Cardinal Raymond Burke has explained that complying with the Obamacare/Health and Human Services contraceptive mandate would have Catholics and Catholic employers participating in sin. Further, he said, “When any individual or government attempts to force the flock to act against conscience in one of its most fundamental precepts, then the bishops have to . . . defend those who are entrusted to their pastoral care. . . . [W]hat is being done with this mandate is contrary . . . to . . . the right to the free exercise of one’s conscience and . . . the very foundation of our nation.”1
We must not allow the government to coerce us into violating our religious freedom by complying with a heavyhanded, unconstitutional regulation that imposes immoral demands on individuals and/or corporate structures run by Godfearing people. So, what can you do about this agonizing situation?
Read “Couple Fights Obamacare over Birth Control” (WorldNetDaily.com, September 12), an account of courageous parents who are resisting Obama’s mandate, arguing “the government has no authority to demand they have an insurance policy that provides birth control, including abortion-causing drugs, for their adult daughters.”
See the resources at USCCB.org/Issues-and-Action /Religious-Liberty/Conscience-Protection, provided by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops for the protection of conscience rights and religious freedom.
Consult the Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHFreedom.org; 651-646-8935), which recommends three legal alternatives to Obamacare enrollment: “Buy private insurance outside of the government exchanges. . . . Pay the penalty tax in 2016 for being without coverage in 2015,” which is “still less expensive . . . than high government premiums.
Claim one of the nine Obamacare exemptions, or one of the 14 hardship waivers.” One exemption is for members of health care sharing ministries. (Click on “Medical Sharing—Alternative to Insurance” at CCHFreedom.org to learn more.)
Consider joining one or both of these organizations:
- The Christ Medicus Foundation (ChristMedicus.org; 248-478-5959) promotes “the delivery of Christ-centered health care” and offers its members a new health care sharing ministry that is “a Christ-centered alternative to secular medical insurance for committed Christians [and] is fully consistent with the Roman Catholic faith.”
- The Catholic Medical Association (CathMed.org; 484-270-8002) advocates for Catholic medical and ethical principles in health care and the public arena, and defends Catholic health care professionals’ conscience rights. (Membership is open to health care professionals, clergy, students, and “anyone interested in integrating Catholic principles into health care.”)Resist pressure to violate your Catholic faith, and watch this publication for more updates.
1 “Cardinal Burke Clarifies: Employers Providing Contraceptives ‘Materially and Formally’ Cooperating with Sin,” CatholicAction.org, April 9, 2012.
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