{"id":6305,"date":"2012-03-15T22:36:24","date_gmt":"2012-03-16T03:36:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathyschiffer\/?p=6305"},"modified":"2016-09-30T16:00:10","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T21:00:10","slug":"the-bishops-have-spoken-now-let-your-voice-be-heard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathyschiffer\/2012\/03\/the-bishops-have-spoken-now-let-your-voice-be-heard\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bishops Have Spoken\u2014Now Let YOUR Voice Be Heard."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>By now I\u2019ll bet you\u2019ve heard: <\/strong> On March 14, the U.S. Bishops released a response to the White House statement regarding the HHS Mandate.<\/p>\n

Depending on where you get your news, you may have heard that the bishops seem to have \u201ccalmed down\u201d<\/em> or are preparing to \u201caccept the accommodation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The editors of America <\/em>magazine embarrassed themselves with an editorial<\/a>
\nencouraging the bishops to get over it and accept the White House\u2019s program\u2014with the result that the White House felt confident in lecturing USCCB staff on how to interpret Catholic teaching in light of the HHS mandate.\u00a0 The hubris of this Administration was recognized even by the Wall Street Journal<\/em>, which called their ideology \u201cchilling.\u201d\u00a0 Thomas Peters (American Papist) highlighted<\/a> the WSJ\u2019s editorial:<\/p>\n

As a study in ideology and power, the anecdote [of the White House meeting] is chilling, compounded by all the recent claims by Democrats and liberals that Catholics who actually abide by their faith are opposed to modernity.\u00a0 Such prejudice is supposedly defunct in contemporary America, except when it\u2019s practiced against religion.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Actually, the Bishops are NOT caving to pressure, are NOT giving up in their rightful defense of the Catholic Faith. <\/strong><\/span> The key points of Cardinal Timothy Dolan\u2019s new statement, which represents the unified voice of all the U.S. Bishops, are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Government has no\u00a0place defining religion or religious ministry.<\/li>\n
  2. We will continue to\u00a0seek protection for conscience rights of institutions and individuals.<\/li>\n
  3. We will continue to explore\u00a0all opportunities for action, whether with the public, the White House and\u00a0Congress, or through the courts.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This dispute, Cardinal Dolan reminds us:<\/strong><\/p>\n