, for stepping up to the plate and going to bat to uphold the free-exercise clause of the First Amendment and the constitutional rights of Americans who believe in God and try to practice and live their faith. I am going to donate to EWTN and the Becket Fund. I am praying for President Obama, Secretary Sebelius, Congress, federal judges, the justices of the Supreme Court, and our Catholic bishops and media. God bless you.
The Church has been absolutely right in its opposition to contraception.
For those who wish to learn why the Church is correct on this issue, an excellent commentary and further resource links can be found here:
http://allhands-ondeck.blogspot.com/2012/02/why-catholic-church-opposes.html
Concerning contraception:
1) Contraception is allowed (and even encouraged) in Catholic teaching. For just reasons, spouses may wish to space the births of their children according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2368). The Church focuses on the mechanics of contraception in determining its morality, encouraging the rhythm method.
2) The Catechism also states that the state has a responsibility for its citizens well being. In this capacity it is legitimate for it to intervene to orient the demography of the population. CCC 2372. However, it is not to coerce the couple’s personal responsibility.
3) The Vatican II Commission in place to advise the Pope Paul VI on contraception surveyed 3,000 Catholic couples regarding the rhythm method. 63% said that the rhythm method harmed their marriage and 65% said that it did not prevent conception.
4) The Commission voted 30-5 in favor of changing the Church’s position on contraception. The Bishops on the Commission also were in favor, voting 9-3. Karol Wotjyla, who was on the Commission, abstained.
5) Well over 90% of Catholic women of child-bearing age use artificial contraception. The Church teaches that this is a mortal sin, since artificial contraception methods are “intrinsically evil.”
6) The main issue is less about the morality of artificial contraception than it is the authority of the Pope.
If the bishops were serious about shutting down the Obama Administration’s recent reckless policy endeavor claimed to be against the ‘Catholic Church’ and its teachings, the bishops would stop the sex education they have implemented in parochial schools. IMO, this administration is implementing ‘changes’ in conjunction with the Second Vatican Two Council’s many changes. Sex education Supremely condemned is currently in every parochial school in the U S is only one example. These teachings lead to the need of what Obama Administration is imposing.
Dale,
Concerning contraception:
1) “Contraception is allowed (and even encouraged) in Catholic teaching. For just reasons, spouses may wish to space the births of their children according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2368). The Church focuses on the mechanics of contraception in determining its morality, encouraging the rhythm method.
You’ve got to be kidding?!!! NFP, not contraception, is what’s encouraged.
2) The Catechism also states that the state has a responsibility for its citizens well being. In this capacity it is legitimate for it to intervene to orient the demography of the population. CCC 2372. However, it is not to coerce the couple’s personal responsibility.
The “state” has a very limited role, for starters, accordiong to Catholic teaching. Contraception is NOT “well-being” for its people. The argument of “over-population” has been debunked so many times. Use of contraception is personal irresponsibility - and sinful.
3) The Vatican II Commission in place to advise the Pope Paul VI on contraception surveyed 3,000 Catholic couples regarding the rhythm method. 63% said that the rhythm method harmed their marriage and 65% said that it did not prevent conception.
“Surveys” have nothing to do with Catholic doctrine. NFP, not rhythm method. Our Church is not a democracy. You must be Episcopalian. Prior to 1930, ALL Christian denominations agreed that contraception was immoral. It was the Anglican church that first changed its position. I got a better statistic for you: 100% of married couples that use contraception harm their relationship. People that use NFP have a 98% success rate in marriage. More people that use contraception end in divorce.
4) The Commission voted 30-5 in favor of changing the Church’s position on contraception. The Bishops on the Commission also were in favor, voting 9-3. Karol Wotjyla, who was on the Commission, abstained.
Morality is not a popular opinion poll.
5) Well over 90% of Catholic women of child-bearing age use artificial contraception. The Church teaches that this is a mortal sin, since artificial contraception methods are “intrinsically evil.”
It is a mortal sin. And if “90% of Catholic women” use artificial birth control, they’re not practicing Catholics.
6) The main issue is less about the morality of artificial contraception than it is the authority of the Pope.
The MAIN issue is the intrusion of liberal/progressive Catholics into Catholic teaching. If a person does not wish to be Catholic, then they are free to leave.
I believe that it is critically important that your headlines say"Abortion_Contraception” instead of just “Contraception” . Obama would love us to follow his lead of only talking about contraception, thus watering down, minimizing the importance of this dispute. He knows that most people don’t take the contraception issue nearly as seriously as abortion. Let us set the terms of this issue and debate for the hearts and minds of all Americans rather than allow Obama to spin and minimize it. Many people perceive the issue according to the headlines. Let their perception be clear and pointed to the great issue of abortion even before, but not excluding, contraception and the dictatorial contravention of the constitution.
This is in total support of EWTN’s seeking to undo what is unconstitutional and abhorrent to God. The Government cannot replace God and His law of justice. The Government is to serve not kill it’s people.
The mandate is a false attempt to replace God and His law. It is a divisive and subversive means to control our very lives, and that of the most vulnerable the unborn. This is not about contraception, abortifacients or monies saved, for all that the Government would have us believe. To take a life destroys a whole line of lives eternally. How does this grow the economy? This is a divide and conquer technique, well planned and fraught with evil. Many have succumbed to believe the Government is doing a favor, when it is expanding killing of the unborn. We don’t need freedom to kill. We need the freedom to practice our faith, live out our conscience and to do the good for all. This country was built on religious freedom, life, the pursuit of happiness.
The secular media ( mostly liberal,agnostic,atheist) brings forth so much propaganda to delude the public on a 24/7 basis. They do this on purpose toward the consciencnce of people and psychological warfare to “dumb down the public”. People who “hate religion” or live with no faith base have mostly their television and computers to rely on to live out what the “world tells them what to do”. Televisions and computers are good use if the operators strive to follow “natural law” which we know is given to us by God. Otherwise, telvisions and computers are total “IDIOT BOXES”. years ago I went to my parish priest complaining about the “world’s” problems. He asked me if I have a prayer life. Stopped me in my tracks.
God Bless to EWTN for making a stand. Kennedy,Kerry,Pelosi,Biden,Sebelius have been “Drunk on the wine collaborating with the Roman ideologues”. We Catholics have been “mocked,scoffed, and kicked to the curb”. Time has been overdue, the Gospel message is clear. GOD IS IN CHARGE not us. We are to be His servants to live His will and message.
God Bless.
We must obey God rather than man.
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