No one is surprised that the man who will soon lead the Archdiocese of Glascow opposes Scotland\u2019s plans to legalize same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n
Still, Archbishop-designate Philip Tartaglia raised eyebrows with his prediction of dire consequences if he kept defending church teachings on marriage and sex after the legislation went into effect.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could see myself going to jail possibly at some point over the next 15 years, if God spares me, if I speak out,\u201d the 61-year-old bishop told STV News.<\/p>\n
The key, Tartaglia said later, is that the government could crack down on believers who try to publicly defend, or even follow, traditional religious doctrines that clash with doctrines approved by state authorities. \u201cI am deeply concerned that today, defending the traditional meaning of marriage is almost considered \u2018hate speech\u2019 and branded intolerant,\u201d he told the Catholic News Agency.<\/p>\n
Religious traditionalists in America will soon face similar issues on another issue, depending on what happens in courts. August 1 was the start date for the Health and Human Services mandate requiring most religious institutions to offer health-insurance plans that cover sterilizations and all FDA-approved forms of contraception, including the so-called \u201cmorning-after pills.\u201d Some religious organizations qualify for a one-year grace period before they must follow the policy or pay steep fines.<\/p>\n
The key is that the HHS mandate only recognizes the conscience rights of an employer if it\u2019s a nonprofit that has the \u201cinculcation of religious values as its purpose,\u201d primarily employs \u201cpersons who share its religious tenets\u201d and primarily \u201cserves persons who share its religious tenets.\u201d Critics say this means the government is protecting mere \u201cfreedom of worship,\u201d not the \u201cfree exercise of religion\u201d found in the First Amendment.<\/p>\n
\u201cConsider Blessed Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity reaching out to the poorest of the poor without regard for their religious affiliation,\u201d said Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lorio this June, during the American bishops\u2019 Fortnight For Freedom campaign. \u201cThe church seeks to affirm the dignity of those we serve not because they are Catholic but because we are Catholic. The faith we profess, including its moral teachings, impels us to reach out \u2014 just as Jesus did \u2014 to those in need and to help build a more just and peaceful society.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the American bishops and other religious leaders will have to weigh their options, seeking ways to live out their faith convictions to as high a degree as possible while the HHS regulations are enforced. That was the subject addressed in the conservative Catholic journal \u201cVoices\u201d by Julianne Loesch Wiley, a veteran Catholic activist who has worked with a wide variety of causes, including Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers, Pax (Peace) Center and \u201cProlifers for Survival,\u201d which opposed abortion and the nuclear arms race. The options include:<\/p>\n
* Obey the mandate, while continuing to fight it. Wiley quipped: \u201cI doubt that the American Cancer Society would pay to subsidize monthly cartons of Marlboros for their employees, EVEN UNDER PROTEST.\u201d<\/p>\n
* Stop offering insurance and pay the resulting fines. This would require ministries to be scaled back or eliminated, while the government gained funds to provide the very services the church considers immoral. This is, she said, another name for \u201ccollaboration and submission.\u201d<\/p>\n
* Avoid the conflict by shutting down, selling off or secularizing church-related hospitals, schools and charities that the government does not consider \u201creligious employers\u201d and, thus, worthy of exemptions. This amounts to \u201cpreemptive surrender\u201d and gives the government \u201ceffective control of all human services, caring professions and charities.\u201d <\/p>\n
* Refuse to cooperate, refuse to pay the fines and await \u201covert, forcible political repression.\u201d In other words, prepare for some bishops and their supporters to go to jail. Wiley argued that this is the only \u201ctactically sound,\u201d \u201clogically sound\u201d and \u201cmorally sound\u201d response.
\nIf this results in jail time, then that is a consequence believers in other eras have willing faced, she concluded. \u201cRejoice and be glad. Historically, prison has always been an excellent pulpit and a school of saints.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to imagine this standoff reaching such a dramatic conclusion, said Wiley, when asked to look ahead. If deprived of protection by the U.S. courts, it\u2019s likely some Catholic institutions will be willing to compromise and, thus, will cut church ties. Others will lose their licenses to operate or will be \u201cbroken on the wheel\u201d of financial penalties and further regulations.<\/p>\n
But no matter what happens, she said, history shows that something \u201cfaithfully Catholic\u201d will survive.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe smallest living thing,\u201d she said, \u201cis more powerful than the most powerful dying thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
No one is surprised that the man who will soon lead the Archdiocese of Glascow opposes Scotland\u2019s plans to legalize same-sex marriage. Still, Archbishop-designate Philip Tartaglia raised eyebrows with his prediction of dire consequences if he kept defending church teachings on marriage and sex after the legislation went into effect. \u201cI could see myself going […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[159,226,280,1534,729],"class_list":["post-2614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-godbeat","tag-catholic-bishops","tag-church-state-separation","tag-culture-wars","tag-evangelicals","tag-religious-liberty"],"yoast_head":"\n