Pro-abort lesbians attack Catholic archbishop

The time of the persecution of Christians is in Europe.

On January 13, 2013, 1.4 million Christians, including children and the elderly, peacefully marched in support of traditional marriage in Paris and were met with tear gas and batons.

On January 24, 2013, despite the overwhelming disapproval of the French populace of homosexual marriage, the socialists-dominated French parliament approved legislation authorizing same-sex couples to marry and to adopt children.

Two days ago in Brussels, Belgium, an archbishop of the Catholic Church was attacked by four enraged pro-abortion lesbians who doused the priest with water from bottles shaped in the image of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.

John-Henry Westen reports for LifeSiteNews that on April 23, 2013 at the ULB University in Brussels, Belgium, four topless women shouted and cursed as they attacked the head of the Catholic Church in Belgium, Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard, by dousing him with water.

The archbishop, who was at the university to participate in a debate on blasphemy law, remained calmly seated with his eyes serenely closed in prayer.

The four women, representing the “feminist” pro-abortion homosexual group FEMEN, took to the stage where they disrobed to reveal black-painted slogans on their bare chests and backs, such as “my body my rules,” and “anus dei is coming.” “Anus dei” is their mockery of Agnus Dei (Lamb of God), a liturgical prayer addressed to Christ as Savior. The women also held signs reading “stop homophobia”. The women doused the archbishop with water from bottles formed in the image of Blessed Mary, the mother of Christ.

For most of the attack, which lasted a number of minutes before the women could be forced off stage, Archbishop Leonard sat drenched with water with eyes closed in prayer. After the ordeal, the archbishop reverently kissed the image of the Virgin Mary on one of the water bottles that was used in the attack.

Le Soir reports that one of the interveners said of the archbishop: “He was very calm and maintained a position of prayer. I have to believe he was praying for us.”

According to FEMEN, Tuesday’s attack was spurred by an interview three weeks ago where Archbishop Leonard said that when speaking to Christians who are inclined to homosexuality he suggests celibacy, as is required for all single persons.

The FEMEN incident is not the first time Leonard has been attacked for standing up for the Church’s teachings on homosexuality and expressing his concern for those who live the homosexual lifestyle.

• In 2007, then Bishop-of-Namur Leonard was accused of an offense against the Belgian anti-racism act for calling homosexual acts “abnormal”.  He was cleared of homophobia charges in 2008 after appearing in court.
• In 2010, as the new archbishop of Brussels, Leonard was targeted by homosexualist groups, and condemned by the country’s prime minister, for speaking the truth — that AIDS is a consequence of risky sexual behavior, including homosexual sexual activity.
• Also in 2010 Leonard was attacked at his Cathedral by a man who shoved a cherry pie in the archbishop’s face.
• In 2011, homosexual activists at the Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve near Brussels threw a custard pie in Leonard’s face.

Archbishop Leonard has been a great supporter for the pro-life movement in Belgium, speaking at their inaugural March for Life in 2010.

Below are more — uncensored — pictures of the demonic attack on Archbishop Leonard (Source: De Standaard).

Eye bleach alert!!!!

Please pray for Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard and for the Church in Europe.

Our time, too, will come and may already be here. Cardinal Francis George of Chicago had warned us about the coming persecution. Alarmed at Obama’s war against the Catholic Church and against religious liberty, Cardinal George said “I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison, and his successor will die a martyr in the public square.”

In the days before the November 6, 2012 presidential elections, Obama had urged his supporters to “vote for revenge,” while his malevolent senior adviser consigliere, the Iran-born Marxist Valerie Jarrett, vowed:

“After we win this election, it’s our turn. Payback time. Everyone not with us is against us and they better be ready because we don’t forget. The ones who helped us will be rewarded, the ones who opposed us will get what they deserve. There is going to be hell to pay. Congress won’t be a problem for us this time. No election to worry about after this is over and we have two judges ready to go.”

My brothers and sisters in Christ, let us “put on the armor of God” and stand “firm against the tactics of the devil … on the evil day.” And “having done everything,” we hold our ground and “stand fast,” with our “loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,” our “feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace” and “in all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” (Ephesians 6)

H/t FOTM’s Christine Hall & MD Hobbit

~Eowyn

Will Chief Justice John Roberts be blackmailed (again) to rule in favor of same-sex marriage?

Today is the second day of the Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) deliberations on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act and, by implication, of same-sex marriage.

I woke up to a network TV reporter intoning that SCOTUS’s decision will hang on two justices: Anthony Kennedy and John Roberts.

God help us.

Recall that Chief Justice John Roberts was the critical vote that accounted for SCOTUS’s ruling in favor of Obamacare last June, by upholding the most controversial part of the “health care” law — individual mandate. SCOTUS’s “reasoning” was that the Individual Mandate is a tax, and it is within Congress’ power to tax (and spend).

Roberts’ vote on the side of the leftist justices came as a rude surprise to Conservatives. By all accounts, Obamacare was set to be defeated. Five of the conservative justices had even prepared a majority opinion against Obamacare, until one of them — John Roberts — at the 11th hour,  changed his mind, and switched his vote. The formerly majority opinion had to be quickly re-written as a minority dissent.

Roberts’ 11th-hour abrupt switch confounded everyone. Why would an alleged “strict constructionist” who ought to favor limiting governmental power in favor of individual choice, turn into the fifth and deciding vote for Obamacare, which is already changing the United States as we’ve known it. And at the last minute?

L to r: John, Jack, Jane, Josie Roberts, Oct. 3, 2005. Do those kids look Latin American to you?

A HuffPo article in 2012 claimed that “a source close to the Roberts family, who requested anonymity in order to discuss judicial deliberations, told The Huffington Post that the justice’s wife, Jane, exercises a ‘heavy influence’ over her husband.” Jane Sullivan Roberts is described by Lisa McElroy, author of the biography John Roberts: Chief Justice, as “a very intelligent and high-powered lawyer in her own right.”

Below is an account of what could have led John Roberts to switch betray. (Note: The essay is quite long and should be relegated to the realm of unconfirmed rumors.) Briefly, the contention is that Roberts was blackmailed to switch his vote because he and his wife had illegally adopted two infants from Ireland. The Roberts children are now 12 to 13 years old.

According to a 2009 article in Irish America, John and Jane Roberts are part-owners of a little cottage in Knocklong County Limerick, Ireland, not far from Jane’s mother’s home place in Charleville on the Limerick/Cork border. John Roberts is also of Irish stock, as well as Welsh and Czech.

Since both John and Jane Roberts are practicing Catholics, and the Catholic Church is most decidedly against same-sex marriage (notwithstanding the heretical stance of “liberal” nuns and priests), if Roberts casts his lot in favor of same-sex marriage, it will lend credence to the blackmail rumor.

The following (long) article was first posted on LibertyCaucus.net, and then republished by other sites. (Warning: If you go to the LibertyCaucus.net link, you’ll get a red “Dangerous Site” message from McAfee.)

~Eowyn

Roberts swearing in the POS a second time in 2009

http://www.libertycaucus.net/forum/index.php?topic=113.0

How Roberts Was Blackmailed To Support ObamaCare

Many of us have questioned what caused Roberts  to switch his vote on ObamaCare at the last minute, as reported by CBS, and doing so,  so late that the Conservative Justices were forced to rewrite their majority opinion to be minority dissent. These facts may answer that question.

In 2000 Justice Roberts and his wife Jane adopted two children. Initially it was apparent that the adoptions were “from a Latin American country”, but over time it has become apparent that the adopted children were not Latin American, but were Irish.  Why this matters will become evident.

In 2005 the NY Times began investigating Roberts life as a matter of his nomination to the Supreme Court by George Bush.  The Times was shortly accused of trying to unseal the adoption papers and intending to violate  the anonymity of the adoption process… however there is more to the story.

Drudge did an article in 2005
http://patterico.com/2005/08/04/drudge-says-new-york-times-is-investigating-robertss-adoption-records/

The NEW YORK TIMES is looking into the adoption records of the children of Supreme Court Nominee John G. Roberts, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.The TIMES has investigative reporter Glen Justice hot on the case to investigate the status of adoption records of Judge Roberts’ two young children, Josie age 5 and Jack age 4, a top source reveals.Judge Roberts and his wife Jane adopted the children when they each were infants.

Both children were adopted from Latin America.

A TIMES insider claims the look into the adoption papers are part of the paper’s “standard background check.”

Bill Borders, NYT senior editor, explains: “Our reporters made initial inquiries about the adoptions, as they did about many other aspects of his background. They did so with great care, understanding the sensitivity of the issue.”

Were the Children Adopted from Ireland?

This is not clear … — the Associated Press reports that they were “adopted from Latin America.” This seems a bit puzzling, in light of the Time magazine report indicating that the children were born in Ireland. Also, their blonde hair and fair skin do not seem conventionally Latin American.¹

TIME had a “web exclusive” on the Roberts’s (7/24/05) and quoted a family friend as stating the kids were “born in Ireland 4 1/2 months apart.”

How were the Children Adopted?

According to The New York Times, based on information from Mrs. Roberts’s sister, Mary Torre, the children were adopted through a private adoption.

As explained by Families for Private Adoption, “[p]rivate (or independent) adoption is a legal method of building a family through adoption without using an adoption agency for placement. In private adoption, the birth parents relinquish their parental rights directly to the adoptive parents, instead of to an agency.”²

But was Robert’s adoption utilizing “a legal method”?

Apparently the process of adopting Jack involved some stress for John Roberts. According to Dan Klaidman of Newsweek, during the contested 2000 election, Roberts “spent a few days in Florida advising lawyers [for George W. Bush] on their legal strategy,” but “he did not play a central role,” because ” at the time, Roberts was preoccupied with the adoption of his son.”

It is now quite evident that the two Children were from Ireland.  Even wikipedia references these adoptions at the time of Roberts’ confirmation, and indicates that the children were of Irish birth.

However Irish law 1) prohibits the adoption of Children to non-residents, and 2) also does not permit private adoptions, but rather has all adoptions go through a public agency.

This would explain the children’s origin from a “Latin American country”, so as to circumvent Irish law.

Evidently Roberts arranged for this adoption through some sort of trafficking agency, that got the children out of Ireland and into that Latin American country, from which they were adopted, thereby circumventing two Irish laws — entirely illegal, but perhaps quasi-legitimized by the birth mothers (two) transporting the children out of Ireland.

Undoubtedly Roberts and his wife spent a great deal of money for this illegal process, circumventing Irish laws and arranging for the transit of two Irish children from separate birth-mothers to a foreign nation.  Come 2012, those two children have been with the Roberts’ for roughly 10 years, since they were adopted as “infants”.

Some might feel an impulse dismiss this information, mistakenly believing Roberts and his wife were doing a good thing for a children needing a home.

That would be an inaccurate belief.  As recognized, such an inter-country adoption would only come about at great cost, and those who utilize this method are creating a for-profit black market in adoptive children, trafficking across international borders, and doing so from mothers who have not yet given up  their children except for that profit.  Such actions are creating a very unsavory profit-for-children human trafficking market that even necessitates immediate contact with new birth mothers in dire circumstances to offer financial gain. The entire arrangement is thoroughly predatory, turning children into only financial commodity,  and even providing motivation for their birth mothers to give them up! That’s an important ethical recognition.

Roberts is not deserving of any sort of respect here, and is only the latest example of people in position believing themselves above the law, beyond scrutiny and exempt from repercussion.

It all now makes sense.

The circumstances of these two adoptions explain not only why this would be overlooked by an overall sympathetic media, but also why a sitting Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court would not want this information to become public fodder well into his tenure.  Its release and public discussion would discredit Roberts as an impartial judge of the law, and undoubtedly  lead to his impeachment.

This also explains why Roberts would have a means to be blackmailed, and why that leverage would still exist even after the institution of ObamaCare.

… And it has led to flipping the swing-vote on ObamaCare, which fundamentally changed the relationship between citizen and government, making us de facto property of the state, with our relative worth in care and maintenance able to be determined by the government.  Essentially it was a coup without firing a shot, much less needing even an Amendment to the Constitution.

And it is consistent with Obama’s Chicago-style politics, that has previously involved opening other sealed <divorce> records in order to win election.

Is this man ‘Petrus Romanus’?

To Follow  up on The St. Malachy’s Prophecies – The Last 10 Popes   See Here

 

Are We About To Witness The Rise Of Petrus Romanus?

Posted by Southern Girl

Reposted from NTEB News Desk

And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs [come] out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” Revelation 16:13,14

Is this man ‘Petrus Romanus’?

First published in 1595, the prophecies were attributed to St. Malachy by a Benedictine historian named Arnold de Wyon, who recorded them in his book “Lignum Vitæ.” Tradition holds that Malachy had been called to Rome by Pope Innocent II. While there, he experienced the vision of the future popes, including the last one, which he wrote down in a series of cryptic phrases.

Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Archbishop emeritus of Cape Coast (Ghana), was born on 11 October 1948 in Wassaw Nsuta, Ghana.

According to the prophecy, the next pope is to be the final pontiff, Petrus Romanus or Peter the Roman. Some Catholics believe that the next pope on St. Malachy’s list heralds the beginning of “great apostasy” followed by “great tribulation,” setting the stage for the imminent unfolding of apocalyptic events, something many non-Catholics would agree with.

This would give rise to a false prophet, who according to the book of Revelation leads the world’s religious communities into embracing a political leader known as Antichrist. In recent history, several Catholic priests – some deceased now – have been surprisingly outspoken about what they have seen as this inevitable danger rising from within the ranks of Catholicism as a result of secret satanic “Illuminati-Masonic” influences.

“In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Peter the Roman, who will feed his flock amid many tribulations, after which the seven- hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people. The End.” - Malachy’s Prophecy Of The Last Pope

hese priests claim secret knowledge of a multinational power elite and occult hierarchy operating behind supranatural and global political machinations. Within this secret society are sinister false Catholic infiltrators who understand that as the Roman Catholic Church represents one-sixth of the world’s population and over half of all Christians, it is indispensable for controlling future global elements in matters of church and state. The dark forces seek to fulfill a diabolical plan they call “Alta Vendetta,” which is set to assume control of the papacy and to help the False Prophet deceive the world’s faithful (including Catholics) into worshipping Antichrist. As stated by Michael Lake on the front cover, Catholic and evangelical scholars have dreaded this moment for centuries.

Unfortunately, as readers are told, the time to avoid Peter the Roman just ran out. source – WND

(Editor’s Note: We present this to you for your consideration, as it is a widely-discussed story. However, please note that as bible believers, we put our faith only in the prophecies mentioned in God’s word – the Holy Bible – from Genesis to Revelation, and not in the word of man outside of the bible, as was Malachy and the “prophecy” of Petrus Romanus.

http://americac2c.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

~Steve~

 

Pope Benedict XVI to resign

STEPS ASIDEThe Pope is to resign at the end of this month in an entirely unexpected development, the Vatican says.

Pope Benedict XVI announces his resignation in a surprise statement

UPDATE!!!    Pope Benedict XVI will resign on Feb. 28, The Vatican announced Monday, according to the Associated Press.

For more information… http://www.politico.com

Pope resigns

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Pope Benedict XVI is to resign at the end of this month after nearly eight years as the head of the Catholic Church, saying he is too old to continue at the age of 85.

The unexpected development – the first papal resignation in nearly 600 years – surprised governments, Vatican-watchers and even his closest aides.

The Vatican says it expects a new Pope to be elected before Easter.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope in 2005 after John Paul II’s death.

The BBC’s David Willey in Rome says the move has come as a shock, but in theory, there has never been anything stopping Pope Benedict or any of his predecessors from stepping aside.

Under Canon Law, the only conditions for the validity of such a resignation are that it be made freely and be properly published.

A Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said that even the Pope’s closest aides did not know what he was planning to do and were left “incredulous”. He added that the decision showed “great courage” and “determination”.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti is quoted as saying he was “greatly shaken by this unexpected news”.

The brother of the German-born Pope said the pontiff had been advised by his doctor not to take any more transatlantic trips and had been considering stepping down for months.

Talking from his home in Regensburg in Germany, Georg Ratzinger said his brother was having increasing difficulty walking and that his resignation was part of a “natural process”.

He added: “His age is weighing on him. At this age my brother wants more rest.”

‘Incapacity’At 78, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was one of the oldest new popes in history when elected.

He took the helm as one of the fiercest storms the Catholic Church has faced in decades – the scandal of child sex abuse by priests – was breaking.e took the helm as one of the fiercest storms the Catholic Church has faced in decades – the scandal of child sex abuse by priests – was breaking.

n a statement, the pontiff said: “After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.

“I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering.

“However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to steer the boat of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognise my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me.

“For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.”

A German government spokesman said he was “moved and touched” by the surprise resignation of the pontiff.

“The German government has the highest respect for the Holy Father, for what he has done, for his contributions over the course of his life to the Catholic Church.

“He has left a very personal signature as a thinker at the head of the Church, and also as a shepherd.”

POPE BENEDICT XVI

• At 78, one of the oldest new popes in history when elected in 2005
• Born in Germany in 1927, joined Hitler Youth during WWII and was conscripted as an anti-aircraft gunner but deserted
• As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger spent 24 years in charge of Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith – once known as the Holy Office of the Inquisition
• A theological conservative, with uncompromising views on homosexuality and women priests

Obama backs off from anti-religious freedom HHS mandate – Update

Donovan Slack and Jennifer Haberkorn report for the Politico that “After a year of controversy, the Obama administration has changed contraceptive health coverage requirements for religious institutions that pay for their own insurance and objected to the policy on moral grounds.”

This morning, Feb. 1, 2013, the Obama regime’s Health and Human Services Department (HHS) announced the change of policy, “Coverage of Certain Preventive Services Under the Affordable Care Act“: Women will still be able to get the same health benefits, but certain religious employers will now be exempt from paying for it.

Christian institutions, specifically those of the Catholic Church, vehemently objected to the HHS mandate. In May 2012, 43 branches of the Catholic Church sued the federal government in Superior Court for the HHS mandate contravening the Constitution’s First Amendment on Church-State relations, by requiring religious organizations to provide, pay for, and/or facilitate insurance coverage for not just contraception services, but also abortifacients (abortion-inducing drugs), which violate the teachings of the Catholic Church.

However, HHS’s change of policy does not address the concerns of private businesses, such as Hobby Lobby, whose owners also object to contraception on religious grounds. Several dozen lawsuits have been filed, and the religious freedom issue is likely to reach the Supreme Court.

Here’s the summary of the proposed policy change, “Coverage of Certain Preventive Services Under the Affordable Care Act.” (I’ve saved the pdf document to FOTM’s Media Library. Click here!)

SUMMARY: This document proposes amendments to rules regarding coverage for certain preventive services under section 2713 of the Public Health Service Act, as added by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended, and incorporated into the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code.

Section 2713 of the Public Health Service Act requires coverage without cost sharing of certain preventive health services, including certain contraceptive services, in non-exempt, non-grandfathered group health plans and health insurance coverage.

The proposed rules would amend the authorization to exempt group health plans established or maintained by certain religious employers (and group health insurance coverage provided in connection with such plans) with respect to the requirement to cover contraceptive services. The proposed rules would also establish accommodations for group health plans established or maintained by eligible organizations (and group health insurance coverage offered in connection with such plans), including student health insurance coverage arranged by eligible organizations that are religious institutions of higher education. This document also proposes related amendments to regulations concerning excepted benefits and Affordable Insurance Exchanges.

~Eowyn & Steve

Update:

FOTM reader Patricia emailed us a communication from Dr. Helen Alvaré, Associate Professor of Law at George Mason University, of the pro-life Chiaroscuro Institute. Dr. Alvaré has studied the policy change document “Coverage of Certain Preventive Services Under the Affordable Care Act” to conclude that our victory is only partial and our elation must be qualified. Here’s Dr. Alvaré’s e-mail:

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ‘COMPROMISE’ DOES NOT PROTECT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM FOR ALL

Once again, the Obama Administration has delivered an unacceptable “compromise” regarding the HHS Mandate and religious freedom.

Today the White House expanded the exemption to church-affiliated non-profit organizations, but refused to extend it to individuals and for profit business owners—such as the Greens with Hobby Lobby.

I have reviewed it and have several takeaways:

1. The first “expansion” of the exemption is as small as the government could make it. Religious organizations which exist to spread the faith (i.e. Churches)– when they also do things like serve the poor or educate kids in a religious school–may have the exemption for those ministries as well as the Church itself.

2. Religious institutions who are not primarily in the business of spreading the faith– likely hospitals, schools, etc.– can have the exemption after a complicated “self-certification” procedure, but their employees and students will get free contraception without their employers’ input–under separate policies issued directly from the insurance company.

3. My third observation is not about the law, but about the administration. Their desperation to get contraception, early abortifacients and sterilization into the hands of every woman and girl would be comical if they weren’t in such deadly earnest. These new regulations are very long and very convoluted and very intent on exempting the fewest folks possible. I doubt most other provisions of the health care law have received this kind of attention.

4. Individuals and businesses which are not religious institutions are completely unprotected… THIS IS DISTURBING. In America, the right of religious freedom extends to all.

I can’t do better than echo Alan Sears, President of the Alliance Defending Freedom legal group who has said, “Religious leaders and their organizations cannot be bought off with personal immunity, in exchange for abandoning their fellow believers and their own flocks to federal subjugation of their freedoms. It behooves none of us to preserve our own ‘freedom,’ when no one in our audience will be allowed to accept and live by our Gospel witness.”

I more than suspect that this is an attempt to divide us and thereby to conquer…..why? We are winning both in the courts (by 10 to 4 so far) and in the court of public opinion.

The government has no business putting religious freedom on the negotiating table, or picking and choosing who is allowed to exercise faith.

I encourage you to speak out against this “compromise” with your family and friends, and on your Facebook pages and Twitter feeds. Send letters please….copying them to the President, the Vice President (America’s top political Catholic, remember?) and Secretary Sebelius. Their addresses are below.

Thanks for sticking with us in this fight,
Helen

http://womenspeakforthemselves.com/
https://www.facebook.com/WomenSpeakForThemselves
https://twitter.com/womenspeak2012

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Vice President Joe Biden
Old Executive Office Building
Washington, DC 20501

Secretary Kathleen Sebelius
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201

~Eowyn

The Woman Conceived Without Sin

“A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and … gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne.” -Revelation 12:1-2, 5

Yesterday, December 9, the universal Church celebrated the feast day of the Immaculate Conception. Since Mary is the patron saint of the United States of America, yesterday was also the feast day of our country!

Protestants, my brothers and sisters in Christ, are allergic to Mary, insisting on their mistaken notion that Catholics “worship” Mary when in fact we don’t. But Catholics do honor, revere and love Mary for she is the Mother of Jesus the Christ, as she rightly should be. Imagine how we hurt Him when we dismiss and disregard His mother. He respects her so much that, even though it wasn’t yet time for Him to begin His public ministry, He performed His first miracle changing water into the finest wine because His mother asked Him to.

As the mother of God, Mary must have been a very special and remarkable woman. Scripture tells us she was a virgin (see also “The Christmas Miracle: Scientific Evidence of the Virgin Birth”) and that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Still, it took the Church more than 1,800 years to definitively determine another of her special and wholly remarkable attributes.

On December 8, 1854, in the Constitution Ineffabilis Deus of 8 December, 1854, Pope Pius IX pronounced and defined that the Blessed Virgin Mary “in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin.”

In other words, Mary was conceived without sin — thus, the Immaculate Conception.

But you don’t have to take Pius IX’s word on this. We can deduce this ourselves, with the help of science.

Are you ready to put your thinking caps on and take a trip in logic, reason, and science with me?

Here we go . . . .

1. Scripture tells us that, as a result of our first parents’ disobedience of God’s explicit command because they wanted to be “as gods,” Adam and Eve’s offspring — all human beings — are born with the Original Sin. We are each born with concupiscence — an inclination toward evil, which renders us “tinder for sin” (fomes peccati).

2. Translated into the language of modern science, “born with the Original Sin” can only mean this concupiscence is biologically INHERITED. That in turn means it is transmitted from parents to child through all the generations via some genetic code or DNA.

3. Jesus, being God Himself (Son of the Father and the Second Person of the Trinity), by definition is without sin and without the Original Sin, for He is all good.

4. But the Second Person of the Trinity so loves us that He chose to become incarnate as a human being, to be born of a human mother, and to suffer and die for our redemption and salvation.

5. Since a baby is formed in the mother’s womb out of her very blood and tissue, the human mother of the incarnate God must be free of the primeval stain of Original Sin that is the genetic inheritance of every human. That means Mary could not have transmitted the concupiscence DNA to Jesus, which implies she herself did not have the Original Sin genetic marker, which is another way of saying she was conceived without sin.

Now we come to the Science part of our exercise in reasoning….

6. In 1979, researchers at Stanford University made a shocking discovery: They found a pregnant mother’s blood containing cells with Y sex chromosomes. Since women only have X chromosomes, they concluded that the cells must have entered into her body from the male baby she carried within her. That discovery began a new field in science — the study of fetal cell microchimerism.

As recounted by science writer Jena Pinctott in her October 2011 book, Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies?: The Surprising Science of Pregnancy, “During pregnancy, cells sneak across the placenta in both directions. The fetus’s cells enter his mother, and the mother’s cells enter the fetus.” How amazing is that?

More amazing still is that one kind of fetal cells that enter into the mother’s body is the baby’s stem cells, which can “morph” into other types of cells through a process called differentiation. The baby’s fetal stem cells can actually become the mother’s own cells that make up her liver, heart, or brain. More than that, there is evidence that fetal cells may offer the mother increased resistance to certain diseases. (Read more about this in my post of Jan. 15, 2012, “Baby in womb protects mom from disease.”)

There you have it: During her pregnancy, across the placenta Mary’s cells entered into baby Jesus and baby Jesus’ cells entered into Mary, and baby Jesus’ stem cells became the cells of Mary’s liver, heart, and brain.

God and woman became one.

That is why I honor, revere, and love very much our Blessed Mother Mary with all my heart.

“Then the dragon became angry with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus.” -Revelation 12:17

~Eowyn

St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra (Fourth Century)

Today, the Universal Church celebrates the Feast of St. Nicholas, from whom Santa Claus evolved.  It is so wonderful and noteworthy that many of the feasts and holidays we celebrate originated from the Church.  St. Nicholas is highly honored throughout the world, with many churches dedicated in memory to his holiness and his effective advocacy.

Nicholas was born at Patara in Lycia, a province of Asia Minor.  Nicholas’ parents were well off and they died when he was a young man, leaving him many assets.  Nicholas filled with generosity and goodness, with empathy thinking about his fellow brothers and sisters, devoted himself to works of charity and the needy he found in his community.  For example, a citizen of Patara, with three daughters, lost all of his money.  Because of this circumstance of poverty, the three ladies could not find husbands, wherein they were destined to become prostitutes.  Nicholas discovered their horrible upcoming fate.  He then took a bag of gold and under cover in the dark, threw the money into the window of this citizen’s home.  Therefore, the oldest lady now had a dowry and she was soon married.  Nicholas did the same act of charity for the other two ladies in the household.  However, the father was “on the watch” and he recognized Nicholas as his benefactor.  He expressed to Nicholas how happy he was and thankful he was for his love and gratitude to help his family.

At the beginning of the fourth century, Nicholas went to the city of Myra, the capital of Patara in Lycia.  It so happened that the Catholic clergy in this episcopal see were electing a new bishop and it happened that the clergy chose Nicholas; obviously, his reputation preceded him.

“As he was the chief priest of the Christians of this town and preached the truths of faith with a holy liberty, Nicholas was seized by the magistrates, tortured, then chained and thrown into prison with many other Christians.  But when the great and religious Constantine, chosen by God, assumed the imperial diadem of the Romans, the prisoners were released from their bonds and with them the illustrious Nicholas, who when he was set at liberty returned to Myra.”

Nicholas continued on with his works of charity, taking strong measures against paganism, setting prisoners falsely accused and innocent free and taking care of his people in Myra.  It is believed that he was present at the Council of Nicea which arose the Nicene Creed that we say today.  Additionally, Nicholas condemned one of the heresies of his time, Arianism, which denied the divinity of Jesus and the Holy Trinity.  St. Methodius states that “thanks to the teaching of St. Nicholas the metropolies of Myra alone was untouched by the filth of the Arian heresy.”

St. Nicholas died and was buried in Myra.  St. Nicholas is honored as the patron saint of sailors and children.  As to sailors, it is said that during his lifetime, he appeared to storm-tossed mariners who asked for his assistance wherein they were brought safely to port.  As to children, he is particularly associated with the giving of gifts at Christmas time.  With St. Andrew, he is patron of Russia, Greece, Apulia, Sicily and Lorraine.

Let us during this Christmas Season remember this dear saint, be generous to others, giving our love with joy and happiness, always remembering the true meaning of Christmas (Christ’s Mass), the birth of Our Dear Saviour, Jesus Christ, coming into the world through the Blessed Virgin, God Incarnate, and being protected and cared for by the wonderful St. Joseph.  LOVE was born to the world.  Come Lord Jesus, Come!

Joan

Sources:

• Lives of the Saints, Edited by Michael Walsh.
• One Hundred Saints, Fulfinch Press, AOL Time Warner Book Group.

The Day America Committed Suicide

“Every nation has the government it deserves.”

So observed a very wise man — Count Joseph-Marie de Maistre (1753-1821), a French philosopher and diplomat.

Future historians (if there are any) will record that on November 6, 2012, the no longer United States of America committed suicide.

We, the Opposition — comprised of Conservatives, Christians, Libertarians, and Patriots — had been telling ourselves that the polls showing a tight race must be wrong. Because the pollsters over sample Democrats. Because “nobody” have landline phones anymore. Because so many polling organizations are corrupt. Because….

In the end, it turns out the polls not only were right, they were overly optimistic for Romney.

In the end, the Electoral College vote count wasn’t even close:

332 for Obama v. 206 for Romney

In the end, instead of Romney winning by a landslide, it was the POS winning by an avalanche. The POS even won the popular vote: 62,615,406 vs. Romney’s 59,142,004. [Source: FoxNews]

Romney won Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, No. Dakota, Oklahoma, So. Carolina, So. Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

POS won California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin.

In the end, the swing states of Ohio and Virginia swung to the POS. As of this writing, Florida — with 97% of precincts having reported — is still a toss-up (O 50% vs. R 49%). Not that it matters.

Was it massive Demonrat electoral fraud that did it?

Was it Demonrats’ intimidation — all the threats of riots and assassination, and videos of 97-year-olds threatening to “burn this motherfucker down” and of Romney supporters being maimed, decapitated and exploded — that got to gutless voters?

We can debate all we want. Sure, there’ll be feeble efforts at “investigating” and of lawsuits. But the POS’s so-called Department of “Justice” under his henchman, the so-called “U.S. attorney general” — Amerika’s chief law enforcer! — Eric Holder, will simply stonewall everything.

But I do know this:

The sheeple who voted for the POS so that they’ll keep getting government handouts, welfare, and entitlement checks are in for a rude shock. Amerika is broke. As we Cassandras have been warning here on Fellowship of the Minds:

• Our national debt is over $16 trillion — more than Amerika’s gross national product.

• Social Security Disability will run out of cash in 4 years, by 2016, at which time BY LAW the disability checks will be cut by 21%.

• The main Social Security program — the so-called SS “Trust Fund” — will run out of money even sooner than we’d been told — by 2023, instead of 2033. When that happens, BY LAW your Social Security checks will be cut by 25%.

• Medicare will go bankrupt in 12 years, by 2024.

The above bankrupt dates will now be shortened now that the POS and his Demonrats have four more years to overspend, without restraint. And if you think taxing “the rich” will plug the gaping deficit hole — not that taxing “the rich” 100% can fill the hole — you’re delusional.

Unlike the delusional sheeple sucking on Big Government’s teats, “the rich” have both the resources, the means, and the will to simply leave the “United” States. Just as “the rich” in France have and are, after the French sheeple voted in a socialist government that immediately imposed a draconian 75% tax on “the rich.”

Congratulations, my fellow selfish, lazy, envious, covetous, willfully ignorant, stupid, and just plain evil Amerikans.

Yesterday, you voted for a thoroughly evil man and evil party. In so doing, you voted for your own doom. The next four years will be four years of one financial disaster after another. The next four years will see your constitutional freedoms fall, one after another. And if you complain, you sheeple will finally discover:

• What Obama’s senior adviser consigliere, the Iran-born Marxist Valerie Jarrett, meant when she vowed: “After we win this election, it’s our turn. Payback time. Everyone not with us is against us and they better be ready because we don’t forget. The ones who helped us will be rewarded, the ones who opposed us will get what they deserve. There is going to be hell to pay. Congress won’t be a problem for us this time.No election to worry about after this is over and we have two judges ready to go.”

• Why your government has in place a law (the National Defense Authorization Act for 2012) that “authorizes” the military to arrest and detain U.S. citizens without charge or trial.

• Why Obama’s Department of Homeland Security long designated Christians, freedom lovers, pro-lifers, patriots, veterans, Tea Partiers as domestic “terrorists” who could instigate a civil war.

• Why there’ve been sightings across Amerika of trucks jammed full of “Martial Law” signs. (FOTM decided not to report this, not wanting to make you “nervous” before the election.)

• Why your government has hired contractors to supply FEMA camps across Amerika.

• And why that thoroughly evil man, whom you just gave a carte blanche to do whatever he wants in a second term, had whispered this to Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on March 26, 2012: “This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility.”

• And all those Catholic Amerikans who reelected the POS by a majority* will finally discover why Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, alarmed about Obama’s war against the Catholic Church and against religious liberty, said “I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square.”

*Faithful Catholics who attend Mass weekly went for Romney.

For as long as Obama, the Demonrats, and WordPress choose to keep the Internet free, Fellowship of the Minds will continue to chronicle Amerika’s descent into the abyss. Just don’t be surprised when one morning you fire up your computer to come on FOTM to discover we’re not around any more. When that day comes, don’t say I haven’t warned you….

In sorrow,

~Eowyn

St. Robert Bellarmine and the Declaration of Independence

Today, September 17th, is the Feast Day of a most remarkable man, St. Robert Bellarmine.

He was born on October 4, 1542, in Montepulciano near Siena, Italy.  He had an excellent education, being schooled in the humanities, theology and philosophy, ordained a Jesuit priest on March 25, 1570.  He was a Professor of Theology at Louvain and was summoned to teach at the Roman College as the Chair of Apologetics.  He is affectionaly known as the Patron Saint of Catechists and Apologists, having approached with charity, reason and thorough analysis, the heresies of his day.  He was made a Cardinal on March 3, 1599 and appointed the Papal Theologian by Pope Clement VIII, and on March 18, 1602, he was appointed the Archbishop of Capua.  He composed varous books on spirituality, on the Church and the Mystical Body of Christ.  Pope Benedict XVI tells us that, “Since as a priest and bishop he was first and foremost a pastor of souls, he felt it was his duty to preach diligently.”  He gave hundreds of sermons.  Pope Benedict XVI further tells us that the “hallmark of Bellarmine’s spirituality is his vivid personal perception of God’s immense goodness.  This is why our Saint truly felt he was a beloved Son of God.  It was a source of great joy to him to pause in recollection, with serenity and simplicity, in prayer and contemplation of God.”

What is most important is that Bellarmine taught that we must center on our own pesonal conversion in order to reform our lives so that we are pleasing to God.

Rev. John C. Rager, S.T.D., stated to Professor David A. Schaff in defense of Bellarmine, that “the Congressional Library still possesses a copy of Patriarcha, a book which once stood on the library shelf of Thomas Jefferson.  Patriarcha, was written by Robert Filmer, the privage theologian of James I of England in defense of the Divine Right of Kings and principally in refutation to the Jesuit Cardinal Bellarmine’s political principles of popular sovereignty.”

Father Rager provides us some interesting parallels, clause for clause, of the American Declaration of Independence and Bellarmine’s statments, to-wit:

With regard to the equaity of men:

Declaration of Independence:  “All men are created equal; they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.”

Bellarmine:  “All men are equal, not in wisdom or grace, but in the essence and nature of mankind” (De Laicis,” c.7).  “There is no reason why among equals one should rule rather than another.” (Ibid.)  “Let rulers remember that they preside over men who are of the same nature as they themselves” (De Officus Princ.” c.22).  “Political right is immediately from God and necessarily inherent in the nature of man” (De Laicia” c. 6, note 1).

With regard to the function of government:

Declaration of Independence:  “To secure these rights governments are instituted among men.”

Bellarmine:  “It is impossible for men to live together without someone to care for the common good.  Men must be governed by someone lest they be willing to perish” (De Laicia,” c.6).

With regard to the source of power:

Declaration of Independence:  “Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Bellarmine:  “It depends upon the consent of the multitude to constitute over itself a king, consul, or other magistrate.  This power is, indeed, from God, but vested in a particular ruler by the counsel and election of men” (De Laicis, c. 6, notes 4 and 5).  “The people themselves immediately and directly hold the political power” (De Clericis, c. 7).

With regard to the right to change the government:

Declaration of Independence:  “Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government. . .Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient reasons.”

Bellarmine:  “For legitimate reasons the people can change the government to an aristocracy or a democracy or vice versa” (De Laicis, c. 6).  “The people never transfers its power to a king so completely but that it reserves to itself the right of receiving back the power” (Recognitio de Laicis, c. 6).

And says Father Rager:

“If Jefferson ever read as many as four pages of this book, he read on the fourth page, the following:

Four times Bellarmine’s name is mentioned in bold print on this contents page of Patriarcha.  The first chapter of Patriarcha is again prefaced with its table of contents and Bellarmine’s name appears on it three times.  Then, if Jefferson read the first lines of the chapter he read this:

‘Since the time that school divinity began to flourish there hath been a common opinion maintained.  Mankind is naturally endowed and born with Freedom, and at liberty to choose what form of Government it please.  And that the Power which any one Man hath over others, was at first bestowed according to the discretion of the Multitude.’

If Jefferson ever read as many as four pages of this book, he read on the fourth page the following:

‘To make evidence the Grounds of this Question, about the Natural Liberty of Mankind, I will lay down some passages of Cardinal Bellarmine, that may best unfold the State of this controversie.  Secular or Civil Power is instituted by man; it is in the people, unless they bestow it on a Prince.  This Power is immediately in the whole Multitude, as in the subject of it; for the Power is in Divine Law, but the Divine Law hath given this Power to no particular man.  If the Positive Law be taken away, there is left no Reason why amongst a Multitude (who are Equal) one rather than another should bear Rule over the Rest.  It depends upon the Consent of the Multitude to ordain over themselves a King, Counsel, or other Magistrates; and if there be a lawful cause the multitude may change the Kingdom into an Aristocracy or Democracy.  Thus, far, Bellarmine, in which passages are coprised the strength of all that I have read or heard produced for the Natural Liberty of the Subject.’ “

And Father Rager asks, “Would not Jefferson, who was seeking a formulation of “the natural liberties of the subject,” be attracted to read and re-read this quotation from Bellarmine which “comprised the strength of all that had ever been produced for the natural liberty of the subject?”  And does not the American Declaration reflect strikingly this very passage of Bellarmine quoted by Filmer and lying open before the eyes of Jefferson?”

We will never actually be able to confirm or deny if Jefferson ever read the original works of St. Robert Bellarmine.  However, in the Library of Princeton University there was, according to Father Rager, “a copy of Cardinal Bellarmine’s works in the days of Jefferson.  James Madison, a member of the committee which drafted the Virginia Declaration of Rights was a graduate of Princeton in 1771 and certainly had access to Bellarmine’s works.”

Pope Benedict XVI tells us that Bellarmine “died in Rome on 17 September 1621.  Pope Pius XI beatified him in 1923, canonized him in 1930 and proclaimed him a Doctor of the Church in 1931.”

One cannot help but find noteworthy the similarities in thought as set out above.  Happy Feast Day to you, Dear St. Robert Bellarmine!  I implore you to interecede for the people of America before the throne of the Triune God to help our country be rid of its present tyranny, of its present war on people of faith lodged by this administration, of its present war on the culture of life where millions and millions of innocent children have lost their lives to legalized abortion on demand.  We need your help Great Saint!

Sources:

General Audience of Pope Benedict XVI, February 23, 2011, Saint Robert Bellarmine, Vatican website.

Catholic Sources and the Declaration of Independence, Rev. John C. Rager, S.T.D., CERC Home website.

~Joan

See our other posts on saints and angels by going to that page. Click here!

~Eowyn

Congress must protect Americans’ freedom of religion from Obama’s assault

Did you know that last Friday, June 8, 2012, TENS OF THOUSANDS of Americans rallied in more than 160 cities across the United States?

No?

Ask the alphabet TV networks why. [Read more about the liberal media's non-coverage of the massive rallies, here.]

Last Friday, TENS OF THOUSANDS of people demonstrated for our religious freedom and against ObamaCare’s abortifaient/birth control mandate. The HHS (Health & Human Services) mandate forces Catholic hospitals and schools to include contraception and abortifacients in their health coverage. Doing so violates the Catholic Church’s religious beliefs. In effect, the mandate directly cuts into the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause’s promise of freedom of religion, as well as the standard interpretation of the clause as being “the separation of Church and State.” [See “Obama declares war on the Church. Church fights back with historic lawsuit”]

It is not just Catholics who should be concerned about Obama’s HHS mandate. All Christians, all faiths, and all non-religious Americans who value the U.S. Constitution should be concerned. Remember this?:

“First they came for the communists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.” -Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)

It is in that spirit that I recommend this letter written by FOTM’s co-founder Joan, which was sent to her state’s state and national legislators and representatives, as well as the state’s major newspapers.

~Eowyn

Pro-religious freedom rally in Washington, DC, June 8, 2012.

We are members of a “Why Catholic” study group at our local parish. Some of us are United States Veterans and we are all productive American citizens. Now, we are studying the Early Church together, learning about the apostles, the Church Fathers and brave martyrs who gave their very lives for God, exercising their inalienable rights of religious freedom. Because we love God and our country, we must communicate to you our deepest concerns, asking for your effective help and advocacy. We must not and cannot be silent.

As you are aware, on August 1, 2011, the Obama administration, by and through the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, issued regulatory provisions pursuant to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”). In part, this mandate requires American citizens to pay for health insurance plans that provide full coverage for surgical sterilization and contraception, which includes abortifacients, such as the “morning-after” pill. These drugs kill innocent and precious unborn children in their mothers’ womb.

Pursuant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops‘ (USCCB) “Urgent Memorandum of February 15, 2012,” they stated that:

“On January 20, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reaffirmed a rule that virtually all private health care plans must cover sterilization, abortifacients and contraception. The rule exempted “religious employers,” but excluded those that served or employed people who were not members of their religious community. This was so narrow that it failed to cover the vast majority of faith-based organizations, including Catholic hospitals, universities, and service organizations that help millions every year.”

Essentially, the HHS mandate would force Catholic American citizens to act against their Faith, to act against our religious beliefs, notwithstanding that the mandate also requires private businesses, American citizens of all faiths, to provide their employees with this insurance coverage since there are no exemptions for insurers that would object to these provisions, which include secular for-profit religious employers, or for-profit private enterprises or individuals. These horrific provisions are not dissimilar to the laws of the former Nazi Germany.

Religious liberty is now jeopardized, threatened and adversely affected, even though it is guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States as an inalienable right: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” Religious liberty cannot exist under duress and coercion with regard to our beliefs and our conscience. As Catholic Americans, we cannot and will not act against our faith, and we will not comply with the mandate – a mandate that violates our religious freedom under the Constitution of the United States. It is unconscionable that such a mandate would ever be issued in the Land of the Free and of the Brave. But remarkably, it has been issued, and not surprisingly, under the Obama administration.

In response to the USCCB’s declaration of non-compliance, on February 10, 2012, the Obama Administration issued a “final rule”, “without change,” granting the delay of enforcement of the mandate for a one-year period directed to religious non-profit organizations that still were not exempted, such as our schools, colleges, hospitals and charitable organizations. The Obama Administration then “promised” to draft other regulations to accommodate them by the end of the designated year period. But as the USCCB Memorandum states:

“But even under this future accommodation, our charities, hospitals and colleges will still be treated as second class citizens of our religious community, and still be forced to pay for coverage which violates their religious convictions. This is unacceptable.”

The issue in this matter is not about whether or not contraception or abortion can be prohibited or allowed by our government. Nor does this have anything to do with the “reproductive rights” of women. The REAL ISSUE IS whether or not American citizens practicing their religious beliefs can be coerced by the government to act against their religious beliefs. Accordingly, the REAL ISSUE is about religious freedom, religious liberty and freedom of conscience. The ultimate conclusion can only be that WE ARE UNDER ATTACK by the Obama administration!

Addressing Catholic Americans, Pope Benedict XVI wrote:

“Of particular concern are certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion. Many of you have pointed out that concerted efforts have been made to deny the right of conscientious objection on the part of Catholic individuals and institutions with regard to cooperation in intrinsically evil practices. Others have spoken to me of a worrying tendency to reduce religious freedom to mere freedom of worship without guarantees of respect for freedom of conscience. Here once more we see the need for an engaged, articulate and well-formed Catholic laity endowed with a strong critical sense vis-à-vis the dominant culture and with the courage to counter a reductive secularism which would delegitimize the Church’s participation in public debate about the issues which are determining the future of American society.”

This freedom of religion is not being fought just for Catholics. The USCCB’s Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, chaired by Archbishop-designate William E. Lori of Baltimore, issued a statement on religious liberty, “Our First, Most Cherished Liberty,” which begins:

“We are Catholics. We are Americans. We are proud to be both, grateful for the gift of faith which is ours as Christian disciples and grateful for the gift of liberty which is ours as American citizens. To be Catholic and American should mean not having to choose one over the other. Our allegiances are distinct, but they need not be contradictory and should instead be complementary. That is the teaching of our Catholic faith, which obliges us to work together with fellow citizens for the common good of all who live in this land. That is the vision of our founding and our Constitution, which guarantees citizens of all religious faiths the right to contribute to our common life together.”

More particularly, this teaching is actualized by all of the thousands of Catholic organizations, such as hospitals, schools, universities, charities, all providing remarkable contributions to the common good of the people of America. As a result of the HHS mandate, all of these wonderful contributory Catholic entities are jeopardized, perhaps out of existence. According to the mandate, we can only hire Catholic employees and can only serve Catholics. But we are called to serve all of humankind. Jesus, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, commanded us to love God with our whole heart, soul, and mind, and with all of our being, and He also commanded us to love our neighbors as ourselves. We cannot allow Obama and his administration to define for us who are our neighbors and how we are to live our Catholic Faith! To echo the Ad Hoc Committee’s “Our First, Most Cherished Liberty”: “Religious liberty is not only about our ability to go to Mass on Sunday or pray the Rosary at home. It is about whether we can make our contribution to the common good of all Americans.” Our Catholic Faith is lived in the totality of our lives, as we live our Faith in our worship, in our vocations, in our works for the good of all humankind.

Accordingly, we are stand with our bishops in their calling to us, to protect religious liberty and freedom of conscience, where we:

a. Request of the Obama administration that they immediately rescind this HHS mandate; and

b. Request of Congress to enact legislation to protect religious liberty, to protect the constitutional rights of religious institutions and individuals from government force and undue dictatorial coercion, regarding health care and any and all matters that might affect religious liberty.

Indeed and in fact, we are aware that the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act of 2011, H.R. 1179, S. 1467, introduced on March 17, 2011, sponsored by Representative Jeff Fortenberry with 223 co-sponsors, which is a response to Obamacare, has been languishing in Committee, having been referred to the House subcommittee on March 28, 2011. This Act provides in pertinent part that those entities who participate in health insurance coverage, “retain the right to provide, purchase, or enroll in health coverage that is consistent with their religious beliefs and moral convictions.” That is why we are asking for your intervention to help us with appropriate legislation, even emergency legislation, to protect our religious liberty guaranteed to us under our Constitution. Please free the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act from lingering unproductively in Committee enabling that it be brought for Congressional vote at once.

Furthermore, pursuant to the document, “Our First, Most Cherished Liberty,” the USCCB states as follows:

“We suggest that the fourteen days from June 21 – the vigil of the feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More (the patron saint of religious liberty), to July 4, Independence Day, be dedicated to this “fortnight for freedom” a great hymn of prayer for our country.”

During this fortnight for freedom, we are called to focus all the energies we can muster, wherein special events will be held setting out the absolute importance of religious liberty. This period has been declared as it memorializes courageous martyrs who remained faithful to their faith, to their consciences, facing persecution by political powers that took their lives: St. John Fisher, St. Thomas More, St. John the Baptist, Sts. Peter and Paul, and the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome. It would be wonderful if appropriate legislation could be introduced during this period of time to insure our religious liberty.

Arizona State Representative Debbie Lasko and State Senator Nancy Barto re-introduced HB2625 into the Arizona legislature this year to help protect the religious freedom of many organizations in Arizona. This legislation broadens the religious exemption to include “any organization whose articles of incorporation state a religious motivation and whose religious beliefs play a significant role in its operations.” Governor Jan Brewer signed this bill into law in May of 2012. She stated in pertinent part, “In its final form, this bill is about nothing more than preserving the religious freedom to which we are all constitutionally entitled.” She further stated, “It’s also a very good time to unite with people of other faiths on this bedrock issue. If we don’t do it now, we’re going to see much more serious erosion.” Our names will be counted as holding firm and true to our Catholic Faith, and true to religious liberty for all of the citizens of this country.

Finally, the First Amendment prohibits the “establishment” of any faith or religion or belief system which cannot be coerced or forced upon the American people. Obama and his administration violate this provision because they are trying to force upon us the belief system for this country of “radical secularism,” overshadowing any other religious beliefs held and coercing compliance of radical secularism by unjust federal laws. This is reprehensible and it is sickening.

Consequently, we thank you in advance for your valuable considerations and timely actual help in this important matter. We are praying for you and your effective contributions to ensure religious liberty!

~Joan