Posted on 03/06/2012 9:45:42 AM PST by SeekAndFind
An atheist activist group is fighting the Catholic Church's "war against contraception" by stepping up its campaign that suggests believers should end their faithfulness to their religion.
The Madison, Wis.-based Freedom From Religion Foundation plans to run a full-page ad in The New York Times that states, "It's Time to Quit the Catholic Church." FFRF is conducting a fundraiser to pay for the $52,000 ad and has collected $45,000 so far, according to a chart on the group's website.
The FFRF campaign began last month in light of opposition from the Catholic Church to the Obama administration's decision that seeks to guarantee employees of church and ministry-affiliated institutions reproductive health coverage, including contraception, abortifacients and sterilization.
"Dear 'Liberal' Catholic," an open letter written by the group's co-president, Annie Laurie Gaylor, begins. "It's time to quit the Roman Catholic Church. It's your moment of truth. Will it be reproductive freedom, or back to the Dark Ages? Do you choose women and their rights, or Bishops and their wrongs? Whose side are you on, anyway?"
Gaylor called the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops' opposition to mandatory free contraception to employees of religious organizations a "ruthless campaign endangering the right to contraception."
"If you're part of the Catholic Church, you're part of the problem," she continued. "Why are you propping up the pillars of a tyrannical and autocratic, woman-hating, sex-perverting, antediluvian Old Boys Club? Why are you aiding and abetting a church that has repeatedly and publicly announced a crusade to ban contraception, abortion and sterilization, and to deny the right of all women everywhere, Catholic or not, to decide whether and when to become mothers? When it comes to reproductive freedom, the Roman Catholic Church is Public Enemy Number One."
Last Thursday, the Senate rejected by a 51-48 vote a bill that would have permitted religious employers to refuse to cover medical services that violated their moral and religious convictions.
A Catholic political action group is targeting the 13 Democratic senators who supported the contraception mandate and is making plans to defeat those who are up for reelection in November.
"Faithful Catholics should take the opportunity to thank those Senators supporting our religious liberties," said Matt Smith, president of the Catholic Advocate, a group that encourages Catholics to be active in the political process. "It is our duty as laity to hold those who did not support our values accountable and vote our conscience when the time comes."
Evangelical columnist Chuck Colson recently argued that the way the issue of free contraception through health care has played out among its supporters is deceitful and "downright shameful."
"They say this is all about protecting women's access to contraception. This is, folks, the biggest red herring I've seen in politics. It's garbage, and they know it," Colson said. "Shame on them. Nobody is saying they shouldn't have access to contraceptives. Any woman can go to virtually any drug store and purchase them. Even drugs that induce abortion. As I told you last week, these things are even available in vending machines now!"
The scathing letter against Catholics by Gaylor included a paragraph that reads: "You're better than your church. So why? Why continue to attend Mass? Tithe? Why dutifully sacrifice to send your children to parochial schools so they can be brainwashed into the next generation of myrmidons (and, potentially, become the next Church victims)?"
Gaylor continued, "It is disgraceful that U.S. health care reform is being held hostage to the Catholic Church's bizarre opposition to medically prescribed contraception. No politician should jeopardize electability for failure to genuflect before the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops."
However, Colson wrote that the national debate is not really about contraception.
"Folks, women's access to contraception is not the issue here. They have it. In spades. What's really going on is that the Obama Administration wants women to have access to FREE contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs. It's an ideological imperative for them. And such niceties as the First Amendment's protection of religious freedom just don't matter in comparison," Colson stated.
"Make no mistake: What we are witnessing is indeed the leading edge of tyranny," Colson concluded.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9123866/Churches-adopt-new-Ten-Commandments.html
About 600 churches in the UK have a new set of 10 commandments.
No wonder its an atheist country about to be a Muslim country
A 2000 year-old institution is not going to be rocked by these idiots. We have it from the Founder, “The gates of hell, shall not prevail against thee.
http://drb.scripturetext.com/matthew/16.htm
They should contact Nancy Pelosi for a donation, she is such a good catholic and follows their teaching to the ninth degree
I heard this story.
Two ancients were talking, one a woman, the other a Rabbi. The woman asked “Rabbi, who will be more important in the eyes of the Lord, us, or the people of the future”?
Rabbi: “Well my child, it will be the people of the future. We are fighting Satan chained, the people of the future will fight hin UN-chained”.
And here they are. Satans loyal followers are marching into hell everyday....gladly. These have yet to make the trip.
Bizarre teaching? Prior to 1930 all protestant denominations condemned artificial contraception as sin. One by one they ALL succumbed to modernism/progressivism and we have what we have now, as pointed out prophetically by Pope Paul VI in Humanae Vitae, the much maligned and despised encyclical on human life. The Catholic Church has ALWAYS TAUGHT artificial contraception is mortal sin. This teaching WILL NEVER CHANGE. There are moral absolutes and there is objective truth. The Catholic Church has this right.
The current issues is much less about contraception than it is religous freedom.
I can’t think of a more misguided waste of money. Anyone who would be swayed by a full page ad by athiests to leave the Church probably has no business talking up space in the pews.
RE: I can’t think of a more misguided waste of money
Hey, if they want to waste their money, let them. It’s their money.
This is so unlike Sandra Fluke, who wants to use YOUR MONEY and MINE to help fund her sexual activities.
“...its campaign that suggests believers should end their faithfulness to their religion.”
Why should they even care what I believe? Lol...
The lack of logic on the part of this campaign is really almost humorous.
“Satan really despises atheists—I mean he is glad they all come to him so it’s not that—it’s just that he has to spend several eternities explaining to the morons how they got there. “
Great comment, I’m going to use that one... Hope you do not mind.
when will they start a Lose the Burqa ad campaign?
Where are the Atheist Hospitals?
Where are the Atheist Homeless Shelters?
Where are the Atheist Food Pantries?
Where are the Atheist Orphanages?
It was a rhetorical question. But good answer.
Usual Suspects
Useful Idiots for the enemy of our souls. These who believe in "chance" as the designer of their bodies. So "Father Chance" created everything. How ironic they really will meet "father Chance" who is the enemy of our souls. The old serpent.
I will be praying for these. I hope all of us will pray too.
It was a rhetorical question. But good answer.
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