(HT: Catholic Culture) Note: One in six patients receives care in a Catholic hospital in the United States.
February 26, 2012
By Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I.
Read more on Cardinal George: No Catholic hospitals in two years unless HHS mandate rescinded…
On Jan. 20, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius ordered most employers and insurers to provide contraceptives, sterilization, and abortifacient drugs (the “morning after” pill) free of charge under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Yesterday, President Obama — reacting to a firestorm of criticism that this new mandate violates freedom of religion and conscience protections — announced a compromise that shifted the cost of the mandate to insurers. That, however, has done little to allay fears about the erosion of constitutional rights from many religious leaders. Roman Catholic Bishop Richard Pates in Des Moines, for example, told the local paper the compromise didn’t go far enough and asked parishes in his diocese to publish a letter tomorrow titled, “At stake: Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Conscience.”
Read more on Report: Economic experts blast revised HHS mandate…
Acton’s director of research Samuel Gregg tackles the question of religious liberty in Islamic states this morning, over at The American Spectator. In a piece titled “The Arab Spring’s Forgotten Freedom,” Gregg describes the tensions between Christians seeking religious freedom in the Middle East and the Islamic states they inhabit, and then looks hopefully to the source of a resolution.
Read more on Samuel Gregg: Religious Freedom and the Arab Spring…
There are no more Christian churches in Afghanistan — not a single public house of Christian worship is left standing. In other news, NATO success against the Taliban may have been intentionally exaggerated, although we already knew that progress in that country is… slow. It’s no surprise, of course, that the United States hasn’t been able to establish self government-in-a-box in a country where, according to the State Department, religious liberty has declined measurably even in the last year.
From an Aug. 26 Christian Post story. (HT: Mirror of Justice):
More than 100 religious organizations are urging members of Congress to reject pending legislation that would prohibit them from considering religion when hiring.
Read more on Faith Groups Urge Congress to Preserve Religious Hiring Rights…
“Freedom of worship” has recently replaced the phrase “freedom of religion” in public pronouncements from the Obama administration, according to news reports. Ralph Benko follows up on the Washington Examiner:
President Obama’s recent formulation, “Freedom of Worship” has the religiously serious aghast. It telegraphs a subversion of faith — by defending a right not in question, the right to conduct religious feasts and fasts and ceremonies, and downgrading religion’s heart, values.
Rev. Robert A. Sirico, president and co-founder of the Acton Institute, will be on the Fox Business network show Freedom Watch with Judge Andrew Napolitano this weekend. Tune in Saturday at 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. EDT, and Sunday at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. EDT.
Read more on Rev. Sirico on Fox’s Freedom Watch this weekend…
In a new column in the Detroit News, Rev. Robert A. Sirico warns of a “cultural shift which would reject Christian revelation’s role in the forming of American and Western civilization.”
