During the last ABC Republican debate in New Hampshire, the candidates were asked how they would counsel a gay couple who wanted to get married. It was a silly question, and Newt Gingrich decided not to play the game. Instead, he gave the following response:
I just want to raise the point about the news media bias. You donĘĽt hear the opposite question asked.
Should the Catholic Church be forced to close its adoption services in Massachusetts because it wonĘĽt accept gay couples, which is exactly what the state has done? Should the Catholic Church be driven out of providing charitable services in the District of Columbia because it wonĘĽt give in to secular bigotry? Should the Catholic Church find itself discriminated against by the Obama administration on key delivery of services because of the bias and the bigotry of the administration?
The bigotry question goes both ways and thereĘĽs a lot more anti- Christian bigotry today than there is concerning the other side, and none of it gets covered by the news media.
Mr. Gingrich forcefully points out just three examples of a disturbing trend regarding secular authority and its animus toward the Catholic Church and, more specifically, its teachings. LetĘĽs look more carefully at these three examples and then focus on the Obama administrationĘĽs obvious and disturbing anti-Catholic bigotry.
In March of 2006, a few months after the Massachusetts legislature passed a law that prohibits any discrimination against homosexual couples who want to adopt children, Catholic Charities of the Boston Archdiocese announced it was getting out of the adoption business after over a century of service to the community. Although then-Governor Mitt Romney encouraged the legislature to include an exception for agencies whose religious beliefs were in conflict with the new law, his appeal fell on deaf ears.
In February of 2010, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington D.C. announced it was ending its foster care and public adoption program after the city council told Catholic Charities that they would be ineligible for service because of an impending law recognizing “gay marriages.” The D.C. law would allow exceptions only for performing marriages. So, after eighty years of public service, Catholic Charities, committed to following the teachings of the Church, concluded this aspect of their community service.
Mr. Gingrichʼs final example deals with the Obama administrationʼs decision not to fund a Catholic program that provides assistance to victims of sex trafficking. Although this program has the most experience and is rated as the best of such programs in America, the decision of the Obama administration was based on the fact that abortion was not added as a form of “assistance.” Republican Congressman Chris Smith told the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee that “If you are a Catholic NGO (non-government organization) . . . there is now clear proof that your grant application will not be considered . . . The Obama administrationʼs bias against Catholics is an affront to religious freedom and a threat to all people.”
Now the reader might say, “But two of those examples are decisions made by local governments. How can the Obama administration be accused of bias?” Well, letʼs consider more evidence.
One of Mr. Obamaʼs early appointees was Harry Knox, who was appointed to the Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. When Pope Benedict stated that condom distribution was not the answer to the spread of HIV/AIDS, Knox basically called the Pope a liar and that he should start “telling the truth about condom use.” He went further by claiming that Benedict, by taking this anti-condom position, was “endangering peopleʼs lives.” When the Church banned homosexual candidates for the priesthood, Knox condemned the policy as “an attempt at mind control” and a “dangerous and immoral stance.” As Catholic League President Bill Donahue pointed out, “Catholics take note: the Obama administration would never appoint an anti-gay person to any post. But it has no problem appointing anti-Catholics.”
Also, the Department of Health and Services has drawn up Obamacare regulations that would require every private health plan to cover sterilizations and contraceptives, including those that would abort an embryo already attached to the uterine wall. There is no “religious exemption” covering Catholic hospitals, Catholic colleges and universities, or Catholic charitable organizations. As with the Catholic adoption agencies mentioned above, Catholic agencies would have to either drop their employee insurance coverage or reject the teachings of the Church.
Similarly, if the mandated insurance coverage under Obamacare is not rescinded, practicing Catholics would have to choose between purchasing a plan that would provide abortion, contraceptives, and sterilization or obeying their conscience and disobeying the law. One shudders to think what kind of coercion would be inflicted upon those who side with the Church.
Additionally, the Department of State, led by Hillary Clinton, is aggressively promoting the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, and Transgendered) so-called rights agenda in many Catholic countries in total disregard for their laws that recognize only traditional marriage and traditional families. Rebecca Marchinda, director of advocacy for the World Youth Alliance, warned that “the U.S. will help pit the Catholic Church against civil society by stating that opposition to U.S. ideas is based solely on outdated religious ideas.” The U.S. Embassy in Rome went so far as to arrange for Lady Gaga to appear in a EuroPride concert. Lady Gaga is an outspoken proponent of homosexual causes and has several music videos in which she uses Catholic religious symbols in a perverted manner. Austin Ruse, president of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, referring to the Obama administration, said, “They are intent on forcing homosexual ʻmarriageʼ and homosexual adoption on countries that are offended by such things. They are intent on forcing sexual orientation and gender identity as new categories of non-discrimination that will trump the rights of religious believers.” In a speech before the U.N this past December, Secretary Clinton, bemoaning the lack of acceptance of the LGBT agenda in many countries, declared that the “most challenging issue arises when people cite religious or cultural values as a reason to violate or not to protect the human rights of LGBT citizens.” Heaven forbid that people let their religious values inform their judgment on such matters!
Want more proof of State Department anti-Catholic bias? Of the thousands of government documents published by WikiLeaks, a couple of cables from the American embassy in Warsaw criticized the Polish Catholic Church for promoting homophobia: “The Catholic Church plays a significant role in the formation and propagation of anti-gay attitudes in Polish society . . .” But what is the Churchʼs greatest offense? The communique continues, “. . . the Church continues to label homosexual acts as sins and calls on homosexuals to practice abstinence.” My, how obtuse can the Church be?
Finally, just this past week, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that churches have the right to make employment decisions without government interference. The Obama administration argued before the Court that the “ministerial exception,” which prohibits government interference, should be eliminated. Had the Court ruled in favor of the Obama administration, Catholic churches would have been forced to hire women priests.
So, there it is. Never before has a president of the United States been so ardently anti-Catholic. He has appointed people to positions of power who obviously share his bias. Many of his policies are designed to attack the teachings and negate the influence of the Church. And he has shown no regard for the beliefs of serious Catholics who work in hospitals, adoption agencies, and other such organizations. The persecution of Catholics has already begun. Soon many will lose their jobs because of their faith. Eventually, some may lose their lives. To paraphrase Ben Franklin, “We Catholics must all hang together, for assuredly we will all hang separately.” Voting to re-elect Mr. Obama will certainly give him the rope he needs.