Obama Tampering with Conscience
January 30, 2012
Dear Friend of Life,
Below you will find my latest column, Obama Tampering with Conscience,
in English and Spanish. Before you read my column, let me first give
you some other important updates.
View my latest YouTube video at
http://youtu.be/mzLgZ_BOO4I on which I reflect with you more on the
theme of this column.
For those in Florida, be sure to vote in tomorrow’s primary if you are
eligible. This is your chance to choose the person you want to be the
Presidential candidate. And for those in Oregon’s 1st Congressional
District, you also have an important runoff election tomorrow. Find more
details about these and other election–related events at
www.politicalresponsibility.com/presidential-election-process.htm.
My birthday is February 4th and I'm asking for a special gift for our Pray
to End Abortion Campaign. You can find my birthday wish on Facebook at
http://wishes.causes.com/wishes/428956. Be sure to “like” the page and
share it with others.
Finally, join us for a Lenten Prayer for Life beginning on February 22 and
make a special commitment to help others to see and defend the dignity of
every human life, starting with the unborn. You can find the prayer at
www.prayercampaign.org. This year we are asking people to make more of
an effort than ever to pray for an end to abortion.
Blessings,
Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life
Praise for our Work
Your writings, pamphlets, etc. always come in handy with our respect
life work. Thank you so much. Keep on with what you do as you do it BEST!
– Theresa
Obama Tampering with Conscience
by Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life
In March of 2010, I had the opportunity to preach to members of Congress and
their staff who were gathered at the worship service held inside the Capitol
just prior to the vote on Obamacare. In that sermon, I told them that
Christianity transforms politics and government, because every human being
in Christ has access to God as his son or daughter. Therefore the voice of
the people matters, representative government makes sense, and power becomes
service, authority becomes a duty to protect human rights.
It's a message President Obama and his Department of Health and Human
Services still don't get it. As the National Catholic Reporter recently
reported,
"The Obama administration has turned down repeated requests from
Catholic bishops, hospitals, schools and charitable organizations to revise
its religious exemption to the requirement that all health plans cover
contraceptives and sterilization free of charge.
"...Under the plan, after Aug. 1 of this year, new or significantly
altered health plans will be required to provide all FDA-approved
contraceptives, including some that can cause abortions, without co-pays or
deductibles as part of preventive health care for women."
Some 200,000 comments were received from the general public regarding
this. Rather than making any accommodation to those who object, the
Administration arrogantly announced "that nonprofit groups that do not
provide contraceptive coverage because of their religious beliefs will get
an additional year 'to adapt to this new rule.'"
An additional year to do what?
No, we don't need an additional year nor an additional moment to adapt,
study, consider, weigh, balance, or decide whether we are going to pay for
the killing of human beings. The answer is no. Keep your year, and give us
back our freedom of conscience!
The day before the Administration made this announcement, the Pope addressed
a group of American bishops who were making their regular, obligatory visit
to update the Pope. He mentioned the "worrying tendency to reduce
religious freedom to mere freedom of worship without guarantees of respect
for freedom of conscience." That's what the President and his team are
doing. Go ahead, worship in whatever Church you want, he tells us. But if
you run a hospital or other entity, you have to do it our way.
The US bishops have written in Living the Gospel of Life that Roe
vs. Wade poisons our entire society. This latest inflexibility in the face
of conscience is a good example of that. It is, after all, about abortion.
Its fanatical advocates will stop at nothing to expand it, including
throwing religious freedom and the Church itself out the window.
What this also tells us is that elections matter. It would be wise for the
Church, in tackling this problem, to plan what we are going to do regarding
the elections, rather than spending all our energy trying to put the
toothpaste back in the tube after it's been scattered all over the room.
Let's elect more public servants who know the difference between serving the
public and killing the public.
Find this column online at
http://www.priestsforlife.org/columns/3930-obama-tampering-with-conscience
Comments on this column? Go to
www.askfrfrank.com
Fr. Frank's columns are podcast. See
www.priestsforlife.org/podcast
Obama Manipulando la Consciencia
Fr. Frank Pavone
Director Nacional, Sacerdotes por la Vida
En Marzo del 2010, tuve la oportunidad de predicar a miembros del Congreso y
su personal que se había reunido en un servicio celebrado en el interior del
Capitolio antes de votar sobre el Obamacare. En ese sermón, les dije que la
Cristiandad transforma las políticas y los gobiernos, porque cada ser humano
en Cristo tiene acceso a Dios como su hijo o su hija. Por tanto la voz del
pueblo cuenta, los gobiernos representativos tienen lógica, y el poder se
convierte en servicio, y la autoridad se convierte en deber para proteger
los derechos humanos.
Este es un mensaje que el Presidente Obama y su Departamento de Salud y
Servicios Humanos todavía no entiende. Así como reportó el Reportero
Nacional Católico,
“La administración Obama ha rechazado las reiteradas peticiones de los
Obispos Católicos, hospitales, escuelas y organizaciones caritativas para
revisar su exención religiosa al requerimiento que todos los planes de salud
cubran anticonceptivos y esterilización libre de cargos.
“…bajo el plan, después del 1 de agosto de este año, nuevos o
significantemente alterados planes de salud serán requeridos para proveer
todos los anticonceptivos aprobados por la FDA, incluyendo algunos que
pueden causar abortos, sin copagos o deducibles como parte de la atención
sanitaria preventiva para las mujeres.”
Como 200,000 comentarios fueron recibidos por parte del público en general
con relación a esto. En vez de buscar un arreglo para aquellos que objetan,
la Administración arrogantemente anuncia “que los grupos sin fines
lucrativos que no dan cobertura a la anticoncepción a causa de sus creencias
religiosas van a tener un año adicional ‘para adaptarse a esta nueva
regla.’”
¿Un año más para hacer qué?
No, nosotros no necesitamos otro año ni siquiera otro momento más para
adaptar, estudiar, considerar, sopesar, balancear, o decidir si vamos a
pagar por la matanza de seres humanos. La respuesta es no. ¡Quédense con su
año, y devuélvannos nuestra libertad de consciencia!
El día antes que la Administración hiciera este anuncio, el Papa se dirigió
a un grupo de Obispos Americanos quienes estaban haciendo su visita
obligatoria regular, para poner al Papa al día. Él mencionó la
“preocupante tendencia a reducir la libertad religiosa a mera libertad de
culto sin garantías de respeto por la libertad de consciencia.” Esto es
lo que el Presidente y su equipo están haciendo. Vayan adelante, rindan
culto en cualquier Iglesia que quieran, él nos dice. Pero si usted
administra un hospital o cualquier otra entidad, tiene que hacerlo a nuestro
modo.
Los Obispos de los Estados Unidos han escrito en Viviendo el Evangelio
de la Vida que Roe vs. Wade envenena a toda nuestra sociedad. Esta
última inflexibilidad frente a la consciencia es un buen ejemplo de esto.
Es, después de todo, sobre el aborto. Sus fanáticos abogados no se detendrán
ante nada para expandirlo, incluyendo el tirar por la borda la libertad
religiosa y la Iglesia en sí misma.
Lo que esto también nos dice es que las elecciones importan. Sería sabio por
parte de la Iglesia, para detener este problema, planear qué vamos a hacer
con respecto a las elecciones, en vez de gastar toda nuestra energía
tratando de poner los palillos de diente de nuevo en el palillero, después
que han sido regados por todo el salón. Elijamos más servidores públicos que
sepan distinguir la diferencia entre servir al público y matar al público.
Esta columna se puede encontrar en la página de
http://www.priestsforlife.org/columns/document-sp.aspx?id=3930
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