Michael Gaynor
If Ohio's God's country, religious liberty will win, not Obama
By Michael Gaynor
"President Obama...intend[s] to force their anti-Catholic views on every single Catholic in this nation. And if [he] can crush Catholics under [his] boot heel, [he] can crush anyone else, too."
In 2008, in "God's country or Obama country?" (www.renewamerica.com/columns/gaynor/080918), I wrote:
"The critical question for voters is not whether Obama is too inexperienced or McCain is too experienced to be President.
"The critical question is whether America actually will reject its religious heritage and embrace the secular extremism of Obama.
"When MSNBC Obama shill Chris Matthews says that if Obama wins Ohio, he will win the Presidency, Matthews is right.
"Ohio has been called God's Country for good reason.
"If it still is, McCain will win, not Obama."
Plenty of people, Catholic bishops included, simply did not appreciate that Obama was a serious threat to religious liberty, so Obama won most Catholic voters, Ohio and the Presidency.
In 2010, Ohio turned away from Obama and elected a Republican Governor (John Kasich) and a Republican United States Senator (Rob Portman).
It's 2012 and Obama's fighting for reelection and to cement Obamacare and its anti-religious libertty HHS mandate in place.
Again Matthews is saying that Obama will win if he carries Ohio.
About that, he's probably right.
But this isn't 2008, Obama's secular extremism was clearly demonstrated when the Obama Administration's Health and Human Services Department issued its Obamacare mandate that violates religious liberty and provoked a plethora of lawsuits, including a lawsuit by the Archdiocese of New York, and plenty of people of different faith or no faith but a belief in constitutional fidelity are not about to go along.
Republican/Conservative United States Senate candidate Wendy Long (www.wendylongfornewyork.com), a Roman Catholic, catechism teacher and constitutional scholar, clearly, concisely and authoritatively explained what is at stake in "Religious Liberty Is Issue for Candidates" (http://thetablet.org/?p=17824):
"...our freedom as Catholics is being stomped upon by the Obama Administration. Obamacare is forcing Catholic institutions such as hospitals, schools, and charities, as of Aug. 1, to provide and pay for insurance coverage of sterilization, contraception, and abortion-causing drugs.
"The Obama Administration...insist[s] that this government mandate is an issue of 'women's health'....
"...let me set the record straight:
- The Catholic Church has been at the forefront of protecting the lives and health of women, and all Americans.... The Church and her institutions have never attacked anyone, and they are certainly not attacking women.
- The Catholic Church believes in free will. The Church passes on to us its teaching of more than two millennia about human dignity and the sanctity of human life. The Church offers unconditional healing and help to all of us sinners....
- Our nation was born of the bedrock principle of freedom of religion: that the government may not dictate to people of faith that they have to take actions that violate that faith. As Cardinal Timothy Dolan has said, 'The federal government should do what it's traditionally done since July 4, 1776, namely back out of intruding into the internal life of the Church.'
- But for the first time in the history of our country, a President of the United States — and his allies... — are ordering faithful Catholics and other people of conscience to genuflect at their altar of almighty government, to fall in line and obey, even if it violates their religious beliefs. If they do not abide by Obamacare's abortion-contraception-sterilization mandate, many Catholic charitable institutions — as well as private businesses run by Catholic Americans — will face millions of dollars in fines that will force many of them out of business.
- This issue has nothing whatsoever to do with women's health. It is about government intrusion into our Catholic faith and into the lives of all people of conscience. No one's faith and beliefs will be safe if the [Obama Administtration HHS] mandate is allowed to stand. President Obama...intend[s] to force their anti-Catholic views on every single Catholic in this nation. And if [he] can crush Catholics under [his] boot heel, [he] can crush anyone else, too.
"The Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Rockville Centre have filed suit against the Obama Administration to reverse the clear violation of religious liberty and freedom of conscience in Obamacare.
"Bishop DiMarzio has issued the call to all of us: 'As citizens of a nation that prides herself on religious liberty, we should be outraged that the government would ... coerce any institution to cooperate with what they deem to be evil.'
"Amen. We cannot sit by silently any longer as Washington attempts to crush our faith and our Church."
Or, as Edmund Burke put it, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
© Michael Gaynor
October 25, 2012
"President Obama...intend[s] to force their anti-Catholic views on every single Catholic in this nation. And if [he] can crush Catholics under [his] boot heel, [he] can crush anyone else, too."
In 2008, in "God's country or Obama country?" (www.renewamerica.com/columns/gaynor/080918), I wrote:
"The critical question for voters is not whether Obama is too inexperienced or McCain is too experienced to be President.
"The critical question is whether America actually will reject its religious heritage and embrace the secular extremism of Obama.
"When MSNBC Obama shill Chris Matthews says that if Obama wins Ohio, he will win the Presidency, Matthews is right.
"Ohio has been called God's Country for good reason.
"If it still is, McCain will win, not Obama."
Plenty of people, Catholic bishops included, simply did not appreciate that Obama was a serious threat to religious liberty, so Obama won most Catholic voters, Ohio and the Presidency.
In 2010, Ohio turned away from Obama and elected a Republican Governor (John Kasich) and a Republican United States Senator (Rob Portman).
It's 2012 and Obama's fighting for reelection and to cement Obamacare and its anti-religious libertty HHS mandate in place.
Again Matthews is saying that Obama will win if he carries Ohio.
About that, he's probably right.
But this isn't 2008, Obama's secular extremism was clearly demonstrated when the Obama Administration's Health and Human Services Department issued its Obamacare mandate that violates religious liberty and provoked a plethora of lawsuits, including a lawsuit by the Archdiocese of New York, and plenty of people of different faith or no faith but a belief in constitutional fidelity are not about to go along.
Republican/Conservative United States Senate candidate Wendy Long (www.wendylongfornewyork.com), a Roman Catholic, catechism teacher and constitutional scholar, clearly, concisely and authoritatively explained what is at stake in "Religious Liberty Is Issue for Candidates" (http://thetablet.org/?p=17824):
"...our freedom as Catholics is being stomped upon by the Obama Administration. Obamacare is forcing Catholic institutions such as hospitals, schools, and charities, as of Aug. 1, to provide and pay for insurance coverage of sterilization, contraception, and abortion-causing drugs.
"The Obama Administration...insist[s] that this government mandate is an issue of 'women's health'....
"...let me set the record straight:
- The Catholic Church has been at the forefront of protecting the lives and health of women, and all Americans.... The Church and her institutions have never attacked anyone, and they are certainly not attacking women.
- The Catholic Church believes in free will. The Church passes on to us its teaching of more than two millennia about human dignity and the sanctity of human life. The Church offers unconditional healing and help to all of us sinners....
- Our nation was born of the bedrock principle of freedom of religion: that the government may not dictate to people of faith that they have to take actions that violate that faith. As Cardinal Timothy Dolan has said, 'The federal government should do what it's traditionally done since July 4, 1776, namely back out of intruding into the internal life of the Church.'
- But for the first time in the history of our country, a President of the United States — and his allies... — are ordering faithful Catholics and other people of conscience to genuflect at their altar of almighty government, to fall in line and obey, even if it violates their religious beliefs. If they do not abide by Obamacare's abortion-contraception-sterilization mandate, many Catholic charitable institutions — as well as private businesses run by Catholic Americans — will face millions of dollars in fines that will force many of them out of business.
- This issue has nothing whatsoever to do with women's health. It is about government intrusion into our Catholic faith and into the lives of all people of conscience. No one's faith and beliefs will be safe if the [Obama Administtration HHS] mandate is allowed to stand. President Obama...intend[s] to force their anti-Catholic views on every single Catholic in this nation. And if [he] can crush Catholics under [his] boot heel, [he] can crush anyone else, too.
"The Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Rockville Centre have filed suit against the Obama Administration to reverse the clear violation of religious liberty and freedom of conscience in Obamacare.
"Bishop DiMarzio has issued the call to all of us: 'As citizens of a nation that prides herself on religious liberty, we should be outraged that the government would ... coerce any institution to cooperate with what they deem to be evil.'
"Amen. We cannot sit by silently any longer as Washington attempts to crush our faith and our Church."
Or, as Edmund Burke put it, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
© Michael Gaynor
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(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
