Last Thursday at a National Day of Prayer event on Capitol Hill, Rear Admiral William Lee spoke out against the growing hostility toward Christians in the military under the Obama administration. He had a long, carefully worded speech prepared, he said – but opted at the last minute to speak from the heart.
The Admiral confessed that he had violated military rules many times – rules that ban him from simply giving a Bible to a soldier who had attempted suicide.”Every sixty-five minutes a veteran pulls the trigger or takes their own life, the admiral explained.
“The problem that men and women like me face in uniform who are in senior leadership positions, is that higher you are, the more vulnerable you are to being taken down. You come in the crosshairs of those people who lay in wait outside the gate – waiting to take us down to task for expressing our faith for so as much as whispering to a young man who is on his last hope, that there is hope that I can just simply whisper (raising the bible) in here is the answer – take it home.”
He continued, “the lawyers tell me that if I do that, I’m crossing the line,” Lee said. “I’m so glad I’ve crossed that line so many times.” He pledged not to back down from “my right under the Constitution to tell a young man that there is hope.”
Standing O.
General Jerry Boykin, Family Research Council’s Executive Vice President lauded Lee with the following comments:
The speech follows a week of controversy after a recent Washington Post report stating that anti-Christian activists had met with senior Pentagon officials to press for the court martial of Christians in the military who “promote their personal religious beliefs to their subordinates or to extend preferential treatment for any religion.” According to the Post, the activists were given assurances that an instruction booklet on proselytizing would be forthcoming within the next few weeks. Since then, the Pentagon has issued several statements but none of them have explained what assurances were offered in the meeting and if none were offered, why the Pentagon has not made clear that anti-Christian activist Mikey Weinstein has misrepresented his relationship with the Air Force. Since Monday evening, more than 130,000 people have signed an FRC petition calling on the Pentagon to protect religious liberty.
In a recent statement the Pentagon confirmed that ”Religious proselytization is not permitted within the Department of Defense…Court martials and non-judicial punishments are decided on a case-by-case basis…”.
The statement, released to Fox News, follows a Breitbart News report on Obama administration Pentagon appointees meeting with anti-Christian extremist Mikey Weinstein to develop court-martial procedures to punish Christians in the military who express or share their faith.
(From our earlier report: Weinstein is the head of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, and says Christians–including chaplains–sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in the military are guilty of “treason,” and of committing an act of “spiritual rape” as serious a crime as “sexual assault.” He also asserted that Christians sharing their faith in the military are “enemies of the Constitution.”)
Being convicted in a court martial means that a soldier has committed a crime under federal military law. Punishment for a court martial can include imprisonment and being dishonorably discharged from the military.
So President Barack Obama’s civilian appointees who lead the Pentagon are confirming that the military will make it a crime–possibly resulting in imprisonment–for those in uniform to share their faith. This would include chaplains—military officers who are ordained clergymen of their faith (mostly Christian pastors or priests, or Jewish rabbis)–whose duty since the founding of the U.S. military under George Washington is to teach their faith and minister to the spiritual needs of troops who come to them for counsel, instruction, or comfort.
As I wrotein my post atthe Conversation, Monday, the US Army has taken on a bizarrely hostile stance toward the Christian faith in recent weeks, blocking the Southern Baptist Convention website because of its “hostile content”, labeling Catholics, Evangelicals, Mormons And Jews ‘Religious Extremists’ during a briefing on religious extremism, and labeling Christian Ministries as ‘Domestic Hate Groups’ in an email.
It should come as no surprise that Weinstein endorses the ultra-left Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), who publishes a list of what it deems “hate groups.”
Some Republicans in Congress have been alerted to the problem and have taken some preliminary action, sending a letter to the Secretary of the Army demanding that he rescind and apologize for the absurd briefing that labeled Evangelical Christians, Orthodox Jews, Mormons and Catholics as religious extremist groups alongside Hamas, al Qaeda and the KKK.
Megyn Kelly had Pete Hegseth of Concerned Veterans For America on her show, Thursday, to discuss what is going on at the Pentagon.
Hegseth called Weinstein’s group, “anti-Christian zealots that the Pentagon never should have allowed in for a meeting.
FRC has launched a petition here calling on Secretary Hagel is stop working with Weinstein and his anti-Christian organization to develop military policy regarding religious faith. As of this writing, 124,814 signatures had been received.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the US Army is being run by the left-wing, anti- Christian hate group SPLC. They seem to be trying to stamp out any and all religious sentiment in its soldiers, as well as trying to discourage those with religious beliefs from even serving in the Army. Unless Congress steps up and does something to stop it, religious freedom in the military will be a thing of the past.
An Army officer assigned to a U.S. base says he tried to access SBC.net from his government computer but instead got a message that said the site was being blocked by “Team CONUS.” The message he received read:
“The site you have requested has been blocked by Team CONUS (C-TNOSC/RECERT-CONUS) due to hostile content.”
Team CONUS is the Department of Defense management and computer network overseer of the military’s Continental U.S. (CONUS) Theater Network Operations and Security Center (C-TNOSC) and Regional Computer Emergency Response Team (RCERT).
“So the Southern Baptist Convention is now considered hostile to the U.S. Army … It just corroborates the recent string of events highlighted by AFA,” the officer wrote in an email to American Family Association (AFA).
Earlier this month, a shocking story broke about an Army instructor in Pennsylvania who labeled Evangelical Christians, Catholics, Orthodox Jews and Mormons “religious extremists” alongside Hamas and al Qaeda during an Army Reserve Equal Opportunity training brief on extremism. An Army spokesman told Todd Starnes of Fox News that this was an “isolated incident not condoned by the Dept. of the Army.”
It was not an isolated incident.
A few days later, Todd Starnes reported at Townhall that an Army officer at Ft. Campbell, KY had recently sent an email to subordinates using similar descriptions to describe two mainstream Christian ministries that were put in the same category as Neo-Nazis, Racist Skinheads, White Nationalists and the Ku Klux Klan.
Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., told Fox News that soldiers have been seeing a steady attack on faith and religious freedom in the military. “We are getting a lot of calls from soldiers saying, ‘We’re afraid of going to church. We’re afraid to be seen praying. We’re afraid that would hurt our careers, our promotions.’”
Forbes questioned Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel about the religious liberty issue during a recent House Armed Services Committee meeting.
A couple of weeks ago, at least a dozen members of Congress signed a letter demanding the Secretary of the Army rescind and apologize for the patently absurd briefing that labeled Evangelical Christians, Orthodox Jews, Mormons and Catholics as religious extremist groups alongside Hamas, al Qaeda and the KKK.
“This is astonishing and offensive,” read a draft of the letter written by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO). “We call on you to rescind this briefing and apologize for its content and set the record straight on the Army’s view on these faith groups by providing a balanced briefing on religious extremism.”
It’s almost like Obama is trying to cultivate an Army of left-wing atheists.
Only in Obama’s world, where the truth about Islam and Jihad is banned, could such an outrageous insult to mainstream, peaceful religions be permitted by a US Army training instructor.
During the course of an Army Reserve Equal Opportunity training brief on extremism, Evangelical Christianity, Catholicism, ultra Orthodox Jews, and the Church of Latter Day Saints were listed among Al Qaeda, Hamas, the Ku Klux Klan, Sunni Muslims, and Nation of Islam as examples of religious extremism. Oddly enough, “Islamophobia” was also listed as a form of religious extremism, and the Westboro Baptist Church was excluded altogether by the instructor who apparently got her information from the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Stating the obvious, Ron Crews, executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty said, “it is dishonorable for any U.S. military entity to allow this type of wrongheaded characterization.”
Army spokesman George Wright told Fox News that this was an “isolated incident not condoned by the Dept. of the Army.”
“This slide was not produced by the Army and certainly does not reflect our policy or doctrine,” he said. “It was produced by an individual without anyone in the chain of command’s knowledge or permission.”
Wright said after the complaint was lodged, the presenter deleted the slide, and apologized.
“We consider the matter closed,” he said.
The incident was made public by a soldier who attended the briefing. He asked for copies of the presentation and sent them to the Chaplain Alliance.
“He considers himself an evangelical Christian and did not appreciate being classified with terrorists,” Crews told Fox News. “There was a pervasive attitude in the presentation that anything associated with religion is an extremist.”
The Archdiocese for the Military Services was shocked to learn that the Army considered Catholicism to be an example of extremism on a par with groups like Hamas and al Qaeda.
“The Archdiocese is astounded that Catholics were listed alongside groups that are, by their very mission and nature, violent and extremist,” the Archdiocese said in a statement.
They want the Dept. of Defense to “ensure that taxpayer funds are never again used to present blatantly anti-religious material to the men and women in uniform.”
“In the notes it was clearly stated that the presenter was not a subject matter expert, and produced material after conducting Internet research, Wright said.
So if the presenter was not an expert, what were they doing presenting the material, Crews asked.
He said he had a chance to speak with the officer who was conducting the meeting, and she told him that she got her information from the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Case closed?
No, I don’t think the matter should be considered closed until every soldier who attended that training brief receives new, corrected instruction, and the officer who conducted the defamatory, bigoted briefing is demoted. Crew told Fox News that in the future, the military should consult with chaplains about matters involving religion.
Ralph Reed, the Founder and Chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition was invited onto The Greta Van Susteren Show, last night to comment on Obama’s Pastor’s obnoxious and inappropriate Easter sermon. Rev. Luis Leon used part of his sermon to go after Christian conservatives, saying:
“It drives me crazy when the captains of the religious right are always calling us back … for blacks to be back in the back of the bus, for women to be back in the kitchen, for gays to be in the closet, and for immigrants to be back on their side of the border.”
While Greta Van Sustern thought it was obvious that there was no collusion between the pastor and the president on the message, Reed thought it seemed more than a little coincidental that the message so seamlessly meshed with the organized left’s PR message as issues like gay marriage, welfare reform are being discussed in the public sphere.
“It doesn’t seem coincidental to me that this happened the same week of the arguing of the marriage cases before the Supreme Court because it’s part of this drumbeat that we’re hearing…throughout our culture and especially among the opinion elites: If you support traditional marriage – you’re a bigot. If you believe in reforming welfare, you’re a racist. If you believe in the importance of the family as the most important department of health, education and and welfare ever conceived, then you want to put women back in the kitchen,” he said.
And it shows the left’s desperation, he continued, because they “can’t win based on facts in the argument so they engage in smearing, and cat-calling and drawing ugly caricatures.”
Noting that just last week, Don Young of Alaska was immediately condemned by Speaker Boehner and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus for using a term that was derogatory toward Hispanics, he said, “today, the White House refused to distance the president from these remarks, so I call on the president tonight, not just through a spokesman, but through a statement issued over his name, to make it clear that not only does he not agree with them, but he finds them deeply offensive.”
Asked if he really thought the president should address the issue, Reed answered, “he’s being asked about it, and he’s going to continue to be asked about it… I think it’s entirely appropriate and I think it would be well within his responsibilities to say listen, I had nothing to do with this, I was just there worshiping with my family, and I don’t think most Americans agree with it.”
As for the Pastor, Reed thought he should apologize for using an Easter Sunday sermon as a platform to make cheap political attacks on other Americans.
I asked Reed on Twitter if he thought Obama would really issue a statement condemning the Pastor. He responded, “not holding my breath.”
Michael Voris of Church Militant TV has a message for those on the right and the left who are attacking the Pope(s).
“He’s barely been Pope for a week, and already, the attacks are coming from every direction”, Voris says, “and it’s getting old – very fast. And faithful Catholics – ALL faithful Catholics need to have nothing to do with any of this.”
After an inconclusive first vote on Tuesday night, the 115 cardinal electors prayed for inspiration from God for a choice that can lead the Roman Catholic Church out of crisis.
Having spent the night closeted in a nearby guesthouse, the cardinals attended Mass in the Pauline Chapel in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace and returned to the Renaissance splendor of the Sistine Chapel to hold the two morning ballots.
When the new Pope appears, he will greet the waiting throng outside the Basilica in several languages.
Argentinian Cardinal Bergoglio was elected as the new pope elected a new pope to lead the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics on Wednesday, overcoming deep divisions to select the 266th pontiff in a remarkably fast conclave.
Tens of thousands of people who braved cold rain to watch the smokestack atop the Sistine Chapel jumped in joy when white smoke poured out, many shouting “Habemus Papam!” or “We have a pope!” — as the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica and churches across Rome pealed.
The 76 year old Bergoglio is said to be a very humble, spiritual and intelligent man. A true servant of the servants of God.
UPDATE:
According to CNN, Pope Francis is considered “a straight-shooter who calls things as he sees them, and a follower of the church’s most conservative wing”
He has clashed with the government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner over his opposition to gay marriage and free distribution of contraceptives.
Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, a world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital delivered what is being described as one of the more unique speechesdelivered at this morning’s National Prayer Breakfast. Rush Limbaugh raved about it on his show, today, because the good doctor took the opportunity to share his theories about the national debt, deficits, taxation and health care, all in opposition to Obama’s policies.
His keynote, while predicated upon the theme of Jesus Christ as his ultimate role model, also took a starkly political tone, advocating against some of the very policies the president has implemented.
At the beginning of his speech, Carson shared an intense disdain for political correctness. Without getting too specific on the issue front, he said that Americans should stop being afraid to speak up and defend their beliefs; he also encouraged people to respect the individuals they disagree with. Carson held little back, condemning political correctness as “a horrible thing” that is “dangerous,” as it hampers freedom of thought and expression.
***
The speech took an interesting turn when the doctor cautioned that moral decay and fiscal irresponsibility can have dire consequences — even for powerful countries like America. Here, he became even more pointed and impassioned.
“I think particularly about ancient Rome. Very powerful — nobody could even challenge them militarily…they destroyed themselves from within,” Carson continued. “Moral decay. Fiscal irresponsibility.”
Keith Koffler of White House Dossierreported that Obama appeared “exceedingly sleepy” at the Prayer Breakfast today, “looking like he was having trouble staying awake as others spoke and delivering his own remarks ponderously, with heavy eyelids and a tired visage.”
Obama told lawmakers Thursday that he hopes the spiritual lessons of the National Prayer Breakfast would carry over from the event — something he says hasn’t really happened in years past – suggesting that growing spiritually means agreeing with HIM, “You’d like to think that the shelf life wasn’t so short,” Obama said. “After previous prayer breakfasts, I go back to the Oval Office and I start watching the cable news networks — and it’s like we didn’t pray!”
Here’s video of his remarks.
Obama, who rarely holds a publicly announced event before 10:00 am and is known to be a nighthawk, was forced to show up at the breakfast at 7:55 am.
While listening to the warmup speakers, the president’s eyes were frequently downcast, he appeared drawn, and he was chewing gum, presumably the Nicorette he is known to use to satisfy his nicotine addiction without smoking. He occasionally brushed a finger onto an eye, as if trying to remove morning crust or wetness. He sometimes seemed to miss his cues to laugh or smile politely at jokes.
Obama appeared to labor particularly hard to stay awake while opera singer Andrea Bocelli performed a dirge-like classical song accompanied only by piano.
Koffler says Obama did perk up a bit for Dr. Carson’s keynote speech, but began “getting sleepy again when Carson started promoting a flat tax.”
This heart-breaking and enraging news comes via Gateway Pundit:
This is despite the fact that his HHS mandate forces the Church to pay for abortion and birth control. And it didn’t appear to matter to Catholics that Joe Biden openly lied about it during his national debate with Catholic Paul Ryan. Catholic News Agency reported:
The Catholic vote was divided much as was the rest of the nation’s voters, leaning slightly in favor of Obama. A final Gallup poll, reflecting tracking from Nov. 1 to 4, showed Catholics favoring Obama by 52 to 45 percent.
Thank-you Cardinal Dolan for being so open to “dialogue” that you invited an enemy of the church to yuk it up with you and liberal pro-abort Catholics at the Al Smith Dinner,last month. What a wonderful example that set for the flock – instead of informing them of what the five non-negotiables are, and how Obama’s policies violate the Church’s position on every single one of them to a horrifying degree, you showed the faithful the importance of “dialogue” even though it cost pro-lifers the election and put the most radically pro-abortion President in the history of the United States back in the White House for another four years.
Isn’t that great? Catholics just voted for the privilege of paying for Sandra Fluke’s contraception needs, not to mention a $1.00 surcharge each month on our health care premiums to fund abortions. That’s what liberal Catholics call “social justice.”
On Sunday, my parish priest offered this powerful admonition to the faithful: “Vote responsibly”.
I was just overwhelmed by the non- partisan brilliance of that. There was no attempt to define what a responsible, informed Catholic vote was because that would be – you know - divisive.
No, just go out and vote, and as long as you convince yourself that you’re voting “responsibly” all will be well.
Many Catholic clerics spoke out. But not enough. Not nearly enough.
To whomever much is given, of him will much be required; and to whom much was entrusted, of him more will be asked. — Luke 12:35-48, World English Bible
Dies Irae – Day of Wrath:
Dies irae, dies ilia Quando iudex est venturus
[dee-ehs ee-reh, dee-ehs ee-lahJ [kwahn-daw yoo-dex ehst vehn-too-roos]
Day of wrath, day that will when the judge comes
Solvet saeclum in favilla, Cuncta stricte discussurus!
[sohl-veht seh-kloom een fah-vee-lahJ [koongk-tah stree-kteh dee-skoo-soo-roos]
Dissolve the world into burning coals, To strictly sentence all.
Teste David cum sibylla. Pie ]esu Domine,
[teh-steh dah-veed koom see-bee-lahJ [pee-eh yeh-soo daw-mee-neh]
As David prophesied with the Sibyl.* Merciful Lord]esus,
Quantus tremor est futurus, dona eis requiem.
[kwahn-toos treh-mawr ehst foo-too-roosJ [daw-nah eh-ees reh-kwee-ehm]
How great trembling there will be, Grant them rest.
The HHS Mandate is the single most egregious attack on religious freedom in the history of our country. This November we must defend that freedom for the sake of our faith and our country.
Compare that to a this sick, exploitative Planned Parenthood “powerful video” using young girls we’re expected to believe are pro-abortion.: “Mommy Vote for Obama” to Protect Abortion:
A new video making the rounds online with liberals has daughters, some of whom are clearly too young to engage in consensual sex, urging voters to support President Obama to protect legalized abortion.
“I can’t vote yet, but you can. Please vote for President Obama, otherwise your vote is a vote against me. Make the right choice so when I grow up, I can still have one,” the girls say.
A vote for Romney is also a vote against the depraved Obamacrat practice of exploiting children in service of his Highness.
Master of Ceremonies, Jack Cashill speaks to a crowd of about 150.
Stand Up for Religious Freedom rallies were held 12:00 pm all over the nation, today, to protest the unjust HHS mandate and other attacks on religious freedom coming from the federal government. Two other Stand Up Rallies were held earlier this year, on March 23 and June 8.
Speakers at the rally, one of many held around the country, urged those in attendance to vote against Obama to get rid of ObamaCare.
My husband and I attended the rally in Kansas City, KS on this beautiful crisp, Saturday afternoon and were pleased to see that KC conservative writer/editor Jack Cashill was the Master of Ceremonies.
Speaking at the Kansas City rally, today, were the Honorable Jeff Colyer, MD, LT Governor of Kansas, Jacob Turk, candidate for US Congress, 5th District – KCMO, Michael Schuttloffel, Director of the Kansas Catholic Conference, Rev. Mike Bronson – West Haven Baptist Church, Tonganoxie, KS, Bill Francis, Director of the Respect Life Office, Catholic Diocese of KCMO, Connie O’Brien – KS State Rep District 42, Rev. Stephen Hansen – Pastor, Coronation of Our Lady Catholic Church, Grandview, Mo, Steve Fitzgerald – candidate for KS State Senate, District 5, Laura Reilly, M.D., Mary Pilcher Cook – KS State Senate, District 10, Mary Kay Culp – Kansans for Life, and Rev. Shawn Tunink – Associate Pastor, Cure of Ars Catholic Church, Leawood, KS.
Left to right: Rev. Shawn Tunink, Jack Cashill, Mary Pilcher Cook, Steve Fitzgerald, Bill Francis, Laura Reilly M.D., Rev. Mike Bronson, Connie O’Brien, Mary Kay Culp, Francis Slobodnik
Lt Governor of Kansas, Jeff Colyer, reminded the crowd of why so many our ancestors came to the United States – to escape religious persecution in their own lands.
Ron Kelsey, the Pro-Life Consultant for the Archdiocese read a statement from Archbishop Joseph Naumann condemning the HHS mandate:
Candidate for US Congress, 5th District – Mo, Jacob Turk, implored pro-lifers to never give up fighting, no matter what happens in this election:
Director of the Kansas Catholic Conference, Michael Schuttloffel, spoke on the robust, expansive nature of religious freedom in this country that has been the envy of the world – ’til now:
Rev. Mike Bronson – West Haven Baptist Church assured Catholics that other Christians shared their dismay. Quoting the Southern Seminary President, he said incredulously, “we have reached the point where Christians may be called to actively defy the government of the United States. I can barely believe those words came out of my mouth.”
Bill Francis is the Director of the Respect Life Office for the Catholic diocese of Kansas City, MO: “We people of faith cannot be silent!”:
Kansas State Rep – Dist 42, Connie O’Brien ran through a litany of assaults on our religious liberties, saying that “we have drifted a long way from what out founders envisioned.”
Reverend Stephen Hansen, Pastor of Coronation of Our Lady Church in Grandview, MO prayed, “God help us, and God help our country…..Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.”
Steve Fitzpatrick, candidate for Kansas State Senate, Dist 5 gave a barn-burner of a speech, explaining how the country got to this point: “We got here today because a majority of Catholics voted for those who are vehemently against our values, we got here today because Christians of every denomination were not registered to vote, or did not vote, or did not inform their consciences before they voted, we got here today because the church – the body of Christ on earth, did not instruct sufficiently, did not exhort sufficiently, did not inform sufficiently, did not stand up as the body of Christ is charged to do”….(yes, that’s me yelling wooo! loudly on the tape – that’s a real sore spot for me. Where are our leaders? Yukking it up with enemies of the church at the Al Smith Dinner — don’t get me started.)
Laura Reilly, MD an adult neurologist, wife, mother and US Navy Veteran warned the crowd that what she had to say might shock some people: “I think that we live at a time of great joy…. we are the salt of the earth – we are the light of the world, Matthew 5:13. “
Mary Kay Culp of Kansas for Life had some closing words:
Finally, The Faith Band performed a lovely rendition of America The Beautiful:
UPDATE!
Meanwhile, Sandra Fluke, the Patron Saint of free Birth Control Pills “took center stage” at a pro-Obama rally in Reno, Saturday:
10 people showed up to see her.
Sandra Fluke, the woman at the center of a media firestorm earlier this year after Rush Limbaugh called her a “slut,” spoke Saturday in front of about 10 people at the Sak ‘N Save in north Reno.The speech was part of a daylong effort by Democrats to get Northern Nevadans to the polls on the first day of early voting.
A Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally will take place Saturday, October 20 at noon your local time. It will be the third nationwide rally this year – the first two Stand Up Rallies were held on March 23 and June 8.
My coverage of the March 23 rally in Kansas City ishere. I compiled some of the best speeches from the nationwide rallies, here.
This peaceful, nationwide event, the third of its kind, will protest the HHS Mandate and other attacks on religious freedom coming from the federal government, especially during this critical election year.
The first two Stand Up Rallies were held on March 23 and June 8. Over 300 rallies were held in cities and towns across the country, with attendance topping 125,000.
What to expect at the Stand Up Rally
Each of the October 20 Stand Up for Religious Freedom rallies is being locally sponsored and organized, so no two are quite alike. However, you can expect to see colorful signs and banners at the Rally, hear inspiring speeches about fighting the current attacks on religious freedom like the HHS Mandate and join in hymns and prayers for our nation.
For more specific details on your local Rally, look for information below. You may also wish to contact your local Rally Captain (see link below) if you have additional questions.
Don’t see a Rally in a nearby city? Sign your city up!
If you don’t see a city near you on the list below, consider signing on to be a Rally Captain. Just fill out this form, and the Stand Up Rally Team will be in touch with all the information you need.
“At the Al Smith Foundation and the Archdiocese of New York, you show this in the work you do, in causes that run deeper than allegiance to party or to any contest at the moment,” Romney continued. “No matter which way the political winds are blowing, what work goes on, day in day out by this organization and you. You answer with calm and willing hearts and service to the poor and care for the sick, in defense and the rights of conscience and in solidarity with the innocent child waiting to be born. You strive to bring God’s love and every – in every life.”
“I don’t presume to have all your support and on a night like this, I’m certainly not going ask for it, but you can be certain that in the great causes of compassion that you come together to embrace that I stand proudly with you as an ally and friend,” Romney continued.
Romneys said: “The President has put his own stamp on relations with the Church. There have been some awkward moments. Like when the President pulled Pope Benedict aside to share some advice on how to deal with his own critics. He said, “Look, Holy Father, whatever the problem is just blame it on Pope John Paul II.”
“Of course the President has found a way to take the sting out of the Obamacare mandates for the Church: From now on they’re going to be in Latin,” he added.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services mandate forces virtually all employers to include sterilization and contraception, including drugs that may cause abortion, in the health insurance coverage they provide their employees.
Biden said:
“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.”
Ryan shot back (before he was cut off); “Why would they keep — why would they keep suing you? It’s a distinction without a difference.”
That part of the conversation starts at 4:05 in the video:
The Bishops agreed with Ryan, calling Biden’s comments, “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.
A Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally will take place Saturday, October 20 at noon your local time. It will be the third nationwide rally this year – the first two Stand Up Rallies were held on March 23 and June 8.
My coverage of the March 23 rally in Kansas City ishere. I compiled some of the best speeches from the nationwide rallies, here.
This peaceful, nationwide event, the third of its kind, will protest the HHS Mandate and other attacks on religious freedom coming from the federal government, especially during this critical election year.
The first two Stand Up Rallies were held on March 23 and June 8. Over 300 rallies were held in cities and towns across the country, with attendance topping 125,000.
What to expect at the Stand Up Rally
Each of the October 20 Stand Up for Religious Freedom rallies is being locally sponsored and organized, so no two are quite alike. However, you can expect to see colorful signs and banners at the Rally, hear inspiring speeches about fighting the current attacks on religious freedom like the HHS Mandate and join in hymns and prayers for our nation.
For more specific details on your local Rally, look for information below. You may also wish to contact your local Rally Captain (see link below) if you have additional questions.
Don’t see a Rally in a nearby city? Sign your city up!
If you don’t see a city near you on the list below, consider signing on to be a Rally Captain. Just fill out this form, and the Stand Up Rally Team will be in touch with all the information you need.
Can you say, “Whisper Campaign”, class? I knew you could.
Right on schedule, too – this being October 1. Of course we knew that their dirtiest and most desperate deeds would come in October.
Via Gateway Pundit, according to Catholic.org, the Obama campaign is calling Christian voters with an anti-Mormon spiel.
The head of a pro-life committee at a parish I know just received a call from the Obama campaign. The caller asked for her daughter by name, and when she was not there then asked where she could be contacted. Her mother responded by telling the Obama supporter, “not to waste her time as my daughter is supporting the pro-life candidates Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.”
When the caller hesitated and acted surprised, the mother, a staunch pro-life Catholic, said:
“My daughter is a practicing Catholic and would never cast a vote for a pro-abortion, pro-same sex marriage, pro-embryonic stem cell research, pro-euthanasia candidate who supported the HHS mandate that will take away religious freedoms from Catholic hospitals, Catholic charities, and Catholic institutions.”
The Obama supporter then launched into her “canned response” and started reading from her call script: “Well, I am a practicing Catholic, and I strongly support President Obama.” The mother then asked her if she was “familiar with the Pope’s five “non-negotiables.”‘ The Obama supporter had no idea what she was talking about and explained that it was only the Pope’s “opinion” to ban the use of contraception.
The Obama caller then went back to her script, asking these clever questions:
1. How can you support a “Mormon” who does not believe in Jesus Christ?
2. What to you think about the “Nuns on the Bus” who support Obama?
The mother replied, “How can you support a man who supports the killing of innocent pre-born children for all nine months?”
Ben Stein, of the American Spectator, suggested that Romney address concern about his Mormonism by making “a clear statement of principles”:
I love the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormons are honest and fantastically patriotic and hard working. But what does it mean to believe in Mormonism? A close friend said she could not vote for him although she is a Republican because, she said, “Mormons are not Christians…”
But, as I said, Mr. Romney is a mystery. Why doesn’t he use that vast hoard of money he has to make a clear statement of his principles, something like this:
(1) I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am unequivocally a Christian. I respect all peaceful religions and I respect those who do not choose to believe in God. But I am and always will be a Christian.
(2) I believe that the greatest gift that God has ever bestowed upon mankind in the last two millennia is the United States. I will never apologize for the USA, especially not on the soil of despotisms and murderous regimes — but really, not anywhere.
(3) I believe that the first duty of the President is to defend the United States of America. I will not disarm either unilaterally or any other way. This world is too dangerous a place for unilateral disarmament and I do not trust our adversaries enough to disarm. A solid, unquestioned defense is the cornerstone of the edifice of a free people. That includes a defense against ballistic missiles and I will not allow the ill-informed mockery of my opponents to keep me from defending America.
It’s beyond disturbing to me that there are Christian voters out there, who after 4 years of Obama, still might be vulnerable to this line of attack. What do they think? Obama IS a Christian? Please, people. Don’t be simps. He’s neither Christian nor, Muslim. Obama worships the State. Big Government is his God: “One nation —– — indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”.
If the Romney campaign were to start a telephone whisper campaign about Obama’s Marxist background, I would suspend my blog, and enthusiastically join his team.
“Hello Mrs Smith? This is Deb calling from the Romney campaign. Hey! Got a question for you. Did you know the President of the United States was mentored by a card carrying Communist by the name of Frank Marshall Davis? No? Well, that’s the reason for my call, today, ma’am. You see, Mrs Smith, the mainstream media didn’t do a very good job vetting the President back in 2008, and they’re doing an even poorer job, this time around. There are a few facts about his background we think voters ought to know….”
I’m with Ben Stein. All of the Mormons I have ever known have been fantastic, good hearted people. I have no problem with one being in the White House, Christian or not, and yes, I realize that all of the mainline Christian churches don’t consider Mormonism Christian. I’m okay with that. What I’m not okay with is Obama. How could any sane Republican consider throwing the country under the bus because of Romney’s Mormonism? That’s so ignorant, it hurts. And the Obama campaign is trying to capitalize on that ignorant thinking because it’s all they have.
In March of 2009, I said: “I suspect that after four years of Obama, even the most rabid anti-Mormon fundamentalists will be running to him.” I sure as heck hope I’m right.
I’m in 100% agreement with this guy: I’m Catholic and I am Not Voting for Obama:
The GOP and the Catholic Vote:
James Nicholson, former ambassador to the Vatican from 2001 to 2005, thinks many Catholics will choose Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan in November because of their belief that President Obama has waged a war on religious freedom. Nicholson also served as the U.S. secretary of veterans affairs from 2005 to 2007 and chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1997 to 2001.
“I think that what the Obama administration is trying to do to deprive people of their rights of free expression, and the rights of their conscience, is no less than a war. I think it’s a very, very historic, grievous offense against the sensibilities and the tradition that came out of the Constitution of our country. It’s unprecedented.”
For those of you Catholics who are actually considering voting for Obama, this next video is for you:Catholic Voters Are Morally Complicit When They Empower Intrinsically Evil Policies:
Catholic Voters Are Morally Complicit When They Empower Evil Policies. Courtesy of Bishop Thomas John Paprocki – credits in the video.
Over the weekend, two dozen pro-life advocates were arrested at the White House for praying and holding pro-life signs protesting President Obama’s pro-abortion HHS mandate.
“Obamacare will force institutions, churches and individuals to purchase abortion-inducing drugs and pay for sterilization and abortion in direct opposition to their beliefs, conscience and historic teachings of the Church,” the group of people said in a statement. “With the recent Supreme Court ruling affirming Obamacare, the future of religious freedom in America is at risk and in grave danger of being entirely wiped out.”
In total, 54 pro-lifers gave up their freedoms to make a point about the mandate, so far.
A pro-abortion group is sending letters to 60,000 churches in an attempt to intimidate them in the upcoming elections.
With churches holding voter registration drives, with pastors talking about the importance of pro-life and religious issues in the election and with churches allowing pro-lifers to distribute literature based on their First Amendment rights, the threats could adversely effect pro-life election efforts.
Mathew Staver, chairman of the Liberty Counsel, a pro-life legal group, talked about the letters.
“In a national mass mailing, the left-wing organization Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) has advised the leadership of 60,000 targeted churches across the nation not to become involved in “partisan politicking,” he said. “Their true goal, unwritten but hidden between the lines: To SILENCE the truth from being spoken in American pulpits and to MUZZLE people of faith on the vital issues that will be decided in the 2012 elections.”
“AU sent a letter to churches just weeks before the 2012 national elections, which I believe is the most pivotal in our generation and among the most critical in our nation’s history,” he added.
Liberty Counsel is fighting back and has sent about 25,000 churches its “Silence is Not an Option” Action Pack informing them of their legal rights this election. More are on the way.
“We must counter this overt attack in the few remaining days before Election Day 2012,” Staver said. “Here is our plan: We are stepping out in faith and have resolved to distribute the entire remaining inventory (almost 70,000 Handbooks) of our powerful new resource, the Patriot’s Handbook of Political Action for Pastors and Churches, to churches and pastors in the next two weeks.”
Much has been made of the fact that both candidates for vice president—Paul Ryan and Joe Biden—are practicing Catholics, though they come at almost every issue from diametrically opposite positions: As one example, Ryan opposes abortion while Biden supports keeping it legal. [...]
On Wednesday Hudson also revealed that a group calling itself Catholics for Obama had been making push poll phone calls in support of the president’s re-election bid. Among the questions being asked, he said, was “How can you support a ‘Mormon’ who does not believe in Jesus Christ?”
The phone banker making the call, which in this case went to a woman Hudson identifies as “the head of a pro-life committee at a parish I know” reportedly also asserted that “President Obama did not support abortion” and that Planned Parenthood “helps children get healthcare and prenatal care and does not promote abortion.” In fact, the group is one of the nation’s largest abortion providers.
All this amounts to a whispering campaign that is both dishonest about the president’s record on abortion and deviously attempts to divide the Catholic electorate on the issue of GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s religion—something the Obama campaign has repeatedly promised it would not do. With the election getting closer, the comments and attacks are getting nastier. Some people, apparently, will do anything to hold on to power.
In his closing benediction, Timothy Cardinal Dolan gave the kind of benediction that the Obama re-election campaign probably feared he would give when Dolan was initially rejected, and later approved, to give the closing prayer.
“Grant us the courage to defend life…waiting to be born, welcomed & protected,” he said, excoriating Democrats to support religious liberty as well in light of the controversial Obama HHS mandate that Catholics and pro-life advocates oppose. Dolan prays for “life, without which no other rights are secured.”
“God grants us the right to life so we can choose liberty and happiness,” he said, adding that unborn children should “be welcomed and protected.” He referred to the right to life, without which no other right has meaning, saying, “We praise You for the gift of life, grant us the courage to defend it.”
“Renew in all our people a profound respect for religious liberty, the first, most cherished freedom,” he said.
This came on the same night Caroline Kennedy professed her Catholic faith to the party faithful and then voiced her strong support for abortion rights and against any abortion restrictions, which completely stunned Bill O’Reilly.
One wonders what people who lustily applauded people like Sandra Fluke and Caroline Kennedy were thinking while they were bowing their heads to Cardinal Dolan’s prayer.
Praying for "those waiting to be born that they are protected"??? Does this priest know where he is???
Dolan’s benediction at the RNC actually hit the same bullet points, (respect for all human life, and preserving the blessings of liberty- especially the freedom of religion), but he was received more warmly there, with louder applause before and after he finished his speech.
And he was introduced by the Speaker of the House, and fellow Catholic, John Boehner:
