Obama Admin Scrubs Human Rights Report Of Muslim Persecution Of Christians In Islamic Nations By Purging Religious Freedom Section… Pathetic doesn’t even begin to describe this. (CNSNews.com) — The U.S. State Department removed the sections covering religious freedom from the Country Reports on Human Rights that it released on May 24, three months past the statutory deadline Congress set for the release of these reports. The new human rights reports — purged of the sections that discuss the status of religious freedom in each of the countries covered–are also the human rights reports that cover the period that covered the Arab Spring and its aftermath. Thus, the reports do not provide in-depth coverage of what has happened to Christians and other religious minorities in predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East that saw the rise of revolutionary movements in 2011 in which Islamist forces played an instrumental role. For the first time ever, the State Department simply eliminated the section of religious freedom in its reports covering 2011 and instead referred the public to the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report — a full two years behind the times — or to the annual report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which was released last September and covers events in 2010 but not 2011. Leonard Leo, who recently completed a term as chairman of the USCIRF, says that removing the sections on religious freedom from the State Department’s Country Reports on Human Roghts is a bad idea. Since 1998, when Congress created USCIRF, the State Department has been required to issue a separate yearly report specifically on International Religious Freedom. But a section reporting on religious freedom has also always been included in the State Department’s legally required annual country-by-country reports on human rights — that is, until now. And this is the first year the State Department would have needed to report on the effect the Arab Spring has had on religious freedom in the Middle East — had its reports, as always before, included a section on religious freedom.
Catholic Bishops Call On Catholics To Observe Two Weeks of Prayer As “Fortnight of Freedom” To Stop Obamacare… (CNSNews.com) – The Catholic bishops of the United States have called for the nation’s Catholics to observe the two week period starting today and running through the Fourth of July as a “Fortnight of Freedom” in which they hope Americans will pray for the preservation of freedom in this country and speak out clearly against the unprecedented attacks on religious liberty that have issued from the federal government. The bishops have issued a new “Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty” that they hope Catholics will use frequently in the coming days. The prayer asks God to keep America “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” for “the sake of our children, our grandchildren, and all who come after us.” It describes the current time as a “decisive hour in the history of our nation.” The “Fortnight of Freedom” pointedly begins on the vigil of the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More. Fisher and More are both Catholic martyrs beheaded by King Henry VIII in 1535 for refusing to take an oath recognizing Henry as the supreme authority over the church in England. Fisher, a cardinal, was bishop of Rochester. More, a lawyer, had served Henry as Lord Chancellor. Both gave their lives rather than bow to the king’s demand that they act against their consciences.
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Romney Asked About Obama’s War Against Religious Freedom In Ohio: “I Feel We’re All Catholic Today”… <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/AwSk9vlUrDc?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0"></iframe> Bravo. “Religious liberty, our first freedom of those enumerated in the Bill of Rights. And the president and his administration said they are going to usurp your religious freedom by demanding that you provide products to your employees, if you’re the Catholic church, that violates your own conscience. And so whether it’s a Catholic businessperson or the Catholic church itself they’re being told what they have to do that violates their religious conscience. That attack on religious freedom I think is a dangerous and unfortunate precedent. And I know we’re not all Catholic in this room. Many presumably are. But I feel that we’re all Catholic today. In our battle to preserve religious freedom and tolerance and freedom in this country, it is essential for us to push back against that. “
Catholic business owners score win against ObamaCare mandate Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/07/27/catholic-business-owners-seek-injunction-against-obama-health-care-mandate/#ixzz21tgGurCr
Clinton's Vatican Ambassador, Five More Back Romney for President http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Catholics-ambassadors-Vatican-Romney/2012/08/01/id/447252
Obama Vows Not To “Give Any Ground” On Contraception Mandate… Game on. Via Washington Examiner: President Obama promised not to “give any ground” on the contraception mandate that went into effect yesterday, despite lawsuits that contend the mandate violates the religious liberty of Americans who oppose contraception but will have to fund it anyway. “[Women] are beginning to gain access to contraception at no additional cost I’m not going to give any ground to those who would deny women their own health care choices,” Obama told the women of the BlogHer conference in a video feed address. He was referring to the Health and Human Services Department’s mandate that insurance policies provide all women with free contraception and arguing that the refusal to pay for someone’s contraception is tantamount to denying that person access to health care. The regulation, which passed into law as part of the Obamacare bill, went into effect on August 1st. It has come under fire from religious leaders of various backgrounds, including the Roman Catholic bishops who supported the broader health care law.
Catholic Group Announces It Will Defy Obamacare Contraception Mandate… Via New American: Priests for Life, a Catholic organization that has been on the front lines of the pro-life cause for the past 20 years, announced August 1 that it will not comply with the Health and Human Services (HHS) contraception mandate which went into effect on that date. The mandate, which is already the target of over a score of lawsuits filed by nearly 60 faith-based organizations, requires that all non-church employers provide their employees with health insurance that includes free access to sterilization and contraception — including abortion-inducing drugs. In an August 1 press release the organization’s director, Father Frank Pavone, said that under the HHS rules, Priests for Life was not “religious” enough to qualify for the one-year moratorium the government had given some non-church faith-based organizations to adapt their health insurance plans to the mandate. “But regardless of all that,” he announced, “we do not adapt to injustice; we oppose it. Therefore today, on behalf of our organization and on behalf of myself personally, I announce our conscientious objection to this mandate.” Pavone noted that while “Priests for Life has the highest respect for civil government and advocates the observance of all just laws … this policy is unjust, and today I reaffirm our intention to disobey it.” Earlier in the day Pavone sent a memo to the organization’s employees reminding them that “as of today, as far as the government is concerned, we have to provide health insurance coverage for practices that are morally objectionable. In order to avoid the slightest semblance of scandal, or compromise of our principles, and lest any employee should imagine that we would ever consent to provide coverage for actions that destroy human life, I want to make it clear to you today that we will disobey this mandate.”
Vatican Says Religious Liberty Under Attack In America… A not so subtle attack on the Obama administration. Via Red Alert Politics: The Vatican is alarmed at what it sees as the erosion of religious freedom in the United States, warning of a threat of “unprecedented gravity” to the Catholic Church’s “liberty and public moral witness.” Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone conveyed a message from Pope Benedict XVI in a letter to the Knights of Columbus’s annual convention in Anaheim, Calif., suggesting a concerted effort is being made to “redefine and restrict the exercise of the right to religious freedom.” The Pope has long been an admirer of the First Amendment and the balance that the American system has struck between church and state until recently, hence his particular concern. The letter warns that a brand of secularism is taking hold in America that seeks to exclude the Catholic Church from participating in the debate about issues affecting the future of the nation.
Obama Supporter Suggests Anti-Mormon Whisper Campaign… Do they really want to make this about religion considering Obama’s Jeremiah Wright past? As a Catholic I’ll take a hard-working, clean-living, family-driven Mormon over an adherent to Black Liberation Theology any day of the week and I think most of America would agree. Via BuzzFeed: When the Obama campaign released its much-anticipated Dashboard platform last May, it was touted as a potentially revolutionary organizing tool that would connect supporters, and merge online activism with real-life grassroots campaigning. It can also be used as a platform to launch whispering campaigns, as one user proved this week. On Monday, a “team member” named Laurence De Palma, who lists his location as East Nashville, presented volunteers with some talking points to convince Southern Christian voters they shouldn’t vote for a Mormon. The message was available under “Resources” and tagged “persuasion.” “I’m thinking that even though we don’t LIKE campaigns to get nasty, we in the south (TN) come to EXPECT it,” De Palma began. “What we also know is that we have a very ‘rigid’ view of Christianity, and apparently, Mormonism isn’t anywhere in our views. This could easily win TN/SC/AL/GA, etc.” The post goes on to include brief, oversimplified summaries of Mormon doctrines, framed to clash with evangelical Christianity.
Catholic Bishops Issues Statement Slamming Biden For Lying About HHS Mandate During Debate… Excellent. WASHINGTON (USCCB) — The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued the following statement, October 12. Full text follows: Last night, the following statement was made during the Vice Presidential debate regarding the decision of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to force virtually all employers to include sterilization and contraception, including drugs that may cause abortion, in the health insurance coverage they provide their employees: “With regard to the assault on the Catholic Church, let me make it absolutely clear. No religious institution—Catholic or otherwise, including Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital—none has to either refer contraception, none has to pay for contraception, none has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide. That is a fact. That is a fact.” This is not a fact. The HHS mandate contains a narrow, four-part exemption for certain “religious employers.” That exemption was made final in February and does not extend to “Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital,” or any other religious charity that offers its services to all, regardless of the faith of those served. HHS has proposed an additional “accommodation” for religious organizations like these, which HHS itself describes as “non-exempt.” That proposal does not even potentially relieve these organizations from the obligation “to pay for contraception” and “to be a vehicle to get contraception.” They will have to serve as a vehicle, because they will still be forced to provide their employees with health coverage, and that coverage will still have to include sterilization, contraception, and abortifacients. They will have to pay for these things, because the premiums that the organizations (and their employees) are required to pay will still be applied, along with other funds, to cover the cost of these drugs and surgeries. USCCB continues to urge HHS, in the strongest possible terms, actually to eliminate the various infringements on religious freedom imposed by the mandate.
Looks like the Bishops are pissed. At least the Cardinals did something about it....they beat Washington. :lol:
Canada: Catholic Schools Told They Can No Longer Teach Abortion Is Wrong… A preview of what a second Obama term will look like in America. Via LifeNews: On Wednesday, Ontario’s Minister of Education rocked Ontario taxpayers, sending a shockwave across Canada, and even beyond our borders, with an announcement that can only be described as “totalitarian”. Laurel Broten, Minister of Education told reporters that under its new anti-bullying law, Bill 13, The Accepting Schools Act, Catholic schools would no longer be permitted to teach that abortion is wrong! A transcript of the remarks from Premier McGuinty’s office to LifeSiteNews quoted Minister Broten: “We do not allow and we’re very clear with the passage of Bill 13 that Catholic teachings cannot be taught in our schools that violates human rights and which brings a lack of acceptance to participation in schools,” she said. “I don’t think that there is a contrast or a conflict between choosing a Catholic education for your children and supporting a woman’s right to choose,” she added.
Federal Judge Blocks Obama Admin From Forcing Catholic Business To Comply With HHS Mandate… This should all be over with soon once Comrade Obama is booted from office. (Reuters) – A Catholic-owned family business in Michigan does not have to comply with the provision of the new U.S. healthcare law that requires private employers to provide employees with health insurance that covers birth control, a federal judge in Detroit has ruled. U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland, in a ruling late Wednesday, temporarily blocked the government from forcing the owner of Weingartz Supply Company, which sells outdoor power equipment, to include contraception in its health coverage of employees. The ruling only affects the company’s Catholic proprietor, Daniel Weingartz, and the approximately 170 people who work for him. But it opens the door for other firms to seek relief on religious grounds. Cleland is now the second federal judge to temporarily block part of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 from being enforced against the religious owners of a family business. In July, U.S. District Judge John Kane in Denver temporarily prevented the government from requiring the Catholic owners of Hercules Industries Inc, a private manufacturer of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment, to provide health insurance that covers birth control. Weingartz was joined in his lawsuit, filed in May, by Legatus, a national association of Catholic business owners. Roman Catholic bishops and many Republican lawmakers have opposed the birth control provision, and priests have been speaking out against the law from pulpits across the country. Church doctrine opposes artificial contraception but most American Catholics do not adhere to church policy.
Catholic Bishops Vow To “Defy” Obama’s HHS Mandate… Godspeed. LINCOLN – The re-election of President Barack Obama may ignite a showdown with Catholic leaders over a federal mandate that religiously affiliated charities, universities and hospitals provide birth control coverage to their employees. “The Catholic Church is not going to back down,” said Denver Auxiliary Bishop James Conley, who will start as the new bishop of the Lincoln Diocese on Nov. 20. “We are never going to compromise our principles. We will defy it and face the consequences.” Roman Catholic officials in Omaha and Des Moines expressed similar sentiments this week over a plan by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services requiring all employers to provide their employees contraception coverage without copays. The so-called HHS mandate for religious organizations, currently the subject of dozens of legal challenges nationally, is set to take effect next August.
U.S. Conference Of Catholic Bishops To Push Congress To Protect Church From Obama’s HHS Mandate… Don’t waste your time with anyone who has a D next to their name. Via LifeNews: A top legislative staffer for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops says the nation’s Catholic leaders will push again for Congress to approve conscience exemptions for the Obama HHS-Abortion mandate in Obamacare. The mandate forces religious groups and businesses to pay for birth control and drugs that may cause abortions for their employees and it contains only a narrow exemption that most groups do not qualify for under the law. In a new interview with the National Catholic Register, Richard Doerflinger, the associate director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities and the chief pro-life lobbyist, talked about the next push for the mandate exemption. He believes the upcoming Labor/HHS appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2013 afford pro-life advocates another opportunity to push the Fortenberry-Blunt conscience protections.
Judge Mocks Obama’s Religious “Accommodation” Proposal On HHS Mandate… Via Beltway Confidential: Judge Brian Cogan mocked the “accommodation” on religion liberty outlined by President Obama in regards to his health care law’s contraception mandate while ruling against a Justice Department motion to dismiss the Archdiocese of New York’s lawsuit against the regulation. “There is no, ‘Trust us, changes are coming’ clause in the Constitution,” Cogan wrote in his ruling against DOJ. “To the contrary, the Bill of Rights itself, and the First Amendment in particular, reflect a degree of skepticism towards governmental self-restraint and self-correction.” Cogan was referring to the fact that Obama’s promise to accommodate the concerns of religiously-affiliated institutions that would have provide free contraception.