HHS Mandate, Catholic Bishops, and Foster Auditorium

First, the bad news: the American government wants Catholic hospitals to either kill people, pay someone else to do the job, or at least refer folks to a willing assassin. Don't worry: it's all perfectly legal. Best of all, from the killers' point of view, the victims are helpless.

Now, the good news: Catholic bishops in America don't think this is a good idea. And they're saying so.

The archbishop whose territory I'm in has some good advice:

"...And therefore, I would ask of you two things. First, as a community of faith we must commit ourselves to prayer and fasting that wisdom and justice may prevail, and religious liberty may be restored. Without God, we can do nothing; with God, nothing is impossible. Second, I would also recommend visiting www.usccb.org/conscience, to learn more about this severe assault on religious liberty, and how to contact Congress in support of legislation that would reverse the Administration’s decision...."
(John C. Nienstedt, Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis) [emphasis mine]

HHS (Health and Human Services) 'Kill' Order: Background

I've put links to several resources near the end of this post. Briefly, the Federal HHS says that Catholic institutions must do what the HHS says to do. We think there's a higher authority than the HHS Secretary: or even the American President. And that's almost another topic.

Here's what the HHS wants, and why it's a bad idea:

1. The mandate does not exempt Catholic organizations
2. The mandate forces these institutions and others, to violate their conscience
   • Paying for immoral acts
   • Helping others commit immoral acts
3. The mandate forces coverage of
   • Sterilization
   • Abortion-inducing
     • Drugs
     • Devices
   • Contraception
4. Catholics of all political persuasions are unified in their opposition to the mandate
   • Columnists
     • E.J. Dionne
     • Mark Shields
     • Michael Sean Winters
   • College presidents
     • Father John Jenkins
     • Arturo Chavez
   • Daughter of Charity Sister Carol Keehan
     • President and chief executive officer of the Catholic Health Association of
       the United States
5. Many other religious and secular people and groups have spoken out strongly against the mandate
   • For other religious people, the issue isn't contraception
     • It's religious freedom
   • Secular outlets have editorialized against the HHS mandate
     • The Washington Post
     • USA Today
     • N.Y. Daily News
     • Detroit News
     • Other
       • Columnists
       • Bloggers
6. The federal mandate is much stricter than existing state mandates
   (source: "USCCB: Six Things Everyone Should Know About the HHS Mandate")

Reality, Nostalgia, and the Establishment

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has a pretty good set of resources that explain what's going on with the HHS mandate in question. If what you read there isn't quite what you heard on the news: I'm not surprised.

Back in my 'good old days,' "national security" was invoked a bit too often as an excuse for evil (or daft) behavior. "Womens' health care" serves a similar function today. I didn't entirely trust the establishment then, I don't now, and I've been over this before. (September 15, 2011) I'll indulge in nostalgia now and then: but I don't yearn for the 'good old days.' I remember 'the good old days,' and they weren't.

Links to a selection of those resources:

• Archbishop Nienstedt's Letter Against Health Coverage Mandates
  Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis (January 26, 2012)
  (PDF) - 72 KB
  from http://www.archspm.org/_uls/resources/Gen_Ltr_re_US_Dept_of_Health_decision____1-26-12.pdf
• Carta del Arzobispo Nienstedt contra los mandatos de la cobertura de salud (Spanish)
  Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis (26 de enero de 2012)
  (PDF) - 68 KB
  from http://www.archspm.org/_uls/resources/Gen_Ltr_in_SPANISH_US_Dept_of_Health_decision__1-26-12.pdf
• USCCB: White House Misrepresents Its Own Contraceptive Mandate
  United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, via Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis (February 3, 2012)
  (PDF) - 169 KB
  from http://www.archspm.org/_uls/resources/USCCB-Response-to-WH-Blog-on-HHS-Mandate-2012.pdf
• "USCCB: Six Things Everyone Should Know About the HHS Mandate"
  United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, via Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis (February 6, 2012)
  (PDF) - 12 KB
  from http://www.archspm.org/_uls/resources/USCCB-six-things-HHS-regulations-english-2012-02-06.pdf
• "USCCB: SEIS COSAS QUE TODO EL MUNDO DEBERÍA SABER SOBRE LA REGULACIÓN DE HHS" (Spanish)
  United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, via Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis (6 de febrero 2012)
  (PDF) - 27 KB
  from http://www.archspm.org/_uls/resources/USCCB-six-things-HHS-regulations-spanish-2012-02-06.pdf

More:

• "Religious Liberty - Conscience Protection"
  Religious Liberty, Position Statements, Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis (February 8, 2012)
• "Bishop William Lori: 'Referral is Not the Answer, Rescinding the Mandate Is' "
  Bishop William Lori, News & Events, Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis (February 9, 2012)

Current Events and Getting a Grip

I'm concerned, but not worried, about what's going on.

That's partly because I've been through something like this before. Back in the '60s, 'the establishment' was mostly white, almost all male, and either WASP or trying to be sufficiently WASPish. I suppose there's a sort of sadly futile and misplaced valor in actions like blocking the door of Foster Auditorium: but folks who wanted to keep non-WASPs in their place were wrong, and were losing.

Before that, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) chief counsel had said: "After all, the KKK is an old American institution."¹ Instead of looking into the Ku Klux Klan's actions, HUAC went commie-hunting in the Federal Writers Project.

Like I said, I don't miss the 'good old days.' At all.

Change Happens

The point is that a half-century ago, America was being run by folks who were desperately clinging to the worst of a set of ideas that had been more popular in their youth.

Today, America is being run by folks who are desperately clinging to daft ideas that were more popular in their youth. It's another set of people, with another set of ideas: but I see the same general pattern.

An entrenched establishment, whose members have been getting increasingly detached from reality, is desperately trying to retain control. And they're losing.

Yes, the HHS mandate in question is dangerous. I also think it's an example of how desperate today's establishment is.

Looking at the Big Picture

Another reason that I'm concerned, but not worried, is that ten thousand years from now my leader will still be 'in office.' The current American administration? Not so much.

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More posts about forcing Catholics to violate our conscience:
The Department of Health and Human Services vs. Conscience

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Related posts:

• Conscience - bothersome, but important
  • "My Take on the News: Bishops and Sterilization; Chaplains and Free Speech; Racketeering and Lizard Men"
    (February 10, 2012)
    Particularly
    • Sterilize! You Have Nothing to Lose But Your Future!
  • "Apathy is Rampant, But Who Cares?"
    (October 4, 2010)
  • "Time-Sharing a Conscience Won't Work"
    (July 6, 2010)
  • "Public Officials with Ethical Standards: A Radical Idea For Today's America"
    (June 29, 2010)
  • "Health Care Reform, or 'Who Needs a Conscience? This is Medicine!' "
    (October 31, 2009)
• Politics: deal with it
  • "Freedom of Speech: Bothersome, but Valuable"
    (January 27, 2012)
  • "My Take on the News: Religion, Politics, and Freedom"
    (October 28, 2011)
  • "Separation of Church and State, Assumptions, and Fear"
    (September 2, 2011)
  • "Morality, Wisdom, and Getting a Grip"
    (June 3, 2011)
  • " 'I Take No Interest in Politics' isn't an Option"
    (March 29, 2010)
• Life: without that, other rights don't matter
  • "My Take on the News: Reliquary Found; 'Kill or Close' Order From Washington; the Value of Silence"
    (January 27, 2012)
    Particularly
    • 'Kill or Close'
  • "Steve Jobs, Jospeh Maraachli, and 'Reproductive Health:' My Take"
    (October 7, 2011)
  • "Troy Davis: American Courts are Never Wrong, Right?"
    (September 25, 2011)
    Particularly
    • Life - and Death - in the Real World
  • "Sex Selection, Newspeak, and Getting a Grip"
    (August 11, 2011)
  • "Remember: 'Clinically Dead' isn't 'Dead' "
    (October 22, 2010)

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¹ Source:

• "McCarthyism"
  Spartacus Education, U.K.