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Lose-Lose on Abortion; Obama's threat to Catholic hospitals and their very serious counterthreat.
Slate ^ | 24 November 2008 | Melinda Henneberger

Posted on 11/24/2008 8:28:54 PM PST by Lorianne

When I saw the Catholic bishops had declared war on President-elect Obama at their semiannual meeting in Baltimore two weeks ago, my first reaction was pique: Gosh, guys, it isn't even parade day yet, and here you are, all dressed up and ready to rain on it.

Were they in spasm because Obama had won Catholics by nine points? (Nine! A landslide compared with the five by which my co-religionists had favored Bush in '04.) Peeved because even some of the most ardent pro-lifers had broken ranks? (In Colorado, where Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput called Obama "the most committed 'abortion rights' presidential candidate of either major party since the Roe v. Wade abortion decision in 1973,'' it was Catholic voters who turned the state from red to blue.)

...

What in the world were these bishops talking about, claiming that religious freedom in America was under attack? Keep up the hysterics, boys, I thought as I scanned the latest story, and this will be birth control all over again: Your lips are moving but no one can hear you. And the most ludicrous line out of them, surely, was about how, under Obama, Catholic hospitals that provide obstetric and gynecological services might soon be forced to perform abortions or close their doors. Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Chicago warned of "devastating consequences" to the health care system, insisting Obama could force the closure of all Catholic hospitals in the country. That's a third of all hospitals, providing care in many neighborhoods that are not exactly otherwise overprovided for. It couldn't happen, could it?

(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: abortion; bho2008; catholichospitals; conscienceclause; foca; healthcare
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You have to read it to believe it.
1 posted on 11/24/2008 8:28:54 PM PST by Lorianne
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To: Lorianne

Close them down then. If this nation supports the slaughter of the unborn, then it can suffer without the hospitals. Catholics better hold their ground.


2 posted on 11/24/2008 8:34:14 PM PST by lookout88 (Combat search and rescue officer's dad.)
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To: Lorianne

My thoughts on this article are unprintable and would get me banned.


3 posted on 11/24/2008 8:35:35 PM PST by pray4liberty (Always vote for life!)
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To: Lorianne

Abortion is paramount to Marxists.

Then again, Karl Marx wrote poetry glorifying Satan and Saul Alinsky virtually dedicated the Communisty Organizer manual to him, so it figures.


4 posted on 11/24/2008 8:36:23 PM PST by unspun (PRAY & WORK FOR FREEDOM - investigatingobama.blogspot.com)
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To: Lorianne

**Were they in spasm because Obama had won Catholics by nine points? (Nine! A landslide compared with the five by which my co-religionists had favored Bush in ‘04.)**

Slate needs to do his homework. Catholics did NOT vote for Obama. CINOs did. And in doing so they excommunicated themselves and cannot receive Communion validly.


5 posted on 11/24/2008 8:39:48 PM PST by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: lookout88

Yes, the bishops very much had better hold this line. They will be treatened with loss of tax-exempt status and hope they say, “No problem”. They may be forced to openly ex-communicate certain politician and I hope they don’t mince words about it. Let’s make the political reality as ugly as possible. It can never be anywhere near as ugly as the reality of the work of the abortionists.


6 posted on 11/24/2008 8:39:49 PM PST by Emmett McCarthy
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To: lookout88

**Catholics better hold their ground.**

Catholics and many others will be persecuted. May the Lord Almighty have mercy on us!


7 posted on 11/24/2008 8:40:54 PM PST by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Lorianne; informavoracious; larose; RJR_fan; Prospero; Conservative Vermont Vet; ...
+

Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:

Add me / Remove me

Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of interest.

Obama Says A Baby Is A Punishment

Obama: “If they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.”

8 posted on 11/24/2008 8:41:39 PM PST by narses (http://www.theobamadisaster.com/)
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To: Lorianne
Many Bishops are speaking out. God bless them one and all.

Pray for LIFE!

Lose-Lose on Abortion; Obama's threat to Catholic hospitals and their very serious counterthreat.
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9 posted on 11/24/2008 8:42:39 PM PST by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Lorianne

Well when 50+% Catholics voted for O and the Church gives money to ACORN and other left wing groups it makes it a lot harder. All the good people in the church and the pews have their good works diluted by a small number of satanists.

I am not too happy with the Jews either who voted 78% for a good friend of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. This is not anti-semitic but pro-Israel because Israelis supported McCain 3 to 1.


10 posted on 11/24/2008 8:43:44 PM PST by Frantzie
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To: Lorianne
Obama co sponsored the bill. But then she knew that, didn't she?
11 posted on 11/24/2008 8:43:46 PM PST by IrishCatholic (No local communist or socialist party chapter? Join the Democrats, it's the same thing.)
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To: Lorianne
There's just too much drivel for me to wade through.

So what was "their very serious counterthreat"?

12 posted on 11/24/2008 8:44:29 PM PST by Slump Tester (What if I'm pregnant Teddy? Errr-ahh -Calm down Mary Jo, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it)
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To: lookout88
"Catholics better hold their ground".

What Catholics, Less than 30% of professed Catholics go to Mass every week. From what I can see very few families, Catholic or otherwise, have more than two children.

I can not think of the last time a real homily about actual consequences of sin was delivered by any priest. All of the talk in Church is about how God is Love. No talk about responsibilities or consequences. No Hell and Damnation. all touchy fealy and nobody in the pews.

13 posted on 11/24/2008 8:51:00 PM PST by Jim from C-Town
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To: Jim from C-Town

. all touchy fealy and nobody in the pews.

Yeah. lot’s of talk about needing more money though.


14 posted on 11/24/2008 8:57:55 PM PST by lookout88 (Combat search and rescue officer's dad.)
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To: Emmett McCarthy
“They may be forced to openly excommunicate certain politician and I hope they don’t mince words about it.”

I'll believe it when I see it. There is no excuse for the church not having already publicly excommunicating Teddy Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, John Kerry, Joe Biden as well as Rudy Giuliani and others.

They should immediately and publicly excommunicate Teddy Kennedy and deny him a Catholic funeral without his first confessing his numerous sins in private and publicly and vehemently changing his stance on abortion.

15 posted on 11/24/2008 8:59:40 PM PST by Jim from C-Town
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To: Lorianne

The closing of Catholic hospitals would definitely create a health care crisis and help socialists finally get their dream of socialized medicine.


16 posted on 11/24/2008 9:00:17 PM PST by Tzimisce (http://groups.myspace.com/nailthemessiah)
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To: Slump Tester
So what was "their very serious counterthreat"?

It's in the article, but I'll save you the trouble of actually reading the first few paragraphs.

They've said they'd close down the Catholic hospitals rather than be forced to perform abortions. That's a very serious threat indeed.

It's one I fervently hope is carried through should this monstrous FOCA become law. And for the record, I am not Catholic.

L

17 posted on 11/24/2008 9:03:54 PM PST by Lurker ("America is at that awkward stage. " Claire Wolfe, call your office.)
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To: Lorianne
their very serious counterthreat...

.... ...is this:

"The bishops are not bluffing when they say they'd turn out the [hospital] lights rather than comply.

Also this tidbit, which was interesting since I started tracking the religious voting statistics in this election:

Obama and Biden won 63-36 in Pennsylvania's heavily Catholic Lackawanna County, home to Scranton Bishop Joseph Martino, who seemed beside himself over the pro-choice position taken by Vice President-elect Joe Biden

18 posted on 11/24/2008 9:04:07 PM PST by Alex Murphy ( "Every country has the government it deserves" - Joseph Marie de Maistre)
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To: Lorianne

The strategy to defeat FOCA is to point out to pro-abortion politicians it’s not merely an abortion issue.

One is this possibility of Catholic hospitals closing. If not done nationwide, each bishop in his diocese could order hospitals and clinics closed. SO even if the USCCB is too spineless, there are many bishops individually who are not.

Second is the tremendous risk for abuse, rape and statutory rape. Currently if a 14 year old pregnant girl shows up for an abortion and says the father is her mom’s boyfriend or her uncle or a 22-year old, it has to be reported to authorities. (Not always done but at least that’s the law.) With abortion-on-demand for anyone, anytime, with no parental notification, no questions asked, many girls will be forced to abort by abusers and then likely continue to be molested.

Third, one bishop has gone so far as to say, if the govt funds abortions freely, we should give up tax-exempt status but also refuse to pay taxes, and that all Christians may find themselves with a real moral question of whether it’s no longer ethical to render under Ceasar. Now, I highly doubt a hugh nationwide Christian refusal to pay taxes if FOCA passes, but the fact that it can be discussed openly not by some nut, but a bishop, shows these legislators are underestimating the seriousness of this matter to the half of America that is Christian.

Fourth, when you write to your Congressman, don’t assume they know any of the above. They probably have not even read FOCA, just are sticking with the party line. The letter I received from my Senator (Wyden, Oregon) in response to mine, indicated he was completely clueless as to what I was talking about.

So FOCA is just too broad, with too many ramifications, I can easily see how one could be a “pro-choice” person and still against this particular radically sweeping bill.


19 posted on 11/24/2008 9:08:00 PM PST by baa39 (www.FightFOCA.com - innocent lives depend on you)
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