Obamacare and Religious Freedom
American President Barack Hussein Obama wants to implant a socialist state in America which will control the entire society. This is not a secret to those who do not rely on the Obama media. However, he faces several obstacles.
One is the Constitution of the United States which is intrinsically anti-socialist. Another obstacle is a Catholic Church strengthened with faithful American bishops in communion with the Bishop of Rome, the Pope.
Interestingly, the President attacked both obstacles on February 2012 by undermining the religious freedom protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution, and by trying to undermine the authority of the bishops by mandating some Catholic institutions to offer in their insurance policies sterilization services and birth control pills, including those which induce abortion.
Naturally, these are services which the Church considers sinful. As a result, the Catholic Church will take this matter to the courts to prove that Obamacare and the Department of Health and Human Services are in violation of the religious freedom and freedom of conscience protected by the Constitution.
The Government’s Position and a Response
Obama supporters respond by arguing that many Catholics use birth control pills and that some “Catholic” organizations back the President. They argue that this issue is not a constitutional one, but simply an effort to give women access to birth control.
This response by government supporters leads to some counter-arguments and reflections:
· This is a constitutional matter because the Church is being coerced by the government to sell products or to participate in activities it considers sinful, and contrary to Her teachings, and this is a violation of the First Amendment.
· The fact that some Catholics use birth control pills is totally meaningless as an argument on behalf of artificial birth control because they are not the head of the Church. The truth is that the head of the Church is Christ and the bishops must look to Him and not to the people to make faithful decisions.
· Many so-called “Catholic” groups supporting Obama are not Catholic at all, for they are not under the authority of the bishops and are not following Catholic teachings, and some are financed by anti-Catholic billionaires.
· Which constitutional principle gives the President the right to force an insurance company to give “free” birth control pills to its policyholders?
· Why should some insurance policyholders pay for the products involved in the sexual acts of other insured people?
· Will the order by the government to give free pills be compensated by the insurance companies with higher premiums for other more important medical items, or with dropping them from their policies?
· Over 80 per cent of women already get birth control pills through their insurance policies and in America there are many ways to get inexpensive or even free pills, so why is Obama picking on the Catholic Church to provide these products?
· Will the government next force the Catholic Church to pay for abortions?
The Sacred and the Veil
The truth is that the Catholic Church’s teachings on life exist in a totally different moral universe compared to the socialist agenda of the government. The Obama world is alien to any sense of the sacred.
And yet, man, made in the image and likeness of God, must abide by a moral order to live as he ought. In this moral order he will come in touch with the sacred and respect it.
For instance, when the ancient people of Israel carried the Ark of the Covenant, they covered it with a veil for it was considered sacred. The same applies to that part of the Jewish Temple considered most sacred, and which was covered by a veil.
Also, the Tabernacle in the Catholic sanctuary, where the body of Christ resides, has a veil at its entrance to respect the sacred.
The Veil before the Womb: Sacred Space, Sacred Place
Not surprisingly, girls are also created with a veil covering and protecting their private parts. This is not because girls and women are sacred. After all, only God is intrinsically sacred. It is because in the womb, God, men and women collaborate in the creation of human beings, who have a soul. This makes the womb a sacred place and a sacred space.
This veil is at the entrance of the vagina which leads to the uterus. It is called the hymen. It is not there by accident. The veil is a sign that there is something important, something sacred that takes place in the womb. Therefore, it is not there to be ravished or abused with hormones, chemicals and other toxic elements in a birth control pill and in other anti-life devices implanted in this sacred place and sacred space.
The Church’s Teachings on Female Purity
The Church understands that today She is competing against the “religion of the self”, which tells people that they have the right to do whatever they want with their bodies and souls.
On the other hand, the Church teaches that we are created by a loving God who has revealed to us the proper way to live and that we have to surrender to Him and to His teachings to find joy.
The Church recommends the following:
- Maintaining virginity, that is, the physical and spiritual veil until marriage, though She understands that those who have unwisely lost their virginity before marriage can restore a spiritual virginity by remaining in abstinence until their marriage.
- Having sex within marriage so if the woman becomes pregnant there is a family unit to raise and love the child, for over 40 per cent of our children do not have a family.
- Encouraging those living together unmarried but committed to each other in a loving way to marry as soon as possible.
- Opening the marriage to life.
- Preserving the life of the unborn.
- Using natural family planning if there is a need to prevent conception.
- Preserving marriage so that women and their children do not go from partner to partner, a behavior which hurts the mother and the children.
The Church’s main concern is maintaining the purity of the girls, their happiness within their marriage, and their desire for children. However, the Church will not force people to follow Her rules. The Church opens the door to those who want to leave Her, but has always Her doors open to those who want to return to Her.
Natural Family Planning
Fortunately, Catholics who want to control their procreation can rely on many methods which go under the name of “natural family planning”. They have up to 98 per cent success rate in avoiding pregnancy.
Natural family planning does not require paying large sums of money to the “pharmaceutical industrial complex” and it does not lead to many medical problems associated with the pill, such as strokes.
Unfortunately, the cultural elites do not want our girls to know about natural alternatives to artificial birth control. Amazingly, only one per cent of those using natural family planning end up in divorce.
Conclusion
The Church has awakened to see a power-hungry, ideologically driven and truth-challenged President trying to undermine Her. In addition, many of Her members do not practice Her teachings. This is a time for prayer, penance, courage and love for Catholics so they are able to defend both the Church and the Republic.
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I love everything that my dear friend and brother in Christ Dr. Munoz writes but this piece has got to be my favorite of all his writing. God bless you, German!
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A serious threat to religious freedom