Bishop: Your Political Vote Could Determine Your Eternal Future

I am not telling you which party or which candidates to vote for or against, but I am saying that you need to think and pray very carefully about your vote, because a vote for a candidate who promotes actions or behaviors that are intrinsically evil and gravely sinful makes you morally complicit and places the eternal salvation of your own soul in serious jeopardy

Bishop John Paprocki

Far too many times I have posted here about my great disappointment with the US Bishops when it comes to denouncing evil.  As a case in point, not one bishop has said anything about the outrageous and scandalous statement made by Caroline Kennedy at the Democratic Convention, specifically "As a Catholic woman, I take reproductive health seriously." "Reproductive health", of course, is code for abortion.  It took a secular pundit, Bill O'Reilly, to point out how scandalous this statement is.  We still have not heard anything from the bishops on this matter and in particular, nothing from Cardinal Dolan, who is the bishop for Ms. Kennedy.

However, every once in a while a bishop will do or say something that makes my heart leap and do the Snoopy dance, as I posted about Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria, Illinois who urged the faithful to turn to our Blessed Mother to combat the evil around us.   Bishop Jenky declared:  "I feel it very important that we turn to our Lady to help us and our country during these coming months. We can take comfort that her Immaculate Heart will triumph!"  It is a rather sad sign of our times that the act of a bishop taking the lead to protect his flock should be so out of the ordinary that it makes news, but that unfortunately is the current state of the Church.

Well, it's time to do the Snoopy dance again because another brave bishop has spoken up to warn the faithful that their actions could have eternal consequences.  This bishop is also from Illinois, Bishop John Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois. (Whatever is in the water in Illinois should be given to all bishops!)  Bishop Paprocki has spoken out and warned the faithful that to vote for anyone who promotes intrinsic evil endangers the soul of the voter.  There can be absolutely no doubt in anyone's mind that President Barack Obama supports evil, if for no other reason than the existence of the HHS Mandate, which is a direct attack on the Catholic Church. Of course, he is the first president ever to support same sex marriage and "gay rights" as well.  And we also have his horrendous record on abortion.  Just go here to Lifesite News and you will get a full picture.  This record starts from the time Obama was sworn into office up to the present time.  It's a fascinating read and includes such gems as this:

July 6, 2012 – Once again, the Obama administration has called “terrorists” the majority of Americans who support the pro-life view on abortion.

August 3, 2012 – Obama: I “Won't Give Any Ground” Defending Unlimited Abortion

August 22, 2012 – Unearthed Video Shows Obama Supporting Late-Term Abortions

September 4, 2012 – Michelle Obama: My Husband Stands for Promoting Abortion

Paragraph 2268 of the Catholic Catechism says the following:

2268 The fifth commandment forbids direct and intentional killing as gravely sinful. The murderer and those who co-operate voluntarily in murder commit a sin that cries out to heaven for vengeance.

Infanticide,  fratricide, parricide and the murder of a spouse are especially grave crimes by reason of the natural bonds which they break. Concern for eugenics or public health cannot justify any murder, even if commanded by public authority.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo leaving Mass
with his live-in girlfriend

If you vote for a politician who supports abortion, which is the intentional killing of an unborn child, you have cooperated in that murder and are held as accountable as one who actually committed the murder.  Therefore, you are in danger of hell fire.  Living in the City of New York, abortion capital of the United States, leaves Catholics with practically no one to vote for.  There are a few pro-life Republicans here and there, but they're about as rare as a 90 degree day in January in New York City.  A prime example is our pro-abortion, supporter of same sex marriage, divorced Governor Andrew Cuomo who marched down the Catholic Church aisle, along with his live-in girlfriend, on the day of his inauguration to receive communion from the bishop, who praised Mr. Cuomo:  "We know they [Cuomo and his girlfriend, both of whom are pro abortion], over the next four years, will be deeply immersed in the work of evangelization by bringing about the transformation of our state and our society, and we assure them of our prayers, of our support and of our best wishes for challenges they will face,” Bishop Hubbard said.  Unfortunately, our bishops here do not drink the same water as those in Illinois, so Governor Cuomo does whatever he wants with no interference from the Church.  Cardinal Dolan didn't even go to Albany when they legalized same sex marriage. 

In the United States, I would suggest that to align yourself in any way with the Democrat party is to put your soul in eternal danger.  Their convention a few weeks ago was all about death.  They literally celebrated abortion and same sex marriage and verbally attacked all those who disagreed with them.  As I mentioned in a prior post, the devil danced in the rafters at the Democratic National Convention.

Bishop John Paprocki spared no words when he condemned the actions of the Democratic party.  He spoke plainly and clearly and left no doubt that he considers the Democratic party to be the party of death.  And unfortunately, we are not just talking about physical death, as in abortion, but an even more serious matter.  We are talking about spiritual death.

Here is Bishop Paprocki's letter:

Bishop John Paprocki



My dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Much attention was given at the Democratic National Convention held recently in Charlotte, N.C., to the fact that all references to God had been purged from the draft version of the party platform. After outcries of protest from outside as well as within the Democratic Party, the sentence with the same reference to God used in 2008 was restored to read, "We need a government that stands up for the hopes, values and interests of working people, and gives everyone willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their God-given potential.

Before anyone relaxes and concludes that all is well now that the Democratic Party Platform contains a single passing reference to God, the way that this was done should give us pause. Convention chairman Antonio Villaraigosa had to call for the voice vote three times because each time the sound level for the "ayes" and the "nays" sounded about even, far short of the two-thirds necessary according to convention rules to amend the platform. That did not stop the convention chairman from declaring, "The ayes have it!"

What is troubling about that is the blatant disregard for the rules and for the apparent wishes of about half the delegates. The reference to God is back in the platform apparently because President Obama wanted it back in. That may be fine for now, but if a future president wants references to God taken out, apparently that can be done regardless of the wishes of the delegates if that is what The Leader wants. That does not bode well for democracy in the Democratic Party.

Even more troubling is that this whole discussion about God in the platform is a distraction from more disturbing matters that have been included in the platform. In 1992 Presidential candidate Bill Clinton famously said that abortion should be "safe, legal and rare." That was the party's official position until 2008. Apparently "rare" is so last century that it had to be dropped, because now the Democratic Party Platform says that abortion should be "safe and legal." Moreover the Democratic Party Platform supports the right to abortion "regardless of the ability to pay." Well, there are only three ways for that to happen: either taxpayers will be required to fund abortion, or insurance companies will be required to pay for them (as they are now required to pay for contraception), or hospitals will be forced to perform them for free.

 

Moreover, the Democratic Party Platform also supports same-sex marriage, recognizes that "gay rights are human rights," and calls for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal law signed by President Clinton in 1996 that defined marriage as the legal union of one man and one woman.

FROM THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM

Freedom to Marry. We support the right of all families to have equal respect, responsibilities, and protections under the law. We support marriage equality and support the movement to secure equal treatment under law for same-sex couples. We also support the freedom of churches and religious entities to decide how to administer marriage as a religious sacrament without government interference.

We oppose discriminatory federal and state constitutional amendments and other attempts to deny equal protection of the laws to committed same-sex couples who seek the same respect and responsibilities as other married couples. We support the full repeal of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act.

Now, why am I mentioning these matters in the Democratic Party Platform? There are many positive and beneficial planks in the Democratic Party Platform, but I am pointing out those that explicitly endorse intrinsic evils. My job is not to tell you for whom you should vote. But I do have a duty to speak out on moral issues. I would be abdicating this duty if I remained silent out of fear of sounding "political" and didn't say anything about the morality of these issues. [Could all the rest of the bishops please have what Bishop Paprocki is having?] People of faith object to these platform positions that promote serious sins. I know that the Democratic Party's official "unequivocal" support for abortion is deeply troubling to pro-life Democrats.

So what about the Republicans? I have read the Republican Party Platform and there is nothing in it that supports or promotes an intrinsic evil or a serious sin. [Unfortunately, the GOP Presidential Candidate, Mitt Romney, does not fully support the GOP Platform, i.e., unlike the Republican platform, he supports abortion in cases of rape, incest and the health and life of the mother.]  The Republican Party Platform does say that courts "should have the option of imposing the death penalty in capital murder cases." But the Catechism of the Catholic Church says (in paragraph 2267), "Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor. If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity to the dignity of the human person. Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm — without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself — the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not practically nonexistent."

One might argue for different methods in the platform to address the needs of the poor, to feed the hungry and to solve the challenges of immigration, but these are prudential judgments about the most effective means of achieving morally desirable ends, not intrinsic evils.

Certainly there are "pro-choice" Republicans who support abortion rights and "Log Cabin Republicans" who promote same-sex marriage, and they are equally as wrong as their Democratic counterparts. But these positions do not have the official support of their party.  [What about Mitt Romney, who supports abortion in "certain instances."]

Again, I am not telling you which party or which candidates to vote for or against, but I am saying that you need to think and pray very carefully about your vote, because a vote for a candidate who promotes actions or behaviors that are intrinsically evil and gravely sinful makes you morally complicit and places the eternal salvation of your own soul in serious jeopardy.

VISIONS OF HELL FROM FATIMA

Lucia, the oldest of the three children, relates that the Blessed Virgin Mary opened her hands, and "rays of light seemed to penetrate the earth, and we saw, as it were, a sea of fire. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in huge fires, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. (It must have been this sight which caused me to cry out, as people say they heard me.) The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals. Terrified and as if to plead for help, we looked up at Our Lady, who said to us so sadly: "You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go. Thus, when you say the rosary, say after each mystery: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy Mercy."

I pray that God will give you the wisdom and guidance to make the morally right choices.

May God give us this grace. Amen.

* * *

So we know for certain that as Catholics, we can have no part in supporting the Democratic Party, which has made itself into the party of death.  And as His Excellency said, voting for a politician who supports intrinsic evil could actually result in loss of our salvation.

His Excellency has also told us that the Republican platform contains nothing objectionable as far as the Catholic Church is concerned.  But we must still judge each individual politician on his or her own merits.  And now even Paul Ryan has given us pause, as he has said that it would be wrong to reinstate "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."  As Rep. Ryan says, “I think this issue is past us,” he added. “It’s done. And I think we need to move on.”  How do we support that?  What is it that Rep. Ryan expects us to move on to?   Approving of open homosexuality in the military?  How do we support the fact that Rep. Ryan recently voted to fund Planned Parenthood and the pro-abortion Obamacare?  What of Mitt Romney, who supports homosexuals in the boy scouts, supports abortion in cases of rape, incest and life and health (whatever that means) of the mother, supports same sex civil unions as long as they are not called marriage?  Why did Mitt Romney have a fundraiser at the home of the manufacturer of the morning after pill?  I don't think the Church would consider it sinful to vote for Romney/Ryan because they are "basically" pro life and against the homosexual agenda, but in my opinion, they do not pass the smell test.

I can only repeat what I have posted here time and time again.  There is no salvation in politics.  Prayer and faithfulness to the Church and her teachings, which is faithfulness to Jesus Christ, is the only thing that will save us. 

s

The Only Solution to the HHS Mandate

Rep. Paul Ryan, the GOP vice presidential candidate, is now assuring us that if we will just vote the Romney/Ryan ticket into the office of the Presidency, they will get rid of the HHS Mandate on Day 1.  Voila!  All of our problems will be solved.  Really?

A week or so ago I posted here that the Republican-led House of Representatives, instead of passing a budget, which has not been done since April of 2009, voted for yet another Continuing Resolution in order to keep the government going.  Without the CR, the government will shut down.  (Would that really be such a bad thing?).  Among those who voted in favor of this Continuing Resolution, which includes funding for Planned Parenthood and Obamacare and the HHS Mandate, was Representative Paul Ryan.  Yes, that same Paul Ryan who says a Romney/Ryan administration will immediately rid the land of the HHS Mandate.

 

But how can someone who voted to fund the HHS Mandate be the same person who says he will make it disappear?  I can only think of the promise that Barack Obama made when he was running for president, that he would close Guantánamo Bay if elected president.  Obama even signed an executive order to that effect upon being sworn in.  However, Gitmo is still open to this day.  So how are we suppose to believe Paul Ryan when it comes to the HHS mandate?  He and all the other so-called Pro Life Republicans who voted for it will use the excuse that if they didn't vote for the Continuing Resolution, the government would be shut down.  But is it really better to keep a government running that continues to fund evil instead of just shutting it down? 

 

Paul Ryan

I very much want to believe Rep. Ryan, but if he really wanted to get rid of the HHS Mandate, then why did he vote to fund it?

 

Here's the story from Huffington Post:

Paul Ryan: Contraception Mandate 'Will Be Gone' On 'Day 1'

 

 

The Huffington Post | By Chris Gentilviso Posted: 09/22/2012 7:19 pm EDT Updated: 09/22/2012 7:31 pm EDT

 

GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan sees no place for the Obama Administration's contraception mandate.

 

At a Saturday campaign event in Orlando, Fla., the Associated Press reports that Ryan was asked about whether he would press Vice President and fellow Catholic Joe Biden on his views in relation to the 2012 Democratic Party platform.

 

Ryan's answer turned straight to the piece of Obamacare providing birth control access. He vowed to remove that requirement for insurance providers, including Catholic hospitals and universities, on "day one."

 

"It will be gone," Ryan told onlookers at the University of Central Florida. "I can guarantee you that."  [But Rep. Ryan, why did you vote to fund it?]

Back on February 10, Ryan offered similar criticisms of Obama's contraception plan. In a statement released on his website, the Wisconsin congressman deemed it an "affront to religious liberty."

While I am a pro-life Catholic, I believe this mandate transcends the issue of personal religious beliefs about contraception, sterilization and abortion. The Obama Administration failed to recognize this mandate is in violation of our First Amendment right of religious freedom. ...

 

The President's policy continues to contradict the core principles of our nation. His decision disrespects not only the religious community, but it also disrespects the Constitution. By treating our rights as revocable privileges from our government, instead of inalienable gifts from our Creator, the President has put his personal political philosophies above the principles upon which this nation was founded. I will continue to monitor this issue closely and will work to see that this policy is reversed.  [And what concrete steps have you taken to rescind the mandate?]

Ryan appeared on ABC's "This Week" the following Sunday, calling the rule "an accounting trick" that should be "rescinded."

 

"It forces the insurance company that they have to pay to do the coverage," Ryan said. "So instead of making the institution itself, it reinforces the insurer. And a lot of these Catholic institutions are self-insured, and all insurers under this rule must provide these mandated benefits. So it really is a distinction without a difference."

 

The contraception rule went into effect on Aug. 1, 2012, ending co-pays for private-insurance patients seeking birth control. GOP Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) compared the plan to Pearl Harbor, calling that day "an attack on our religious freedom" that "will live in infamy."

* * *

I think it's great to speak out against the mandate, but talk means nothing if it isn't followed with actions.  Rep. Ryan voted to fund the HHS mandate and Planned Parenthood.  Romney Care in Massachusetts, upon which Obamacare is based, funded abortions.  When he was governor of Massachusetts, Romney signed a bill forcing Catholic hospitals to administer the morning after pill to rape victims.  Yet I'm suppose to believe a Romney/Ryan Administration will rescind the HHS Mandate on "Day 1."  Huh?

We are all looking for sanity in our world, we're looking for answers and solutions to the terrible mess in which we find ourselves, where our country is funding the killing of unborn innocent children and forcing the Catholic Church to go against her own teachings.  But after generations of voting for politicians who are always promising us the moon and then giving us the back of their hand instead, maybe we can finally admit that there is no solution in politics.  Blessed Mother Teresa gave this solution to the end of abortion and in effect, the HHS Mandate:  "If people spent an hour a week in Eucharistic adoration, abortion would be ended."

Psalm 146:3 says:  "Don't put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there."  But, you may argue, we can't just not vote.  Then Obama will get back in and we will have no hope at all.  How many who say that have ever just gotten down on their knees and given it to our Lord in prayer?  How many have spent time in front of the Blessed Sacrament and pleaded with our Lord for his intervention?

Msgr. Philip Reilly

An example of just how powerful prayer is and the wonderful miracles that can result from it has taken place where I live in the borough of Brooklyn here in New York City.  The largest abortion mill in the NYC area has been shut down, and much of it is due to the efforts of Msgr. Philip Reilly, who in my opinion is one of the holiest people alive on the earth today.  Msgr. Reilly, who founded Helpers of God's Precious Infants, has given his life and quite literally his face in trying to stop abortion.  I say he gave his face because he developed cancer in his face from standing outside in front of abortion mills hour after hour in prayer, and he has lost part of his face to the cancer.  He has been praying in front of one abortion mill in particular here in Brooklyn since 1990.  He was at this particular abortion mill, which was close to New York Harbor, on 9/11/2001 when everything here in NYC shut down because of the terrorist attacks.  But despite the horrors happening in downtown Manhattan, the abortion mill kept on killing babies that day, and Msgr. Reilly stayed even while a dark cloud and debris from the towers floated in the air around him.  That abortion mill is now closed.

Below is an article from the Brooklyn diocesan newspaper, The Tablet, in regard to this miraculous story:

A Miracle Happens at Sunset Park Abortuary

Posted on 19 September 2012. by Ed Wilkinson

Msgr. Philip Reilly and the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants have stopped praying outside the Brooklyn Ambulatory Surgery Center in Sunset Park. For the past 22 years, the priest and his devoted group of prayers have been seeking an end to abortion at the Brooklyn site. Their prayers have been heard. The new owners of the building have explained that abortion will no longer be offered at the site when it reopens as the New York Center for Specialty Surgery.

To show their good will to the community, the new owners have invited Msgr. Reilly and Father Kevin Sweeney, pastor of nearby St. Michael’s Church, to bless the new facility, which they will do on Saturday, Sept. 29, following the 9 a.m. Mass at St. Michael’s.

Msgr. Reilly and his group outside an abortion mill

“It’s like a miracle!” says Father Sweeney, who has been praying with the Helpers since he was a seminarian. He announced the news to his congregation at a Sunday Mass to thunderous applause. Parishioners from St. Michael’s have been among the steady, dedicated volunteers who have been standing outside the building at Third Ave. and 43rd St., praying and offering alternatives to distressed mothers and fathers.

 

“This was the oldest and largest abortion clinic in New York City and for many years, in the United States,” said Msgr. Reilly. “I believe more than a quarter of a million unborn children lost their lives there.”

Msgr. Reilly before the cancer

Msgr. Reilly and the Helpers were accompanied by then-newly appointed Bishop Thomas V. Daily in the summer of 1990 when they first prayed at the site. They were met by a vicious band of pro-abortion supporters who tried to drown out their prayers and hymns of praise. For years, the pro-aborts continued to harass the Helpers during their monthly Rosary vigils there. Mostly young, they would blow whistles and hurl obscenities at the Helpers who held their ground as they prayed. The N.Y.C. Police always were on hand to assure safety and maintain peace.
 

Bishop Daily would tell the Helpers to obey the law and not to respond to the hecklers. After the recitation of the Rosary, the Helpers would process back to St.Michael’s for benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

“The Helpers are present outside of abortion clinics not simply to save babies but to save souls,” reminds Msgr. Reilly. “Indeed the Helpers are present not simply to witness to the truth but to convert people to the truth and change hearts. After so many years of good lay people, religious, priests and bishops praying and fasting outside of the Ambulatory abortion clinic … after so many years of dedicated laypeople offering help by sidewalk counseling to the pregnant women entering the clinic, the Lord has granted a complete victory.”

 
“I am pleased to confirm that the new center at 313 43rd Ave. in Brooklyn is opening as a multi-specialty surgery center to include outpatient surgical procedures. The center will no longer provide abortion services,” says Julia Ferguson, East Coast director of operations for Medical Forefronts, which will run the new center.
 

Fittingly, Sept. 29, when the new surgery center will be blessed, is also the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel. The parish will be twice blessed on that day — once in the morning at the blessing ceremony and again later in the afternoon when Auxiliary Bishop Frank Caggiano visits to celebrate the patronal feast day. Truly it will be a day that the Lord will have made and everyone will have a reason to rejoice.

 * * *



Interestingly, Msgr. Philip Reilly is completely apolitical. He does not even go to the March for Life held in Washington D.C. each year because he feels it is more important to be praying at the abortion clinics. I heard Msgr. Reilly one time say that Planned Parenthood clinics will never be closed down through legislation because the government, through their funding, runs them.  He has no faith in politicians whatsoever.  He says that the only way Roe v. Wade will ever be overturned is not through legislation but by changing the minds and hearts of the people. 

Miracles happen when
prayer happens

Msgr. Reilly and his helpers closed down the abortion mill in Brooklyn through the power of prayer. Unfortunately, we still have several other abortion mills in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx. 41% of all pregnancies in New York City still end in abortion, and over 60% of pregnancies in the minority communities end in abortion. The holocaust continues. But our Lord has given us a mighty victory through the prayerful and faithful efforts of Msgr. Philip Reilly and those who work with him. And with continued prayer, we can win many more victories.  But I think it is important to note that no politician had anything to do with the closing of the abortion mill in Brooklyn.

I'm not going to tell anyone not to vote.  But I will say that if you decide to vote, you should realize that it is highly unlikely that any politician, be it Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan or anyone else, is going to solve the evil in our land.  The solution to our problems lies in prayer and faithfulness to our Lord.   No solution will never be found with politicians.

 

Republicans Vote To Fund Planned Parenthood and Obamacare

One person after another has told me that I MUST vote for Mitt Romney and the Republicans because they are the lesser of two evils and anything is better than Obama.  Really?  I will readily agree that it doesn't get much worse than Barack Obama, our abortion-loving, anti-Catholic president whose goal is to completely socialize and secularize America. 

The Republicans put on a much better face than what we see with Obama and the Democrats, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty, the Republicans are no better.  The House Republicans just voted for a bill that funds Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider.  This bill also funds Obamacare, including the HHS Mandate forcing Catholic institutions to provide free contraception to their employees,

 Back in February of this year, thehill.com told us this:

Senate Republicans are pushing legislation to overturn the Obama administration’s decision that the health plans of faith-based organizations must cover contraception if they serve people of multiple religious backgrounds.

Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) are leading the effort.

“This is about whether the government of the United States should have the power to go in and tell a faith-based organization that they have to pay for something that they teach their members shouldn’t be doing,” said Rubio.

“I hope that the Senate and the House will act on it as well because the American people are asking us to,” he said.

Well, the House Republicans seem to have forgotten about this as on Thursday, September 13, they passed legislation that not only funds Planned Parenthood, but also funds Obamacare including the HHS mandate. 

Here is the story from cnsnews.com:

House Republicans Pass Funding for Planned Parenthood, Obamacare and Regulation Forcing Catholics to Act Against Faith

By Matt Cover
September 13, 2012



House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy and House Speaker John Boehner (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

(CNSNews.com) – The Republican-majority House of Representatives on Thursday passed a $1.047 trillion bill funding the federal government through March 2013 that will permit funding for Planned Parenthood and ObamaCare--including the regulation that took effect on Aug. 1 that will require virtually all health plans in the United States to cover, without fees or co-pay, sterilizations and all FDA-approved contraceptives, including those that induce abortions.

The vote was 329-91, and the bill now goes to the Senate for expected approval next week.

The bill funds the government for six months into the new fiscal year and for almost five months after the November elections. Congress turned to the stop-gap measure after failing to pass any of the 12 appropriation bills necessary to fund day-to-day government operations.

The Catholic bishops of the United States have unanimously declared the Obamacare sterilization-contraception-abortifacient regulation an "unjust and illegal mandate" that violates the right to free exercise of religion not only of Catholic institutions but also of Catholic business owners and workers.

The bill, a continuing resolution (CR), does not prohibit funding for either ObamaCare programs or Planned Parenthood. Nor does it stop the government from enforcing regulations, such as the mandate from the Health and Human Services Department that nearly all health insurance plans provide contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing drugs free of charge.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who supports the CR along with the GOP House leadership, earlier this year described the health insurance mandate as an “unambiguous attack on religious freedom in our country” and a violation of the First Amendment protecting the free exercise of religion.

The CR does prohibit the government from initiating any new programs or using the $1.047 trillion in the bill to carry out any programs or functions it was not engaged in during fiscal year 2012.

The resolution also extends for six months the federal pay freeze enacted in FY 2012 and the welfare reform legislation enacted in 1996.

Further, the bill prohibits grant programs that spend their allocations all at once--block and other types of grant programs--from doing so with the money allocated in this bill.

In terms of policy, the bill allows the government to continue executing the functions under ObamaCare that it was carrying out last year and that Congress had funded. In other words, the government cannot move forward on implementing ObamaCare outside of what it was doing last fiscal year.

The bill does not prohibit funding of Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider.

According to its 2009-2010 annual report, Planned Parenthood received $487.4 million in government money; and according to its fact sheet, Planned Parenthood performed 329,445 abortions in 2010.

The bill represents a slight increase in spending over fiscal year 2012--about $4 billion--keeping to the spending cap outlined in the Budget Control Act of 2011. [I thought Republicans were going to cut spending.  Hmmmm.  That promise seems to have disappeared somewhere along the way.]

The CR is a product of a deal announced in July between House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to extend federal spending past both the November election and the following lame-duck session of Congress.

* * *

Even Chris Smith of New Jersey, supposedly pro life, voted for this bill which funds Planned Parenthood and Obamacare.   Paul Ryan, the Republican VP candidate, voted yes on this bill.  I'll give Michelle Bachman credit, she voted against the bill.  Interestingly, Speaker John Boehner did not cast a vote.  Todd Akin also was not present for the voting and did not cast a vote.

As redstate.com tells us, only 70 Republicans voted against this bill, along with 21 Democrats. 

As we noted earlier this week, the Continuing Resolution voted on in the House will increase spending, fund Obamacare, and extend the main welfare program without forcing Obama to reinstate work requirements. This bill is really an embarrassment to everything House Republicans professed to stand for. It will delay the major battles until March 27, 2013. And let me tell you, they will really really really take the Democrats’ lunch money then. Just wait and see. 

We have one party in this nation, and that party is out only for its own interests, not ours.

Another Nail in the Coffin of American Freedom

On Wednesday, August 1, the Health and Human Services Mandate, which requires that all employers cover contraception, sterilization and abortion in their employees' insurance coverage, went into effect.  The United States government is now requiring that all employers, religious or not, ideologically opposed or not, must participate in evil.  There are a few exceptions at the moment, but we can be sure the Obama administration will overcome these in a short period of time.

The Republicans give us nothing
but soundbites, and Obama
keeps destroying America

Has anyone noticed that despite all the sound and fury that came from the Republicans, they have done nothing to stop the mandate?  They throw us a bone here and there to make us think they want to stop Obama, but nothing has happened, nor will it happen. 

Many are framing this issue as a matter of religious freedom.  But it is much deeper and more serious than just our religious freedom.  This is about good versus evil, it is about life versus death.  It is about Satan versus God. 

Below is an article that was posted on lifesitenews.com on July 31, the day before the mandate went into effect, regarding the abomination that has taken place in the United States called Obamacare. 

Obamacare’s Pro-Abortion HHS Mandate Takes Effect Tomorrow

by Steven Ertelt | LifeNews.com | 7/31/12 1:29 PM

Despite one positive ruling in a case allowing a company to be exempted from the Obamacare HHS mandate, the pro-abortion mandate that pro-life groups strenuously oppose will take effect tomorrow.

A memo from the Catholic Association explains how the ruling was a positive step but not sufficient to stop the mandate nationwide.

“Last week, a federal court dealt a major blow to the Department of Health and Human Services’ mandate requiring employers to provide contraception, sterilization, and abortion-causing drugs in their healthcare plans,” it said. ” In the first-ever legal victory against the mandate, the court granted a temporary injunction to the family-owned Hercules Industries in Colorado. The Obama administration argued that employers have no conscience rights if they engage in a for-profit business, and therefore the business owners — the Newland family – ought to be subject to millions of dollars in fines per year for non-compliance.”

“While this was a significant victory, it is only applies to the Newlands, and it is only temporary [you can win a lot of money if you bet that this ruling will be overturned]. The livelihood and religious freedom of countless other private employers hangs in the balance on August 1,” the Catholic Association continued.

The mandate adversely affects three categories of businesses and organizations in different ways and the Catholic Association spells them out:

Category 1: For-Profit Employers

For-profit private employers do not qualify for the one-year safe harbor and are thus completely unprotected as of August 1. This is especially harmful to small and family-owned businesses that tend to have boutique or custom insurance plans to conform to religious or value-oriented workplace cultures. Many businesses are suing the Obama administration seeking immediate relief from the August 1 deadline. The penalty for non-compliance is $100 per day, per employee.  For the Newland family business, the fines would add up to millions of dollars per year. [This can and will break many small businesses.  This is known in the real world as extortion].

Category 2: Groups in Limbo

Some employers do not yet know if they qualify for the safe harbor. They may only object to some but not all of the services – for example, the evangelical college Wheaton, which has also filed suit against the Administration, objects to abortion-causing drugs but not contraception. These employers are left completely in the dark as to what will happen to them on August 1 and whether or not they will be slapped with crippling fines.

Category 3: Religiously Affiliated Employers

Objecting employers with a religious affiliation are essentially left with one year to scramble. The so-called accommodation, which has not been implemented, was widely rejected as an accounting gimmick. Even Sister Carol Keehan, the president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association (and a supporter of the President’s health care plan), originally supported the accommodation but after closer examination, called it unacceptable and unworkable. These religious entities are left with no option but to wait one more year before they have to begin violating the teachings of their faith or pay severe fines.

A one-year “safe harbor” allows some groups to not be affected until August 2013, but there is no overall religious accommodation.

Matt Smith, president of Catholic Advocate, also condemned the start of the HHS mandate implementation.

“August 1st will be remembered as the day our most cherished liberty was thrown in a government dumpster and hauled away,” he told LifeNews. “A day when family owned small businesses were forced to abandon their religious beliefs to provide products and services for free. And if they don’t, they will be taxed and fined [i.e., extorted] at a time when job creators are struggling with enough costs and bureaucratic red-tape at every level of government just to stay in business.”“While the courts have provided a reprieve for one family business in Colorado, the government will never be able to repair the broken conscience of thousands of others until this mandate is removed,” Smith said.



Conscience Cause, a grassroots organization dedicated to preserving the right of conscience, declared the beginning of the end of religious freedom as the HHS mandate goes into effect tomorrow. It strongly opposes the mandate because it forces businesses and organizations to pay for products and services that violate their faith or face massive fines. In phase two of the mandate’s implementation, one year from tomorrow, religious institutions will face the same devastating decision, the group complains.

“The implementation of this policy tomorrow marks the beginning of the end of religious freedom in our nation,” said Christen Varley, executive director of Conscience Cause.

“Starting tomorrow, employers with religious and moral objections must make an unimaginable choice: comply and deny your faith, or resist and be subject to crippling fines. Religious institutions have been given an absurd one year reprieve in which to decide the same. People of faith and those who believe in protecting our constitutional freedoms will continue the fight to repeal and bar any regulation that would compel individuals and institutions, including religious hospitals, schools and charities, to violate the tenets of their faith or be subject to penalty of law,” added Varley. “Conscience Cause will continue our efforts to inform the public as well as to petition Congress to overrule this devastating policy. If we do not stand up and make our voices heard, it is only a matter of time before our other liberties come under direct assault.”

At Fatima, on July 13, 1917, Our Lady told Sister Lucy that “God is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father. To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the Communions of reparation and for the consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart ... In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to Me, which will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.”  

What, you are probably wondering, does this message from Our Lady of Fatima have to do with the HHS mandate?  It has everything to do with it.  Our Lady of Fatima warned us:  "Russia will spread its errors throughout the world, raising up wars and persecutions against the Church."  The "errors of Russia" is godless, oppressive Communism and socialism.  It is all about eliminating God and putting the State in His place.  And that is exactly what is happening today in the United States of America.  The HHS Mandate is the direct result of the disobedience to our Lady who asked that Russia be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart.  Because this was not done, the world is devolving into an evil, godless place in which the good and righteous are persecuted.  That is why we have abortion, militant homosexuality, vulgar, profane and pornographic entertainment, the destruction of the family, wars, etc. etc.  And there is no solution to any of these problems outside of Russia being Consecrated to Mary's Immaculate Heart by the Popes and Bishops.  Our Lady originally asked that this be done in 1960.  Pope John XXIII, the Holy Father at that time, read this message of Fatima and said, "This prophecy does not relate to my time."  For various reasons, none of the succeeding popes have fulfilled our Lady's request, either. 

Our Lady told the children of Fatima:  "The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world."  There are those who say the consecration has already been done, but it is quite obvious there is no peace in the world.  So either our Lady lied to us or we are still awaiting the Consecration.  We know it is not possible for our Lady to lie.

Our part is to pray always.  In the third apparition, Our Lady revealed to the children, ""You must recite the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war for only she can obtain this." 

Pray the Rosary, offer up your sufferings, make reparations.  That is the only answer to the evil that we face in this world.  Pray for the Consecration of Russia to Mary's Immaculate Heart.