The iPadre Catholic Podcast

There is a great article on Forbes by Charles Kadlec: “The Audacity of Power: President Obama Vs. The Catholic Church”

My highlights are in BOLD and comments in RED

I’ll highlight a few points, but be sure to read the whole article.

Before our very eyes, President Obama is on the verge of establishing the principle that the right to religious freedom comes not from our Creator, but from those who rule us. (Can you imagine the arrogance of anyone to place themselves above God. We all know that many people live as if there was no God, but to put yourself in HIS place…) A government endowed right granted to women now trumps our unalienable right to act in accordance with our religious beliefs and conscience. Not only does this overturn the First Amendment, it also tramples the nation’s founding principles (Obama places himself above our founding fathers!  Remember, his hero is Saul Alinsky) as announced in the Declaration of Independence. Such an achievement would be the true audacity of power.

 

The fundamental question is whether the Catholic Church, and by extension, individual Americans have to engage in activities according to the rulings of this and future Presidents, or are we free to live our lives as we choose as long as we do not harm another. (Read that again!  Do you get that!) Are we free to engage in long standing religious practices that have never before been deemed unlawful, or has the federal government established a de facto state “religion” (Obama worship, the new Emperor) that it is prepared to enforce through the full coercive power of its financial resources and the imposition of financial penalties.

If the Catholic Church and the American people choose the face saving “Option A” instead of “Option C,” then President Obama will have transformed America. We may be allowed the illusion of exercising our freedom, but in truth, we will be subjects in ObamaLand, required to do the bidding of this and future Presidents in the name of some higher, collective good.

However, the Catholic Church can turn the tables on the President by taking Option A off the table with a humble statement of principal that in the matters of religious practices and conscience, there is a higher authority than government Who it chooses to obey. If President Obama prevails and unleashes the full force of the federal government against the Church, the cost will be the closing of Catholic schools, hospitals and the loss of social services that play a vital part in communities across the nation. Such a stand would make clear to the American people that the alternative to religious freedom would be a mortal wound to our civil liberties and a complete disruption of civil society.

We still have the power to end this nonsense, but we must band together!  You Catholics in the pews and all people of good will cannot depend on the Bishops doing this alone!  And, we can be sure that even if Obama makes a complete 360, we can never trust him again.  He has lied and, according to his hero Alinsky, must do anything to achieve his goal. You can see a summary of Alinsky’s rules here.

Go read the whole article here.

Don’t we all get a lift when we pray the Pater Noster?  We’ll here is another way to get a lift with the Paternoster. Really, I’m not kidding.  It’ss an elevator in Dartford, England.  The lift was built in 1884.  I wonder if the builders were Catholic, or Anglecan, or they just like the name – Pater Noster.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXSnNzGJDdg

In the years following the Second Vatican Council, the Church in America and, throughout the world had taken a very soft position on every issue.  It was not that we changed our teaching, or did not believe in the teachings of our Church, but it was felt that we need to be more loving.  The time of “spare the rod, spoil the child” was a thing of the past.

Much of it began after Pope Paul VI’s landmark encyclical on the dignity of human life – Humane vitae.  A good number of theologians, priests, religious, laity and even some bishops publicly denounced the teaching.  Many said it was inhumane and “the Pope should stay out of the bedroom”.  Cardinal O’Boyle tried to discipline dissenting priests, only to have his measures rescinded.

Anyone in the seminary during the 70’s, 80’s and even the early 90’s can tell of the rejection of Humane vitae and other dogmatic and moral teachings.  There was a culture of moral apathy among some of the students (and faculty) who were living a double life.  And, there was an outright disdain for “Roman interference”.  Good men were being sent off for counseling, persecuted, and put out of the seminary, because of their fidelity to Rome.

All of this has led us to the current situation.  The Obama administration now seeks to deal the death blow to the Catholic Church.  They know if they succeed at crushing our conscience, they can then silence our voice.  The good news is that a good number of Bishops are speaking out as never before.  But, is it too late?  It will take much more than the voices of our Bishops to overturn this attack against our religious liberty and the great tide of evil that is overwhelming our society.  The current situation demands all the Baptized stand up for the truth, regardless of the consequences.  It will oblige the fidelity and perseverance of people like St. Thomas Moore and St. Gianna Beretta Molla.  We will need to have the courage and trust of Sadrach, Meshach and Abednego who were delivered from the fiery furnace.  All we have to do is look to the courageous example of the thousands of martyrs who put Christ before self

Are the Bishops, priests, and the lay faithful ready for the fight?  All of us must finally get out of our slothful state and become the men and women that God calls us to be!