The following comes from a May 11 The Hill article by Peter Sullivan:
Insurers must cover a wide range of contraceptive methods at no cost to consumers, the Obama administration said Monday in new guidance to health insurance companies.
The guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services makes clear that insurers are obligated under the Affordable Care Act to cover at least one version of each of the 18 federally approved birth control methods.
“Today’s guidance seeks to eliminate any ambiguity,” the department said. “Insurers must cover without cost-sharing at least one form of contraception in each of the methods (currently 18) that the FDA has identified for women in its current Birth Control Guide, including the ring, the patch and intrauterine devices.”
The guidance makes clear that insurers cannot limit preventive services for transgender people based on their sex assigned at birth.
The 18 federally approved types of birth control that now must be offered free include morning-after pills and IUDs, which have been controversial and labeled by conservatives, such as the owners of Hobby Lobby stores, as “abortifacients,” meaning they cause abortion.
It has been stated in the past, and I will repeat it again. The Catholic bishops asked for this, they encouraged and pressed for Obamacare, and now we have this horrible mess. Compared to the silence and approval the Austrian bishops gave to Hitler taking over Austria (the Ansluss), this Obamacare fiasco is a million times worse. On this anniversary of Fatima, let us realize Our Lady’s pleas were ignored, and now we are paying the price: widespread apostasy, and a rapidly decaying Catholic Church. The world is abandoning God, and the Church has only herself to blame for this self destruction.
While I agree with your assessment of this situation, I must also point out that the Catholics in the pews (or not in the pews) overwhelmingly voted for Obama and his programs; not once, but twice! If it weren’t for Catholics he wouldn’t be in office! How shameful is that? Those “catholics” bear a great burden in this “horrible mess” as well. Many Catholics support this garbage and many who don’t support it are not inclined to speak out about it openly to be a beacon of faith to others. Shame on all who support this man and his agenda and those who looked the other way…including the bishops who did so…there are some good bishops (and lay Catholics) who did not. God bless them.
You are both correct.
Catholics, with the express help of their bishops, placed Obama in office.
Obama is a liar, and anti-Catholic. He said that there would be freedom for religious observance in certain things, and there is not any. Moreover, Obama has turned up the demand that abortion also be provided by all plans, religious or not. Many said that this would happen, to the derision of Democrats.
Stand up. Fight back.
Because of the deafening silence of the bishops, especially in not instructing the laity to always vote PRO LIFE, the bishops are very much responsible for the increases in abortion and other immoral acts. It seems the bishops only speak when it fits their socialistic agenda. Instead of being shepherds who imitate Christ, they are more prone to emulate Castro, Marx and Stalin. There are only a few bishops who have been courageous to stand up for Catholic morality. Meanwhile the United States slips further away from being a civilized, Christian nation.
This is astoundingly true, “Father Karl”.
But, what is to be done about the feckless bishops that we now have? The Vatican seems pleased with its leadership, if one can imagine a worse set of “leaders”: Cardinals Daneels, Marx, Kasper, Maradiaga, Dolan, Wuerl, Nichols, Abp. Forte, Cupich, and on, and on.
Without the internet and Traditionalist blogs and media, there would be no pressure exerted on these truly awful people. Most of them likely do not care, but Pope Francis is surprisingly sensitive to negative publicity and writings. He whines, and stomps around, but he has changed his tune due to this on a number of things (or at least muted what he previously said).
Abortion and homosexual sex (within the larger context of sexual ethics) are the big issues, but others also exist. Regardless, the bishops are not ever going to do the right thing: like ISIS, the bishops need to be removed (well, not in precisely the same way). You cannot negotiate with them, or convince them that what they are doing is against the Faith. These bishops are probably lost to the Church, and should be simply cut off.
Time to turn up the volume on these fools. Let the world see what apostates they are, and how they pervert the Faith. God should take care of the rest.
From the cradle, if allowed to be born, to the grave, big brother wants to run and ruin your life. Because of the liberals in charge of the Church, many demonic forces have been active in destroying traditional Catholic and Christian morality. The Catholic Church is MORE than the strange bishops who are pushing their liberation theology agenda. Read the lives of the saints and see how those who are now in Heaven coped with many of the same problems that we face today. Despite the radical bishops and others who are trying to change the Church into some socialistic club, there will always be those who adhere to tradition and to unchangeable truth. Even though the left wing hierarchy is trying to make heaven on earth, the real Heaven is where God is, and where we hope to spend eternity after being purified from our sins.
The feckless bishops are modern day members of the Judas club. In other words, they are traitors in that they are not defending the truths of the Church. They are also false shepherds because they are leading many people astray. If someone does not believe me, just look at the numbers: members of the Catholic Church, as well as those of other Christian faiths are decreasing. More and more people are calling themselves atheists or agnostics each year. This is no lie. Meanwhile, the population of Moslems, and conversion to Islam is rapidly increasing.