BISHOPS DON’T BUDGE ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Mincing no words, the statement declares the HHS edict to be “unjust and illegal.”
From Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the statement [click here] just released by the Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:
The statement, “United for Religious Freedom,” is the clearest exposition of contemporary Catholic thought on religious liberty in America. It leaves nothing on the table.
It speaks directly to the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate that seeks to force Catholic non-profits to cover services it deems objectionable in its insurance plans. Mincing no words, the statement declares the HHS edict to be “unjust and illegal.”
It debunks many myths about this issue: it is not about contraception; it is not just about Catholic religious rights; it is not about the Catholic Church trying to impose its will on others—it is about the federal government trying to impose its agenda on us; it is not about opposition to universal health care (the Church has long championed this right); and it is not about choosing political sides. It is about religious liberty.
Most important, the statement argues that the HHS mandate seeks to create a three-tiered class of citizens’ rights: by defining religious rights as applying only to those who work for religious institutions that hire and serve mostly people of their own faith, the Obama administration has relegated those who work in religious institutions that serve everyone to a second-class status; those who are not a religious employer but nonetheless reject on religious grounds to funding immoral insurance plans constitute a third-class of citizens.
The good news is that the bishops aren’t flinching: there is no room for compromise when the subject is our constitutional rights—rights that come from God, as the Declaration affirmed, not government. It warms the heart to read that the “unprecedented magnitude of this latest threat has only strengthened our resolve” to do what is right. The bishops have the unqualified support of the Catholic League.
From Jeff Myers at Summit Ministries:
Chronicling Leftist Lies
Chronicling leftist lies: “98% of Catholic women use contraception”
As you already know, one of the Obamacare mandates is that employers provide free abortion-inducing drugs to their employees. Most people see this as only affecting Catholics, but it affects everyone with a conscience and has been referred to by many of my lawmaker friends as the most blatant attack on religious freedom in living memory. Those who speak out are accused of being “against women’s health.”
One of the Obama administration talking points involves going on the offensive against Catholics by accusing them of hypocrisy. Obama administration flacks scream over and over again, “Ninety-eight percent of Catholic women use contraceptives!”
At Summit, we teach our students to counter every fact claim with the question, “How do you know that’s true?”
So how do we know this “98%” statistic is true? On Saturday Kellyanne Conway, president of The Polling Company and a frequent commentator on news programs across the country, explained this to my friends and me:
1. This statistic comes from a poll conducted by a Democratic polling firm called Public Policy Polling (PPP)—hardly an unbiased source.
2. The poll was conducted on behalf of Planned Parenthood which distorts the truth as a matter of practice.
3. Women who reported not being sexually active were screened out of the study.
4. The only women included in the study were women ages 18-44 who were purposefully trying to not get pregnant.
This has got to be one of the worst studies ever done—fraudulent to its very core. Shame on the Obama administration for promoting it, and shame on us for not calling their bluff.
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