Opposition To HHS Mandate: It's About Religious Liberty

Franciscan University is First Catholic Casualty Due to HHS Mandate,Obamacare

So, actually you can't keep your insurance. Something I figured was the true intent the entire time. There plan is to force us into a single-payer health system. That is a major reason why Obamacare either needs to be struck down by the Supreme Court or repealed. Franciscan University is my alma mater and it is sad that because of the rising government health care costs because the federal government is marching forward instituting this boondoggle that the university has been forced to drop their health insurance coverage for students. In addition Franciscan University has made it crystal clear that it will not comply with the unjust HHS mandate which would force them to violate their beliefs in accordance with Holy Roman Catholic Church.  Obamacare is an example of secularism run amok.  Hopefully we will hear in June that the Supreme Court has struck down Obamacare.



Here is the new policy from Franciscan University:

Campus Health Insurance Policy

The Obama Administration has mandated that all health insurance plans must cover “women’s health services” including contraception, sterilization, and abortion-causing medications as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Up to this time, Franciscan University has specifically excluded these services and products from its student health insurance policy, and we will not participate in a plan that requires us to violate the consistent teachings of the Catholic Church on the sacredness of human life.

Additionally, the PPACA increased the mandated maximum coverage amount for student policies to $100,000 for the 2012-13 school year, which would effectively double your premium cost for the policy in fall 2012, with the expectation of further increases in the future.

Due to these changes in regulation by the federal government, beginning with the 2012-13 school year, the University 1) will no longer require that all full-time undergraduate students carry health insurance, 2) will no longer offer a student health insurance plan, and 3) will no longer bill those not covered under a parent/guardian plan or personal plan for student health insurance. The current student health insurance plan will expire on August 15, 2012.

We encourage you to decide how you are going to provide for accidents or illnesses requiring visits to physicians, health clinics, or the hospital emergency room while you are a student here. As always, our Health Center on campus will be staffed by a certified nurse practitioner Monday – Friday during normal business hours. No insurance is necessary to receive basic health-related services at the Health Center, and the visits cost only $5 at the time of service. However, if you are referred off campus for further lab testing, physician specialists, X-rays, etc., you will be responsible to pay for those services. 

Catholic Culture Clash Links 3-9-12

Christopher @ Christopher's Apologies has a great post called Refuting the Arguments in Favor of HHS Mandate, where he points out the 10 most cited arguments in favor of the health mandate. There is an anonymously written article rebutting these false assertions.  The American Catholic has posted this person's refutations of The 10 Most Cited Arguments in Favor of the HHS Mandate.

Boston College, which is Jesuit, has announced the dismissal of Father John Shea. Boston College has decided not to renew his contract after he made his position known to Cardinal Sean O' Malley that he supports women's ordination. He is a dissenting priest who is a proponent of women's ordination, which is contrary to Church teaching.  The college has denied that his position on women's ordination was a factor in their refusing to renew his contract but his supporters have charged that his unorthodox views are the real reason for his departure, not that he was an adjunct professor and the college wanted to hire a full-time professor. Orthodoxy is good.  Keeping true to orthodoxy is keeping true to Catholicism.

The Diocese of Sacramento has decided that it will no longer fund Francis House, which is a homeless center.  The new director who is a Methodist minister is an outspoken supporter of same-sex "marriage" and abortion.  In addition the church where the minister is the pastor is planning on showing an anti-Catholic film on April 4.  Father Michael Kieman and Bishop Soto have decided to stand up for the faith and said that No More Parishioners Money will go to support Francis House since it promotes same-sex marriage and abortion which are contrary to the Catholic faith.

Update from Cardinal Dolan on Restoring and Defending Our Religious Liberty

Cardinal Dolan has posted an update to his fellow bishops on the USCCB's continued resolve in fighting to ensure every individual's right to live out the beliefs that they believe in their daily lives, to ensure religious freedom for all. Since blogger html is giving me a wee bit of trouble I will publish part of his update below with a link to the rest.


My brother bishops,
Twice in recent weeks, I have written you to express my gratitude for our unity in faith
and action as we move forward to protect our religious freedom from unprecedented intrusion
from a government bureau, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). I remain
deeply grateful to you for your determined resolve, to the Chairmen of our committees directly
engaged in these efforts - Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Bishop Stephen
Blaire and Bishop William Lori -who have again shown themselves to be such excellent leaders
during these past weeks, and to all our staff at the USCCB who work so diligently under the
direction of the Conference leadership.


How fortunate that we as a body have had opportunities during our past plenary
assemblies to manifest our strong unity in defense of religious freedom. We rely on that unity
now more than ever as HHS seeks to define what constitutes church ministry and how it can be
exercised. We will once again dedicate ample time at our Administrative Committee meeting
next week, and at the June Plenary Assembly, to this critical subject. We will continue to listen, discuss, deliberate and act.


Thank you, brothers, for the opportunity to provide this update to you and the dioceses
you serve. Many of you have expressed your thanks for what we have achieved together in so
few weeks, especially the data provided and the leadership given by brother bishops, our
conference staff and Catholic faithful. And you now ask the obvious question, “What’s next?”
Please allow me to share with you now some thoughts about events and efforts to date and where
we might go next.


Since January 20, when the final, restrictive HHS Rule was first announced, we have
become certain of two things: religious freedom is under attack, and we will not cease our
struggle to protect it. We recall the words of our Holy Father Benedict XVI to our brother
bishops on their recent ad limina visit: “Of particular concern are certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion.” Bishop Stephen Blaire and Bishop William Lori, with so many others, have admirably kept us focused on this one
priority of protecting religious freedom. We have made it clear in no uncertain terms to the
government that we are not at peace with its invasive attempt to curtail the religious freedom we cherish as Catholics and Americans. We did not ask for this fight, but we will not run from it.


As pastors and shepherds, each of us would prefer to spend our energy engaged in and
promoting the works of mercy to which the Church is dedicated: healing the sick, teaching our
youth, and helping the poor. Yet, precisely because we are pastors and shepherds, we recognize
that each of the ministries entrusted to us by Jesus is now in jeopardy due to this bureaucratic
intrusion into the internal life of the church. You and I both know well that we were doing those extensive and noble works rather well without these radical new constrictive and forbidding mandates. Our Church has a long tradition of effective partnership with government and the 1wider community in the service of the sick, our children, our elders, and the poor at home and abroad, and we sure hope to continue it.


Of course, we maintained from the start that this is not a “Catholic” fight alone. I like to
quote as often as possible a nurse who emailed me, “I’m not so much mad about all this as a
Catholic, but as an American.” And as we recall, a Baptist minister, Governor Mike Huckabee,
observed, “In this matter, we’re all Catholics.” No doubt you have heard numerous statements
just like these. We are grateful to know so many of our fellow Americans, especially our friends in the ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, stand together in this important moment in our country. They know that this is not just about sterilization, abortifacients, and chemical contraception. It’s about religious freedom, the sacred right of any Church to define its own teaching and ministry. CONTINUED