Nominally Catholic Joe Biden gets a rap on the knuckles from the bishops.
BIDEN:With regard to the assault on the Catholic Church, let me make it absolutely clear. No religious institution—Catholic or otherwise, including Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital—none has to either refer contraception, none has to pay for contraception, none has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide. That is a fact. That is a fact.
This is not a fact. The HHS mandate contains a narrow, four-part exemption for certain “religious employers.” That exemption was made final in February and does not extend to “Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital,” or any other religious charity that offers its services to all, regardless of the faith of those served.
HHS has proposed an additional “accommodation” for religious organizations like these, which HHS itself describes as “non-exempt.” That proposal does not even potentially relieve these organizations from the obligation “to pay for contraception” and “to be a vehicle to get contraception.” They will have to serve as a vehicle, because they will still be forced to provide their employees with health coverage, and that coverage will still have to include sterilization, contraception, and abortifacients. They will have to pay for these things, because the premiums that the organizations (and their employees) are required to pay will still be applied, along with other funds, to cover the cost of these drugs and surgeries.
Read the rest.
There’s something funny about Democrats that has been making the rounds on Twitter today. During the debate Thursday night Biden vowed that he would not “impose” his personal beliefs regarding abortion on others who disagree. Democrats always say that.
But then they go and impose their personal beliefs regarding health care, regarding demanding who pays for what services on behalf of other adults, and labor policy and a whole lot of other things, on those of us who disagree. When we repeatedly vote against what they want, they either resort to the courts to impose themselves on us, or they just impose their preferred policy by presidential fiat.
Their reluctance to “impose” their alleged personal beliefs on others with regard to abortion is no sign of tolerance. It’s a sign of moral cowardice, and tells us where their real priorities lie.
There aren’t enough Hail Marys in the world to save Joe’s soul.
If a priest were to give Joe Biden an appropriate penance for his lies during the debate, old Joe would be marching with the flagelentes.
But as Catholics, we need to pray them for him. There but for the grace of God…
Yeah, that whole contraception “compromise” stunk to high heaven. They basically just told the insurance companies to provide contraception for “free” to the plans offered by religious organizations and somehow figured that meant they wouldn’t be paying for it. This is the same magical thinking they applied to “preventative care” when they called it free. Nothing is free. Just because they don’t show you that item on your bill doesn’t mean you didn’t pay for it. “Free preventative care” should be called what it is which is “mandatory pre-paid preventative care.” Your premium will reflect the cost of every “free” service the dems told the insurance companies to add to it. The insurance offered to students at my brother’s college literally doubled from $900 to $1800 last year for a single healthy 18yo male student. The reason? All the new shit they had to cover under obamacare.
“Not gonna impose my personal beliefs” is a dodge designed to preserve a Dem’s political viability while pursuing unpopular Left-Lib-Prog-Dem programs and policies.
The personal beliefs are lightly, effortlessly thrown over the side whenever the Dem encounters Left-Lib-Prog dogmata, such as the supreme right of any woman, anywhere, at any time, under any circumstances, without any restriction, condition or limitation and without any consent from or notice to any other person, and the sacred public duty to fund that right.
If you don’t fight for something, you don’t really believe it.
Another convenient Biden lie. AKA selling your soul to politics.
Biden told so many lies last night it would be easier to list the times he told the truth.
Maybe he calls himself a Catholic but really is only a fake Catholic – pro forma – for political reasons. This seems more consistent with his cafeteria version of a faith, than faith itself. Just add that lie onto the pile with his ‘middle class’ myth.
He’s more of a “cultural Catholic”.
He may still warmly regard the faith he grew up with and feel a bit sentimental towards it….especially around Christmas, Easter and election seasons….might even go to Mass once or twice….but hell if he’s gonna let them tell him what to do with his life, since the Church really needs to get in touch with modern concerns. Times have changed, dontcha know.
I’ve been calling them “Bill Clinton Christians”: symbolically Christian, but not actually a believer. You’ll wave that leatherbound Bible around every time there’s a camera pointed at you, but you hold nothing but contempt for anyone who actually tries to live by religous values. Chuck Schumer proves that the species isn’t limited to Christains, either.
“Be it so. This burning of widows is your custom; prepare the funeral pile. But my nation has also a custom. When men burn women alive we hang them, and confiscate all their property. My carpenters shall therefore erect gibbets on which to hang all concerned when the widow is consumed. Let us all act according to national customs.” Genl Sir Charles Napier.
Some things like suttee (above) chattel slavery or Genital mutilation or abortion are not to be countenanced. Biden must be bucking for a Canon 915 sanction.
Biden’s use of the “not imposing my religious views” dodge is, unfortunately, common to many leftist Catholics. I always think of the Gospel story of a man serving two masters. In their case it is the secular humanist, leftist master they obey, and the Catholic Master they despise. That that Master is Jesus, the Head of the Church, doesn’t seem to occur to them.
As stated in an earlier post, all laws involve a moral judgement, and they have no problem imposing their judgement on contraception, abortion, financial reglation and a hundred more on everyone else. It’s only when they wish to avoid the judgement of their allegedly Catholic consciences that they get shy.
Ah, these would be the Catholics that found “penumbras” that allow Catholics to “pick and choose” which teachings they want to follow? Unless a different Catholic picks “all of the above” in which case hysterical screeching occurs until the different Catholic agrees to STFU about choosing to follow Humanae Vitae.
And of course, the pickers and choosers get to impose their goofy picks and choices upon the next generation of Catholics in CCD because the kids don’t get the option to pick “all of the above” either, right?
It is my personal view that the Catholic hierarchy–Pope, Cardinals, American bishops, one and all–that unless they can refer to some kind of sign from God to the contrary, they really need to follow their own rules and excommunicate Americans like Biden who are enabling what they ought not.
If Msgr Scicluna’s (he’s the good guy in Rome) move is for the purpose of getting him to Cardinal for the next papal enclave, we’re in good shape. The other possibility is that he got too close to some very bad, very high dudes.
Odd you should bring that up. For years, the Church has been staying pretty much out of politics: ‘Render unto Caeser’, and all that stuff. Now, however, it understands that it can no longer be above the fray. The war, as it were, has come to them; and neutrality is no longer an option.
Barry and Sebelius have politicized the Catholic Church and much good may it do them.
One party is a party of death, one of life. Make a choice.
I have seen no comments on Bidens mental state. I believe he was stone cold sober and under intense pressure which allowed mean Joe with all his physical tics to dominate over “good old” Joe. Apart from all of his whoppers, he appears to be showing early signs of a loss of mental acuity and reasoning ability. Age related? Loss of too many little gray cells? Not the physical characteristics desired in the man a heartbeat from the presidency.
The Catholic hieracky brought this on themselves by not setting their record straight as far as conception by not vigorisly rebutting Obama speaches at Georgetown and Notre Dame.You may also include T Kennedy who backed O bama and then was given a hero`s funeral by the Catholic Church shortly thereafter.
Thanks for getting to the root of this problem. For years, catholic institutions have rewarded anti-life politicians like T. Kennedy,Biden,Pelosi and Obama by providing them with platforms to their congregations. I know an anti-life bishop in NJ, several priests and even more CCD teachers. The heirarchy of the church has turned their back on the truth for decades for fear of losing their precious pieces of silver. Now that their silver is threatened, we see a pius outrage supposedly over four decades of aborted children.
The Catholic church deserves this and more – for decades it has supported every left leaning policy, especially redistributionist policies. Now the church can enjoy the fruit of its labors.
US Bishops have been particularly guilty of supporting all kinds of leftist nonsense – never recognizing that charity is not to be gained through the use of government power.
I left the Church because of the way the bishops and the Vatican mishandled the pedophilia scandal. Just as I was beginning to think it might be safe to go back (with the election of Cardinal Ratzinger), the American bishops started bemoaning the treatment of illegal aliens and the lack of nationalized health insurance. I won’t sit in a pew and be lectured on my responsibility to turn over my wages to lawbreakers and socialists.
I agree – every time someone says “social justice” I want to scream, because it usually seems to just be a synonym for “helping illegals and fighting for amnesty”. I wish the church would focus its efforts on maintaining our religious freedom, and using its own funds and volunteers to help others, rather than trying to force Caesar into the job.
I am not a Catholic. When you get to the point where you try to outlaw all abortion, we’re going to argue something fierce. So long as the issue is your right not to offer it, participate in it, or pay for it, we are in total agreement.
Were hospital procedures not a part of national politics, we might avoid this contretemps. It was liberal Catholics who demanded government health involvement. What an unpleasant situation. I don’t see any way out of it, now.
Why they say they won’t impose their abortion beliefs on anyone, they mean they won’t seek to make abortion legal by performing a REALLY late term abortion on anyone who stands in their way.
The ‘belief’ Biden is happy to impose, along with The Emperor Barack of Smirk, and it seems, virtually all Democrats, is one of the seven deadly sins. It is envy. “They don’t need that money!!”
Legalized abortion on demand is an abomination. As practiced in the US it has been akin to genocide.
Constitutionally SCOTUS stepped in crap when they heard Roe v Wade. It was always previously a state issue, and should have remained that way.
“Good ol’ Joe” is a facade and always has been. The man is vicious and crafty, but basically not very smart. So is a weasel. If they had any concience today’s Democratic Party would be ashamed of him.
What kind of “faithful” adherent to a religion gets to pick and choose which doctrines he’s going to support, anyway? Does a “life-long faithful Catholic,” like Biden get to ignore “Thou shalt not kill,” and refuse to defend it in public, and still get to be considered a “faithful Catholic”? Apparently, Joe thinks so, because to do otherwise would be forcing his religious beliefs on folks like faithful Jews, or faithful Muslims.
Which leads, of course, to the big question– How can Biden condemn the 9/11 attacks? They were performed by devout Muslims who were doing what they believed their religion mandated. According to the logic of Catholic Joe-meets-abortion, condemning them is “forcing” your religious beliefs upon others.
Looked here for grins. Thank you for reminding me why I’m not Catholic anymore and why I think the time has come to tax the churches in this country. You people have NOTHING in common with the teachings of Christ. You all make me sick.