Another blog post on the Obama HHS Mandate

This link from a blog post of an open letter to President Obama by Mark Barnes, student and citizen, is tremendous and frankly "in your face".  Here are the last two paragraphs, but if you like go to the link and read the whole thing.  But at least read this please:


Mr. President, The Catholic Church will never obey this mandate, not if all the powers of Hell were to shove it down our throats. I know that moral doctrine may seem a strange and ancient thing to your administration, but understand that as Catholics, we are required to disobey unjust law. Commanded. It is our duty. Do you understand the gravity of the ultimatum you’ve made? You have placed the faithful Catholic in a position in which he must choose between obeying your mandate and obeying God. To comply with the HHS mandate will be considered a sin. Regardless of how you view your actions, do not so easily ignore how the Church views your actions — as attacking her flock. Force the mandate on faithful institutions, and faithful institutions will shut down their services. Force it on our hospitals, our universities, our schools, and our convents and we will bear the consequences of looking you, Sibelius and all the rest in the eyes and saying “No.” As it turns out, the Church doesn’t give a damn what you think — She never has cared for the powers of the world — and will resist you with all Her might. To be briefer still, and to say what those bound by politics cannot: Bring it.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan noted that ‎”The Amish do not carry health insurance. The government respects their principles. Christian Scientists want to heal by prayer alone, and the new health-care reform law respects that. Quakers and others object to killing even in wartime, and the government respects that principle for conscientious objectors. By its decision, the Obama administration has failed to show the same respect for the consciences of Catholics and others who object to treating pregnancy as a disease.” This injustice is not something that need solely concern the Catholic Church — if the federal government can force Catholics to act against their consciences, they can force anyone to act against their conscience, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Atheist, and by the same pitiful reasoning.

Mr. President, take it back.

Yours Truly,

Marc Barnes, student and citizen.

Archbishop Gregory's Pastoral Letter Regarding the HHS Mandate

Letter from Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory 

To Be Read at all Masses in Parishes in the Archdiocese of Atlanta During the Weekend of January 28 – 29, 2012

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I am writing to you on a matter of grave moral concern -- freedom of religion and freedom of conscience. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced last week that almost all employers, including Catholic employers, will be forced to offer their employees health coverage that includes sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs, and contraception. Almost all health insurers will be forced to include those “services” in the health policies they write. And almost all individuals will be forced to buy that coverage as a part of their policies.

In so ruling, the Administration has cast aside the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, denying to Catholics our Nation’s first and most fundamental freedom, that of religious liberty. And as a result, unless the rule is overturned, we Catholics will be compelled either to violate our consciences, or to drop health coverage for our employees (and suffer the penalties for doing so). The Administration’s sole concession was to give our institutions one year to comply.

I stand in unity with Catholic bishops throughout the United States and other religious leaders vowing to fight this mandate.

Along with my brother bishops and other religious leaders, I insist that this is a direct attack on our religious freedom and our First Amendment rights. I will work with the bishops, other religious leaders and our fellow Americans to remove this unjust regulation.

If the administration will not rescind this violation of our First Amendment rights, we must call on our elected leaders to do so. I ask you to pray that wisdom and justice may prevail, and work together to restore our religious liberty.

Please join me in continuing to follow the development of this important issue and contacting our elected representatives to seek a just resolution.

Through our Georgia Bulletin, archdiocesan and Georgia Catholic Conference websites and other media, I will keep you up to date on the progress of this important issue.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

  ╬ Wilton D. Gregory Archbishop of Atlanta

10 Really Great Catholic Web Sites by Mark Shea

Here is a great article in OSV by Mark Shea about relevant Catholic websites.  This contains a great list for all of us to have, and many of them are already linked to this site.  Please let me know what you think of these and if there are any others that come to mind.

Fr. Barron on HHS Mandate

Here is the link to Fr. Barron's comments on the HHS mandate regarding the conscience clauses in Obama Care, now the law of the land.  Well worth 7 minutes of your time.

Dolan Video

Here is a direct link to the video:

Archbishop Dolan speaks out on the Conscience Clause

At War with the US Government

Please go to this subpage of the USCCB web site and view Archbishop Dolan's 2 minute video.  Then scroll down and take action.  Our government needs to hear loud and clear that we will not tolerate this arrogant travesty that is trampling upon the first Amendment of the Constitution.  PLEASE do your part!

January 29

We will move ahead this week to Lesson 8, with John Nash facilitating.

Obama Administration Declares War on the Catholic Church

I would hope that you have been paying some attention to the news over the past couple of days.  If so you realize that we are now, as a Church, essentially at War with the Federal Government over the issue of the Conscience Clauses.  If not, here are some links and a little Fox News Video from yesterday to bring you up to speed.


This is simply outrageous and must be fought with all of the strength we can muster.  ALL Christians need to recognize this attack on the Catholic Church for what it truly is…an attack on religion and especially on Christianity.  I fear that getting other denominations to recognize this may be difficult.  Please have this conversation with our Protestant brothers and sisters, ask for their vocal support.  Urge them to support H.R. 1179, the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act by Congressman Fortenberry.


Here are a couple of other links that you might find interesting and hopefully motivating:


Pewspective...Barbara's BLOG See Mass Rock post     


Catholic Vote

National Review

Truth and Charity 7 things you can do

So there you have it, some food for thought and hopefully for ACTION!

Sunday January 22

We will move to Lesson 7 in the DVD series.  This week we will have a lot to cover, as the lesson is titled: Word Made Flesh, True Bread of Heaven:  The mystery of the Liturgy & The Eucharist!  So be thinking of the Mass, what are we doing there and why?  What really happens on the altar?  What is to happen after Mass? (I am NOT thinking of brunch at the Club!  :-) )

Read John 6.  A couple of times!

I suspect we may break this in to two parts again, but we shall see.  It may make sense to let it go all the way through so that we get the full sense of it from Fr. Barron.  This is one of the best ones yet, so plan not to miss it.

See you on Sunday!

Sunday January 15

We will meet and finish up Lesson 6 in Catholicism.  This will focus on the 4 marks of The Church:  One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.  Give some thought to what a "mark" might be, and then to the meaning of each of these four things and how they apply to us and to the place of our Church in the world of today.

A week late and more than a dollar short...

I meant to post this early in the week, but it was one of those weeks at work.  What can I say?  Anyway, I thought the link below about last week's Broncos game and Tim Tebow was kind of fun.  Sports nuts are all about numbers and statistics.  Here are some interesting coincidences for you to think about.  Elizabeth Scalia puts them in perspective.
We shall see how the Broncos fare tonight against the Lions!

Wyoming Catholic College

It is easy to get depressed as we look around us, observing the deterioration of the fabric of our society before our very eyes!  Well if you need a lift upward, some hope for the future and especially if you know of teens in need of a good CATHOLIC education I would suggest that you have a look at THIS VIDEO.
Oh to be able to go to college again!
The above is the trailer for Wisdom in God's Country which is a longer look at the college and its mission.
Enjoy.

January 8

Welcome back!  Class resumes with the next DVD in the series.  We will be dealing with the mystical union of Christ and The Church.  Just what is this thing that we call the Church? Where did it come from? What does it look like?  Why is it here?  There is a lot to explore here so give this some thought and jot down some ideas for discussion.  We will likely get through the first half of DVD 6, chapter 6 if you are reading along in the book as well.