Religious liberty is at stake

The news media have done a poor job of clarifying the controversy regarding the Catholic Church’s objection to the Obamacare mandate. First, it is not a contraception issue, nor is it a Catholic issue. It is primarily a religious liberty issue. Although the church supported Obamacare because it provided help for the most vulnerable, the problem developed when an obscure provision stated that all insurers will be required to provide “preventative health care.” Unfortunately the administration’s definition included contraception and abortion-inducing drugs.

Furthermore, all insurers included religious organizations with one small conscience exception for “religious employers.” However, even these religious employers would have to satisfy three criteria to be exempted: 1) it has religious inculcation as its primary duty; 2) it primarily employs people of the same faith; and 3) it primarily serves people of the same faith. How absurd! For example, Catholic Charities doesn’t comply because it serves the poor, irrespective of religious belief. In fact, under this definition, even Jesus and his disciples would not have qualified because they were committed to serving those in other faiths.

The president assured Cardinal Timothy Dolan last fall that when the final version was released, any fears would be allayed. So much for promises. The only change was to give the church one year to abandon its conscience.

The Catholic Church has sued the federal government and is being joined by other faiths as clear evidence that this is truly a religious freedom issue. Our Founding Fathers made religious liberty the first freedom in the Bill of Rights. Cardinal Dolan has warned us all with his statement that “erosion of our first freedom should make all Americans pause. When the government tampers with a freedom vital to the life of our nation, one shutters to think what lies ahead.”

Richard B. Kaiser

Elk Grove Village