December 28 is the Feast of the Holy Innocents. These are the male children who were murdered by King Herod in an attempt to kill the Christ Child.
There was an ancient prophecy going back to the time of the Patriarch Jacob.
His beloved wife Rachael died right out side of where Bethlehem would be built. She died having Benjamin, her second son.
Genesis 35:16-20 states, "Then they departed from Bethel; but while they still had some distance to go on the way to Ephrath, Rachel began to be in labor and to suffer great distress. When her pangs were most severe, her midwife said to her, 'Have no fear! This time, too, you have a son'. With her last breath--for she was at the point of death--she called him Benoni; his father, however, named him Benjamin. This Rachel dies; and she was buried on the road to Ephrath that is, Bethlehem. Jacob set up a memorial stone on her grave, and the same monument marks Rachel's grave to this day".
Jeremiah 31:15 states, "Thus says the Lord: In Ramah is heard the sound of moaning, of bitter weeping! Rachel mourns her children, she refuses to be consoled because her children are no more". This is a prophecy of the end of Rachel's mourning, we read the fulfillment of this prophecy Matthew 2:16-18 says, "When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he ascertained from the magi. Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet: 'A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more".
What brings an end to Rachel's mourning is the Christ who lives to free all those in captivity.
Jeremiah 15:16 says, "Thus says the Lord: Cease your cries of mourning, wipe the tears from your eyes. The sorrow you have shown shall have it's reward, says the Lord, they shall return from the enemy's land".
Jeremiah is prophesying that the children of Israel would return from the Babylonian Captivity, but even more than that!
During the time of Jeremiah, Ramah became the staging area where the Babylonians began rounding up the Jews in 587 B.C. The word "Ramah" would be understood in Jeremiah's time, like the "Twin Towers" would be understood in our time.
As the Jewish people were being deported to Babylon, the Mothers and family members could not be consoled as they wailed aloud because their children were deported with no hope of return.
Jeremiah's description of what King Herod would do at Bethlehem would be as terrible as the memory of what happened in Ramah.
The scene at Ramah certainly reminds me what happened to the Jews in Nazi Germany during World War II. This was so terrible that the Nation of Israel was recreated and recognized by the United Nations in May of 1948.
I want to come back to the fourth oracle of Balaam. Enemies of Israel were trying to get the Prophet of God to curse Israel so they could overcome Israel.
Do we not see and understand how secularism today is working to curse the People of God today?
Revelation 21:3-4 says, "I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, God's dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them as their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or morning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away".
We are living in a New Testament, a new Covenant, a new age. Rachel's children are in heaven with Rachel.
We are reminded of the massacre of Herod because what we see today with abortion heaven hears the cry of the silent scream.
Heaven intervened with the plight of the Indian's in Mexico in 1531 putting an end to the human sacrifices conducted there, heaven again responds to the atrocities committed against humanity today.
Jesus institutes the Ministry of the Divine Mercy.
The more we spread the message of His Divine Mercy, the more children will be saved from the Herod's of our time.
The war upon the unborn child continues and the latest battle front is taking place in the State of Texas.
I've been following the story this past week when Senator Wendy Davis, Democrat-Fort Worth, staged a filibuster that prevented a crucial vote that would have prevented abortions after 20 weeks of gestation.
Sen Davis was celebrated as a hero on different talk shows en-kindling a rebirth on the subject of abortion in the public eye.
Thankfully, Governor Rick Perry is dedicated in trying to limit abortion in Texas trying to stand up for all life. In the State of Texas there are annually nearly 80,000 abortions which equates to about 225 abortions per day.
To the pro-abortionist, the right to have an abortion is considered an extreme right of women.
This ties centrally to the radical feminine movement which has lead to a higher elevated state of rebellion. This has lead many into witchcraft, lesbian practice, and radical left-wing agendas.
This is certainly tied into the political movement to suppress the freedom of religion in the United States and the attack on the Catholic Church specifically.
Over the past few years, the polls have constantly shown a public shift to the opposition of abortion on demand, and for the restriction of abortion. The National Organization of Women (the NOW Gang) had been reduced to slowing growth.
The current battle shaping in Texas is re-energizing the radical feminist movement and it is important for the Church to stand up in the face of it, just like they do in the subsequent video.
This story is becoming known through good people on Face-book, which is how I found it.
It is important that the Church does not remain silent but be willing to take the battle back to the street.
I am so proud and thankful of those who were present in Texas who were willing to stand up for Children, for the rights of all people, and for our faith. Something beautiful and dramatic in singing Amazing Grace in a public setting, especially when the radical feminists are praising Satan.
This video speaks for itself, listen to the Pro-life crowd singing Amazing
Grace, then listen to the pro-abortion group, they are chanting "Hail
Satan", this can not be any more clear that abortion is a Satanic
sacrifice. It is heating up in Texas!
While in my travels across Missouri, I had the opportunity to work with people from across the Country who are strongly pro-life and work towards ending abortion.
There is a frustration that after 38 years, many politicians are "pro-life" to get the votes for political purposes.
The ending of abortion is not the primary mission to them as keeping the battle is giving them votes.
We need to put a stop to abortion after 38 years and nearly 60,000,000 unborn children sacrificed to the god of convenience.
There are many people to thank for their hospitality and love supporting us ensuring that we were never in need on this journey. The food was really great everywhere we went before and after the Rally for Life on 22 January 2011 at Jefferson City at the Capital Building.
It was at one such dinner engagement that the following story develops. As the Ladies were preparing dinner, I was sitting at the dining room table with a small group of people.
It is important to note that the vast majority of those present were Catholic, but there was this one Pentecostal friend who began to discuss his thoughts on the Catholic Church. Being the Catholic Defender, what is the obvious response? You got it, a fun debate ensues.
As we began to enter into this discussion, people began to gather around because most of them have never heard a Catholic response to some of the Protestant accusations.
My Pentecostal friend was not an ignorant man. He was a Doctor very dedicated to his beliefs. He also ran for office in the State of Ohio and lost by a small majority. He is a very articulate speaker. But on this night, at this time, he had the misfortune of challenging the Catholic Defender in his own backyard (lol).
Don't you just love the rhetoric? His challenge was quick and to the point. He felt that we, as Catholics, were "idol worshipers" because our belief in Jesus in the Eucharist.
My first response to this was John 6:53-56, "Jesus said to them, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him".
I shared with him that just as people in those days had problems with this teaching, many people today can't accept this either. His response was a bit odd to me, he began to reason that if you believe in transubstantiation, then you are in effect saying you are God?
That sense of reasoning made no sense to me. Especially coming from a Pentecostal who has no problem recognizing the Holy Spirit entering into people's hearts. I responded back to him the importance of the definition of transubstantiation and the 4th Lateran Council in 1215.
Pope Innocent III was having to deal with heresies at that time especially attacking the apostolic teaching on the Eucharist. New "gospels" developed by "Fr" John Huss and John Wycliffe challenged the Lord Jesus Christ denying the truths of the Catholic Church.
The problem wasn't so much the vernacular version of the bible as much as it were the problems associated with misinterpreting the scriptures. Those were tough times in those days as the common man still did not know how to read and write.
The ignorance of people made it difficult, so the priests were expected to teach the word as they have always done from the tradition of the Apostles. Acts 2:42 states, "They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers".
That is the Mass! They did not carry bibles with them to Mass to hear the Apostles teach. The Word was proclaimed to them. I also refereed to Matthew 28:19, "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you".
Jesus didn't say to hand out bibles here, the Catholic Church hands out the scriptures to enrich us with the very sacred text itself. In the beginning, this had to be developed just as the understanding of the apostolic witness.
The Church has no power to change the teachings of Christ. People who have took that upon themselves do so at their own peril.
The response to this was even more odd as my friend began to question how long does Christ remain in you. Is Christ present in waste. That was a bit over the top to me, it is believed that the Lord's presence leaves before that process. Actually, his presence is spiritual once consumption was completed and dissolved into the body.
I took it to 1 Corinthians 11:16, "The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ"?The obvious answer is yes. By this time some of the women were gathering around listening in. I think they were there longer, but this was when I noticed we were gaining an audience behind me.
I next went to 1 Corinthians 11:27-30, "Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are ill and infirm, and a considerable number were dying".
By this time, my Pentecostal friend began to recognize Christ was present in a "sense". I responded that Jesus was present totally, body, blood, soul, and divinity.
To illustrate this point, I moved to Luke 24:30, "And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight".
I continued following verse 33-35, "So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, 'The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon'! Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread".
I shared a number of Eucharistic Miracles to show that we still recognize Jesus being made known to us through the "breaking of the bread".
He challenged me questioning if this happens at every Mass? I responded, Yes! As a result of this opportunity to tell the truth, I was able to share with him this thought: If we disagree on the truth of the Eucharist, it would be dishonest to call Catholics "idol worshipers" as you now understand what Catholics believe.
At this point another friend who had claimed to have left the Catholic Faith began to consider the points I was making. That was very important to me.
Also several of the Ladies who had been listening in on the discussion all came to me wanting more on the Catholic Faith. It was a great experience to share the truth of God's holy Church!
It was 1995, Troop Medical Clinic (TMC) 3, I had just transferred to MEDDAC at Ft. Campbell from the Rakassans, 3/187 Infantry.
I had been with them for nearly 5 years and now I am assigned to the TMC that supported the Rakassans.
That is a world of difference, but it would still be challenging.
One day, a female Soldier comes to my office and wanted to talk to me.
I took her to an exam room where she could talk in privacy.
She took a few moments until, finally, she wanted to talk to me about an abortion she had recently committed.
She was not married; she was having difficulty coping with what she done.
I asked her if she was Catholic and she replied “no”, that she was a member of the Assemblies of God. She told me that she had not been practicing her faith for some time.
I encouraged her to make an appointment with her Pastor, or find her unit’s Chaplain if she needed to speak with a Professional.
I wanted to encourage her to get the kind of help she needed from her spiritual tradition.
That was not the time to discuss religion except that I told her I was Catholic.
I told her that as a representative of Christ, I forgive her for what she did. I think she needed to hear that.
We spoke for a short time but her issue and concern stuck with me for a good while.
I have always been pro-life, politically; I have always supported pro-life Candidates for all elections.
Since that time, I have felt a compassion for those who have had abortions who live with the knowledge they killed their children.
Despair can set in and take control of a young life. There was a national suicide hot line based out of California that reported 45% of those calling them for help were over abortion.
Allot of women are faced with many issues that can make them feel trapped.
Many times it is parents who are pressuring them to have abortions; sometimes it is a boy friend or even husband that pressures them.
Sometimes, it is the Mother who wants to end their pregnancies.
I have spoken with women who displayed great courage and dedication giving life to their child. Other times, the child never had a chance.
Since 1973, we have had more than 50,000,000 babies killed by abortion.
We have basically wiped out a generation of people who are not able to speak for themselves; they are forever silent except on that great and glorious day of the Lord. Their voice will be heard then.
In order to change lives, we must also work to change conditions that give women support and encouragement.
Love within the families, having a strong Father and Mother role model is very important.
That is almost counterculture in today’s society as divorce is common, the family unit is under attack, and people are all over the country separated from loved ones.
Children are being raised without Fathers. Many Father’s are not acting responsible towards their children.
In many cases, the Mother is trying to carry the load. Many Father’s do not lead by example.
As a result, many Daughters do not have a healthy image of Fathers or Mothers.
That has made it difficult for them to see God the Father or the Blessed Virgin Mary.
I have been watching some of the debates on FOX News and can't help respond to one of the liberals who appear on there speaking as if women are supportive to abortion as a voting block.
I think the women's vote will be more pro-life than what the NOW Gang care to admit.
Most Americans oppose abortion on demand so depending on who is asking the question, abortion advocates can bend results.
Women's issues will aways need to be front and center, but liberals sugar coat the issues as they compete for tax dollars such as Planned Parenthood.
The Federal Government has paid billions supporting abortion many using this as a birth control.
Millions of woman have fell into this trap, a sad consequence of the sexual revolution, a battlefield where often times women are the casualties.
Where women are made objects and not respected as a child of God.
The answer really is found in Jesus Christ, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
The problem and challenge is getting Christians to follow the Lord living out his teaching.
To heal the family, individuals, we need God's love, forgiveness, and mercy. Love and Compassion does not equal toleration and acceptance.
Heaven intervened when the Virgin Mary appeared to St. Juan Diego in 1531 to stop human sacrifice.
Today, we call upon the Lord and His Mother to end the human sacrifices today.
I want to thank my close and good friend, Secret Agent Man (deepertruth's "Guardian Angel") for his trusting me and asking me to participate in this effort to stop abortion.
It has been a great honor to have played a role in this event.
Recently, while at an abortion clinic in Arizona, partly through efforts of The Guardian Angel, another baby was saved from certain extermination.
NARAL Pro-CHOICE America is calling on all the anti-life bloggers to blog for CHOICE.“Blog for CHOICE Day”, they call it.Well I am going to "Blog for CHOICE" as well,but unlike them, I will be very specific about what CHOICE I am blogging about.
The definition of CHOICE is: the right or opportunity of choosing, having an alternative. So I have to ask those who call themselves pro-CHOICE, what are you choosing, what are the alternatives given to women in a crisis pregnancy?The stats of our nation’s number one abortion provider, Planned Parenthood,shows that 96.3%of their services to pregnant women in 2008 were abortions and the other 3.7% were adoptions and prenatal care. *So with that, we can come to the conclusion, that to them CHOICE means ABORTION, with obviously little focus on any alternatives.
Now what is interesting, on NARAL’s website, it writes about Crisis Pregnancy Centers and has this to say “While CPCs may falsely suggest that they provide a full range of reproductive health services, they clearly do not.” Well that’s a very disingenuous statement coming from a movement, that cant own up to what their CHOICE is and how little CHOICE women are given at abortion “clinics”. They also, don’t ever call themselves, by what they really are, abortion “clinics”, but disguise their name as “women “health” centers.
If we look at women who have had abortions, 64% of American women felt pressured by others, more than half felt rushed or uncertain, yet 67% received no counseling, 79% were not told about available alternatives, 84% said they were not fully informed.** Does this sound like CHOICE to you?Is CHOICE coerced, rushed and uninformed ?
It certainly is no secret that Crisis Pregnancy Centers do not provide abortion services nor do they refer women to the NO-CHOICE abortion mills, because some choices are ugly and wrong.CPC’s provide women and their unborn child, with the help they need , to get through the pregnancy, support their child, or put that child up for adoption.They are given alternatives that they won’t regret, they are given information to make the CHOICE best for both them and their child, and they are not forced or coerced to make the decision that is best for the both of them.Now, doesn’t that sound more like CHOICE?And don’t ALL WOMEN and their unborn children deserve the best CHOICES, regardless of how that pregnancy came about?
The anti-life movement, has hijacked the word CHOICE,they misuse and distort its meaning, doing so, because they can’t fess up, to what their CHOICE really is.ABORTION.If you support something which is so ugly, you can’t use the word, maybe you should rethink what you are CHOOSING!
So based on the facts, wouldn’t it be more appropriate for NARAL to call upon their bloggers to “Blog for ABORTION Day”?or “Blog for NO CHOICE day?”
Tomorrow, hundreds of thousands of supporters of CHOICE will be marching in Washington D.C. They will be marching for the right choices, they will be marching for the CHOICE that gives life, not takes life, the CHOICE that heals, not harms. The Author of Life, will not bless America, until America truly becomes pro-CHOICE.
" I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live" Deut 30:19.
This blog was submitted by Deeper Truth member - Margie Sindelar
If you are in, or know someone who is in a crisis pregnancy, call 1-800-395-HELP.
In the world of apologetics, it is easy to stay motivated responding to the attacks of the Anti-Catholics which is most important.
James 1:27 tells us, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world".
Certainly this includes being unstained by false doctrines and false philosophy.
The acceptance of worldly humanistic values. We are to stay faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Faith.
St. James does recognize this importance, but he also sees importance to care for those who can not help themselves.
The orphans and widows represent the poor.
Jesus reminded Judas that the Church would always have the poor to support (John 12:8) but that he would not always be with us.
At least not in the normal presence, as Jesus is with us in and through his Catholic Church. Mother Theresa recognized Jesus in the poor she cared for so diligently.
Recently, I learned that there are hundreds of thousands of Senior Citizens who live without family in homes where they are left alone.
They no longer are part of their family structure as they become conveniently laid aside. Many of them barely get a picture of loved ones let alone a phone call or personal visit.
There are millions of children abused and neglected in the greatest country of the world.
There have been nearly 60,000,000 abortions in America since 1973. When we see people hurting, Jesus is reflected in their lives. The Lord's word soon come to life, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me (Matthew 25:40).
The Catholic Church as an institution has done far more good to help the poor maintaining hospitals for the sick, orphanages for orphans, safe houses for runaways, soup kitchens for the hungry, and many other important causes in our day.
The pro-life cause is one of the most important battles of our time, the care of the Mothers, the helping the sinner who has lost their way because they were caught stained by the world.
Jesus, through his Church cures the sick and restores the prodigals.
There is still much to be done. Catholics, let's not become complacent and lose ground in the battle for souls. Get involved in your Parish, support your Priest and help out your Diocese.
Money is not always the most important thing, sometimes your time and effort goes along way.
Let's not be caught looking through "Rose Colored Stain Glass Windows" and may we be found serving our Lord in the needs of serving his people.
On 18 February, 2011 the House of Representatives voted to block Federal aid for Planned Parenthood by a 240-185 vote.
I believe the liberal Democrats in the Senate will plan to put up a fight of resistance and try to kill the bill.
I have to ask the question; how long will it take before the Church really decides to get involved?
Not just the Catholic Church, but all Churches who call themselves Christian. How long will it take before America says it is enough, after 38 years and 60,000,000 abortions that it is enough and time to end this holocaust.
November 2, 2010 we elected a new Congress to bring change to get our economy going in the right direction, but also to get the Government out of the baby-killing business.
This past January all across the United States, thousands of people participated in pro-life demonstrations. People braved the cold weather, the snow and ice in many States such as Jefferson City Missouri.
Planned Parenthood has been hit hard the past few weeks because of their members being caught on video giving advice to pimps wanting to procure abortions for underage girls.
It is reported that this kind of problem is widespread among the workers at Planned Parenthood.
If they are ultra liberal in their thinking supporting abortion, how much does it show that these very liberals are based in anti-Christian bias. They do not care about you as a patient, they see you as an opportunity.
Fox News has reported recently that the American people have decidedly shifted to a pro-life stance regarding the vast majority of abortions.
In the early going, the pro-abortionist would try to gain ground using "rape", " incest", "mother's life", "deformation of the child" as their means to gain public sympathy and support. All this represented about 1% of all abortions.
That has changed considerably today.
When you hear pro-abortion advocates today, it is a "woman's right to choose", "it is between a woman and her 'doctor".
Of course the doctor is wanting to conduct the abortion so it takes no excuse or diagnosis to procure an abortion.
The abortion industry is not interested in giving women a real choice, not really.
They are after the child.
Planned Parenthood makes most of their money from performing abortion using nearly $400,000,000 tax payers money for their business.
Other social services they render are used as a front so Planned Parenthood would not stand long without providing abortion services.
The time to act is now, the time for the Church to rise up is now. Every 20 seconds, a child is killed in America by abortion.
Heaven is counting on you, just as Cortez fought to put an end to the human sacrifice he encountered in his time, so now it is just as important today.
The Virgin Mary appeared to St. Juan Diego in 1531 giving us the miracle of the tilma. She advocates life.
As she was able to bring about change to a culture of death in those times, may she become an important message of life today.
God is raising great men and women today to do his will, we have to respond now while there is still time.
The battle continues to be between the woman and the serpent, between her seed and the serpents.
The problem is not political but moral. So much of the anti-family forces are coming from anti-Christian neo-Pagan sources. They want to destroy our Christian foundations. Now is the time to act.
2 Corinthians 6:1-2 states, "Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says: In an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you. Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation".
It's time we stop speaking in riddles, but be straight forward. Riddles can get you in trouble:
Can you imagine a world where a court would claim
that the religious practice of taking the foreskins of young Jewish
boys is an affront to the child's individual rights and yet in the Land
of the Free 9 days prior to this event it is perfectly legal to kill
them?
Well, you're living in it, folks.
Illegal in Cologne, Germany
(They tried to ban it in San Francisco)
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been hijacked by an elitist leftist group of Progressives.
I recently wrote "Obama's War on Catholicism" that I share my concern for the future of our Country.
Today, the Catholics issued a letter to be read in all our Parish's informing the public of the HHS ruling. This will affect each and everyone of us.
What it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.
Our Shephards are calling for us to stand up and be counted.
First pray for the Bishops as they are going to be targeted.
Pray for all our Priests who will have to lead the fight. Pray for the whole people of God that religious libverty will be fully maintained. The following is a response from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:
BackGround: THE NEW FEDERAL MANDATE FOR CONTRACEPTION/STERILIZATION COVERAGE
On August 1, 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued an 'interim final rule' to require virtually all private health plans to include coverage for all FDA-approved prescription contraceptives, female sterilization procedures, and related 'patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity.' These are listed among 'preventive services for women' that all health plans will have to include without co-pays or other cost-sharing -- even if the insurer, the employer or other plan sponsor, or the woman herself object to such coverage. There have been many protests, including formal comments filed with the HHS by many organizations and a petition signed by over 430 Catholic leaders (see www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/conscience-protection/). However, on January 20, 2012, HHC decided not to make any significant change in its rule. Important points:
1. Pregnancy Not a Disease
- The mandate treats a healthy pregnancy as a disease in need of 'prevention,' like breast cancer or AIDS (which other 'preventative services' on HHS's list do legitimately seek to prevent). In reality, some of the mandated contraceptives are associated with an increased risk of AIDS, blood clots leading to stroke, and other ailments. Inclusion of these drugs places HHS's efforts to prevent disease at war with itself.
- The claim that greater access to contraceptives will reduce abortions is not supported by the facts (http://old.usccb.org/prolife/issues/contraception/contraception-fact-sheet-3-17-11.pdf). The contraceptive mandate's strongest advocates are groups that perform and promote abortion, who hope a coverage mandate for 'prevention' will encourage government and others to see abortion as a 'cure'.
- Everyone deserves access to basic life-affirming health care, and health care reform is supposed to serve that goal. The effect of this mandate is just the opposite, as it pressures organizations to drop their health coverage for emplyees and others altogether if they have a moral or religious objection to these particular item.
2 The Problem of Abortifacient Drugs
- By requiring coverage for all drugs approved for contraception and 'emergency contraception' by the FDA, the mandate includes drugs that can interfere with implantation in the womb and therefore destroy the early human embryo.
- One such drug already approved, 'Ella' (ulipristal), is similar to the abortion drug RU-486 in its formula and its ability to cause an abortion in the first weeks of pregnancy. The new health care reform law forbids HHS to mandate coverage of abortion, but it is doing so here.
3 Violating Religious Freedom and Rights of Conscience
- The rule has an incredible narrow religious exemption for 'religious employers' (not insurers, schools with student health plans, or families purchasing insurance). Even religious employers are exempt only if their purpose is to inculcate religious doctrine, they hire and serve mainly people of their own faith, and they qualify as a church or religious order in a narrow part of the tax code. Most religious institutions providing health, educational or charitable services to others have no protection. Jesus himself would not qualify as 'religious enough,' since he healed the needy regardless of religious affiliation and taught followers to do the same (see the parable of the Good Samaritan).
- HHC says this exemption is like those enacted by most states that have a contraceptive coverage mandate, but that is false. None of the state mandates covers as wide an array of health plans, and the great majority have broader protection for religious freedom.
- Many federal laws exempt individuals and institutions from having to take part in health services against their moral or religious convictions; some of these laws specifically protect from forced involvement in contraception or sterilization (http://old.usccb.org/prolife/issues/abortion/crmay08.pdf). HHS is violating this long federal tradition, and needs to return to it. Congress should also appreve the 'Respect for Rights of Conscience Act' (H.R. 1179, S. 1467) to ensure that this happens.
THE HHS MANDATE FOR CONTRACEPTION/STERILIZATION COVERAGE: AN ATTACK OF RIGHTS OF CONSCIENCE
How important is the right of conscience in American tradition?
It has always been a paramount importance: 'No provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to man than that which protects the rights of conscience against enterprises of the civil authority' (Thomas Jefferson, 1809). In the past, has the federal government respected conscientious objections to procedures such as sterilization that may violate religious beliefs or moral convictions? Yes. For example, a law in effect since 1973 says that no individual is required to take part in 'any part of a health service program or research activity funded in whole or in part under a program administered by the Secretary of Health and Human Services' if it is 'contrary to his religious beliefs or moral convictions' (42 USC 300a-7 (d). Even the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, which requires most of its health plans to cover contraception, exempts religiously affiliated plans and protects the conscience rights of health professionals in the other plans. Currently no federal law requires anyone to purchase, sell, sponsor, or be covered by a private health plan that violates his or her consscience.
How has the Department of Health and Human Services departed from this policy?
By Issuing a mandate for coverage of sterization and contraceptives (including long-lasting injections and implants, and 'morning-after pills' that may cause an early abortion) in virtually all private health plans. In August 2011 HHS included these procedures in a list of 'preventive services for women' to be required in health plans issued on or after August 1, 2012. On January 20,2012, HHS reaffirmed its mandate while deferring enforcement against some religious employers until August 2013.
Is it appropriate to require coverage of these as 'preventive services'?
No. The other services on HHS's list seek to prevent serious disease - breast cancer, lung cancer, AIDS. Pregnancy is not a disease. The Institute of Medicine committee that compiled the 'preventive services' list for HHS said in its report that unintended pregnancy is a 'condition for which safe and effective prevention and treatment' need to be more widely available - setting the stage for mandated coverage of abortion as the 'treatment' when prevention fails. Note that women who suffer from infertility, which really is an illness, were ignored in this mandate.
Didn't HHS include a religious exemption?
Yes, an incredibly narrow 'religious employer' exemption that fails to protect many, perhaps most, religious employers. To be eligible an organization must meet four strict criteria, including the requirement that it both hire and serve primarily people of its own faith. Catholic schools and hospitals would have to eject their non-Catholic employees, students and patients, or purchase health coverage that violates their moral and religious teaching. Jesus and his apostles would not have been 'religious enough' for the exemption, since they healed and served people of different faiths. The exemption provides no protection at all to sponsors and providers of health plans for the general public, to pr0-life people who own business, or to individuals with a moral or religious objection to these procedures.
Isn't this an aspect of the Administration's drive for broader access to health care for all?
Whether or not it was intended that way, it has the opposite effect. People will not be free to keep the coverage they have now that respects their convictions. Organizations with many employees will have to violate their consciences or stop offering health benefits altogether. And resources needed to provide basic health care to the uninsured will be used instead to facilitate IUDs and Depo-Provera for those who already had ample coverage. This is a diversion away from universal health care.
But won't this provide 'free birth control' for American women?
That claim is false for two reasons. First, the coverage will be mandated, not a matter of free choice for any woman. Second, insurance companies will not be able to charge a co-pay or deductible for the coverage, so they will simply add the cost to the standard premium everyone has to pay - and among those being required to pay will be people who oppse it on conscience grounds. That is not victory for freedom.
By objecting to this coverage, is the Catholic Church discriminating against women?
Not at all. The Church's teaching against early abortion is based on respect for all human life, male and female. It's teaching against contraception and sterilization is based on respect for the power to help generate a new human life, a power held by both men and women - so health plans in accord with Catholic teaching do not cover male or female sterilization. It is the HHS mandate that shows disregard for women, by forcing them to purchase this coverage whether they want it or not.
Do religious employers violate the consciences of women who want birth control, by refusing to cover it in their employee health plans?
No, they simply decline to provide active support for procedures that violate their own consciences. If an employee disagrees, he or she can simply purchase that coverage or those procedures elsewhere.
What solution to this dispute would be acceptable?
Ideally, HHS can leave the law the way it has always been, so those who provide, sponsor and purchase health coverage can make their own decisions about whether to include these procedures without the federal government imposing one answer on everyone. If HHS refuses, it will be especially urgent for Congress to pass the 'Respect for Rights of Conscience Act' (HR 1179/S. 1467). to prevent health care reform act from being used to violate insurers' and purchasers' moral and religious beliefs.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, acting as Shephards, are alerting the faithful to the coming danger that will ensnare us all if we do not stand up against this terrible threat against human life and religious freedom.
This November will be the most important elections in our times. Pray the Rosary for the conversion of sinners, pray and fast for our nation as it is in great need for the Church to take a stand.
December 28 is the Feast of the Holy Innocents. These are the male children who were murdered by King Herod in an attempt to kill the Christ Child.
This is a prophecy of the end of Rachel's mourning, we read the fulfillment of this prophecy Matthew 2:16-18 says, "When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he ascertained from the magi. Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet: 'A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more".
We are living in a New Testament, a new Covenant, a new age. Rachel's children are in heaven with Rachel.
