Conscientious Objection and Obsequious Bishops

No Catholic is obliged to support the preferences that the Bishops offer:

Following enactment of ACA, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has not joined in efforts to repeal the law in its entirety, and we do not do so today.The decision of the Supreme Court neither diminishes the moral imperative to ensure decent health care for all, nor eliminates the need to correct the fundamental flaws described above. We therefore continue to urge Congress to pass, and the Administration to sign, legislation to fix those flaws.

It is not a teaching of the Catholic Church, it is merely a personal preference of most Bishops in this time and place in USA.  The fact that there is a well known superior means to ensure decent health care for all is available and in place makes the preference of the Bishops curious, especially since the Bishops preference does violate church teaching on subsidiarity.

The church has been in a pas de deux with the state since the beginning, at times antagonistic, at other times obsequious.  We live in such times.  Mother Cabrini and other nuns built the Catholic Hospitals and schools and demonstrated an alternative to the state for the provision of health care.  The Bishops collectively sold that birthright for pottage, and are now reaping what they sowed.

Talk of Bonhoeffer is ill-advised for people who have had undying support for the regime.  And constantly cite Romans 13 and "prudential judgment."  From Panetta, to Chris Cox to Sebelius to Pelosi to Roberts, the powers that be that control the state can depend on Catholics to advance their agenda of warfare, usury and welfare, and the bishops to give everyone a pass.

And how come?  Follow the money.  Bishops can claim the mandates apply to all Catholic orgs, even those who take no tax money, and so it is an assault on religious liberty.  But those orgs that take no tax money are a sliver of the total money the church gets.  The bishops are like bears in Yosemite, who can no longer fend for themselves as they depend on handouts.

Why were the bishops not listening when warned about this 40 years ago, or 80 years ago?  Where were the bishops when individual Catholics had their rights violated?  No wonder the Vatican keeps stressing the laity is on their own, expect no help from Catholic Bishops in the USA.

This is not an act of division on my part to complain, it is just a realization that the Bishops have excused themselves from the conversation, for money.  We are on our own.

Here is a typical lie that people of good will must endure:

And in case you’re a little fuzzy on what Dr. Morse was talking about, consider the fact that the U.S. Government is preventing our Church from helping combat human trafficking because our beliefs in rejecting contraception, and abortion, don’t meet the Administrations “standards.”

Since when does combatting human trafficking depend on government cooperation?  The lie is we cannot do it without state support.  

One of the most dangerous things in life is to believe your own PR.  The Bishops and Catholic social justice types and the right wing warmongers are all in for a surprise.  Your opinion never mattered.