The First Amendment to our Constitution states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The amendment forbids the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion and/or hindering the free exercise of religion.
In direct opposition to the First Amendment—which guarantees freedom of religion and is the only protection religious groups have from persecution—our President recently issued the HHS Mandate, a decree which would force Catholics to act against their religious convictions concerning abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception. It is not important whether or not one agrees with the Church’s stand on such issues; what is important is that Catholics have the right to believe and act according to their consciences, just as all other religious denominations have the identical right.
Yet in a blatant challenge to an established Church, the President is attempting to force Catholics to do his bidding and act against their consciences and religious convictions. In a clever move our President deliberately chose to focus attention on the controversial issue of contraception, obscuring the true issue of Freedom of Religion. After all, the truth isn’t going to obtain votes for him, is it?
To my dismay—but not to my surprise—the so-called “enlightened press” jumped on the bandwagon and joined the President in muddying the waters of truth by calling opposition to the HHS Mandate a “contraception controversy” and insinuating the Church is hostile to women. These political lies and innuendos are used as a smokescreen because what the administration is doing cannot be justified. Notice how our President avoids discussing his mandate in terms of religious freedom.
Be assured this is not a "contraception" issue or "a war against women." It is a Freedom of Religion issue and this is a truth President Obama needs to hide since the great majority of Americans believe in the precious freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. This is the first obvious move of the administration against organized religion and it is only the beginning…..
Heed the implicit warning: The mandate issued by the President is clearly intended to weaken and/or bring down the Catholic Church. If the government succeeds in its attempt to wield power over Catholics, it will surely follow that they will then dictate to the religious denominations of all people, Protestants and Jews included. As a Catholic and as an American citizen who loves her country, I would write these same words if our President had acted against any other religion in the same way he has acted against Catholics. Let us choose Truth and Freedom or we will all live with the consequences.
“You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” –John 8:32
