{"id":14817,"date":"2012-06-29T12:12:21","date_gmt":"2012-06-29T18:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?p=14817"},"modified":"2016-09-30T17:06:35","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T21:06:35","slug":"michelle-obama-makes-the-catholic-case-against-the-hhs-mandate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2012\/06\/michelle-obama-makes-the-catholic-case-against-the-hhs-mandate\/","title":{"rendered":"Michelle Obama makes the Catholic case against the HHS mandate?!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/p>\n

Well, Ed Morrissey thinks so \u2014 and \u00a0he\u2019s got a point: <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

In a speech today to a conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the First Lady explained her concept of citizenship by likening it to the ministry of Jesus.\u00a0 Her explanation\u00a0corroborates the same point<\/a> that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops have been making for months about the intrusive nature of the HHS contraception mandate, emphasis mine:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of like church,\u201d\u00a0Obama\u00a0said. \u201cOur faith journey isn\u2019t just about showing up on Sunday for a good sermon and good music and a good meal. It\u2019s about what we do Monday through Saturday as well, especially in those quiet moments, when the spotlight\u2019s not on us, and we\u2019re making those daily choices about how to live our lives.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe see that in the life of Jesus Christ.\u00a0Jesus didn\u2019t limit his ministry to the four walls of the church,\u201d she said. \u201cHe was out there fighting injustice and speaking truth to power every single day. He was out there spreading a message of grace and redemption to the least, the last, and the lost.<\/strong> And our charge is to find Him everywhere, every day by how we live our lives.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Obama, who is not a regular churchgoer, said citizenship like the practice of faith is \u201cnot a once-a-week kind of deal.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDemocracy is also an everyday activity,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd being an engaged citizen should once again be a daily part of our lives.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Yes, indeed He was.\u00a0 So do churches to this day, ministering to the sick and the poor, \u201cthe least, the last and the lost\u201d that Mrs. Obama references here.\u00a0 Furthermore, Jesus did not limit His ministry to just those disciples who followed Him, but ministered to many, including Romans, in the course of His evangelization.<\/p>\n

However, her husband and Kathleen Sebelius don\u2019t see it that way.\u00a0 They only allow for activities within \u201cthe four walls of the church\u201d to be classified as religious expression exempt from government regulation, and only that activity which excludes those other than believers as participants or recipients, too.\u00a0 The USCCB and its allies in\u00a0the Fortnight for Freedom campaign<\/a> have repeatedly argued exactly as the First Lady does \u2014 that the provision of charity, education, and health care to the greater community is an\u00a0integral component of religious expression, for Catholics and those of other denominations,\u00a0 just as was Jesus\u2019 ministry of healing, evangelization, and assistance to the poor.\u00a0 In fact, Mrs. Obama makes that case as eloquently as I\u2019ve seen it made during this debate.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read it all. <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well, Ed Morrissey thinks so \u2014 and \u00a0he\u2019s got a point: In a speech today to a conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the First Lady explained her concept of citizenship by likening it to the ministry of Jesus.\u00a0 Her explanation\u00a0corroborates the same point that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops have been making […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,43],"tags":[928,1180],"class_list":["post-14817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","category-pro-life","tag-hhs","tag-michelle-obama"],"yoast_head":"\nMichelle Obama makes the Catholic case against the HHS mandate?!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Well, Ed Morrissey thinks so -- and \u00a0he's got a point: In a speech today to a conference of the African Methodist Episcopal 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