Freedom of Religion?

This blog is to my fellow Catholics.  You know who you are...you are the liberal Catholics that supported President Obama in the 2008 election and John Kerry before him.  You are the Catholics who told me that we didn't need to worry about Obama's pro-choice public stance because privately he is pro-life and that he is open to conversation about the pro-life issues in a way other Democrats have not been.  You are the Catholics that told me that the social programs widely supported by the Democrats and Obama were the most important reason to vote for Barack Obama.

You didn't listen to me when I told you that Obama was a Democrat first and foremost and that he would toe the party line, no matter the cost.  You didn't listen to me when I said that Jesus didn't tell us to vote for people who would "feed his sheep" (see John 21:15-17), he told us to do it.  We aren't free of our responsibility because we voted for some guy who promises to take other people's money and give it to the poor...we still have to get off our butts an act.  I wonder if you wish you would have listened to me a little more carefully?  Or are you one of those people who still blindly believes what Barack Obama says.

Here's why I ask...late last week, the Obama administration through the Health and Human Services (HHS) department, essentially declared war on religion and specifically the Catholic Church.  This war stems from a mandate requiring all employers to provide health insurance for their employees that not only covers birth control and sterilization, but practically makes them free.  Before this ruling came out, Obama called Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York to give him the news.  As a supposed olive branch, the Obama administration gave the Catholic church an extra year to implement this.  Archbishop Dolan said something along the lines of "President Obama gave us an extra year to figure out how to violate our conscience."

I can't imagine that many of you Catholic Obama supporters are thrilled with this.  Even the most liberal Catholic leadership is speaking out against the President.  Cardinal Roger Mahoney, archbishop emeritus of Los Angeles and a known liberal said that he "cannot imagine a more direct and frontal attack on freedom of conscience" - and he has urged people to fight this law.  Another liberal Catholic, Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg, FL has vowed that he will drop insurance coverage for diocesan workers rather than comply.  They are joined in outrage by the leaders of Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities, which combined employ approximately 70,000 people nationwide.

So, liberal Catholics everywhere?  Are you happy with this decision by the Obama administration?  Are you happy that the President has basically given the middle finger to the idea of freedom of religion and conscientious objection?  You should be outraged.  You should be giving all the Republican candidates a hard look right now.  You should be praying that Obama will be voted out of office later this year.  Finally, you should write President Obama immediately and tell him how disgusted you are with this mandate!  People like me will never be able to stop this madness, but when Obama loses you, his precious supporters, he will have to take notice and listen.