May we rise to challenge the HHS mandate
Last Updated on Wednesday, 14 March 2012 15:33 14 March 2012
"The HHS mandate is as much about contraception as the American Revolution was about tea." So wrote a Catholic woman on her blog recently. She put it so clearly in one little sentence.
Surely in our heart of hearts we do not think this government interference would stop at contraception, sterilization and chemical abortion. What happens when contraception and chemical abortion fail – as they often do? We know what would come next: "free" surgical abortion. Then what? Mandated medical tests to find and destroy "imperfect" unborn babies? Infanticide? Coerced euthanasia? Then what next? Population control? How many babies would be allowed?
In 2008 Cardinal James Francis Stafford wrote an article entitled "In 1968, something terrible happened in the Church." It was re-run by the California Catholic Daily on Feb. 27 as a timely commentary on the HHS mandate. It is a haunting and unforgettable piece, in which Cardinal Stafford concludes, "Since January 2002, the abyss has opened up elsewhere. The whole people of God ... must now look into the abyss and see what dread beasts are at its bottom..."
The great battle begins. Our bishops are 100 percent united in fighting the good fight. Yet two entire generations of Catholics remain mostly untaught about these life and love issues, and many remain unmoved.
What can each of us do? I guess the answer has always been the same over the past 2,000 years: pray more, fast more, "offer it up," and keep ourselves well-informed on the issues via the faithful Catholic media. After that, we can pass information on to others, and take action in the ways that the good Lord may show us. May we rise to the challenge.
Patricia Glass lives in Mars Hill.
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