obama Lays Down The Law To God

I'm not Catholic. In fact, I'm not much of a regular church-goer. That doesn't mean I'm a non-believer. It just means that for whatever reason(s) I don't get around to attending church regularly.

It's like the squirrels that infiltrated the attic of the local Catholic church. The priests and lay leaders tried everything they could think of to get rid of those squirrels. Traps, cats, professional exterminators ... all to no avail. Finally they held a special ceremony, officially converted the squirrels to Catholicism, and made them members of the church.

Now the squirrels only show up at Christmas and Easter.

*Rimshot*

What brought this to mind is the brewing conflict between obama and the Catholic church. It has the potential to be a game-changer in the 2012 election.

The brouhaha started when the obama administration's Department of Health and Human Services issued an edict that all Church-affiliated institutions, such as schools, hospitals and charities, must provide health insurance coverage that includes contraception, sterilization, and related substances and services (e.g., the 'morning-after' pill). The Catholic Church considers such things sinful.

To be clear, the government isn't forcing anyone to use those drugs or services. But it is insisting the Church to pay for those things. In other words, obama is forcing the Church to be an accomplice in breaking God's law.

Obama Declares War On The Catholic Church

A little over two weeks ago, the Department of Health and Human Services said that the new health-care reforms from Obama would require religious employers–like hospitals, schools, etc.–to include contraception, sterilization, and drugs that many Catholics believe cause early abortions, in their employee health insurance plans.

... Catholics consider paying for those things sinful. So they are flaming mad at Obama. And Catholic priests have been reading a letter to almost all Catholics at church promising that the Church "cannot–and will not–obey this unjust law." This is pretty much unprecedented.

... The Church has built or maintains about 625 non-profit hospitals in the United States right now. 1 in 8 hospital visits in America are to Catholic hospitals. It's the largest non-profit sector of the health-care industry by a long shot.

... and then there are the schools. About 65,000 professors work at over 230 Catholic universities and colleges in America. And then there are secondary schools, etc. And charity organizations.

That's a lot of people who are potentially affected.

The question isn't whether or not one agrees with the Catholic Church's position on birth control and abortion. The question is whether or not the government can take away the Church's right to freely practice its religion; to force the Church to do something the Church believes is a sin in the eyes of the Lord.

The Church isn't taking it lying down.

The Catholic Church Declares War On obama

Responding to the Obama-mandated health insurance policies, Catholic leaders throughout America are outraged over what is being perceived by some as a serious assault on their religion.

... Catholic leaders say Obama’s insurance plan is an attempt to take down the church by infiltrating it with God-less ideals on their religion, and according to some, they won’t go down without a fight.

Bill Donohue of the Catholic League says the move is a milestone in terms of taking on the Church, and tells CBS News that it is “unprecedented in American history …for the federal government to line up against the Roman Catholic Church.”

“This is going to be fought out with lawsuits, with court decisions and, dare I say it, maybe even in the streets,” adds Donohue.

“It’s not about contraception. It’s about the right of conscience,” Archbishop Timothy Dolan tells reporters. “The government doesn’t have the right to butt into the internal governance and teachings of the church,” he insists.

“Never before has the federal government forced individuals and organizations to go out into the marketplace and buy a product that violates their conscience,” adds Dolan. “This shouldn't happen in a land where free exercise of religion ranks first in the Bill of Rights."

Here's where it really gets interesting. The by-product of all this could be detrimental to obama's re-election chances. There are large numbers of Catholic voters in swing states such as Nevada, Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and they are pissed.

Put simply: There is simply no time in American history we can recall where nearly the entire body of American Catholic bishops and priests have united to speak against a sitting president by name, and promised civil disobedience.

By ruling that the "conscience exemption" only applies to Catholic churches and institutions that primarily educate people in the faith or serve almost exclusively fellow Catholics, the Obama administration has effectively said that Catholics only exist in the pews. The moment they step outside a Church to help the sick, feed the hungry, or otherwise serve and employ non-Catholics, they are no longer allowed to follow their religious dictates.

Rev. Larry Snyder, President of Catholic Charities USA pointed out that the regulations would say that the ministry of Jesus Christ himself was not "religious" because he was doing health-care, activism on behalf of the poor, and interacting with people of other religions all the time.

In effect, the government is deciding what does and what doesn't qualify as Catholicism, and where it is allowed.

And now the bishops are reported to be discussing organizing an enormous march on Washington to protest the law, and, indirectly, the president himself.

This battle is just beginning.

Stay tuned. This could get interesting.

There are close to 80 million Catholics in the United States. That's slightly more than one-fourth (27%) of voters. In 2008 54% of Catholics voted for obama. They helped him win.

Like I said earlier, I'm not Catholic. I don't agree with every aspect of their religion. But I recognize and acknowledge their right to worship as they choose, as long as it doesn't interfere with the rights of others. IMO health-care insurance is not a right. Health-care insurance that covers birth control and abortions is even less so.

Refusing to pay for something is a far cry from interfering with the right of someone to access it. What's next? Requiring health-care insurance to pay for elective or cosmetic surgery, such as liposuction, hair plugs, or breast augmentation (well, maybe that last one....).