My Catholic priest, Father Larry Swink, delivered a homily on Sunday that I told him would make headlines. In the toughest sermon I have ever heard from a pulpit, he attacked the Obama Administration as evil, even demonic, and warned of religious persecution ahead. What was also newsworthy about the sermon was that he cited The Washington Post in agreement—not on the subject of the Obama Administration being evil, but on the matter of its abridgment of the constitutional right to freedom of religion.
What is happening is extraordinary and unprecedented. The Catholic Church is in open revolt against the Obama Administration, with Fr. Swink noting from the pulpit that priests across the archdiocese were joining the call on Sunday to rally Catholics to resistance against the U.S. Government. He said we are entering a time of religious persecution and that Catholics and others will have to make a final decision about which side they are on.
The issue is what the Catholic Bishops have called a “literally unconscionable” edict by the Obama Administration demanding that sterilization, abortifacients and contraception be included in virtually all health plans.
At a time when the media are full of reports about who is ahead and behind in the polls, and who will win the next Republican presidential primary, this incredible uprising in the Catholic Church is something that could not only overshadow the political campaign season, but also may have a major impact on the ultimate outcome—if Republicans know how to handle it. This matter goes beyond partisan politics to the growing perception of an unconstitutional Obama Administration assault on religious freedom. To hear the Catholic Bishops and Priests describe it, our constitutional republic and our freedoms hang in the balance.
The administration claims there is a religious exemption in the mandate, but the bishops say it is so narrow that it fails to cover the vast majority of faith-based organizations, including Catholic hospitals, universities and service organizations that help millions every year. “Ironically,” they say, “not even Jesus & his disciples would have qualified.”
The bishops go on, “Now that the Administration has refused to recognize the Constitutional conscience rights of organizations and individuals who oppose the mandate, the bishops are now urging Catholics and others of good will to fight this unprecedented attack on conscience rights and religious liberty.”
Interestingly, The Washington Post, as Father Swink indicated, agrees with the bishops. The paper said, “In this circumstance, requiring a religiously affiliated employer to spend its own money in a way that violates its religious principles does not make an adequate accommodation for those deeply held views. Having recognized the principle of a religious exemption, the administration should have expanded it.”
So why would the administration pick a major fight with the Catholic Church? There are two main reasons. (1) The administration wants to please its progressive and feminist, secular pro-abortion base. (2) The administration believes Catholics are divided on the issue and will ignore their leaders and follow Obama.
Support for the latter explanation comes in the form of the Obama Administration’s efforts to co-opt the Catholic Church, primarily through appointing nominal Catholics to high-level positions in government and keeping funding going to the church for “social justice” causes. Another player in this effort is the hedge-fund billionaire George Soros, an atheist who nevertheless has found groups that are “Catholic in name only” to accept his financial largesse. These groups, including Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, are designed to give the impression that Catholics are less concerned about issues like stopping abortion and protecting the sanctity of traditional marriage than passing government health care. The Obama/Soros gamble may be backfiring.
It’s true that the bishops went along with Obama’s health care scheme, even lobbying on its behalf. But now they seem to be realizing that the plan was a Trojan Horse designed to force population control measures on the people of the United States. It will be difficult for the bishops to continue working with the administration on other issues, like immigration. They have drawn a line in the sand. They cannot back down.
Father Larry Swink of Jesus The Divine Word Catholic Church in Huntingtown, Maryland, is not alone in his tough language. Pittsburgh Bishop David A. Zubik posted a letter on the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh’s website that said, “It is really hard to believe that it happened. It comes like a slap in the face. The Obama administration has just told the Catholics of the United States, ‘To Hell with you!’ There is no other way to put it.” He added, “This whole process of mandating these guidelines undermines the democratic process itself. In this instance, the mandate declares pregnancy a disease, forces a culture of contraception and abortion on society, all while completely bypassing the legislative process.”
You know it’s serious when the bishops are talking about heaven and hell.
Indeed, Fr. Swink opened his discussion of what he described as the evil nature of the Obama Administration by reading from scripture about Jesus casting out demons. He saw the order on health care coverage as the start of religious persecution. The congregation joined him in calls of “Amen” when he challenged them to stand tall with the church.
You cannot expect the secular Washington Post to go along with such rhetoric. But even its liberal editorial writer saw the ramifications of the health care order, perhaps anticipating the confrontation that we now see developing. From the point of view of this liberal paper, the Obama Administration is not only undermining religious freedom but risking a major backlash to its overall “progressive” agenda and even a second term in office.
Some may see this battle as just another church-state dust-up that will be resolved through litigation. But when apocalyptic imagery is used, such as what I heard at my church on Sunday, one must wonder if there is an awakening on the part of the Catholic community and if there is something else going on here besides politics as usual. In short, is the Catholic Church beginning to finally recognize the real nature of the Obama Administration?
Cliff Kincaid is the Director of the AIM Center for Investigative Journalism and can be contacted at cliff.kincaid@aim.org.
Obama messed with wrong organization this time.
Mr. Kincaid,
I want to enlighten you as to the truth about the Catholic Church. They were willfully complicit in lobbying for “obama care.” The excuse that it was a “Trojan Horse” does not hold water. More importantly than any of this, is the fact that 99% of what they teach and preach is nowhere to be found in the Bible. I know, because I used to be a Catholic. That is why they tell followers that only the clergy can interpret the Bible, and discourages reading of it, because if you did, you would know that the doctrine they preach is pure heresy. I can name at least fifty practices of the Church, off the top of my head, that is in no way the teachings of the Bible. Don’t take my word for it, do your own investigation and see for yourself. I did and I was horrified at the evidence that I found. For starters, ask you priest who in the Bible recited the rosary and where you can find that practice in the Word of God. I hope you take the time to find the truth. Read a book called “A woman rides the beast” by Dave Hunt. God’s Word cannot be compromised, you either follow all of it or you don’t.
Religion is just that, Religion. It is a form of worship. With that being said, religions have taken their own context of the word of God, and taught their interpretation to their followers. I am a reformed Episcopalian, that has converted to Anglican (50% less guilt than Catholicism! :-)) I do not know what Catholic Church you used to attend, but any Catholic Church that I attended ( My ex-husband was Catholic) had the congregation look up scripture in the Bible and told us the page number to follow along. The same with Episcopalians….This issue I am with the Catholics, as it does violate that “freedom pf Religion” clause that the Liberal Govt. seems “hell bent” on trying to destroy!
Religion is about man creating a God to suit themselves, so that they can continue to live the way they want to, instead of obeying the Word of God. There is only one God, and we currently have approx. 34,00 different sects of religion. Unless God was schizophrenic, I doubt that He is involved in any of them, except that we should following His plan, for His creation, which He wrote for us in the Bible.
God didn’t give us religion, instead He wants us to have a relationship with Him. We are all sinners and Christ died to pay our sin debt in full. All we need to do is to accept the sacrifice and repent of our sins and accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. The rest of the story of mankind, from beginning to the end of this age, is written down for all of us to read. God Bless.
“Religion is about man creating a God to suit themselves, so that they can continue to live the way they want to, instead of obeying the Word of God.”
True; however, I would change the last part of this statement to ….instead of obeying the gospel of God’s grace which is to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, NOT IMPUTING their trespasses unto them…For he (God the Father) hath made him (God the Son) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteouness of God in him. All that is required on our part is to trust in what God said he did: Christ Jesus became our sin on the cross, shedding his blood, was buried and rose again for our justification. He came out of that grave without one sin left upon him!
Religion is man trying to bind himself to God when, in fact, the Lord God, in his Word, shows us all throughout that he will have none of that because our works could never justify us; even repenting of our sin won’t get us to Heaven. To be justified, in order to enter God’s Heaven, one must first recognize they are a sinner who needs salvation and trust/believe the gospel of Christ and as soon as a Believer trusts in Christ Jesus’ atoning work on their behalf, they are baptized into the Body of Christ, sealed with the Holy Spirit, and made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
The right gospel is key, because Satan is out spreading lies as to how a person can be saved and he does it through other believers, because they haven’t studied and rightly divided the word of truth and he does it through false religion, which is why you have so many denominations. The only gosepl that saves today is the gospel that is found in the Apostle Paul’s letters (Romans – Philemon), which is the gospel of the grace of God, revealed unto the Apostle Paul by the RISEN Lord Jesus Christ. Sound doctrine is key when quoting the Bible.
Paula,
Let me see if I follow what you’re saying. Repenting of our sins won’t get us into heaven because one has to first recognize they are a sinner in need of salvation and believe the gospel. So repenting doesn’t do it, but only believing some gospel will do it? But it’s not the gospel everyone else thinks of, rather it is your determination of what the gospel is, right? And it just so happens that all the other interpretations of the gospel are wrong except for yours?
The funny thing is you don’t even see the weakness of that position. You probably believe that you don’t need a priest, pastor or Pope telling you how to understand the Bile, right? Everyone can interpret the Bible as they see fit, right? If so, then on what grounds do you say that someone else can’t interpret the Bible the way they want to, just as you interpret it the way you want to? See, this is one of the main issues with the failure of Sola Scriptura (the Bible alone) that was made popular during the years following the Protestant revolution.
Just as Anon, above, has decided that he’s right and 2,000 years of Church history, theology, ecclesiology, eschatology, etc., is wrong, you take upon yourself the mantle of infallibility. So, effectively, when Protestantism set out to get rid of one Pope, it created millions who are their own Pope telling all the other millions that they are wrong.
I read Paul’s letters and I don’t remember them saying that they are the only gospel.
When you speak of “sound doctrine”, to what are you referring? Is it only sound when you decide it’s sound? I would recommend that you step back and take some time to decide how you know the Bible is the inspired Word of God. On what are you basing this determination? How do you know that the Bible is made up of the correct books? On whose authority do you make pronouncements about or from the Bible?
There is only one Church founded by Christ, the Holy Catholic Church. That is a simple fact of history. Christ promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against Her and they haven’t. He also promised that she would be led in truth by the Holy Spirit, and she has. And also promised that she would remain until He came again, and so far, she has.
God bless you in your journey toward the fullness of Christ’s teaching as found in Catholic Church,
Chesterton
Just would like to clarify my previous statement: because Satan is out spreading lies as to how a person can be saved and he does it through other believers (unwittingly), because they haven’t studied and rightly divided the word of truth.
Anon,
You claim you were Catholic. If you were, then you still are. You just happen to be fallen away. And if you were, you weren’t a very good Catholic, based upon your imaginative ideas about Church teaching. The Catholic Church was founded by Christ. Her teachings are 100% based on Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Please tell us where the Bible states that everything we believe must be in the Bible? How do we even know that the books that make up the Bible are the right books? We know because the Catholic Church, led by the Holy Spirit, determined what books should be in the Bible – a canon that was almost without dispute until Luther came along and ripped some books out because of his scrupulous notions of sin and hell.
The Church does NOT discourage reading of the Bible. Each Mass there are three readings (OT, Letters and Gospel) as well as refrains taken from the Psalms and other scripture throughout the liturgy. Someone would have to be terribly ignorant of the Church to make the claim that she discourages the flock from reading the Bible.
Dave Hunt is a very funny man – his books are cartoons of reality. All of his talks, books and articles are self-serving and his “theological” conclusions are mind-blowingly juvenile and inaccurate. You could randomly pick one page out of “A Woman Rides a Beast” and I’ll show you at least three errors. I’m no scholar, he’s just that easy to refute.
I am pretty certain I know most of the 50 items you have on the top of your head that you imagine are examples of false teachings of the Holy Church. I have spoken with people over the past 20 years about their misconceptions and confusions about the Church. There are very few new issues. Most were invented in the 16th century during the Protestant revolution. If you are someone who is searching for the truth, I can help you to correct your misunderstandings. In the meantime, I recommend you check out http://www.catholic.com.
I will pray for you. I was once where you are. It’s a sad and dark place. I used to think I knew so much, but then when I began searching, I found that what the Church teaches is so much more profound, beautiful and freeing than any of the lies and distortions I had been fed by the likes of Dave Hunt and other anti-Catholic bigots. Do yourself a favor and learn what the Church really teaches before you build straw men to thrash the one true church of Christ. Pick up a Catechism of the Catholic Church, read it, and then start your study. At least, then, you won’t look so ignorant when you set out to attack something of which you know so little.
God bless you,
Chesterton
As I previously stated, 99% of what the Catholic church teaches is false doctrine. If it is not found in the Bible which is the divinely inspired word of God, then it is not from God. The doctrine of Catholicism is based on eastern mysticism. The Catholic church did not exist during the time of Christ but was established centuries later (check the history of the church) and the Apostle Peter who the church claims was the first Pope, was a JEW, so were the rest of the Apostles with the exception of LUKE. I could give you hundreds of reasons why the doctrine is false, but I will pray for you since you have been deceived as many others have. I hope that you will seek and find the truth before it’s too late. God Bless you.
A Warning: Revelations 22: 18-19
18 For[i] I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add[j] to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away[k] his part from the Book[l] of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Well, if he condemns Obama then he should have no trouble condemning the Republican administrations as well. They all take their orders from the same people.
Romans 16:25-26~Now to him that is of power to stablish you ACCORDING TO MY GOSPEL, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, ACCORDING TO THE REVELATION OF THE MYSTERY, which was KEPT SECRET since the world began, BUT NOW is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:
Wow, such Christian love can be heard in your response, Mr. Chesterton.
Well, no, I don’t have faith in the Catholic Church, as it is a false religion whose teaching tells folks they have to work their way to God. The Body of Christ is God’s church in the dispensation of grace, and I would advise you, dear sir, to please examine yourself to see if you be in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5 KJB). My authority is not what some man says or some religious organization, but in the very words of God that are written down in a holy book called the Bible (the KJ Bible to be exact), in the which I am told: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). That word of truth is the gospel of our salvation which was given unto the Apostle Paul, first on the road to Damascus, and then the Lord appeared unto him in further visions and revelations (2 Cor. 12:1, 7KJB) Paul was the first member of the Body of Christ. My authority for that satement: 1 Tim. 1:16~Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that IN ME FIRST Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, FOR A PATTERN TO THEM WHICH SHOULD HEREAFTER BELIEVE ON HIM to life everlasting.
Words have meaning (even the littlest ones can change the doctrine), Mr. Chesterton, and God says what he means and means what he says.
Religion in all of its factions says “DO” when the Lord God says “DONE.” And guess who did it? He did… all the work! All we can do is believe/trust the gospel that is preached unto us, which is the gospel of the grace of God.
No, Mr. Chesterson, I am not my own authority; the Word of God is (which would be God, Himself), and studied rightly divided (not between the OT & NT, but separating Israel from the Church, the Body of Christ and Prophecy from the Mystery that was revealed unto the Apostle Paul), these authoritative words, which are the very words of the living God that you claim to serve, tell me, a Believer, that I am to follow Paul as he followed Christ as opposed to how the 12 disciples and the little flock of believing Israel were told to follow Christ. There is a division there in the Scriptures and the gospel given to Peter and the 11 had to do with inheriting the kingdom of God on earth, which is another gospel than what Paul was given to preach (the Body of Christ will inherit the heavenly places). Contrary to what you have been taught by erroneous, fallible men, there is more than one gospel throughout the scriptures, because God has had to deal with mankind differently throughout time, for in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Let me ask you this: Are we still to sell all that we have and give to the poor? Socialism, huh? For this is what the Lord told Peter and his disciples, because he was dealing with the believing remnant of Israel who were to inherit the earthly kingdom. Have you not read in Matthew 15:24 where the Lord Jesus says: But he answered and said, I am NOT SENT BUT UNTO THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. Are any of us, today, of the house of Israel…No, for God is not dealing with Israel as a set apart nation today (He is forming his Body for the heavenly places). Gentiles were considered dogs back then, according to the Jews, because God had given us up. He was only dealing with Israel when he walked this earth, for that is who the whole OT was about. The only way a gentile could be saved was by becoming a proselyte, blessing the Jews and becoming one of them. Our gospel was a mystery, hidden in God, until his time, and God revealed the reason for this to the Apostle Paul in 1 Cor. 2:7-8~But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: FOR HAD THEY KNOWN IT, THEY WOULD NOT HAVE CRUCIFIED THE LORD OF GLORY.
Catholicism is following unsound/false doctrine, because the Lord is not telling us to follow Peter and the 11, today, but to follow Paul as he followed Christ. Religion is ugly. Religion kills in the name of god (but we all know it is for the god of this world, satan). Do you know your Catholic history; when “the church” killed because it hated the truth so vehemently? No different than those rotten self-serving Pharisees which didn’t believe, but wanted, rather, their own form of truth which were in fact lies. Who is the father of lies?
My faith is in Christ alone, Mr. Chesterton, and I would ask that you examine your faith to see what it lies in, because if it is in anything other than the work of Christ who shed his blood for the payment of your sins and rose again for your justification, then you do not have true, saving faith, and your unbelief of this good news will send you to hell.
And by all means, don’t take my word for it; study for yourself, the Word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and see if these things be so. Just know that the gospel of your salvation CANNOT be found in Matthew – John, or Hebrews – Revelation. Those books are docrine written for the believing remnant of Israel. They are for our learning and understanding and we believe every word is true , but they are not written for the Body of Christ to do. God tells us which letters Paul wrote in 2 Thess. 2:17~The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write.
2 Tim. 2:7~Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.
Now, this question begs an answer (not to me but to God): Who is your authority? God or yourself? It will reveal a man’s belief or unbelief.
Let’s scratch the sectarian strife. Get each others’ email if you like.
excellent reply. could not have said it better.
Mr. Williams,
Sorry, I did not intend for strife, but to clarify the gospel of the grace of God in a forum that promotes free speech and discussion, for the purpose of getting the truth out to lost souls and for Believers who are unwittingly falling into satan’s trap of unsound doctrine. We all want to think that we cannot be (or have not been) deceived, but that is exactly how satan works…seeking to blind men’s souls to the true gospel and from the absolute truth of God’s word, rightly divided. As always, men are free to believe God’s truth or not, but his children are to be about their Father’s business which is to be the pillar and ground of the truth.
2 Tim. 2:24-26~And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
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