Catholic Organizations Sue Obama Admin. Over Contraceptive Mandate

Nancy Pelosi told us “we have to pass the bill to know what’s in it,” (NMP) Obama said “If you like your health insurance, you can keep it.” We were told that the more we know about Obamacare, the more we’d like it. How’s that working out?

(CNS News) The Archdiocese of New York, headed by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., headed by Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the University of Notre Dame, and 40 other Catholic dioceses and organizations around the country announced on Monday that they are suing the Obama administration for violating their freedom of religion, which is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution.

The dioceses and organizations, in different combinations, are filing 12 different lawsuits filed in federal courts around the country.

The Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. has established a special website–preservereligiousfreedom.org–to explain its lawsuit and present news and developments concerning it.

“This lawsuit is about an unprecedented attack by the federal government on one of America’s most cherished freedoms: the freedom to practice one’s religion without government interference,” the archdiocese says on the website. “It is not about whether people have access to certain services; it is about whether the government may force religious institutions and individuals to facilitate and fund services which violate their religious beliefs.”

It’s not often that lawsuits are filed about being able to freely practice one’s religion. They’re usually about removing religion from view, filed by people with delicate sensibilities. The 1st Amendment states that Congress shall pass no law denying the free practice of religion, and that is what Obamacare has done, in giving HHS the power to simply create any rule they want.

Liberals may not like this suit, in their kneejerk, thoughtless support of Obama and socialized government run healthcare, but this will highlight whether or not Liberals support the Constitution/Bill Of Rights. The NY Sun writes

Congratulations are in order for the Catholic Church, whose archdioceses in America went to federal court today to challenge the Obama administration on the contraception mandates. Something like a dozen federal lawsuits were filed against the administration by something on the order of 43 plaintiffs, including the Archdiocese of New York, among others, and the crown jewel in Catholic education in America, Notre Dame.* It seems the liberal institutions within the Catholic world have come together with the conservative ones to stand up for the rights of religious Catholics — and by extension, the rest of us — to be free of government mandates in respect of their religion.

This also begs the question “how will Catholics vote in November?” The Washington Post’s Michael Gerson discusses, and notices Obama’s flagging Catholic support. Obama seems to be doing everything possible to annoy Catholics, as well as other groups. His campaign is not about bringing people together, but dividing them.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

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9 Responses to “Catholic Organizations Sue Obama Admin. Over Contraceptive Mandate”

  1. Vigilante says:

    Catholics say:

    We do not seek to impose our religious beliefs on others; we simply ask that the Government not impose its values on the University when those values conflict with our religious teachings.

    Does that mean the courts should allow Catholic teachers and preacher to continue their practice of pedophilia unmolested?

  2. gitarcarver says:

    Does that mean the courts should allow Catholic teachers and preacher to continue their practice of pedophilia unmolested?

    The above question shows the extent of the education system in this country and how it is wasted.

  3. Woody says:

    So if they win on the contraception mandate will they support the rest of Obamacare?

  4. Vigilante, pedophilia is not a religious belief for Catholics (though it is part of Islam), buy a failing of individuals. Is pedophilia a standard practice of the Teachers Unions, because there sure seems to be quite a few teachers having sex with underage students.

    Nice strawman, though.

  5. gitarcarver says:

    So if they win on the contraception mandate will they support the rest of Obamacare?

    This too is a strawman.

    The objection to Obamacare is not whether people “like” it or not, but whether it is Constitutional or not.

    Obamacare is not a popularity contest, no matter how much Obama and others on the left want it to be.

  6. Woody says:

    My question was not a “strawman”. It was a question. If some groups only object to Obamacare because of the contraception mandate, will those groups support Obamacare if the mandate is removed? See there,that’s a question.
    I’m against the entire program, not just bits and pieces of it; I’m not so sure the Catholic bishops feel the same.

  7. Gumball_Brains says:

    It was my impression from news and online discussions that Obama Admin had gotten prior approval from the Catholic leaders and they were in full support of ObamaCare. They too had not read the bill. It was not until ObamaCare started pressing this current issue and throwing in to the public arena, that ( i believe) they had to come out and take a stand.

    What I am worried about is this:

    “This lawsuit is about an unprecedented attack by the federal government on one of America’s most cherished freedoms: the freedom to practice one’s religion without government interference,” the archdiocese says on the website.

    How many times have we seen a prisoner demand religious freedom to do something to to have something prevented because of their “religious” freedom?

    Are we opening a door here that can’t be closed? Will muslims begin demanding religious freedom to operate within Sharia Laws? How about other religions that Christianity does not approve of?

    Remember, freedom of speech was initially meant to protect the ability to protest against the state. But in the last 50-70 years it has turned in to a free-porn right. Will the Freedom of Religion now turn in to a free-from-moral-laws right?

  8. gitarcarver says:

    Are we opening a door here that can’t be closed?

    No.

    There are current laws in place that prevent a person from being forced to act against their widely held and accepted religious beliefs.

    It is not that institutions are trying to expand religion or religious freedoms, it is that the administration is trying to walk over established law.

  9. Brujo Blanco says:

    Socialists that have any degree of success have acted the same way that Obama is now. That is the removal of civil one at a time by desteoying each of those rights one at a time. While doing so they will claim they are doing you a favor. One method used is to get people to do things they believe to be morally reprehensible.

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