Church is being demonized over stance

Mr. Gingras’s letter of Feb. 11, “Denying coverage of birth control wrong,” was revealing. Obama mandated that Catholic hospitals, as part of their health insurance coverage for their employees, provide for contraception, sterilization and pharmacological abortion (morning-after pill). Catholicism doctrinally is opposed to these as a grave contravention of its teachings about the sanctity of life.

This mandate touched off a firestorm from diverse religious groups, principally the Catholic Church. Such mandate is clearly a violation of the religious freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution.

Damage control: demonize your enemy, and when all else fails offer a compromise. The compromise: exempt the Catholic Church from paying for these benefits. Instead, insurance companies are mandated to offer these benefits “free” of charge. “Free” of charge? The benefits, which are offensive to and contravene Catholic doctrine, still have to be offered.

This “compromise” was rightfully rejected. But the “compromise” does change the issue from religious freedom to one of haggling with a miser (Catholic Church) over the cost of health insurance premiums. The latter view has caught traction. Demonize your enemy works.

Mr. Gingra speaks of birth control is being “a basic human right” and characterizes it and abortion as being some sort of religious rights. Conception is a basic reality, birth control is a pharmaceutical company created reality and abortion was made legal by the Supreme Court. I don’t see the hand of the Almighty. The balance of his letter reflects a strong anti-Catholic Church prejudice. “ ... will spend millions covering up human crimes.”

The real “Hope” in Obama’s “Hope and Change” is “I hope that I can change America into the United Secular Socialist Republic (USSR) of America.”

Laszlo Stephan

Des Plaines