A Talk on Timothy Cardinal Dolan and HHS Mandate - 4 of 4

A Talk on Timothy Cardinal Dolan and the HHS Mandate - 4 of 4
In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Wednesday, May 9, 2012

This is the last page to the talk I gave to “Catholic Men’s Fellowship” on Saturday morning May 5th at St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Church in Huntington Beach, California

Ref.: I (Cardinal Timothy Dolan) Owe You and Update- posted on this blog- Mon. 3/5/12
Cardinal Dolan's blog: http://blog.archny.org/
In Closing
Now we have a statement on religious liberty dated April 12th from the U.S. Catholic bishops. It was titled, OUR FIRST, MOST CHERISHED LIBERTY.

The question is! How we are going to meet this challenge in an appropriate way to the Health and Human Service Mandate?

This year the Catholic bishops propose a special “fortnight for freedom” in which bishops in their own diocese might arrange special events to highlight the importance of defending our freedom … They suggest that the fourteen days from June 21 - the vigil of the feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More - to July 4, Independence Day be dedicated to this “fortnight for freedom” a great hymn of prayer for our country.

GRANT TO OUR LEADERS THE WISDOM TO PROTECT AND PROMOTE OUR LIBERTIES
Thank you for listening. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

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The questions were of a nature of: what we can do in our local area? Support and promote the ballot measure of parental notification. Be persistent and pray the rosary at abortion sites. The one at the corner of Grindlay and Orange in Cypress took 30 years to close and did not reopen. At least 150 to 200,000 unborn children were killed.

One person had an urgent flyer to stop Bill SB1338 which would allow physician assistants, nurses and nurse practitioners to do abortions. We have reached a low point in California. The smart Texans passed a law to defund Planned Parenthood. Another did not believe that political activity was the answer.

I reminded them of last week’s feast of the Dominican St. Pius V. The prayer of the Rosary throughout Europe defeated the Turks at the battle of Lepanto. The Rosary is an appropriate prayer in challenging the American secular humanistic religion. This religion wants to sell itself as a national religion. It is illegal and contrary to the first amendment to the constitution. The 1st Amendment protects religious freedom and conscience rights.

The lives of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More are the appropriate Saints for our times. We are looking for lay Catholics to imitate them in the public arena. I mentioned the American Jewish newspaper “Forward” which I subscribe to. They have thousands of lay leaders promoting their cause. We on the other hand are very poor in promoting ours. It’s time to be informed and join Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, support the Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation’s monthly Mindszenty Report, and participate in your local “Catholic Men’s Fellowship”.

George H. Kubeck

A Talk on Timothy Cardinal Dolan and HHS Mandate - 3
In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Tuesday, May 8, 2012
(continued from the talk to Catholic Men’s Fellowship on Saturday morning, May 5th)

Personal comments of Cardinal Dolan’s third section page: [Some of Dolan’s quotes are taken from an article by Kate Briquelet, New York Post, April 29th titled “Dolan’s Supreme Strategy.”] “This is a radical violation of the First Amendment.” “It is morally toxic and an intrusion into the internal life of the Church.”

Dolan wrestled with Congress on the topic asking Senator Marco Rubio to put this to a vote in the Senate. Senator Blunt carried the Blunt amendment of freedom of religion and it lost by 51-48. This must have given Cardinal Dolan a migraine headache. Why? There were thirteen Catholic-label Senators who voted against the Blunt Amendment, against freedom of religion and the 1st Amendment to the Constitution. [In California we have 13 in Congress. CINOPs]

HERE IS CARDINAL DOLAN’S FOURTH AND LAST SECTION PAGE:

“CONGRESS OFFERS MORE HOPE, WITH THOUGHTFUL ELECTED OFFICIALS PROPOSING LEGISLATION TO PROTECT WHAT SHOULD BE SO OBVIOUS: “RELIGIOUS FREEDOM”… AND THE COURTS OFFER THE MOST LIGHT.

“IN THE RECENT HOSANNA-TABOR RULING, THE SUPREME COURT UNANIMOUSLY AND ENTHUSIASTICALLY DEFENDED THE RIGHT OF THE CHURCH TO DEFINE ITS OWN MINISTRY AND SERVICES, A DRAMATIC REBUFF TO THE ADMINISTRATION…”

In my opinion: This legal matter relating to the State and Federal violation of the 1st Amendment should have been adjudicated (judged) by the Supreme Court years ago. The state of California has been overreaching itself. The lawyers of the bishops in California did not pursue and litigate this matter. Lawyers control our bishops in many ways.

Cardinal Dolan urges Catholics to become more active in politics. “We are called to be very active, very informed and very involved in politics.” “It is a freedom of religion battle. It is not about contraception. We are talking about and unwarranted, unprecedented, radical intrusion into “a church’s ability to teach, serve and sanctify on its own.”

The Cardinal reaffirmed the primacy of the Church’s leadership. The Administration had recommended that bishops listen to the “enlightened voices” of accommodation within the Church.

Cardinal Dolan said, “We kind of got our Irish-up when leaders in government seemed to be assigning an authoritative voice to Catholic groups that are not the bishops.” He added: If you want an authoritative voice go to the bishops. They’re the ones that speak for the truth of the Faith.”

In my personal opinion, we have Cardinal Dolan - a Blessed John Paul II potential Catholic religious leader for all American Catholics in America. Catholic faithful need to trust him and support him.

George H. Kubeck - to be continued

A Talk on Timothy Cardinal Dolan and the HHS Mandate - 2

In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Tuesday, May 8, 2012
(continued from the talk to the Catholic Men‘s Fellowship)

Now! - my personal comment on Cardinal‘s First Section Page: We need to change a negative into a positive. During the last four years America has changed from being pro-choice to pro-life. Thanks in some way to Father Frank Pavone and Priests for Life. This is a good time to evangelize, educate and get our parishioners politically involved in studying and knowing about the First Amendment to the Constitution.
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Cardinal Dolan’s Second Section Page:
“AND IT IS NOT JUST ABOUT STERILIZATION, ABORTIFACIENTS, AND CHEMICAL CONTRACEPTION. PURE AND SIMPLE, IT’S ABOUT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, THE SACRED RIGHT, PROTECTED BY OUR CONSTITUTION, OF ANY CHURCH TO DEFINE ITS OWN TEACHNING AND MINISTRY.

“When the President announced on January 20th that the choking mandates from HHS would remain - a shock to me, since he had personally assured me that he would do nothing to impede the good work of the Church in health care, education, and charity, and that he considered the protection of conscience a sacred duty - not only you but men and women of every faith, or none at all rallied in protest.

“The worry that we bishops had expressed - that such government control was contrary to our deepest political values - was eloquently articulated by constitutional scholars and leaders of every creed. Even newspapers editorial supported us! … Well, for one, we’ll keep up advocacy and education on this issue…”
Now here’s what I think: From the book, “People of Hope” p. 207 - Cardinal Dolan is quoted, “… in my meeting with President Obama, he said, “The government can’t give hope, the government can’t love. You in the Church can, please keep doing it.” The problem is the President is running for reelection. He needs his base supporters in order to win. They are member of America’s secular religion and he is one of them.
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In Cardinal Dolan’s third section page:
“THE White HOUSE ALREADY NOTIFIED CONGRESS THAT THE DREADED MANDATES ARE NOW PUBLISHED IN THE FEDERAL REGISTRY “WITHOUT CHANGE.” THE SECRETARY OF HHS IS WIDELY QUOTED AS SAYING, “RELIGIOUS INSURANCE COMPANIES DON’T REALLY DESIGN THE PLANS THEY SELL BASED ON THEIR OWN RELIGIOUS TENETS, WHICH DOESN’T BODE WELL FOR A TRULY ACCEPTABLE “ACCOMMODATION”.

“AND THE RECENT MEETING BETWEEN STAFF AND BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE AND THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF ENDED WITH THE PRESIDENT’S PEOPLE INFORMING US THAT THE BROADER CONCERNS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM - THAT IS, REVISITING THE STAIGHT-JACKETING MANDATES, OR BROADENING THE MALIGNED EXEMPTION - ARE ALL OFF THE TABLE … “

George H. Kubeck - to be continued

A Talk on Timothy Cardinal Dolan and the HHS Mandate - 1

A Talk on Timothy Cardinal Dolan and the HHS Mandate - 1 In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Monday, May 7, 2012 Location: St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, Huntington Beach, California Thank you Frank for inviting me to speak to your Catholic Men’s Fellowship on Timothy Cardinal Dolan who has been the President of the U.S. Catholic Bishops since Nov. 16, 2010. Secondly, I will comment on the Government’s Health and Human Service Mandate (HHS) which will force Catholic Schools and Hospitals to pay in their Health Programs employee’s contraception, sterilization and abortion inducing drugs. All of this is contrary to our Catholic beliefs. I will be using the Cardinal’s own words and the questions and answers he gave in the book, “A People of Hope” Archbishop Timothy Dolan in Conversation with John L. Allen Jr. The book was published in early 2012. Because Cardinal Dolan is a great admirer of Pope Benedict XVI, I want to begin with a meditation on Thursday morning May 3rd, from the 1992 Cardinal Ratzinger’s book, “Co-Workers of the Truth” - Meditations for Every Day of the Year. For me, since 2005. “In 1923 in Germany, Father Rupert Mayer received a congratulatory telegram on the occasion of his Silver Jubilee as a priest. The telegram came from the future dictator Adolf Hitler. Father Rupert was a simple priest and recognized the mask of an anti-Christ. He realized from the beginning that Hitler constantly exaggerated and had no scruples about lying… If truth is not held in honor, then freedom, justice and love cannot flourish… Do I always speak the truth? Have I the courage to adhere to it even when it is uncomfortable… Where truth is not present the foundation of society is ripped from under us.” By the way, the Pope’s Coat of Arms is “Co-Workers of the Truth.” It is from there, I created the term - “In pursuit of the truth.”/ “The relentless pursuit of the truth.” On Cardinal Dolan’s website March 3rd, I read a startling one page statement which I typed out on my blog: Mon., March 5th, “I (Cardinal Dolan) Owe You An Update” I will cover this page in four sections; and make comments after reading each one to you. HERE IS THE FIRST SECTION: “OVER THE LAST SIX MONTHS OR SO, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES HAS FOUND ITSELF IN SOME TENSION WITH THE EXECUTIVE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OVER A VERY GRAVE ISSUE: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. Can a government bureau, in this case the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), define for us or any faith community what is ministry and how it can be exercised? Can government also coerce the church to violate its conscience? This has not been a fight of our choosing. We’d rather not be in it… The Catholic Church in America has a long tradition of partnership with government and the wider community in the service of the sick, our children, our elders, & the poor at home and abroad. We’d rather be partnering than punching…” George H. Kubeck - to be continued

Who are we as U.S. Catholics?

Who are we as U.S. Catholics? In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Thursday, May 3, 2012 Preface: Catholics have been conditioned like everyone else. “My Catholic Faith will not inspire my decisions in the White House.” President John F. Kennedy “One of the primary consequences of secularism is to erode homogeneous religious enclaves so that the religious affiliation shifts from being a matter of cultural inheritance to a matter of individual choice.” ^196 [John L. Allen Jr.] “American Catholics aren’t so much polarized as tribalized. Looking around, what one sees are a variety of different tribes, dotting the Catholic landscape: pro-life Catholics, liturgical traditional Catholics, Church reform Catholics, peace and justice Catholics, Hispanic Catholics, Vietnamese Catholics, neon-Catholics, Obama Catholics, and so on, to say nothing of the simple meat-and-potatoes Catholics out there.^152 [John L. Allen Jr.] Why do you think ordinary Catholics themselves don’t tell that story? [Catholic achievements] A number of reasons. I don’t think Catholics are comfortable talking about their faith. They were raised theologically in a way that meekness, humility, is considered a virtue, and we’re not in-your-face Bible thumpers. Second, there’s a cultural things. I don’t think we can exaggerate the fact that part of the Catholic ethos, the Catholic upbringing in America, is that we should avoid talking about religion in public. That’s just how you are raised. John Tracy Ellis talked about “Maryland-style Catholicism, a distinctly American expression of Catholicism which bent over backward to keep religion interior and to reassure culture that’s skeptical at best, and hostile at the worst, that they have absolutely nothing to fear from us Catholics, because were just like them. There is a cultural element there, meaning that we really don’t want to talk about religion because it’s not polite. Third, our people aren’t equipped with a vocabulary to talk about this stuff… 205-6 [Timothy Cardinal Dolan.] Now we have a statement on religious liberty April 12th from the U.S. bishops. It was titled, Our First, Most Cherished Liberty. The question is. How are we to meet this challenge in an appropriate way concerning the Sebelius’ Health and Human Service Mandate. HHSM [Ref. Knights of Columbus, “Columbia” - May 2012] “This year, we propose a special “fortnight for freedom” in which bishops in their own diocese might arrange special events to highlight the importance of defending our first freedom… We suggest that the 14 days from June 21 - the vigil of the feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More* - to July 4, Independence Day be dedicated to this “fortnight for freedom” - a great hymn of prayer for our country. Grant to our leaders the wisdom to protect and promote our liberties. George H. Kubeck - ^ A People of Hope - Archbishop Timothy Dolan in Conversation with John L. Allen Jr. - Image Books, New York - * St. Thomas More is the patron saint of this blog.

In Defense of Religious Freedom

In Defense of Religious Freedom A.)In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Wednesday, May 2, 2012 1.)By Joan Frawley Desmond, National Catholic Register, Mar. 25 - Apr. 7, 2012 2.)“Made in the Image of God” - Evangelicals and Catholics Together is an ecumenical fellowship established by the late Father Richard John Neuhaus, the founding editor of First Things, and Charles (Chuck) Colson, the Watergate figure and Christian convert who founded Prison Ministries, a nationwide outreach program to prison inmates. 3.)“In Defense of Religious Freedom” provides relatively brief but powerful reflections on the biblical basis for religious freedom, backed up with doctrinal statements from the Catholic and evangelical organizations. 4.)“In Genesis 1:26, the Bible teaches us that only human beings are made ‘in the image of God,’ No one bears this image (imago Dei) more than others; no one has the right to assert that by reason of race, tribe, ethnicity, class or sex his imaging of God is superior to another,” reads the statement. 5.)“In a world of manifest and innumerable inequalities, this radical equality of all men and women before God is the bond that allows us to speak meaningfully of a human family, a human race, in which we share mutual obligations - including the obligation to recognize and honor that sanctuary of conscience in which each person can meet the divine source of life. 6.)“Any power, be it cultural or political that puts unwarranted impediments in the path of the human quest for truth, which culminates in the human quest for God, is violating the order of creation. … Fidel Castro’s Cuba, for example, has been lauded for improving health-care services, and Castro’s /[Hitler supporters in the West] have shrugged off his suppression of basic freedoms… 7.)Two Years in the Making: Work on the statement began two years ago, as members of the ecumenical group became increasingly concerned about the First Amendment threat posed by the legal same-sex “marriage” and the weakening of conscience protections for health-care providers. [I wish these matters were brought to the Supreme Court years ago.] 8.)“Catholics and evangelicals constitute the two largest religious groupings in North America…” “Recently, Colson and George wrote an open letter to evangelicals, urging them to join with Catholics against an “unjust mandate that violates our first freedom as Americans. Both evangelicals and Catholics are fully convinced that religious liberty is a pre-political right which must be respected by the state,” noted Father Thomas Guarinao of Seton Hall University in New Jersey, who played a major role in forging the statement… 9.)“We knew that contemporary liberal legal scholars were thinking about narrowing our constitutional protections of religious liberty,” said R.R. “Rusty” Reno, the editor of First Things, who helped with the Evangelicals and Catholics Together statement. “It turns out that this tendency now influences the Obama administration, which has adopted a very narrow view of what counts as a religious organization fully protected by the Constitution. 10.)George H. Kubeck- Why the change by liberal scholars? To undercut religious influence in our society. This is a violation of the 1st Amendment which the present Supreme Court will concur with.

In his own Words Timothy Cardinal Dolan

In his own Words Timothy Cardinal Dolan In pursuit of the truth - www.cinopsbegoneblogspot.com - Tues. May 1, 2012 Selected excerpts from “A People of Hope,” Archbishop Timothy Dolan in Conversation with John L. Allen Jr. - Image Books, New York, 1012 One of the things I’ve said for a long time is that we need a resurrected sense of apologetics. We Catholics sometimes are far too timid. We don’t know how to respond when people throw out these silly caustic remarks about the Church… 144 At one level, bravo to our government for recognizing that the best people to carry out much of the humanitarian work are people of faith… We’ve got to become more creative about how to spotlight the contributions that so many Catholics are making under their own steam, simply as an outgrowth of the faith and the sense of daring they’ve imbibed from the Church. 146 For example, what I see sometimes in home schooling. I know there is a lot of criticism of it, and without doubt there are some zealots out there. But right now I am going through the process of calling about 12 prospects for the seminary to encourage them and to see if there’s anything they want to talk about me about. 6 of them are home schooled. I have to admit that right away, that causes some flares for me. But in general, I find these people have absorbed affirmative orthodoxy. 147 We had a great Legion of Mary in the parish. I loved the Legion of Mary, you have heard me say that I always think that if a parish has the Legion of Mary and the St. Vincent de Paul Society, it’s in great shape, because they’ll take care of the spiritual & corporal work of mercy. 155-6 One guy who I think has reinvigorated dialogue is Benedict XVI, constantly saying that true, respectful dialogue starts with a clear understanding of the truth that you bring to the conversation… Another thing we need in dialogue, especially for us believers, is a certain amount of fearlessness. That we are not afraid, that the truth shall set us free. 159 Lourdes is one of my favorite places on the face of the earth. To be in the crowd and singing “Ave, Ave” is for me a theophany. Seeing the pope is another instance. As many times as it has happened for me to see the pope remains a spiritually uplifting moment. I’ve always been a big fan of Don Bosco, who always said the Eucharist, the Blessed Mother, and the pope are the real hallmarks of Catholic identity. 178 What I really believe is that God never calls you to do something without giving you the grace to do it. 181-182 Who was it who said that after years of study I’ve come to reluctantly accept that the Roman Catholic Church must be divine, because no merely human institution governed by such imbecility could have survived a fortnight! [The line is from Hilaire Belloc.] 187 When I look out on Sunday, I say that as Catholics we are part of a supernatural family. Just as with our natural families, we may have our tensions and our frustrations, but ultimately this is who we are. Our fates are bound together, for better & for worse. 199 Hope must flow from faith, the reason the Church is a people of hope, is precisely because of faith. My faith is that Church is a people of hope, is precisely because of faith. My faith is that there is a God who happens to love us, who happens to hold us in the palm of his hand, who happens to have sent his only begotten Son to save us and to promise us eternity, and who assured us that he’ll be with us always even to the end of days.213 G.H.K.