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Thomas More Law Center Obtains Order Enjoining Enforcement of HHS Mandate Against Thomas Monaghan and His Domino’s Farms Corporation

admin — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 15:53:50 +0000

March 17, 2013 / MariaNews.com

Thomas More Law Center Obtains Order Enjoining Enforcement of HHS Mandate Against Thomas Monaghan and His Domino’s Farms Corporation

ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 14, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ — The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, announced that Federal District Court Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff of the Eastern District of Michigan, today, granted a Motion for a Preliminary Injunction against enforcement of the HHS Mandate filed by TMLC on behalf of Plaintiffs Tom Monaghan and his property management company, Domino’s Farm Corporation. Judge Zatkoff previously ruled in favor of granting an emergency temporary restraining order. The preliminary injunction extends the previous ruling to protect the plaintiffs for the entire pendency of the case.
Judge Zatkoff’s ruling halts enforcement of the HHS mandate against Monaghan and his property management company, Domino’s Farms Corporation of which he is the owner and sole shareholder. Domino’s Farms Corporation manages an Office Complex owned by Monaghan and is not to be confused with Domino’s Pizza. Monaghan sold the Pizza company in 1998 and has no active affiliation with it at this time. The HHS mandate refers to regulations adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services that forces employers, regardless of their religious convictions, to provide insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception under threat of heavy penalties.

Click here to read Judge Zatkoff’s entire opinion.

Judge Zatkoff’s decision protects our freedoms granted under the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The Government argued against the preliminary injunction by claiming that once a business owner chooses to enter into the marketplace, he surrenders his right to exercise his religious beliefs. Erin Mersino, TMLC’s lead counsel on the case, provided for the Court in briefing the quotation from President Ronald Reagan, “To those who cite the First Amendment as reason for excluding God from more and more of our institutions and everyday life, may I just say: The First Amendment of the Constitution was not written to protect the people of this country from religious values; it was written to protect religious values from government tyranny.”

For purposes of the preliminary injunction, Judge Zatkoff focused only on the unconstitutional nature of the HHS Mandate due its infringement on Mr. Monaghan’s exercise of religion. Judge Zatkoff held that he did not need to engage in a separate discussion of Plaintiffs’ Constitutional right to the Free Exercise of Religion since both theories seek to protect the same liberty interest — the free practice of one’s religion.

TMLC’s attorney Erin Mersino, commented, “The HHS Mandate forces our clients to provide abortion causing drugs to their employees when doing so is a direct violation of the teachings of the Catholic Church and our clients’ sincerely held religious beliefs. The Court’s decision today upholds everyone’s freedom of religion and rights protected by the Constitution.”

The Government is expected to appeal Judge Zatkoff’s ruling to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes America’s Judeo-Christian heritage and moral values, including the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life. It supports a strong national defense and an independent and sovereign United States of America. The Law Center accomplishes its mission through litigation, education, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization. You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website atwww.thomasmore.org.

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Does For-Profit Businesses Have Right to Religious Liberty?

admin — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:21:44 +0000

February 22, 2013 / MariaNews.com

Does For-Profit Businesses Have Right to Religious Liberty?

By Cybercast News Service

WASHINGTON, DC (CNS NEWS) – Republican members of Congress have weighed in on the legal battle being waged over the Obamacare mandate requiring employers to provide contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs to employees.

Eleven senators and congressmen filed an amicus brief, also known as a friend-of-the-court brief, with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit on Tuesday in support of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., a Christian-owned and operated corporation that opposes the mandate based on its owners’ religious beliefs. Hobby Lobby filed suit against Health and Human Services and Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Rep. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) was one of the lead sponsors of the Religious Freedom Reformation Act of 1993, which he said was designed to protect the religious liberty of all Americans, even those who own corporations or other for-profit businesses.

“As one of the lead sponsors of RFRA, it’s deeply troubling to see this White House trample on the religious freedom the law seeks to protect,” Hatch said in a written statement.

The brief states: “Amici are federal legislators who were part of the broad, bipartisan coalition that enacted the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (“RFRA”). Amici designed and passed RFRA to establish a blanket default rule that would insulate religious liberty from the shifting fortunes of interest-group politics.

“Defendants have ordered that certain employers’ insurance plans must cover all FDA-approved contraceptives without cost-sharing (the “HHS mandate”), but have refused to exempt many employers with sincere religious objections. Amici have an interest in vindicating RFRA’s blanket protections against the selective and stingy approach adopted by Defendants.”

In addition to Hatch, the brief was signed by Sens. Dan Coats (R-Ind.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), and Reps. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), and Frank Wolf (R-Va.).

At an event at the Family Research Council on Wednesday to discuss the threat Obamacare poses to Americans’ religious freedoms, Adele Keim, legal counsel with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represents Hobby Lobby, said that HHS is trying to make the distinction between non-profit and for-profit, with the latter being said to be secular and exempt from religious consideration.

“In the Hobby Lobby case, HHS’s lawyers have argued that business owners don’t have religious liberty at all when it comes to how they run their businesses,” Keim said. “According to HHS, that’s because the corporate form, which was designed centuries ago to limit liability, insulates them from the moral consequences of their actions.”

Keim said that HHS claims the for-profit nature of a corporation does not make the religious belief of its owner relevant.

“But of course, there’s nothing in the First Amendment that says you lose your religious liberty when you make a living,” Keim said.

Kyle Duncan, general counsel with Becket, said the lawmakers’ brief shows that the Obamacare mandate goes against federal civil rights law.

“While any brief by sitting members of Congress is significant, this one comes from members who originally supported the federal civil rights law-the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993-which is at the heart of the mandate challenges,” Duncan said.

“The brief leaves no doubt that Congress intended to protect the religious freedom of those like Hobby Lobby and its founder, David Green, against federal attempts to force them to insure abortion-inducing drugs,” Duncan added.

According to Becket, there are 47 legal court cases opposing the HHS mandate, with more than 130 plaintiffs being represented.

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Priests for Life Secure Religious Freedom Exemption from Obamacare

admin — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:56:08 +0000

January 8, 2012 / MariaNews.com

Priests for Life Secure Religious Freedom Exemption from Obamacare

By Priests for Life

STATEN ISLAND, NY (Priests for Life) – Priests for Life has scored a victory in its challenge to the religious-freedom-busting HHS mandate. Lawyers for the Obama administration stipulated that the pro-life organization would not have to offer contraception, sterilization services and abortifacient drugs through its employee health insurance plan.

Charles S. LiMandri, president and chief counsel for the Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund, which filed Priests for Life’s lawsuit against the government in February 2012 (the fourth such lawsuit), said the government changed its stance after a judge in the District Court for the Eastern District of New York said he would be inclined to side with the pro-life group. Priests for Life argued that it was a religious organization that should be exempt from the rule.

The American Freedom Law Center, which filed suit jointly with LiMandri, noted that the agreement came as a result of the court strongly urging the government to enter into the stipulation. If an agreement was not reached by December 21, the court scheduled a hearing for December 26, at which time it was evident the court would order the injunction.

The agreement will stay in effect at least until the government issues new regulations covering contraceptive services under the health care law.

“We are not expecting the government to come up with regulations that we can accept, but this is still an important first step,” said Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life. “We were prepared to violate the mandate on Jan. 1, at great expense to our organization. We are very grateful to the court that we did not have to take that step, and we remain confident that this unjust mandate will be entirely and permanently struck down.”

*****
Priests for Life is the nation’s largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.

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Domino Pizza’s founder sues over stipulation in health care law

admin — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 17:50:06 +0000

December 17, 2012 / MariaNews.com

Domino Pizza’s founder sues over stipulation in health care law

By Catholic Online

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) – Monaghan filed a lawsuit last week in federal court. Domino’s Farms is listed as a plaintiff, which is a Michigan office park complex that Monaghan owns.

Monaghan offers health insurance for his employees, but excludes abortion and contraception. According to the new federal law, employers are required to offer insurance including contraception coverage, or risk heavy fines.

Monaghan maintains that the law violates his rights, pointing out that it is not his responsibility to pay for the sexual habits of his employees, He is asking a judge to strike down the mandate. Monaghan’s sentiments are echoed nationwide, as there are similar lawsuits pending nationwide.

Monaghan is not the first pizza chain to speak out against the president’s health care overhaul. Aside from former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, Papa John’s founder John Schnatter said it was “common sense” that there would be cutbacks as the result of thousands of pages of new regulation. Schnatter later rescinded.

The Obama administration maintains in the meantime that the contraception mandate actually benefits women.

Domino’s Pizza is an international pizza delivery corporation headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1960, Domino’s is the second-largest pizza chain in the United States (after Pizza Hut) and has more than 10,000 corporate and franchised stores in 70 countries and all 50 U.S. states. Domino’s Pizza was sold to Bain Capital in 1998 and went public in 2004.

According to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, one of Domino’s Pizza biggest claims was quick delivery. Starting in 1973, Domino’s Pizza had a guarantee that customers would receive their pizzas within 30 minutes of placing an order, or they would receive the pizzas free. The guarantee was reduced to $3 off in the mid 1980s.

In 1992, the company settled a lawsuit brought by the family of an Indiana woman who had been killed by a Domino’s delivery driver, paying the family $2.8 million.

In another 1993 lawsuit, brought by a woman who was injured when a Domino’s delivery driver ran a red light and collided with her vehicle, the woman was awarded nearly $80 million, but accepted a payout of $15 million. The guarantee was dropped that same year because of the “public perception of reckless driving and irresponsibility”, according to Monaghan.

Ave Maria School of Law Tribute Video by Royce Hood

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Post Election Reflection: The Task Before Us. Our Hope is in Jesus Christ

admin — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 13:51:28 +0000

November 11, 2012 / MariaNews.com

Post Election Reflection: The Task Before Us. Our Hope is in Jesus Christ

By Human Life International

FRONT ROYAL, VA (Catholic Online) – With a few days’ perspective since the election, we can see things a bit more clearly. We should be honest about the situation for the pro-life community as we can best understand it.

The outcome of Tuesday’s election does not bode well for life and family — that is, for our most vulnerable brothers and sisters at the beginning and near the end of life; and for the natural, foundational institution of every society.

That this administration has made it a priority to attack both is well known, as is their sustained assault on the freedom of religion. Just as sadly, judging by exit polls, many Catholics do not appear to be concerned about these facts, but have bought into some understanding of “justice” that allows for the wholesale destruction of unborn human beings, the erosion of fundamental liberties and the elevation of destructive and sinful conduct to the level of a human right.

On the surface, there is little cause for hope. But we don’t live just on the surface, do we? Was our hope placed in a candidate for president, or is it in Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life? The Glory of God is not diminished in the least by the darkness that a slim majority of our nation has unwittingly chosen. It will be obscured for sure, but that is where we come in.

As it always has been, we have to bring Christ to the world. Dead is the idea that we can live with a middling “go along to get along” kind of faith, and many of our more confused brothers and sisters are starting to wake up to this fact. We need to be there for them, and we need to get more serious as well.

It is fine to hope for an improved political and financial situation — we have to. We also have to as Christians act to bring these about with our votes and by making our case to family, friends and in public. But our hope, unless it was misplaced, was never in these mere transitory things.

Brothers and sisters, this is no time to put our tails between our legs and run in fear. Christians are not cowards. We have hope not because of a rosy political and economic outlook, but because the One who is Hope has promised to be with us, and has invited us to be with Him for all eternity.

If we understand this basic truth of our faith, if we truly place our hope in Him, it takes on a whole different aspect of our lives. As Pope Benedict so beautifully put it in Spe Salvi, it becomes performative, that is, it changes everything and moves us toward greater virtue and trust in Him.

We have seen this in the saints, haven’t we? One cannot read the lives of the saints and then look around at the truly precarious situation we find ourselves in and lose hope! This has happened before, and it will happen again. But we continue to fight.

For Human Life International and our supporters this means we continue to oppose the anti-life juggernaut that spends billions every year killing unborn children and trying to convince the world that children are an obstacle to progress.

We work in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Africa who still love life and family enough to resist the seduction of the “reproductive health” salesmen, who tell us that “health” means no reproduction.

We joyfully stand with Latin America, where faith is still recognized by most as essential to the identity of nations, communities and families.

We pray that Europe might still recover its Christian soul and return to a culture of life, just as we pray and work to see that Asia turn back from its embrace of the culture of death and its more dynamic economies might also become genuinely pro-life societies.

And here in the U.S. we have to be beacons of hope and light and show the world that not everyone here has given up on God and on freedom.

That is, we do what we have done, but with greater fervor, hope and joy! We must get better at making the case for life and family, but let our own faithful lives be the true argument. Let those who thought they could buy the infertility and loyalty of the world see in us a loving and courageous force that has no intention of standing down.

Let them ask, “Don’t these people ever give up?” while our lived “Of course not!” comes from joyful voices and an unchecked resolve to proclaim the Gospel of Life.

We are far from done, even if our desired political outcome is unrealized. If you are struggling with despair over the election, you need to refocus your hope where it should have been all along. This is an opportunity for all of us to get serious and get to work. We might even be grateful that the choice is that much clearer as we redouble our efforts to grow in holiness and to fight for life and family.

—–

Fr. Shenan Boquet is the President of Human Life International.

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Call for a Lord’s Prayer Monday Before Election Tuesday

admin — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 18:16:14 +0000

November 5, 2012 / MariaNews.com

Call for a Lord’s Prayer Monday Before Election Tuesday

By Diocese of La Crosse

LA CROSSE, WI (Diocese of La Crosse) – We call on all Christians Monday to join in praying the Lord’s Prayer for Tuesday’s elections and for the future of our nation – especially for godly leaders who respect life in the womb, God’s plan for marriage, and religious freedom.

Let’s storm heaven Monday with the Prayer Jesus taught us. Pray it often throughout the day, and pray it from your heart. This is a prayer that unites Christians across all denominations. It starts by glorifying the Father’s name and asking that his kingdom come and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Is that not our greatest hope for our country at this critical moment?

Imagine the power of millions of Christians united in the Lord’s Prayer the day before the elections!

Let us never forget what Jesus told his disciples about the power of prayer in Luke 11:5-13, immediately after teaching them to pray:

“Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

Let’s take Jesus at his word! And consider adding fasting to your prayer. This can take many forms – skipping a meal or two, skipping dessert, “fasting” from television. Fasting is pleasing to the Lord and adds intensity to our prayers.

In recent days we have seen the awful power of nature as it surges from the sea on our eastern coastline. That is nothing compared to the awesome power of God when it surges in response to prayer – especially his prayer!

So let’s all lift our hearts and spirits to our heavenly Father in Jesus’ name on Monday. And all the better if you carry it into Tuesday! Thy kingdom come!

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Voters in Massachusetts to vote on initiative to legalize euthanasia

admin — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 16:32:24 +0000

October 30, 2012 / MariaNews.com

Voters in Massachusetts to vote on initiative to legalize euthanasia

MariaNews.com - This election is shaping up to be one of the most critical in U.S. history. To quote President Obama “voters must decide on two fundamentally different directions for our Country.” He is right. In addition to “fundamentally” different ideas for the direction of the Federal Government, many voters will also decide issues that seemingly impact only their State. The problem is that many state laws can be the basis for national trends. This election is about values and the dignity of Human life is under assault. The culture of death is trying to give new meaning to the word “dignity” by using it as a justification for death.

In Massachusetts, residents will vote on an initiative to allow terminally ill patients to receive a lethal dose of drugs. The so-called “Act Relative to Death with Dignity” initiative defines a terminally ill patient as somebody with six or fewer months to live. And the patient must be mentally capable of making such a decision, according to the measure.(1)

The Text:

A YES VOTE would enact the proposed law allowing a physician licensed in Massachusetts to prescribe medication, at the request of a terminally-ill patient meeting certain conditions, to end that person’s life.

A NO VOTE would make no change in existing laws.

According to the text of the initiative, the proposed measure would allow for a terminally ill patient to be given lethal drugs. A terminally ill patient would be defined as a patient being given six months or fewer to live. The patient requesting the medication must be mentally capable to make medical decisions while consulting their respective doctors. Patients would be required to submit their request orally twice and witnessed in writing, and the initial verbal request must be fifteen days prior to the written request and second oral request. The patient’s terminal diagnosis and capability to make health care decisions must be confirmed by a second doctor.(2)

Supporters say this is an opportunity for individuals to hold their fate in their own hands.

According to Steve Crawford, spokesman for The Massachusetts Death with Dignity Coalition: “The act gives patients dignity, control, and peace of mind during their final days with their families and loved ones. These are very intimate personal choices that should remain in the hands of the individual not the government.”

Opponents on the other hand fear this is a further erosion of the moral fabric of our society.

Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, leader of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, stated at a Mass for state lawyers and jurists, without specifically referring to the initiative by name: “We are called upon to defend the gospel of life with courage and resolve. Your very profession invests in all of you a great responsibility to ensure that all laws are just.”

O’Malley also claimed during the mass: “We hope that the citizens of the commonwealth will not be seduced by the language, ‘dignity, mercy, compassion,’ which are used to disguise the sheer brutality of helping someone to kill themselves.”

According to Rabbi Andrew Vogel of Temple Sinai in Brookline, “Ultimately, the moment of death is not for us to decide. That’s the gift of the spiritual tradition to say it’s ultimately God’s choice.”

A poll taken in May 0f 2012 shows that 43% of Massachusetts voters are in favor of the measure. While 37% are opposed and 20% undecided.

The danger. Have voters forgotten Terri Schiavo? On March 31, 2005, Terri Schindler Schiavo died of marked dehydration following more than 13 days without nutrition or hydration under the order of the Circuit Court Judge. Terri was 41.

Once we head down the slippery path of “death on demand” – it will open the gates for evil beyond which we can understand.

Nellie Gray Pray For Us.

Sources:

1. FoxNews.org

2. Ballotpedia.org

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Thousands in over 145 cities rally against HHS birth control mandate

admin — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 22:15:48 +0000

October 23, 2012 / MariaNews.com

Thousands in over 145 cities rally against HHS birth control mandate

LifeSiteNews.com - Thousands of Americans in dozens of cities took a stand against the Obama administration’s HHS birth control mandate on Saturday.

Marching at noon local time, people in 145 cities protested the mandate as part of the nationwide Stand Up for Religious Freedom movement. The protesters object to the requirement that all employers, including most religious employers, provide coverage for sterilization, contraception and abortion-causing pills free of charge to their workers.

Organizers say the event was well-attended, with even small-town rallies boasting participation in the hundreds.

Particularly large was the crowd in President Obama’s adopted hometown of Chicago. The local ABC affiliate, WLS-TV, reported that thousands came out for the protest. Carrying signs that read “Vote for Life and Liberty” and “Stop Obama’s HHS Mandate,” the protesters marched from Federal Plaza to Daley Plaza, where they heard speeches by religious and pro-life leaders.

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SATURDAY HOMILY: All of us are called to win souls for the Kingdom – Year of Faith

admin — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 14:55:25 +0000

October 20, 2012 / MariaNews.com

SATURDAY HOMILY: All of us are called to win souls for the Kingdom

By Father G. Peter Irving III

LONG BEACH, CA (Catholic Online) What on earth are you doing? What are you doing to share the faith with others? The average Catholic would probably answer, “Not much,” if he is doing anything at all. This is because, sadly, the question about what we are doing to spread the saving message of the Gospel is not the burning question it should be. For most practicing Catholics their “practice” consists of Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, perhaps Confession during Lent and Advent, some personal prayers and a daily striving to live according to the Commandments. And that’s it. Don’t get me wrong. All of this is good, but it is not enough.

I am very often edified by the zeal that I see in the Evangelical Protestant Christians I know. They are on a mission to win souls. Catholics don’t usually think in those categories but we should. We possess the fullness of the faith and yet, for many of us-priests as well as laity-we are just sitting on it. Listen to what St. Paul writes to the Ephesians in today’s first reading: “Hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the holy ones, I do not cease giving thanks for you .” My hunch is that St. Paul would not be anywhere near as pleased with us and our laid back, ho-hum attitude toward sharing the faith as he was with those first Catholics in Ephesus. In fact, if he were here today, we would very likely hear from his lips words of stern rebuke.

This general lack of awareness of our mission as Catholics to “win souls” is one of the reasons why Pope Benedict has called for a Year of Faith. The Holy Father wants to raise the spiritual temperature of all Catholics. He wants to allow ourselves to be set on fire to proclaim with a joyous and infectious enthusiasm that Jesus Christ alone is the Savior, that He alone is the answer to the longings of the human heart, and that He is to be found in the fullness of His splendor in His Holy Catholic Church.

The Holy Father wants to make sure that we know that sharing the faith is not an option for us; we have a mandate. Over these many months we have heard much about the unjust “HHS” mandate (i.e., the “contraceptive mandate” of Obama Care which we must oppose through every legitimate means, including by voting with a Catholic conscience on November 6). But there is a mandate from an infinitely higher authority which I call the “IHS” mandate. “IHS” is an ancient Greek monogram for the Holy Name of Jesus. The “IHS” mandate is the “Jesus mandate,” the command He has given to all of us to make the Gospel known to everyone. Without pointing the figure of blame at any one group or individual, religious freedom (given to us by God and guaranteed by the Constitution) is under attack by our government because we have failed to fulfill the “Jesus mandate.” Many of the people in government who have wittingly or unwittingly placed themselves in opposition to the Church are Catholics! Indeed, the government official who promulgated the controversial HHS “contraceptive mandate” claims to be Catholic!

Jesus gives us a promise and a warning in today’s Gospel: “I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.” These very serious words of our Lord apply to everyone in the Church: to the pastors, to the lay faithful and to men and women religious.

Bishops, priests and deacons must make every effort to promote the Year of Faith among the faithful and to help them become active participants in it. In our times, God in His goodness has raised up very holy men to the Chair of St. Peter. All of the modern popes-Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II-are either Servants of God, Venerables or Blesseds. Our present Holy Father-also known for his great personal sanctity-like his predecessors, has given to the Church in the seven years of his amazing pontificate an immense legacy of magisterial teaching and pastoral initiatives.

Unfortunately, too many priests have been less than eager to communicate these teachings and initiatives to the people they serve and as a result their impact has not been often felt. The year I was ordained a priest (1983) was a “Holy Year of Redemption,” but did I know about it? It pains me to say that I heard nothing about this in seminary classes or in homilies. I can honestly say that all these years later I still feel I was deprived of a great blessing. Of course, this was before the internet, Catholic radio and EWTN and perhaps today there is less of an excuse for not being aware of such things. Nevertheless, it remains the solemn duty of the Church’s clergy, as an expression of their communion with the Holy Father, to energetically promote initiatives such as the Year of Faith. This they must do by way of their preaching, teaching, counseling and other pastoral endeavors. And they must do this with a joyful enthusiasm.

The role of the laity in bringing about a renewal of faith during this year of grace is also equally indispensable. The words of Jesus from today’s Gospel which I quoted earlier were not addressed exclusively to the apostles, the Church’s first priests. Rather, St. Luke tells us at the beginning of that chapter that our Lord was speaking to a multitude of many thousands. The “Jesus mandate” to spread the Good News is addressed to every member of the Church. Catholics need to disabuse themselves of a “clerical mentality” which holds that spreading the Gospel is the exclusive domain of the clergy and religious. In the Church, everyone has a part to play in spreading the doctrine of Christ. The priest does this in the sanctuary of the church where he preaches, offers Mass and forgives sins. For the lay person this is done in the ordinary circumstances of one’s life: at home and at the office, in the factory and in the field, at the construction site and in the classroom, etc. On the role of the laity in the mission of the Church the Second Vatican Council taught: ‘ . the laity are made to share in the priestly, prophetical and kingly office of Christ; they have therefore, in the Church and in the world, their own assignment in the mission of the whole People of God. In the concrete, their apostolate is exercised when they work at the evangelization and sanctification of men; it is exercised too when they endeavor to have the Gospel spirit permeate and improve the temporal order, going about it in a way that bears clear witness to Christ and helps forward the salvation of men.” (Apostolicam Actuositatem, 2)

All of us-priests, deacons, laity and religious-must make a sincere effort in this Year of Faith to deepen our friendship with Christ as well as our knowledge of the content of the faith so that we may more effectively share this inestimable treasure with everyone we meet.

The Cardinal Archbishop of New York at the recent Synod of Bishops in Rome shared some brief words with the Holy Father and the other Synod Fathers. In his remarks he cited St. Bernard who once said, “If you want to be a channel, you must first be a reservoir.” How can we expect others to hear the Gospel of Christ unless we ourselves have heard it first? How can we be ready to give an explanation for the hope that is in us if we are not allotting ourselves time to ponder the eternal Truths which God has revealed? St. Paul of the Cross, whose Memorial we celebrate today, offers us this cogent advice: “When you are alone in your room, take your crucifix, kiss its five wounds reverently, tell it to preach to you a little sermon, and then listen to the words of eternal life that it speaks to your heart; listen to the pleading of the thorns, the nails, the precious Blood. Oh, what an eloquent sermon!”

May our Holy Mother Mary, who heard the Word of God and obeyed it perfectly, intercede for us.

—–

Father G. Peter Irving III is a priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and is pastor of Holy Innocents Church in Long Beach.

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USCCB Responds To Inaccurate Statement Of Fact On HHS Mandate Made During Vice Presidential Debate

admin — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 16:45:29 +0000

October 14, 2012 / MariaNews.com

USCCB Responds To Inaccurate Statement Of Fact On HHS Mandate Made During Vice Presidential Debate

By USCC Office of Media Relations

WASHINGTON, DC (USCCB) – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued the following statement, October 12. Full text follows:

*****

Last [week], the following statement was made during the Vice Presidential debate regarding the decision of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to force virtually all employers to include sterilization and contraception, including drugs that may cause abortion, in the health insurance coverage they provide their employees:

“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.

USCCB continues to urge HHS, in the strongest possible terms, actually to eliminate the various infringements on religious freedom imposed by the mandate.

For more details, please see USCCB’s regulatory comments filed on May 15 regarding the proposed “accommodation”

Catholic Voting Guide: http://www.ewtn.com/vote/brief_catechism.htm

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