Our First, Most Cherished Liberty

Ok, here we go. Time for some of the more hard-hitting stuff. Here is a fact that everyone needs to understand: in today's climate and culture, faith will always be attacked. Here is another fact that Catholics have to live with: in a society that attacks faith, the Catholic Church will be one of the first and hardest hit. Why? Not because we are outdated, not because we are holier-than-thou, and especially not because of all the misconceptions, presumptions, and falsities held by others. It will be because the Church, throughout the centuries, has stood the greatest change of holding back societal degradation and decline of values and morals. Now, I am by no means saying that the Church is the only one, in fact there are many groups, both religious and secular, that have stood to stem back the tides of decreasing morals and principles. But because of its size, position, influence, and power, the Church will always be seen as the enemy by secularists. And because of the values we uphold, our beliefs and convictions, we are called backward, ignorant bigots living in the past, with no place in the modern world. So the Catholic Church has come to represent all those opposed to societal "progress". Last fact: in a world that attacks Holy Mother Church, established by Christ and carried on by the apostles and their successors, we, her people and faithful, MUST, I repeat, MUST be ready to defend her and ourselves.

And in the latest string of attacks, the current administration's Department of Health and Human Services Mandate.
Unless you've been hiding under rock for the last few months, or you just don't care (which, if the latter is the case, why are you even reading this?), the HHS Mandate requiring all employers, short of actual churches, to provide for contraception, sterilization, and abortifacient services, regardless of their religious beliefs and convictions. Now for the sake of simplicity, my main focus will be how this affects the Catholic Church, but to be clear, this HHS mandate affects all peoples who believe abortion to go against their conscience. So essentially, the mandate requires Catholic hospitals, schools, institutions of higher learning, and other Catholic service provides to provide "women's preventative health services", such as contraception and abortion-inducing drugs, even when it violates some of the most basic teachings of the Catholic faith regarding the sanctity of all human life, from the moment of conception to natural death.

Now, I know there are some of you out there who think that Church is exaggerating and blowing things out of proportion. There are those of you who think the Bishops have incorrectly understood the mandate, and that the administration is doing its best to alleviate the feeling of intrusion on religious liberty. So to correct those heinous misconceptions, I will let you decide for yourself if you think the Bishops are exaggerating. Here is a statement released by Kathleen Sebellius, Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, and "supposed Catholic", on the mandate and its details. It's not long, but for those of you who don't want to open a new window, here's a snippet:

After evaluating comments, we have decided to add an additional element to the final rule. Nonprofit employers who, based on religious beliefs, do not currently provide contraceptive coverage in their insurance plan, will be provided an additional year, until August 1, 2013, to comply with the new law. Employers wishing to take advantage of the additional year must certify that they qualify for the delayed implementation. This additional year will allow these organizations more time and flexibility to adapt to this new rule.  We intend to require employers that do not offer coverage of contraceptive services to provide notice to employees, which will also state that contraceptive services are available at sites such as community health centers, public clinics, and hospitals with income-based support.  We will continue to work closely with religious groups during this transitional period to discuss their concerns.

Now, you will say, look, they're giving providers a year to comply with the new law, that's a good thing. Yes, it is awful nice of the government to give Catholic employers one whole year to break their conscience and violate their faith, but the fact remains: the government will still be requiring religious employers, in spite of their faith and beliefs, to provide contraception, without having to pay a co-pay or deductibles to boot. So not only will Catholic employers have to provide coverage on "preventative health services", they have to do it for free. Woo! At the risk of sounding too frank, this will probably the most expensive sin ever. Even after this, I know that there are still some of you who will say that churches will not be required to abide by the mandate, and you would be right. Churches, meaning your parish and mine, will not be required to provide contraception in their health insurance to their employees, but churches only...literally. But the funny thing is, the people working for our churches are probably the least likely ones to even need reproductive and preventative services anyways.

Before I go on to the USCCB's response to all of this, I want to give you my response to all of this, that is, the things I have not said already. It is uber important to note that this fight is not about the legalization of abortion, its not even about the basic question of whether abortion is right or wrong (which it is, but I digress). This fight, since fists and strong words have already been flung, is about religious liberty and the right to act, or not act, according to our consciences and beliefs. Earlier I said, that this issue doesn't just affect the Church, but it might interest you to know that our esteemed president contacted then Cardinal-elect Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York and President of the USCCB, before announcing the mandate, to personally inform Dolan as what was going to happen. People have said that the Church is taking this too seriously, but why shouldn't it when the president personally called the leader of American Catholicism about this, making it seem like this mandate was intended to directly target the Church. I hate to admit it, but it's working. Even now, we see the Church being divided by this issue, with some proclaiming that it's high time that the Church goes with the flow. But whether or not you believe this to be the case, like I said earlier, this is not about the Church's view on abortion. This is about the First Amendment and the people's freedom to exercise their religion as they see fit. This mandate, hidden behind it's easy words and seemingly good intentions, is at the very core, a violation of the First Amendment Free Exercise clause. Opponents have long tried to claim that the Church tries to impose their views and beliefs on society, and that religion should play no role in government. Now those very same opponents are trying to do the same thing to the Church that they claim the Church is trying to do to them: imposing their views and forcing the Church and her people to do things that they do not believe in.

This battle will be lengthy and it will be hard. But if we remain as divided as we are, we have already lost. The American Church is divided between those cafeteria Catholics who pick and choose what beliefs are convenient for them and traditional (and again in my frank opinion, the truly devout) Catholics who uphold all the Church's teachings. But those divisions have no place in this fight. This fight is about freedom, and regardless of what kind of Catholic you are, it is in all our best interests to oppose this mandate. If this goes through, it will be the first and precursor to more and more government intrusions into our basic freedoms. We must be careful. We must fight this. Audemus Jura Nostra Defendere.  We dare to defend our rights. We MUST defend our rights.

To move away from my ranting, here is the statement by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop's Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty in response to this HHS mandate infringement: Our First, Most Cherished Liberty.

I apologize for the length of this particular post, and I apologize if I may have offended any sensibilities with some of my stronger words. But the fact of the matter is that this is the way things are. Despite whatever divisions exist in the American Church, all of us, as people of faith, as Americans, must be united to confront this threat. As a young Catholic, as a Knight of Columbus, as a person of conscience and faith, but most of all, as an American citizen, I stand proudly opposed to this audacious affront to my religious liberty. This blogger stands with the Catholic Church against the HHS mandate. I stand united with the US Bishops and with countless others. The question is: will you?

Almighty God, Father of all nations,
For freedom you have set us free in Christ Jesus (Gal 5:1).
We praise and bless you for the gift of religious liberty,
the foundation of human rights, justice, and the common good.
Grant to our leaders the wisdom to protect and promote our liberties;
By your grace may we have the courage to defend them, for ourselves and for all those who live in this blessed land.
We ask this through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, our patroness,
and in the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
with whom you live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Dominus vobiscum.