WHITE HOUSE MISREPRESENTS ITS OWN CONTRACEPTIVE MANDATE

The Obama administration, to justify its widely criticized mandate for contraception and
sterilization coverage in private health plans, has posted a set of false and misleading
claims on the White House blog (“Health Reform, Preventive Services, and Religious
Institutions,” February 1). In what follows, each White House claim is quoted with a
response.

Claim: “Churches are exempt from the new rules: Churches and other houses of
worship will be exempt from the requirement to offer insurance that covers
contraception.”

Response: This is not entirely true. To be eligible, even churches and houses of worship
must show the government that they hire and serve primarily people of their own faith
and have the inculcation of religious values as their purpose. Some churches may have
service to the broader community as a major focus, for example, by providing direct
service to the poor regardless of faith. Such churches would be denied an exemption
precisely because their service to the common good is so great. More importantly, the
vast array of other religious organizations – schools, hospitals, universities, charitable
institutions – will clearly not be exempt.

*

Claim: “No individual health care provider will be forced to prescribe
contraception: The President and this Administration have previously and continue to
express strong support for existing conscience protections. For example, no Catholic
doctor is forced to write a prescription for contraception.”

Response: It is true that these rules directly apply to employers and insurers, not
providers, but this is beside the point: The Administration is forcing individuals and
institutions, including religious employers, to sponsor and subsidize what they consider
immoral. Less directly, the classification of these drugs and procedures as basic
“preventive services” will increase pressures on doctors, nurses and pharmacists to
provide them in order to participate in private health plans – and no current federal
conscience law prevents that from happening. Finally, because the mandate includes
abortifacient drugs, it violates one of the “existing conscience protections” (the Weldon
amendment) for which the Administration expresses “strong support.”

*

Claim: “No individual will be forced to buy or use contraception: This rule only
applies to what insurance companies cover. Under this policy, women who want
2

contraception will have access to it through their insurance without paying a co-pay or
deductible. But no one will be forced to buy or use contraception.”

Response: The statement that no one will be forced to buy it is false. Women who want
contraception will be able to obtain it without co-pay or deductible precisely because
women who do not want contraception will be forced to help pay for it through their
premiums. This mandate passes costs from those who want the service, to those who
object to it.

*

Claim: “Drugs that cause abortion are not covered by this policy: Drugs like RU486 are
not covered by this policy, and nothing about this policy changes the President’s firm
commitment to maintaining strict limitations on Federal funding for abortions. No
Federal tax dollars are used for elective abortions.”

Response: False. The policy already requires coverage of Ulipristal (HRP 2000 or
“Ella”), a drug that is a close analogue to RU-486 (mifepristone) and has the same
effects.1 RU-486 itself is also being tested for possible use as an “emergency
contraceptive” – and if the FDA approves it for that purpose, it will automatically be
mandated as well.

*

Claim: “Over half of Americans already live in the 28 States that require insurance
companies cover contraception: Several of these States like North Carolina, New York,
and California have identical religious employer exemptions. Some States like Colorado,
Georgia and Wisconsin have no exemption at all.”

Response: This misleads by ignoring important facts, and some of it is simply false. All
the state mandates, even those without religious exemptions, may be avoided by self-
insuring prescription drug coverage, by dropping that particular coverage altogether, or
by taking refuge in a federal law that pre-empts any state mandates (ERISA). None of
these havens is available under the federal mandate. It is also false to claim that North
Carolina has an identical exemption. It is broader: It does not require a religious
organization to serve primarily people of its own faith, or to fulfill the federal rule’s
narrow tax code criterion. Moreover, the North Carolina law, unlike the federal mandate,
completely excludes abortifacient drugs like Ella and RU-486 as well as “emergency
contraceptives” like Preven.

1
See A. Tarantal, et al., 54 Contraception 107-115 (1996), at 114 (“studies with mifepristone and HRP
2000 have shown both antiprogestins to have roughly comparable activity in terminating pregnancy when
administered during the early stages of gestation”); G. Bernagiano & H. von Hertzen, 375 The Lancet 527-
28 (Feb. 13, 2010), at 527 (“Ulipristal has similar biological effects to mifepristone, the antiprogestin used
in medical abortion”).

3

*

Claim: “Contraception is used by most women: According to a study by the
Guttmacher Institute, most women, including 98 percent of Catholic women, have used
contraception.”

Response: This is irrelevant, and it is presented in a misleading way. If a survey found
that 98% of people had lied, cheated on their taxes, or had sex outside of marriage, would
the government claim it can force everyone to do so? But this claim also mangles the data
to create a false impression. The study actually says this is true of 98% of “sexually
experienced” women. The more relevant statistic is that the drugs and devices subject to
this mandate (sterilization, hormonal prescription contraceptives and IUDs) are used by
69% of those women who are “sexually active” and “do not want to become pregnant.”
Surely that is a minority of the general public, yet every man and woman who needs
health insurance will have to pay for this coverage. The drugs that the mandate’s
supporters say will be most advanced by the new rule, because they have the highest co-
pays and deductibles now, are powerful but risky injectable and implantable hormonal
contraceptives, now used by perhaps 5% of women. The mandate is intended to change
women’s reproductive behavior, not only reflect it.

*

Claim: “Contraception coverage reduces costs: While the monthly cost of
contraception for women ranges from $30 to $50, insurers and experts agree that savings
more than offset the cost. The National Business Group on Health estimated that it
would cost employers 15 to 17 percent more not to provide contraceptive coverage than
to provide such coverage, after accounting for both the direct medical costs of potentially
unintended and unhealthy pregnancy and indirect costs such as employee absence and
reduced productivity.”

Response: The government is violating our religious freedom to save money? If the
claim is true it is hard to say there is a need for a mandate: Secular insurers and
employers who don’t object will want to purchase the coverage to save money, and those
who object can leave it alone. But this claim also seems to rest on some assumptions:
That prescription contraceptives are the only way to avoid “unintended and unhealthy
pregnancy,” for example, or that increasing access to contraceptives necessarily produces
significant reductions in unintended pregnancies. The latter assumption has been cast
into doubt by numerous studies (see

http://old.usccb.org/prolife/issues/contraception/contraception-fact-sheet-3-17-11.pdf).

*

Claim: “The Obama Administration is committed to both respecting religious beliefs and
increasing access to important preventive services. And as we move forward, our strong
partnerships with religious organizations will continue.”

4

Response: False. There is no “balance” in the final HHS rule—one side has prevailed
entirely, as the mandate and exemption remain entirely unchanged from August 2011,
despite many thousands of comments filed since then indicating intense opposition.
Indeed, the White House Press Secretary declared on January 31, “I don’t believe there
are any constitutional rights issues here,” so little was placed on that side of the scale.
The Administration’s stance on religious liberty has also been shown in other ways.
Recently it argued before the Supreme Court that religious organizations have no greater
right under the First amendment to hire or fire their own ministers than secular
organizations have over their leaders– a claim that was unanimously rejected by the
Supreme Court as “extreme” and “untenable.” The Administration recently denied a
human trafficking grant to a Catholic service provider with high objective scores, and
gave part of that grant instead to a provider with not just lower, but failing, objective
scores, all because the Catholic provider refused in conscience to compromise the same
moral and religious beliefs at issue here. Such action violates not only federal conscience
laws, but President Obama’s executive order assuring “faith-based” organizations that
they will be able to serve the public in federal programs without compromising their
faith.

2/3/12

The ancient Greeks had two words for time, chronos  and kairos. Time as we typically experience it is chronos or chronological time, i.e., one hour after the other, in a linear fashion. Kairos, in contrast, is the sudden breaking into our awareness of the eternal yet present… almost a suspension in time, although not really. Sort of a sense of illumination and awe. You know the saying getting lost in time, lost in thought…. sort of like that but more.

Remember Jesus as a divine person was always in kairos time even as he lived chronos time his human and divine natures. Jesus was always in communion with the Father, even in the most mundane of events of his life.

What a wonderful mystery of our faith!

Ordinary time is a time for us to enter more deeply into the mystery of Jesus’ daily life, his public ministry, his sharing in our experience of human life even as he constantly beheld his Father’s face in union with his Father and the Spirit.

 Blessings on all of you!

Unfortunately and for various reasons, many people do not discern or respond to that call and, I believe, then find themselves wondering why they are never really happy in life. The world with all its distractions and demands often make it seemingly impossible for many to come to know themselves as God knows them and loves them. This is a great source of distress in the world and in our Church.

Others, though, indeed do discern accurately their vocation in life and respond to it. Many in the married state have done so. Bishops, priests and deacons do so. So to single people and those called to the religious life. They spend years making that discernment and then committing their lives to the vocation for which God has made them. For those so gifted, great caution is needed in living out their vocations.

Safeguard your calling, brothers and sisters! There is a lot out there in the world that will distract and erode the commitment you have made to God’s call. The vocation you have is worth more than all the wealth of the world. Be on guard! Protect what has been given you, and never take it for granted.

In the light of many reports now-a-days of men and women crashing and burning in their vocations, (see for example of yet another report today in the news of a cleric of high rank resigning because of improper relationships given his state in life), we all must safeguard what is so precious to us and to the Church.

Don’t forget the basics. Pray. Keep your attention to your obligations to your promises, vows and state in life. Rest. Keep yourself accountable to others who are trustworthy, and turn a deaf ear to the incredible number of sources of doubt, deception and allurement in our contemporary world.

And never forget we all are imperfect, needing the support of others. Don’t isolate yourself. Avoid self-medicating in whatever form.

… what can we find more suitable, among all the gifts of God, than peace, that peace announced for the first time by the song of the angels at the birth of the Lord? Peace begets children of God, nurtures love, creates union; it is the repose of the blessed ones, the dwelling of eternity. Its proper work and its particular benefit is to unite to God all those leave the world of evil. 

Those therefore who, not by blood nor by the will of the flesh, nor by the will of man, but by God are born, offer to the Father their filial hearts united in peace…. The birth of the Lord is the birth of peace, as the Apostle says: “He is our peace, he who made of two people, one alone.” (Eph. 2: 14)

I wish you all the peace of our Lord Jesus throughout the new year, about to dawn upon us.

The calendar year ends with such a display of feasts: Christmas, St. Stephen, St. John, the Holy Innocents, St. Thomas a Becket, the Feast of the Holy Family, and finally little-known Pope St. Sylvester. Then we launch into 2012 with the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God and the Epiphany. What a glorious couple of weeks.

Drink it all in slowly, folks. Enjoy it. It is so rich you don’t want to take it all in too quickly!

Peace to all of you!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

BUON NATALE!

FELIX NAVIDAD!

May we rejoice today and always in the wondrous mystery of the Incarnation and the coming of the Lord in history, in mystery and in glory!

A sincere diaconal blessing on all this day.

Deacon Bob

For English readers, here is the official translation:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Rome and throughout the world!

Christ is born for us! Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to the men and women whom he loves. May all people hear an echo of the message of Bethlehem which the Catholic Church repeats in every continent, beyond the confines of every nation, language and culture. The Son of the Virgin Mary is born for everyone; he is the Saviour of all.

This is how Christ is invoked in an ancient liturgical antiphon: “O Emmanuel, our king and lawgiver, hope and salvation of the peoples: come to save us, O Lord our God”. Veni ad salvandum nos! Come to save us! This is the cry raised by men and women in every age, who sense that by themselves they cannot prevail over difficulties and dangers. They need to put their hands in a greater and stronger hand, a hand which reaches out to them from on high. Dear brothers and sisters, this hand is Christ, born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary. He is the hand that God extends to humanity, to draw us out of the mire of sin and to set us firmly on rock, the secure rock of his Truth and his Love (cf. Ps 40:2).

This is the meaning of the Child’s name, the name which, by God’s will, Mary and Joseph gave him: he is named Jesus, which means “Saviour” (cf. Mt 1:21; Lk1:31). He was sent by God the Father to save us above all from the evil deeply rooted in man and in history: the evil of separation from God, the prideful presumption of being self-sufficient, of trying to compete with God and to take his place, to decide what is good and evil, to be the master of life and death (cf. Gen 3:1-7). This is the great evil, the great sin, from which we human beings cannot save ourselves unless we rely on God’s help, unless we cry out to him: “Veni ad salvandum nos! – Come to save us!”

The very fact that we cry to heaven in this way already sets us aright; it makes us true to ourselves: we are in fact those who cried out to God and were saved (cf. Esth[LXX] 10:3ff.). God is the Saviour; we are those who are in peril. He is the physician; we are the infirm. To realize this is the first step towards salvation, towards emerging from the maze in which we have been locked by our pride. To lift our eyes to heaven, to stretch out our hands and call for help is our means of escape, provided that there is Someone who hears us and can come to our assistance.

Jesus Christ is the proof that God has heard our cry. And not only this! God’s love for us is so strong that he cannot remain aloof; he comes out of himself to enter into our midst and to share fully in our human condition (cf. Ex 3:7-12). The answer to our cry which God gave in Jesus infinitely transcends our expectations, achieving a solidarity which cannot be human alone, but divine. Only the God who is love, and the love which is God, could choose to save us in this way, which is certainly the lengthiest way, yet the way which respects the truth about him and about us: the way of reconciliation, dialogue and cooperation.

Dear brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the world, on this Christmas 2011, let us then turn to the Child of Bethlehem, to the Son of the Virgin Mary, and say: “Come to save us!” Let us repeat these words in spiritual union with the many people who experience particularly difficult situations; let us speak out for those who have no voice.

Together let us ask God’s help for the peoples of the Horn of Africa, who suffer from hunger and food shortages, aggravated at times by a persistent state of insecurity. May the international community not fail to offer assistance to the many displaced persons coming from that region and whose dignity has been sorely tried.

May the Lord grant comfort to the peoples of South-East Asia, particularly Thailand and the Philippines, who are still enduring grave hardships as a result of the recent floods.

May the Lord come to the aid of our world torn by so many conflicts which even today stain the earth with blood. May the Prince of Peace grant peace and stability to that Land where he chose to come into the world, and encourage the resumption of dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians. May he bring an end to the violence in Syria, where so much blood has already been shed. May he foster full reconciliation and stability in Iraq and Afghanistan. May he grant renewed vigour to all elements of society in the countries of North Africa and the Middle East as they strive to advance the common good.

May the birth of the Saviour support the prospects of dialogue and cooperation in Myanmar, in the pursuit of shared solutions. May the Nativity of the Redeemer ensure political stability to the countries of the Great Lakes Region of Africa, and assist the people of South Sudan in their commitment to safeguarding the rights of all citizens.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, let us turn our gaze anew to the grotto of Bethlehem. The Child whom we contemplate is our salvation! He has brought to the world a universal message of reconciliation and peace. Let us open our hearts to him; let us receive him into our lives. Once more let us say to him, with joy and confidence:”Veni ad salvandum nos!”

For Italian readers, here it is in that language:

Cari fratelli e sorelle di Roma e del mondo intero!

Cristo è nato per noi! Gloria a Dio nell’alto dei cieli e pace in terra agli uomini che Egli ama. A tutti giunga l’eco dell’annuncio di Betlemme, che la Chiesa Cattolica fa risuonare in tutti i continenti, al di là di ogni confine di nazionalità, di lingua e di cultura. Il Figlio di Maria Vergine è nato per tutti, è il Salvatore di tutti.

Così lo invoca un’antica antifona liturgica: “O Emmanuele, nostro re e legislatore, speranza e salvezza dei popoli: vieni a salvarci, o Signore nostro Dio”. Veni ad salvandum nos! Vieni a salvarci! Questo è il grido dell’uomo di ogni tempo, che sente di non farcela da solo a superare difficoltà e pericoli. Ha bisogno di mettere la sua mano in una mano più grande e più forte, una mano che dall’alto si tenda verso di lui. Cari fratelli e sorelle, questa mano è Cristo, nato a Betlemme dalla Vergine Maria. Lui è la mano che Dio ha teso all’umanità, per farla uscire dalle sabbie mobili del peccato e metterla in piedi sulla roccia, la salda roccia della sua Verità e del suo Amore (cfr Sal 40,3).

Sì, questo significa il nome di quel Bambino, il nome che, per volere di Dio, gli hanno dato Maria e Giuseppe: si chiama Gesù, che significa “Salvatore” (cfr Mt 1,21;Lc 1,31). Egli è stato inviato da Dio Padre per salvarci soprattutto dal male profondo, radicato nell’uomo e nella storia: quel male che è la separazione da Dio, l’orgoglio presuntuoso di fare da sé, di mettersi in concorrenza con Dio e sostituirsi a Lui, di decidere che cosa è bene e che cosa è male, di essere il padrone della vita e della morte (cfr Gen 3,1-7). Questo è il grande male, il grande peccato, da cui noi uomini non possiamo salvarci se non affidandoci all’aiuto di Dio, se non gridando a Lui: “Veni ad salvandum nos! – Vieni a salvarci!”.

Il fatto stesso di elevare al Cielo questa invocazione, ci pone già nella giusta condizione, ci mette nella verità di noi stessi: noi infatti siamo coloro che hanno gridato a Dio e sono stati salvati (cfr Est [greco] 10,3f). Dio è il Salvatore, noi quelli che si trovano nel pericolo. Lui è il medico, noi i malati. Riconoscerlo, è il primo passo verso la salvezza, verso l’uscita dal labirinto in cui noi stessi ci chiudiamo con il nostro orgoglio. Alzare gli occhi al Cielo, protendere le mani e invocare aiuto è la via di uscita, a patto che ci sia Qualcuno che ascolta, e che può venire in nostro soccorso.

Gesù Cristo è la prova che Dio ha ascoltato il nostro grido. Non solo! Dio nutre per noi un amore così forte, da non poter rimanere in Se stesso, da uscire da Se stesso e venire in noi, condividendo fino in fondo la nostra condizione (cfr Es 3,7-12). La risposta che Dio ha dato in Gesù al grido dell’uomo supera infinitamente la nostra attesa, giungendo ad una solidarietà tale che non può essere soltanto umana, ma divina. Solo il Dio che è amore e l’amore che è Dio poteva scegliere di salvarci attraverso questa via, che è certamente la più lunga, ma è quella che rispetta la verità sua e nostra: la via della riconciliazione, del dialogo, della collaborazione.

Perciò, cari fratelli e sorelle di Roma e del mondo intero, in questo Natale 2011, rivolgiamoci al Bambino di Betlemme, al Figlio della Vergine Maria, e diciamo: “Vieni a salvarci!”. Lo ripetiamo in unione spirituale con tante persone che vivono situazioni particolarmente difficili, e facendoci voce di chi non ha voce.

Insieme invochiamo il divino soccorso per le popolazioni del Corno d’Africa, che soffrono a causa della fame e delle carestie, talvolta aggravate da un persistente stato di insicurezza. La Comunità internazionale non faccia mancare il suo aiuto ai numerosi profughi provenienti da tale Regione, duramente provati nella loro dignità.

Il Signore doni conforto alle popolazioni del Sud-Est asiatico, particolarmente della Thailandia e delle Filippine, che sono ancora in gravi situazioni di disagio a causa delle recenti inondazioni.

Il Signore soccorra l’umanità ferita dai tanti conflitti, che ancora oggi insanguinano il Pianeta. Egli, che è il Principe della Pace, doni pace e stabilità alla Terra che ha scelto per venire nel mondo, incoraggiando la ripresa del dialogo tra Israeliani e Palestinesi. Faccia cessare le violenze in Siria, dove tanto sangue è già stato versato. Favorisca la piena riconciliazione e la stabilità in Iraq ed in Afghanistan. Doni un rinnovato vigore nell’edificazione del bene comune a tutte le componenti della società nei Paesi nord africani e mediorientali.

La nascita del Salvatore sostenga le prospettive di dialogo e di collaborazione in Myanmar, nella ricerca di soluzioni condivise. Il Natale del Redentore garantisca stabilità politica ai Paesi della Regione africana dei Grandi Laghi ed assista l’impegno degli abitanti del Sud Sudan per la tutela dei diritti di tutti i cittadini.

Cari fratelli e sorelle, rivolgiamo lo sguardo alla Grotta di Betlemme: il Bambino che contempliamo è la nostra salvezza! Lui ha portato al mondo un messaggio universale di riconciliazione e di pace. Apriamogli il nostro cuore, accogliamolo nella nostra vita. Ripetiamogli con fiducia e speranza: “Veni ad salvandum nos!”.

Her name is Mary Wati Yuranda; her grandfather is Ibrahim, her mother is Yusinar and her father Yusuf. Mary was only eight years old when the tsunami hit, and she was clinging to her mom and siblings when the waves hit. They proved too strong, and she was wrested from her mom’s grip, went under and not seen again. They presumed her dead.

She is a teenager now, and had been trying to find her home for years. She had forgotten her parents’ names, but not her grandfather’s. A friend of Ibrahim saw her in the provincial city of Meulaboh and brought her to him who subsequently took her home to her parents.

They call it a Christmas miracle seven years in the making.

God is good, isn’t he!

I have always liked new years, whether they have been calendar years or liturgical years. There is always something new and fresh to be anticipated, and I feel the same today as we leave what has become familiar to embrace what is new, yet reminiscent of what is old. The new translation of the Roman Missal is much discussed and laden with a bit of anxiety on the part of many. I suspect that within a few weeks, it will be “old hat” as they say, and we will wonder what all the fuss was about. I suppose I should be saying something other than that, such as the new change will be a splendid and deeply spiritual renewal of our parishes. We can hope for that, but such a renewal of parish and personal life invariably comes from an embrace of the Word of God and an longing for reception of our Lord Jesus in Holy Communion. This Word and Eucharist has been with us throughout our lives. It is what sustains us through thick and thin…. ask anyone who has lived through the worst of times and they will tell you this.

The Grand Hello we all in one way or another will utter in a few hours is in fact an expression of gratitude for what has always been since the time of Jesus; gratitude for his presence in Word and Sacrament to strengthen us in holiness and virtue; gratitude for his guidance through the many struggles of life; gratitude for who He is  in all His splendor and majesty, all His humility and self-emptying to become one with us.

So “goodbye” to a splendid year of grace for all of us and “hello” to all that has always been and will be with us anew.

God bless all of you.

Deacon Bob