Quid Pro Quo: The Real Reason for the HHS Mandate “Compromise”?
All day, the American Catholic blogosphere, already reeling from the latest in the decades-long moral crisis in the Church, has been abuzz about the most recently proposed “compromise” on the table regarding the HHS Contraception Mandate. Though the news of the mandate is a year old by now, and something we at Truth & Charity have followed closely through our Facebook page Stand with the US Bishops, it was only recently noticed by the New York Times. One can hardly blame the White House for coming to the sudden conclusion that something had to be done to satisfy us noisy Catholics – for now – once even Hell’s Bible made note of the situation.
Still, the Obama Administration has been known for its doublespeak, its trickery, its false promises, and its systematic under-the-bussing of those its ridden over on the way to where it is today. One can only wonder what is causing this sudden, easily-rescinded, appearances-only change of heart. The answer?
Immigration.
At least that’s my theory. The US Bishops have been the most outspoken proponents of full-scale immigration reform (and, generally, the more liberal-leaning proposals). Mr. Obama needs them to help him push his new immigration agenda, the one he’s been talking about a LOT lately. There’s just one pesky problem: the bishops are not in a cooperative mood. He has to allay their concerns. Why not a little empty promise? It’s the old standby of Obama’s charm. People love a guy who promises the world with a smile.
Thus, we find a sudden interest in changing policies. Obama will still leave those non-religious employers high and dry, but for the bishops, well, their institutions will be “exempt.” Just a bit of political bribery, that’s all. Just a shell game. “Keep your eyes on the magician’s hands, Your Excellencies, and make sure your oohs and aahs are loud enough for his adoring public.”
Not all of the bishops have been able to keep their attention focused firmly on the mandate, that most pressing of concerns. Some have been distracted in recent months by Paul Ryan’s taken-out-of-context political leanings or the revival of gun control politics. I don’t want to get on that tangent. I only want to close with a message to our bishops: We love you and we’ll keep praying for you and fighting with you. We know you want immigration reform. Many of us – liberal and conservative – share that desire with you. Now is not the time. Please don’t allow Obama to change the subject. Don’t give him the praise and cooperation he wants in exchange for his new-found respect for the religious freedom of the few. Resist him until every single man, woman, and child in the United States may exercise their God-given freedom of conscience without punishment from the state. If you don’t stand steadfast for that first freedom, what will really be left of America’s greatness for immigrants to share in, anyway? Don’t drop the ball. God bless you all!
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About the Author
Micah Murphy, a cradle-Catholic from Omaha, Nebraska, has been active in online apologetics since his coming of age discovery of the faith. Having graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2007 with his BA in Theology and Catechetics, Micah became a youth minister and then a teacher of Sacred Scripture at Loyola College Prep in the mission Diocese of Shreveport, where he now lives with his wife, Jennie, and their three children. A man of concrete thinking, Micah prefers scriptural to scholastic theology, in addition to catechetics, canon law, Latin grammar, Catholic facts both trivial and muy importante, and anything else that requires great precision.
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The bishops need to keep their thoughts on the mind and Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, and the Blessed Virgin Mary Heart of Sorrows, not a man like Obama. I would think if they pray to the Sacred Hearts for the faith and life all the other inherent freedoms may fall into play. Our Lord did not compromise with the high priests or the rich man. Nor did He compromise for His life with Pilot. They are supposed to take up for Christ’s Church, not with anyone else in compromising with Obama.
I don’t think so. The bishops would analyze each issue separately and would still support immigration reform that they feel meets Catholic values. No, this is more than a bribe tossed to the bishops. This is a PR move. This way he can show the public how he’s offered the compromise but those darned, unreasonable right-wingers just won’t be satisfied with any reasonable step. See! It really is a Republican war in women. They won’t be satisfied until they can make birth control unavailable to women. That’s what he’s going for here–a means to legitimize his radical, religious freedom oppressing agenda. He’s hoping it will also carry him on the many lawsuits that have been filed, too.
I wonder if the administration has realized that maybe they won’t win the lawsuits and are trying to get the Bishops (and other groups) to drop it.
That’s what makes it a brilliant chess move. If the bishops continue to oppose the mandate, Obama will follow the course you outline. I think he’d prefer, though, that they take his offer so that he can get the focus on their support for his immigration policies. I know they’ll largely support his immigration policies either way, but it’s hard to point out the bishops’ support in one area when they’re so vocalized in opposition in another area. I’m sure he’d rather sweep the mandate issue under the rug (while still oppressing as many as he can) so all the attention can be on the bishops’ immigration support.