Many of you have seen this post before, but in light of recent events (both Obama's outrageous HHS mandate forcing Catholics to violate their consciences, as well as the unholy backlash after Susan G. Komen for the Cure wisely cut ties with Planned Parenthood), it's good for Catholics to revisit the directive to be kind but not "nice". If you've spent any time on facebook lately, I think you know what I'm talking about!
I hope the wisdom of Bishop Thomas Olmsted, Blessed John Paul II, St. Paul, and Jesus Christ Himself will bolster and refresh you!
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Providential encouragement came to me well over a year ago, in the form of a local crisis pregnancy center's newsletter. It contained excerpts from a speech that our beloved Bishop Thomas Olmsted had recently delivered at a pro-life luncheon. Anyone who knows Bishop Olmsted knows that he is a gentle, kind and holy soul. Not loud, bombastic or combative, but joyful, peaceful and caring. I daresay he is one of the "nicest" men you'll ever meet. He entreats us Catholics:
Do not be "nice"; instead, tell the tough truths. At no place in the Sacred Scriptures does it say: Be nice! However, popular portrayals of Christianity would lead us to think that the first and greatest commandment is niceness.
The English word "nice" comes from the Latin word "nescius" --meaning "ignorant, knowing nothing." In English usage of the 13th century, "nice" meant "foolish, stupid, senseless." Today, it means hurting no one's feelings, without regard to what is true or good or right. Garrison Keillor said, You taught me to be nice, so nice that now I am so full of niceness, I have no sense of right and wrong, no outrage, no passion.
St. Paul writes to Timothy (2 Tim 4:2-4), Proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths....
John Paul II wrote in Evangelium Vitae (#58): The acceptance of abortion in the popular mind and even in law itself, is a telling sign of an extremely dangerous crisis of the moral sense, which is becoming more and more incapable of distinguishing between good and evil, even when the fundamental right to life is at stake. Given such a grave situation, we need now more than ever to have the courage to look the truth in the eye and to call things by their proper name, without yielding to convenient compromises or to the temptation of self-deception.
....So what to do? Should we not recall Jesus' charge: Remember, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. He knows what He is doing.
....Love our enemies. Love is not "nice." Love is kind; it is patient; love does not rejoice in what is wrong, but rejoices in the truth.... Love is best illustrated by Jesus on the Cross, where He forgave those who put Him to death, where He died so that we sinners might have forgiveness and new life. Love is not cowardly but it is fair, while relentlessly opposing all threats to the dignity of human life.
....So, do not be "nice"; be kind and tell the truth. Love your wives, your husbands, your children. Love your enemies. Do not be discouraged.
It was not till later that I realized (duh!) that the word "discourage" has "courage" as its root. We need courage to counteract our dis-courage-ment. And courage just might be the virtue most lacking today among Christians.
A couple of years ago, Danya approached Bishop Olmsted and asked him how we Catholics can best dialogue about the contentious, unpopular and controversial teachings of the Church, especially when we know we will be met with mockery, hostility and personal attacks. This meek and humble man responded that at those times, we must set aside our own fears, anxieties and dread, and we must simply speak the truth.
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In the wake of recent events, the need to speak the truth becomes even more urgent. We Catholics will be misunderstood, mocked and derided for our beliefs, but that shouldn't worry us. As Christ said to us in Matthew 5:11:
Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven….I say, Bring it.
Courage, friends.
Be kind, but not "nice".
Do not be silent, do not fear, and pray unceasingly.
UPDATE: Looks like Komen has caved to the abortion fury. Now someone tell me how to take back my donation.
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Bless you, Leila! I will share this!
ReplyDeleteHi, long-time lurker here :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post. This is sooooo what I needed to read tonight, after "debating" on Facebook with some relatives over what's going on with the Komen Foundation / Planned Parenthood. I don't even want to tell you some of the mean-spirited comments that were aimed my way. Oh, well. Prayers please that I can speak the truth AND hold back my snark!!
Sarah, I have heard the same thing (about the ugliness on facebook) all day long! So much vitriol and hatred being spewed all out of proportion that I swear it's got to be diabolical. When we don't offer up our children as sacrifices to Baal, I guess the devil gets pissed! These poor folks don't even understand that they are being used in a spiritual war.
ReplyDeleteOh, and for anyone who needs a little facebook ammo about PP/Komen, link this to the thread:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.liveaction.org/traffick
Ask them why PP deserves any money at all, when they consistently are willing to aid and abet child sex trafficking? They are outraged at Komen for cutting ties, but not outraged at child sex trafficking?
Oh, and I just donated to Komen today for the first time. I hope you will, too. They need our support now that PP has unleashed its unholy fury on them.
http://ww5.komen.org/
Stop!! Do not donate!!! Komen may have just caved under the pressure. A new statement has been made.
Deletehttp://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/03/us-usa-healthcare-komen-idUSTRE8111WA20120203
I was pretty incensed by that site, but it appears to have debunkers as well http://mediamatters.org/blog/201102010014
DeleteSo the question remains exactly how accurate those are.
Nicholas, please notice that Media Matters didn't actually "debunk" anything. They merely said that PP had already reported the sex traffickers to authorities because they suspected it was a sting.
DeleteUm.
Okay, then... so the policy is to agree to aid sex traffickers, and then call the cops just in case? Why not flatly refuse to aid them out of principle AND call the cops?
I smell CYA action going on. PP is notorious for this sort of thing - check out Roe v . Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, for example.
Nicholas, first of all, my understanding of Media Matters is that it shrills for the left. It has a pro-abortion agenda as strong as Planned Parenthood.
DeleteSecond, that must have been after the first video (I remember this as it played out over the months). There were many videos, all over the nation, of PP employees more than willing to help cover for the pimps and keep the girls in sex slavery. Did you see all the videos in all the cities? You may want to watch them all. Who are you going to believe? Media Matters and PP or your own lying eyes? ;)
God forbid if you as the conservative anti choicer, anti woman oppressor is actually upset because that is Unchristian. I'm so sick and tired of it....If I sugar coated this crap for these people they would still cry that I was in support for oppressing women!
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm done being nice because the truth hurts. Call me dumb all day long. But I'm not the dumb one so dependent on my pill that I'm demanding someone go against their beliefs and pay for it because GASP it's so expensive. I'm not the dumb one that sucks on the pill and doesn't know how it works. And I'm also not dumb enough to know I want their liberal propaganda shoved down my throat?
And it's funny, the people that complain about how expensive the pill is seem to have access to a computer and internet....I can guarantee 50% of them ARE NOT sitting at the library....
Give me a break! Is that nice enough? Or should I put a cherry on top? I'm snarky by nature but at least I'm not hateful as I have been given in these debates. :) Muah!
Oh MY!! You have NO IDEA HOW MUCH I NEEDED TO READ YOUR BLOG today after events of yesterday! I posted on my Facebook page the Susan G. Komen backlash article and was met first with the typical, "Oh, but Planned Parenthood does more than abortions..." comments, which I respectfully dialogued about, but then my own sister-in-law ATTACKED me on my Facebook page. When I removed her posts, she emailed me hateful emails, calling me names like "hypocrite" and "Holier Than Thou." I was really upset about it and told her she was entitled to her opinion but she wasn't allowed to attack me, which she continued to do. Friends advised I let it go, as email is not the way to argue, but I have blocked her from my Facebook page. Last night I was thinking, "I should just let it go and not put controversial things on Facebook," but God told me ABSOLUTELY NOT. I will be respectful of those who do not agree with me, and state my arguments as best I can, but when it comes especially to abortion, I cannot be silent. Their literally are lives at stake. Thank you so much for this blog today, Leila!
ReplyDeleteI've seen my friend count mysteriously drop in the last couple days, between posts about Komen and invites to fast and pray today for our bishops.....or maybe it was that manly article about Atticus Finch? No matter. St. John the Baptist is our patron! He is the ultimate Hard Truth Teller, so completely dead to himself that he didn't care whether you were a poor fisherman or Herod's "wife" you were gonna hear the tough truth. And I don't imagine he spent a lot of time on how to say it gently. Oh, we can try to be gentle about it. Unlike the Baptist, we have the luxury of time. But like him, our aim cannot be the retention of our Respect and Reputation. We must decrease, or be willing to decrease, in order for Him to increase!
ReplyDeleteLeila, I don't fb anymore so have avoided the drama. Have you seen the 180 Movie? Please google it, watch it, post it (if you are so lead.)
ReplyDeleteAll for souls & changing life for eternity.
Hey everyone! I support concentration camps because they provide shelter and little bits of food!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLeila, this is a fantastic post. I usually bite my tongue on FB because it hurts me so much when I learn that people I love and care about have such hard-hearted "morals", so sometimes I would rather not know. That said, my husband's cousin posted about Komen's "Horrible decision" on her wall and I couldn't hold back. Then, my poor husband joined in but got terribly defensive and it all kinda fell apart (sorry, honey, if you're reading this). It felt terrible and the next morning I had somewhat of a debate-hangover due to it. His cousin claimed that "this is not about abortion" that she is still "pro-life". How on earth do people compartmentalize like that?
Your biblical encouragement is invaluable. Thanks again, for your wonderful ministry!
Praying always. Nice post, mama.
ReplyDeleteAnd if facebook withered and died today, I would not mourn it.
Also, when discouraged, I like to think of the scene in the passion where Christ is praying in agony in the garden and the enemy is there trying to instill fear and weakness; Christ finishes praying, stands, visibly shaken in his agony but filled with strength from prayer and stomps the serpent's head. Take that, b.
We have joy amidst the lunacy because we know our king reigns.
You guys rock!!! I am inspired by you. Seriously, wow, such great insight and fight in you! :) :)
ReplyDeleteAnd, I really do want you to use that child sex trafficking link that I posted in the comments, because when I was debating someone on facebook (on a friend's page) and I put that link with those undercover videos there, the young woman changed her tune about PP immediately and said if it's true they should be prosecuted and shut down! And no one else said a word, ha ha!!
Laurie, I loved 180, and I did post it a few months back! Awesome!
Amen sister! And I agree with Sew--no sugarcoating! Sugarcoating this horrible stuff is how our society gets into these messes in the first place...b/c "sugarcoating" is basically just a thinly veiled form of justification.
ReplyDeleteLeila, thanks for that link. When we were in a debate on FB with my husband's cousin (as I said before), she said that the criminal investigations regarding sex trafficking and medicaid fraud was all "right-wing religious propaganda".
ReplyDelete::bangs head against the wall::
Great points! I often hear the other side say that Christianity is all about 'tolerance' in reference to liberal views on homosexuality, abortion, etc. But is that word even in the bible?
ReplyDeleteNope. LOVE is. Do you tolerate your children? Nope, you love them. Tolerate thy neighbor as thyself? Nope, love.
Thank you for posting this, and I will share it with others. I deactivated my Facebook account last month as a New Year resolution. I have no regrets, so far. Too often I ran into the problems described in the above comments when there were political and religious so-called discussions.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying, gosh! :)
ReplyDeleteJK, I think I've done well so far. I'm flying off the handle in private (poor husband) about it all, but when I'm dialoguing with them I tend to go okay. The truth hurts. And I only speak the truth.
Ok...I have been thinking and thinking about this. DD your story is heartbreaking. But, we all have to be smart about this. Bend over backwards to keep the conversation going. When I was pro-life for myself but pro-choice for everyone else, and sending PP money, it was the gentle, careful words of Bernard Nathanson that really turned the tide in my brain. He carefully outlined how his thinking gradually changed. Open the dialogue with people by recognizing that much of their anger at Komen is because they do actually care about poor women who need breast exams. Explain your position but keep highlighting your common ground. After all, the personhood of the persons angry with your views is just as important as the personhood of an unborn child. You have to win the hearts and minds...Dr. Nathanson said it was the patient LOVE of the anti-abortion protesters that melted his heart. That and actually witnessing an ultrasound... THink very carefully about what you are trying to say...edit and re-edit your words. Keep the objective in mind...alienating someone is a loss.
ReplyDeleteDon't you think that it is interesting that nobody is TAKING AWAY anyones right to birth control. We are just asking that we don't have to prescribe it against our conscious and the uproar is unbelievable....(I do realize it isn't about birth control but religious freedom etc...) But I just find it odd that they act as though the mandate is against them. When it's not. ??
ReplyDeleteWe need a bumper sticker that says, "Pay for your own birth control."
ReplyDeleteI am so glad I am not on FaceBook.
I will send a check to Susan G. Komen fund since I know my money won't go to PP.
I think a lot of people care more about having free birth control than they care about the right to have religious liberty.
"I think a lot of people care more about having free birth control than they care about the right to have religious liberty."
ReplyDeleteLena, you got that right. And why must I subsidize others' sex lives, again? I've never asked anyone to subsidize mine!
Lena, I'd buy that bumper sticker, lol!
ReplyDeleteYeehaw! Bring it! Indeed. It's probably actually good that people get nasty (anonymously) on Facebook so you can interact with them and show them courage. I think there are a lot of adults today who have honestly never seen real courage.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, as always, Leila. There's just something about saying "Bring it!" that is so cool. :-)
Very sad: Fri Feb 3, 2012 11:28am EST
ReplyDelete(Reuters) - Susan G. Komen for the Cure said on Friday it was retreating from a decision to cut funding to Planned Parenthood, which provides abortion and birth control services, and apologized for a move that thrust the world's largest breast cancer charity into a deeply politicized controversy.
"We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities," Komen said in a statement.
(Reporting By Michele Gershberg; editing by Jackie Frank)
Wimps, those Susan G. Komen people. Glad I didn't send my money to them.
ReplyDeleteI meant to say weak. Wimps is name calling.
ReplyDeleteHow do I get my donation back?????
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry for shamelessly link-dropping, but this goes with the "bring it" attitude and it's something we women can do by directly speaking to our doctors.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.acceptingabundance.com/i-shouldnt-have-waited-for-the-bishops/
In the 1800's abortion actually was criminalized in the U.S. and it was because doctors crusaded against it, they spoke out strongly and influenced the legislature to take action. If that ever can happen again, it could start with us ladies inspiring our doctors to take action. I seriously believe that many OB/GYN's don't even know the dangers of contraception.
Has it gone through yet? Maybe your bank can block it???
ReplyDeleteKomen's site is flooded and not working.
ReplyDeleteThe credit card company says I can dispute it when it shows up in three days, and they will remove it. Whew!
ReplyDeleteKomen's server is down now. Too busy. So many pro-aborts rejoicing. Remember this is ALL about abortion rights. Read their comments. It's all about abortion. To kill one's own child in the womb is the highest good they can see on this earth. It truly is. All else be damned.
I'm so sick about them caving to pressure, but not surprised. You have to be REALLY truly convicted to withstand that terrible pro-choice pressure coming from everyone, even the media. And since Komen didn't do it for pro-life reasons, they unfortunately didn't have a chance.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm gladly fasting from fb today, after the craziness of the last couple days. I go on there and literally start shaking. And I was all ready to complain to my husband about it last and have him tell me not to worry, when HE came home from work shaken from all the pro-choice talk there as well! Ugh.
Good, Leila. Shame on them. They just got an email from me. Not that it matters. I hope they get sued.
ReplyDeleteAbortion is the modern day child sacrifice to the gods. The gods will not be appeased. You can see that from this reaction. It is all about abortion. It's not about anything more than that, this fury that you see against Komen. All the fury of hell will come out if you so much as blink at their right to sacrifice their children at the altar of "my body, my choice".
ReplyDeleteThis is a good teaching moment. Very interesting to watch the ugly scenes and cowardice play out.
Yup, Satan at work.
ReplyDeleteThere's just something about saying "Bring it!" that is so cool. :-)
ReplyDeleteFor a jolt when you need encouragement, give the song, "Bring It" by Trapt, a listen. Gets heavy rotation on the workout playlist around here. I like to see what the speakers are capable of.
Nubby! Have you seen the ant eater on interest that has his hands up with the caption "Bring it, Bro" has to be my favorite picture and my current day motto!
DeleteNubby, I will!!! Thank you. Haha.
DeleteWe are called to love, right? Why does Nancy Pelosi make that so hard? How do you love someone that says giving less to a facility that makes it easy and cheap to "undo" a decision to have sex, and make a fatal decision that cannot be unregretted with "detriment to women's health"? I HATE that she is "Catholic". Can we vote and excommunicate her? Yeah, I know, not within our span of control.
ReplyDeleteThey should give your money back to you! It's like if a wedding doesn't go thorugh as planned, you return the gifts! They should return all donations made in the past 2 days at least. Stupid moron idiots. Wait, that wasn't nice, was it?:)
ReplyDeleteOooh, fun song, Nubby!
ReplyDeleteColleen, I'm hoping that with the HHS Mandate, the bishops will stand up and excommunicate all of the "Catholic" politicians. It NEEDS to be done.
ReplyDeleteanger management failing . . . . botox injections put an unnatural, unwrinkled face on "Catholics" like Biden and Pelosi just like "women's health" puts a false face on the sheer ugliness and evil of abortion on demand inclusive of the morning after pill.
ReplyDeleteStarting to feel feelings of discouragement and anger. Those are not from God. (go away!!!!) As of this moment, I am starting a week-long FB fast so that I can pray and focus on this. I never prayed to thank God that Komen defunded PP to begin with. Time to start now.
ReplyDeleteMe TOO, Kara!
ReplyDeleteHere in Chicagoland I have relatives by marriage that were part of Mob families and they were excommunicated and joined the 7th Day Adventists. The Mob families killed far less than legalized and well-funded abortion mills like Planned Parenthood. OK, I'll stop for awhile.
ReplyDeleteI am saddened, but not surprised at all about Komen's caving.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry that you - and anyone else who donated to Komen after they decided to stop contributing to Planned Parenthood - got snookered out of money.
Honestly, what little money I have to donate, I donate in manner where my donation is direct, such as my local pregnancy crisis center. I have little to no faith that funds donated to large, centralized organizations will be used for the purposes intended, instead of for inflated administrative costs, or funneled to other organizations of whom I might not approve.
*in a manner
ReplyDeleteOne more thought: I think all of the private donations and vocal support of PP proves that PP can/should be cut off from public funds.
Classic, Sew. Haven't seen it, will look it up!
ReplyDeleteCan't hear anything right now, "Bring It" is blaring in my house and even the holy water bottle is shaking.
Not saying we Catholics go stewing for fights, but damn it all, somedays are just fighting days LIKE TODAY
Girl from New York, exactly!! They should have to earn their own donations from people that WANT to fund them.
ReplyDeleteNubby, you crack me up. Bring it!!!!
I just wanted to say that after reading some of these comments on facebook, I am SOOOOOO glad I got rid of my fb a couple of months ago. I have come to the conclusion that fb is straight out of the bowels of hell.
ReplyDeleteAs far as komen goes, I dislike it even more now. PP saves womens' lives? Really?
There is a very good article on the First Things blog today regarding the HHS mandate. Examining the Obama Administration's arguments in the Hosanna-Tabor case shows that the contraceptive mandate is not a "one-off product of the peculiar relationship between Barack Obama, Kathleen Sibelius, and the pro-choice feminist Left" but a very clear trend.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2012/02/03/the-obama-admininstrations-crabbed-vision-of-religious-liberty/
Kara-
ReplyDelete:)
Is it wrong if my kids don't yet know their tenants of faith but they play some mean air drums?
Komen?! What the!
Get ur $ back guys!
Hold on a minute. If (that is, hopefully "when")dirt is brought up by the congressional investigation, PP still won't have any grants renewed because of criminal activies. So, nothing really changes, except Komen makes more people happy: http://www.jillstanek.com/2012/02/decoding-komens-supposed-cave/
ReplyDeleteMy FB thread about this is a prime example. I had a pro-PP friend freak out on me, demanding to know how I could be pro-life and yet be happy about women dying (*eyeroll*).
ReplyDeleteWhen I calmly explained why, she freaked out again, accused me of lying and went off on a tangent about embryonic stem cells curing Parkinson's in China, but the same therapy couldn't be used here because of us mean pro-lifers.
I was curious so I Googled, and it turns out those treatments use ADULT stem cells. Did she ever return to see the refutation of her arguments? Probably not. *sigh*
I've told this story on the blog before as well. An old high school classmate of mine posted a pro-Planned Parenthood image on her Facebook wall a few days ago, to which I replied to along the lines of, "Well, to me, all the alleged 'good' PP does is outweighed by all of the children they've killed."
Now, my friend was upset because she actually works for the Planned Parenthood in her city, although the center she works at doesn't do abortions (yet, she said with some chagrin, the patients are still "harassed" by protesters!)
She went on a long spiel about how the PP she works at is the ONLY place in her city where low-income women can get health care, including mammograms (I kind of doubt that as her city is quite large - for example, they have a Mayo Clinic, so I'm thinking they have to have at least one other clinic at which low-income women can get free or reduced-cost health care).
I went to the PP website, located the clinic at which she works, and scanned their "services we offer" page... in which it clearly states that their center does not perform mammograms, but only manual breast exams. So I posted the link in the discussion, and asked, "If your PP clinic is the ONLY place in [City] for low-income women to get mammograms, why does its website state that they don't do mammograms?"
Crickets. She never responded (and she also ignored my additional question about how exactly the protesters "harass" the clinic's patients -- apparently standing on the public sidewalk in silent prayer is harassment?).
It just boggles my mind that someone who works at the clinic itself could still believe and parrot the lie that PP does mammograms! The self-deception some people go through to justify their actions is unbelievable.
JoAnna, are you kidding me?????
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, please make that comment a blog post. I mean, seriously?????
UGH!!
Where is the integrity? Or critical thinking? I think, as Dennis Prager has said, the left bases everything on emotion. I have seen it time and time again.
Colleen, whoa! R.E.O., still reserving judgement. Girl from New York, great points! And LJP, can't wait to read it!
Thank you, Mary, for your words of wisdom. I decided not to stop posting and noted on my FB page that as long as people were respectful, an open debate is good for all of us.
ReplyDeleteDD
A "friend" of mine from college today referred to me as "Sean Hannity" and accused me of "pretending to be older than my age" (we are both 34) and "putting a blanket over my head" and "supporting bigotry" for saying that contraception is not the answer to all the world's problems even though that ideology is promoted with religious zeal by the left.
ReplyDeleteI gave statistics and scientific facts. He offered up his own sex life as an example of how "teenagers are incapable of self control". The whole thing was both frustrating and entertaining on multiple levels. (I think my favorite part was when he posted a cartoon of Skeletor as his response to my reasoned rebuttal.)
My only caveat that I would bring up in this fight is that many of our "opponents" will automatically dismiss any source of information that is deemed "too religious" or biased. I love Live Action, but I would not use them as a resource in debates (especially since they are not good about linking to their resources). I try to look for scientific journals and mainstream media accounts, so that they are less likely to be summarily dismissed out of hand.
I debated this with some people on facebook yesterday (before SGK wimped out), when I saw a friend post that she would never give one more dime of her money to SGK in protest of this action. The group went on to agree, with statements about SGK's questionable policies and budget issues. Some were valid concerns - yet none were objecting to these policies before SGK defunded PP.
ReplyDeleteI asked how they'd feel if they were forced to keep giving money to SGK, regardless of what they thought of their policies or agenda. (How outraged would you be THEN, hmm?)
Yeah... there's a religious exemption for the HHS mandate.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/02/01/health-reform-preventive-services-and-religious-institutions
You're welcome. :)
I got a migraine today from the stress of all of this and how it's coming out on FB and most of the people I know who are for PP haven't been saying too much, but it's causing me anxiety anyway.
ReplyDeleteJen yeah a narrow one. Not one that would keep faithful Catholics from having to provide it. That clarification says nothing different from the original bill.
ReplyDeleteJen, are you being facetious? This is just the official statement of the policy as we already knew it. The religious exemption does not apply to religious-run hospitals, schools, or other charitable works organizations or other employers who hold to a faith system that believes that contraception is intrinsically evil and that paying for it for others is just as much of a sin as taking it yourself.
ReplyDeleteJen, that is a complete joke of an exception! It is meaningless. We already knew that churches proper will be "exempt", but not any Catholic institution or entity that hires or serves non-Catholics! For example, Catholic hospitals, schools, charities, etc!
ReplyDeleteThe White House's little "statement" of how amazing they are and how much they've done for Catholics just makes me a little bit more energized and ready to fight them just a little bit harder. I despise disingenuousness.
Jen, this may help you understand. It takes your linked page and goes through each bullet point: http://www.usccb.org/news/2012/12-020.cfm
ReplyDeleteMeg, that last response to that last bullet point is just….wow! It's hard to believe that this is even happening, but that last paragraph says it all. That is where we are, and that is who Obama is.
ReplyDeleteWow. It's like the USCCB read my blog from yesterday! ;-) haha
ReplyDeleteThank you, thank you, thank you for this post! I really needed to read this. I have been entrenched in FB debates about these issues, and it is so disheartening. And it is hard for me to avoid worrying about the opinions of my friends and family. I always worry that I could push someone away if something isn't worded perfectly, or that I will lose the respect of friends and family for openly addressing controversial issues. I feel like we need to consistently and respectfully speak the truth and address error when it stands in front of us....but "fear, anxieties, and dread" describe my feelings every time I start typing! A black cloud descends, as it feels so much is at stake and I am really so small. This renewed my resolve and courage and, just maybe, the fears, anxieties and dread will back off a little :).
ReplyDeleteI actually am starting to think this HHS mandate just put the nail in the coffin for Obama's presidency. If what he's done hadn't already, this will cost him the election because it will cost him the Catholic vote. Even in liberal MA letters saying "we CANNOT comply" were read in parishes all over this weekend. The letter our bishop wrote was one of the strongest worded smack-downs I've read yet. I almost cheered, my husband had to hold me down.
ReplyDeletePeggy Noonan's article is excellent this weekend: http://online.wsj.com/article/declarations.html#articleTabs%3Darticle
There are over 1,000 comments already.
God bless all of you for hanging in there in discussions about SGK/PP and the HHS mandate. I only have a few friends on fb - 123! What a loser! :) and apparently they are not a terribly diverse group, and I'm ok with that. I posted about SGK, saying it was madness for them to fund an organization that is a major provider of the very things that contribute to breast cancer. The first person to comment was an acquaintance who works for PP and she said it was madness for SGK to defund a group that does so much good. I asked her to explain why specifically SGK should fund them but she had already unfriended me. I wonder if she even knew that the Pill is a class one carcinogen.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, hang in there, all of you who are in the fight, speaking the truth and being pummeled for it. The advice to read and re-read your messages before posting them is good advice, as is the advice to post non-religious sources when possible. Along those lines, I am amazed that the World Health Organization includes the Pill on its list of cancer-causing agents, and suspect that the more we reference it, the more political pressure there will be for them to remove the Pill from the list, so I also advise that you save a copy of the list as it is now in case they revise it.
I was just reading a well worded essay on this topic on CNN by a Keith Soko. He dissents, but raises some good questions. However, the comments are terrifying. One person said this,
ReplyDelete"I heartily wish that all the so-called "Christians" would simply keep their religion out of my politics and my life. You cannot legislate morality. Period. It has never worked in the history of humanity, and it never will.
Go on believing in your biblical prognostications, continue to live as YOU believe Christ taught, but do NOT step over the line into trying to legislate what I may do with my body and any collection of parasitic cells that takes root in it. Until that collection of cells can survive without its parasitic attachment to the host, it's not A HUMAN LIFE. I cannot imagine why that is so hard to understand, nor why the Church has to be so hypocritical."
Later someone compares a growing fetus to cancer, and says they are waiting for the Church to declare that cancer has a right to life.
These comments make me think we have gone over the edge.
Ugh, Mary, those comments are awful. The sad thing is that they are so easily refuted, but the people who hold them are too ignorant to listen to any challenges to their worldview. For example:
ReplyDelete"We can't legislate morality!" Okay, let's strike down all laws prohibiting rape, murder, theft, child pornography, etc..
"Unborn children are parasites!" Actually, no, by definition a parasite is of a different species from the host, and unborn children are homo sapiens.
"Unborn children are cancer!" Actually, cancer is defined by abnormal, unregulated, malignant cell growth, whereas fetal cell development is very normal, very well-regulated, and benign.
It's just pathetic, really.
These comments make me think we have gone over the edge.
ReplyDeleteMary, we have gone over the edge. That's why, as much as I got flack for saying it in a post a while back, it really is necessary to take a side. As Professor B said, in this culture war, "We don't really want the same things, do we?"
We are definitely at a crossroads in our nation.
JoAnna, it is definitely pathetic, as you so clearly illustrated.
I like this link from Libertarians for Life, which also addresses the "parasite" issue:
http://www.l4l.org/library/notparas.html
And they conclude with a great little statement:
Briefly, as libertarians, we strongly agree that women as well as men have the right to control their own bodies. Nonetheless, we hold that under principles of individual liberty, parents have the obligation to support their dependent children. Our children have a right to our support, whether they are in the crib or in the womb.
In regard to keeping the truth going on your FB or other social accounts, I hope you will share the following links. I am trying hard to find research regarding oral contraceptives, abortion and breast cancer, and as someone stated above, I am trying to find non-religious websites for the information. It is not too hard, since the religious websites give enough information that you can google and find other sources for the facts, but we really have to get the truth out. Here are a couple of sources of information:
ReplyDeletehttp://blog.beliefnet.com/deaconsbench/2010/01/doctor-changes-position-on-abortion-breast-cancer-link.html
Also, a direct research link:
http://authors.fhcrc.org/236/1/MaloneKCEBP030909.pdf
Leila, I searched for you on FB but couldn't find you. Who'd ever guess that there were that many people around with your name! If any of you would like to find me on FB, my name is Sharon Grant and my profile photo is a photo from Occupy Somewhere that says, "I'm so angry I made a sign". I would really appreciate seeing any links you have that can help get the truth out about the Pill/abortion/breast cancer link. The more I find, the more angry it makes me. This is all very time consuming so any work you've already done that I can piggyback on would be greatly appreciated.
Leila,
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post! It is very encouraging, though the comments are sobering. Also, can someone provide the link to the WHO list of carcinogens that includes the Pill? I'm having trouble finding it and want to save a copy. Thanks!
Being Refined - here is a list of carcinogens from the American Cancer Society.
ReplyDeleteThank you JoAnna! Reading it out now!
ReplyDeleteI am a practicing Catholic, have never used BC, and clearly understand all the moral and health arguments against it. I want to evangelize. However, right now, I fear that debating birth control is only going to convince people that the Catholic Church wants to control non-Catholics use of BC. We need to be very clear that fighting the mandate is a fight for religious freedom...it in no way impacts their rights to use BC or the availability of BC. I already received a push-pole that essentially asked if I was for the Republicans attempt to "take away women's birth control benefits". Asking if a Church's beliefs should over-ride a woman's right to get birth control. It has nothing to do with their right to BC, it is about our right to not have to pay for it!
ReplyDeleteAre women willing to sell the basic right to follow our conscience for the cost of birth control? Do they understand that a government that can force our church to pay for their BC against our conscience, could force them to do things that they are morally against as well? Do they see the danger in allowing a president to just ignore our constitutional rights? Can they see the bigger fight here, the fight that is threatening what our country was founded on?
The media and the administration will do all it can to make this out to be a fight for the right to use BC. It is our job to make sure their lie is exposed.
One other thing,
ReplyDeleteRan into a "nice" comment from a Catholic on my friends fb page. After a debate about the 95% BC usage of Catholics, a Catholic posted that people shouldn't debate who is a real Catholic because Jesus calls even sinners to his table, we are all sinners and His grace still abounds.
I tried to "kindly" respond that we were discussing "practicing Catholics", a judgement of actions, not "real" Catholics a judgment of person. That Jesus calls sinners to REPENT and come to his table...if you go to his table in mortal sin you are commiting a sacrilege. That we are all sinners but that a grave or mortal sin (with all definitive parameters met) removes God's life (grace) from your soul. So God's grace still abounds, but a person in mortal sin is separated from Him.
I am sure she thought she was being "nice." I saw it as downright dangerous to the souls reading it.
Sounds like many of the pp supporters out there are not trying to be nice or kind...what a shock!
Komen.....that's pathetic.
ReplyDeleteThey "misunderstood" their own policy......who can even say that with a straight face?
Looks like Komen forgot the old lessons from the playground. When you back down and give into bullies you lose EVERYONE's respect.
Are "progressive" Americans ready to take this HHS mandate and the contraceptive mentality to it's logical next step?
ReplyDeleteA long-shot to draw a link between contraception and pedophilia? I think not.
Hi Leila - I just read on another board that someone wrote Komen requesting their donation be returned and received a reply that it was being processed. I think that would be a good route for people to go - it gives the opportunity to express regret over the reversal in a kind but firm manner.
ReplyDeleteLJP, I just read that article, and you read my mind! Clearly, Planned Parenthood is ready to take that step, and I wrote about it, here:
ReplyDeletehttp://littlecatholicbubble.blogspot.com/2011/09/normalizing-pedophilia-next-stop-on.html
Iamlori, thank you!
ReplyDeleteRick Santorum's wins are partly due to ANGER over the HHS mandate! This is going to be a galvanizing point for people of faith all over this country. Go Rick!
ReplyDeleteI spent practically the whole weekend on the Susan G. Komen website after they decided to fund PP again. It was awful! Every post I wrote trying to speak up for the unborn babies, the pro-abortion people had a retort to: they lashed out at me, ridiculed me, and bullied me. They kept on trying to twist my words around and run me off the page, BUT I DID NOT BACK DOWN! The next day at Mass, the Franciscan Friar proclaimed that God wants us to spread the Gospel. So I prayed about it and somehow got the courage to return to the Susan G. Komen page. I used a different tactic this time. I used quotes about Blessed Theresa of Calcutta. I also noticed that many women were saying they used contraceptives to deal with bad cramps. So I shared my story about having endometriosis stage four, having monster cramps for most of my life, but No, I never used contraceptives, and why. I shared with them about Napro. Some people on the Susan G. Komen page claimed they were medical people and how dare I say this about contraceptives, ect. They tried so hard to discredit me. My retort: "I lived with endometriosis and bad cramps all my life. You haven't." Again, I wouldn't let them try to bully me. A few women thanked me for my post and shared their experiences with Napro too, which was great! But my worst experience in that room was when a woman came on there and told everyone she was getting an abortion the next day. I emailed that woman offering to adopt her baby and included my plea on the Susan G. Komen post. The Pro-abortion people got rather nasty and said: "Neither she nor I am a breeder for infertile woman" ect, which yes, did sting! Here I was trying to do a good thing, trying to save that baby, and they attacked me. But again, I have found many of the women on that Susan G. Komen FB page were bullies. When I tried to speak up for the unborn and they retorted: what about the victims of rape and incest?" and I answered: "Why should that unborn baby be punished for the sins of the father?" ect. one woman came back and told me: "I hope you are raped someday!" Very vicious! Finally two days later when a woman started retorting about an "owl swooping down and giving me knowledge and wisdom" my husband told me that was Satanic Symbolism and please leave that room! So I did. But I still haven't recovered from being in that room. I can't believe there are so many women out there that that just think an unborn baby is a bunch of cells or tissue, that aborting a baby is NOT murder, that I am the selfish one because I want to save the unborn babies, and that some of these pro-abortion women can be so heartless and mean! The other day I was at a medical appointment and some of their comments especially the "I hope you are raped", "abortion is not murder", and "we are not breeders for the infertile" and almost started crying! I just hope and pray that being in that room for three days off and on helped save some unborn babies and converted some women back to God and His Commandments. I have been praying my rosary very hard for all these women, all men and women who have had abortions, and for the end of abortion! This is a topic very near and dear to my heart!
ReplyDeleteprayrosary4life@aol.com
Maria