Before I start this article, I have a confession to make. I’ve been a Roman Catholic now for over 76 years. Worse yet, I’ve been an ordained Roman Catholic Deacon for the last 28 years, having retired from that position a year ago. Prior to Vatican Council II, I had studied for the priesthood at a conservative Franciscan seminary near Cincinnati, OH. My interest in religion has never left me, and my doctoral dissertation is on St. Thomas Aquinas.
So, it is with both sadness and amazement that I watch our bishops taking President Obama to task for the Health and Human Services ruling, that health insurance companies must allow the students of Catholic Colleges and Universities and the employees of Catholic organizations to decide for themselves, whether or not they want contraception and other gynecological procedures to be a part of their health coverage.
My first reaction was that these bishops have not the foggiest notion of what a “war on religion” is. What does a “war on religion” look like?
- When the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia murdered 30,000 Buddhist monks, it looked to me like “war on religion.”
- When Joseph Stalin surprised the Orthodox Church, it looked to me like “war on religion.”
- When the Catholic monarchs of Spain forced the Jews to become Catholic and drove all the Muslims out, it looked like “war on religion.”
- When the Catholic Church waged war on the Waldensians, it sure seems like it was a “war on religion.”
So when President Obama’s HHS issues a rule that insurance companies must provide free contraceptive coverage as well as free Viagra and it is up to you to decide if you want it or not, somehow, that does not look like a war on religion to me.
So what are the Catholic bishops objecting too; could it be freedom of conscience? Are they angry because their own members rejected Humana Vita.s teaching against artificial birth control? Are they angry because the majority of Catholics are not opposed to “gay marriage?” Are they willing to respect the right and religious freedom of the Metropoiitan Church, the Episcopal Church, the Lutheran Church ELCA, and the Conservative Jewss to bless same sex marriages ? It certainly doesn’t seem so,
No one is insisting that these bishops have to ordain women as clergy or bless same sex marriage but it does seem that thay would like to use political means to force their ideals on to others. Reliigious freedom is not an absolute. We no longer allow human sacrifice and multiple wives. There are limits to religious freedom. It is not up to Roman Catholic bishops to be setting these limits.