America has a very long tradition of freedom. We cherish these freedoms like, the freedom of speech, freedom of religion and until recently, freedom of choice. I will admit right up front that I voted for President Obama because, like many, I believed we needed change. Well I now feel I was duped and his brand of change is not what America needs at all.
As an Orthodox priest and an American I believe in traditional family values like marriage, family, saving one's self for that person we plan to spend the rest of our life with -- in other words I believe in Christian values as proscribed not only by my Church's tradition but by Holy Scripture itself.
On Jan. 20th it was announced by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that the religious exemption on certain parts of the health care plan would not continue and now religious organizations, like the church, would have to supply health insurance that provides coverage for contraception and abortion. The Roman Catholic Church has been carrying most of the water on this fight and as usual our Orthodox Bishops are silent on this. We have an opportunity here to make our voice heard but we are more concerned with territory and language than we are with issues that affect real people! It is time for our bishops to wake up and speak out. Our people are confused and need to hear their voices loud and clear.
Called the "contraception mandate" it requires private insurance to provide access, at no out-of-pocket expense, to contraceptive drugs such as RU 486. Under this plan, people with heart disease, cancer, diabetes or other health issues will continue to pay or co-pay for their prescription drugs, but people who wish to purchase contraceptive drugs will have no out-of-pocket expense.
I have no issue with the choices you make, you make those choices and you have to deal with consequences but this plan will in effect force me to pay for behavior that my religion calls unacceptable. There has always been an exemption for religious organizations for issues such as these. Prior to this ruling for example the insurance that the Roman Catholic Church offered to her employees did not have to cover abortion or contraception -- now that will not be the case. The government of the United States is forcing us to violate our conscience and that is unacceptable. The Obama administration's witch hunt against religion needs to stop!
I am a firm believer that in a country as wealthy as ours, something needs to be done about the out of control cost of health care. To live in a country that develops a majority of the procedures and medications that save lives but at the same time are out of reach of a majority of American is unconscionable. But I am not willing to trade my religious freedom either. There is no Constitutional right to health care but there is a Constitutional right to the free exercise of religion.
Archbishop Timothy Dolan, President of the United States Conference of Roman Catholic Bishops, said at a recent press conference held on this topic, "Never before has the federal government forced individuals and organizations to go out into the marketplace and buy a product that violates their conscience." He continued, "This shouldn't happen in a land where free exercise of religion ranks first in the Bill of Rights."
Roman Catholics are not the only ones speaking out on this issue. In December the National Association of Evangelicals sent a letter to President Obama expressing their dissatisfaction with this mandate; "the Federal government is obligated by the First Amendment to accommodate the religious convictions of faith-based organizations of all kinds."
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
This is a direct attack on religious freedom in American and the start of a slippery slope to more regulations attacking the faith of Americans. In recent years it has become totally acceptable to attack religion and if we, the religious people in America, do not stand up and make our voice heard, including the Orthodox Bishops in America, we will see our rights eroded away. This is only the start of a change in America that I cannot accept.
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Even the old dudes who wrote the Constitution did not even consider the woman in their era as equal as they had to create an amendmet to authenicate that their momma's and sisters were human. All the Obama administration says is that IF a patient wants contaceptives, they cannot be discriminated against. Period ! Talk about beliefs,,,, The RCC comandments states "Make NO graven images nor likeness of ME" but how many statues and images have you seen today??
The assumption that the government has the right to require the purchase of health insurance is legally iffy, but if that passes the Constitutional challenge, then businesses with religious owners have to behave like all other employers and offer that insurance.
"Must Catholic hospitals, to be true to their identity, now turn away people of other faiths from their emergency rooms and fire non-Catholic employees? Currently, Catholic hospitals serve one out of six people who seek hospital care in our country. Must Catholic Charities hire and serve only Catholics in its food pantries and other social service agencies? Until today, you didn’t need a baptismal certificate for soup."
http://www.mercatornet.com/sheila_liaugminas/view/10237
I think the answer is yes. Catholic hospitals, being a non-profit business with Catholic ownership and non Catholic employees, must comply like all for-profit businesses.
For those words to come from an official of the Church is, to my mind, striking in it's immoral antecedents; a grotesque outcome of the medieval metaphysics of "souls".
That's really some love of neighbor the christians on my acquaintance have got there. It's just unfortunate that i can't differentiate it from hatred.
For your enjoment here's a link about political moralists talking about gays:
http://www.joemygod.blogspot.com/2012/01/porno-petes-bff-gay-men-shove-gerbils.html
Rule #2 See Rule Number One
it is about rules for Insurance companies, get it right
if you don't like contraceptives personally, don't buy any, isn't freedom of Religion nice?
if you don't like insurance that is required to pay for it if others want it, don't buy any, isn't freedom of Religion nice?
It is true that his insurance will pay for contraception which would allow him to decrease the risk of having a child if he did not save himself for marriage. But that does not force him to violate his principles.
The case he is making here then is that somehow being in the same insurance group with people who will choose differently than him makes him responsible for their choices and so violates his religious convictions. That is a very strange argument which would allow all kinds of limitation on freedom if taken seriously. If Preble took Jesus' actual preaching more seriously and became a pacifist, would paying taxes violate his religious freedom?
It looks more like Preble is cheapening the idea of limitations on religious freedom. Trying to stop a community center from being built because it is Muslim is a real limitation on religious freedom. This seems to be trying to give more wait to a difference in policy by pretending it is a limitation on religious freedom.
I'm trying to make the conections:
Your Orthodox brothers were recently videoed bashing each other with brooms.
Witches are sometimes associated with brooms.
You think Obama's after you.
So, Obama's on "witch hunt".
Got it!
How is this relevant? Does Jesus allow contraception if there's a copay?
I don't think that biblical character ever said anything about contraceptÂion. It's the RCC, the Orthodox, and some of the fundagelicals that have a problem with it.
You know ... the ones that are always pointing their fingers at each other, saying "We're not like them!".