The Catholic Church's position on contraceptives, as well as other issues, has been long standing and well known. The Church's mission is to spread the good news of the Gospel to all who would accept it of their own free will.
The current controversy, let us remember, occurred after HHS issued an edict that health insurance coverage would be mandatory in the Church's policies for its employees. It is the government, going beyond its constitutional powers, that created the issue, not the Church!
In accordance with the first of the Bill of Rights: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;---". Catholics and all persons of faith have the right to practice their religion as their conscience dictates. It should not matter to others, best of all the government, what our private beliefs are.
Just let us be!
It could be argued that the Republicans party's stance on gay marriage is a similar issue, but in the opposite direction: politicians using their religious beliefs as basis for legislation that goes out of its way to deny someone the right to marry freely. I understand the contraception issue is very sensitive to many people, but it seems like a public health issue more than an affront on a church's belief system. The administration's initial goal with health care legislation was to get maximum coverage for the maximum number of people, which i think we can agree is a good idea in theory. Maybe forcing insuring entities to cover things that they dont personally believe in is a stretch of their power, but I didnt see it as an attack on the Catholic Church, rather an effort to give everyone the opportunity for good health care if they want it without incurring unnecessary costs.
ReplyDeleteWhether inadvertent or not, the HHS mandate that the Church be compelled to provide and pay for contraceptive coverage for its employees is a direct affront to the Bill of Rights. We need not know the motives of the proponents or their intended purposes to recognize the actual adverse results.
ReplyDeleteIn his comment, Ryan raises the issue of gay marriage. It is well known that the Catholic Church, as well as many other churches, teach that marriage is intended to be between a man and woman. By the same token, however, Christian Churches also teach that each individual is worthy in the sight of God and are strong advocates of social justice.
This is a complex and emotional issue which each of us is left to ponder There have been proposals to resolve it by legalizing "Civil Unions" which would provide legal rights to gay couples. But the issue has been so demagogued and sensationalized by both sides, that reasonable discourse is next to impossible.
I appreciate that the first amendment guarantees the Church the right to freely practice its religion. I just think its gets a little trickier/murkier when the Church is an employer/insurance provider to large numbers of people. I know they could choose to work somewhere else if it was a big enough issue to them. Anyway, point is taken.
ReplyDeleteIt is then true Norm that the health policy of the employees of the church specifically state no contraceptives or abortion or do they leave that up to their members to hold dear. Also I understood it was also to make these institutions perform these acts . Through out history many a D& C has been questionable.
ReplyDeleteKathy: Besides being blatantly unconstitutional, the danger in this mandate is we don't know where it might lead. Once someone accepts something like this, it becomes the "new normal" and opens the door to more of the same. Before you realize it, the freedom you once had is diminished if not gone. I think that's true of any of our freedoms. Two of my favorite quotes are: "It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once" (David Hume) and "What has always made the state a hell on earth has been precisely that man has tried to make it his heaven" (Holderlin). Both are quoted in: "The Road to Serfdom" F.A. Hayek.
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