Federal Government Now Requires Free Contraception for All

As I predicted last week, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services announced new guidelines today that REQUIRE insurance companies to cover birth control and sterilization. This is scary. There is no conscience clause (they say there is but it doesn't work unless you primarily serve those that believe as you do!), which means there is no opting out. They are also giving money to Planned Parenthood through the backdoor.
More:

(CNN) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced new guidelines in Washington Monday requiring health insurance plans beginning on or after August 1, 2012 to cover several women's preventive services, including birth control and voluntary sterilization.

According to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius the decision is a part of the Affordable Care Act's move to stop problems before they start.

"These historic guidelines are based on science and existing literature and will help ensure women get the preventive health benefits they need," she said in a news release.

In July, the Institute of Medicine issued the results of a scientific review of women's health needs and provided recommendations on specific preventive measures to help them. Today HHS approved those recommendations.

Besides contraceptive use, the list includes free screenings for conditions such as gestational diabetes and the human papillomavirus (HPV), as well as breastfeeding support and counseling on sexually transmitted diseases. The full list is available on the Department of Health and Human Services website.
Continue Reading.

Don't let this one fly under the radar. Call your elected Representatives and tell them you don't want this! Cardinal Dinardo has already spoken out, but we need to as well. Here is a snip of what he said:

The IOM proposal underscores a major deficiency in PPACA – it lacks a conscience clause to prevent the Act itself from being used to suppress the rights and freedoms of those who may have moral or religious objections to specific procedures. This omission is especially glaring in light of the fact that the Act does accommodate the religious beliefs of those who object to participation in government-run benefits programs altogether, those who wish to address illness solely by prayer, and those on Indian reservations who are committed to traditional tribal practices of healing.

As you may know, the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, actively campaigned for the outcome proposed in IOM’s report. The report’s authors note with apparent regret that mandating coverage for surgical abortions is beyond their purview because PPACA forbids such a mandate. Nevertheless, they now recommend that HHS mandate coverage for drugs that can cause abortions.

Last fall the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops presented a detailed case against such a nationwide mandate on several grounds. For example, there are solid reasons to doubt IOM’s claims that expanded contraceptive programs reduce abortions, or that prescription contraceptives enhance the health of women (www.usccb.org/ogc/preventive.pdf). But in this letter I wish to focus on the threat posed by such a mandate to rights of conscience and religious freedom that Congress has protected in the past.
CONTINUE READING

Don't let this happen without working against this plan! If you doubt that it is a bad idea, then check out my previous post which included the following list:
Top 10 Reasons Free Contraception For All is a Terrible Idea.

Governor Sued For Participating in Day of Prayer

Governor Rick Perry is being threatened with a lawsuit if he participates in a day of prayer and fasting:

Texas Governor Rick Perry is facing a federal lawsuit as a state/church watchdog group consisting of atheists and agnostics attempts to block his involvement in the Day of Prayer and Fasting organized for Aug 6.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a watchdog group consisting of 16,600 members, filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District Court of Texas to keep the religious event from occurring, arguing it violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

The legal complaint says the plaintiffs are “nonbelievers who support the free exercise of religion, but strongly oppose the governmental establishment and endorsement of religion, including prayer and fasting, which are not only an ineffectual use of time and government resources, but which can be harmful or counterproductive as a substitute for reasoned action.”

Perry released a video for the event, officially called “The Response,” earlier this week, calling on Americans to “make plans to be part of something even bigger than Texas.”

“Gov. Perry is looking forward to the Aug. 6th prayer event. He believes it will serve as an important opportunity for Americans to gather together and pray to God, seeking his wisdom and guidance as our nation navigates the challenges before it,” Catherine Frazier, deputy press secretary for Perry, told ABC News.

"We expected this kind of legal harassment, but the right of Americans to assemble and pray has been established for over 200 years. We are confident we will be victorious,” Eric Bearse, spokesman for The Response, told ABC News.
Continue Reading.

President Obama was also invited, but I am guessing he won't be there.

In other atheist news, an Austrian man fought to have his driver's license include a picture of him wearing a pasta strainer, to show his atheistic beliefs. Seriously.

Planned Parenthood Exposed in New Report

A new report by Americans United for Life (The Case For Investigating Planned Parenthood) shows that Planned Parenthood has repeatedly ignored the law and acted scandalously.

Although the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA or Planned Parenthood) advertises itself as an organization promoting health for women and families, it is the nation’s largest abortion provider and has been plagued by scandal and abuse.

Furthermore, PPFA and its affiliates receive hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayers’ funds every year – a significant portion of which comes from the federal government.

PPFA often tries to underplay the significance of abortion to its business model. However, as this report details, abortion has a tremendous impact on Planned Parenthood’s bottom-line. This is true to a greater degree each year, and Planned Parenthood has plans to expand its abortion business.
CONTINUE READING.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Check out the whole thing.
I can guarantee that the mainstream media won't give this story the attention it deserves.

Priest in Mexico Fined For Speaking Against Same Sex Marriage

Coming to a country near you soon.

MEXICO CITY - The spokesman for the Catholic Archdiocese in Mexico says an electoral court ruling that he illegally propagandized against a political party that promotes gay marriage is "totally false."

Father Hugo Valdemar says in a statement that he did not consider it propaganda when he told a newspaper in August that no Roman Catholic in good conscience would vote for the party. He says claims that he repeatedly proselytized against Mexico City's ruling Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD, are not true.

Valdemar was responding Sunday to Friday's decision by Mexico's highest electoral court ordering electoral officials to have the Interior Ministry fine Valdemar and the Archdiocese.

Valdemar's lawyer Armando Martinez says he is already in an appeals process.

Mexico City legalized same-sex marriage in March 2010.
Continue Reading.

Additional Links:
*Same Sex Marriage: Why Not?
*Two Reasons Same-Sex Marriage Is Gaining Ground

4th of July Myths

Pray for our country and have a great fourth!
Here are some myths about the holiday.

1. The Declaration of Independence Was Signed on July 4
Independence Day is celebrated two days too late. The Second Continental Congress voted for a Declaration of Independence on July 2, prompting John Adams to write his wife, "I am apt to believe that [July 2, 1776], will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival."

Adams correctly foresaw shows, games, sports, buns, bells, and bonfires—but he got the date wrong. The written document wasn't edited and approved until the Fourth of July, and that was the date printers affixed to "broadside" announcements sent out across the land. July 2 was soon forgotten.

In fact, no one actually signed the Declaration of Independence at any time during July 1776. Signing began on August 2, with John Hancock's famously bold scribble, and wasn't completed until late November.

2. Paul Revere Rode Solo
Patriot Paul Revere really did hit the road on the night of April 18, 1775, to alert the countryside that British troops were on the move. But the image of an inspired, lone rider isn't accurate. Revere was part of a low-tech—but highly effective—early-warning system.

The system did include lanterns at Boston's Old North Church, from whose steeple the church sexton, Robert Newman, held two lanterns as a signal that the British were coming. However Revere wasn't watching for them that night.

Revere and fellow rider William Dawes, who was sent by a different route, successfully reached Lexington, Massachusetts, to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that they'd likely be arrested. But Revere and Dawes were captured by the British with third rider Samuel Prescott soon afterward.

The liberties later taken with the Revere legend weren't mistakes but deliberate mythmaking by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who intended his famous 19th-century poem to stoke patriotism on the eve of the Civil War. The ride's real story is told at Paul Revere House, the Boston museum where Revere once lived and from which he left on that fateful night.
Continue reading.

Two Reasons Same-Sex Marriage Is Gaining Ground

Catholics have not done a good (or even adequate) job of addressing the attacks on marriage. These attacks continue to grow stronger and without an understanding of how to defend marriage and the reasons behind the break-down of marriage, we will continue to see our culture slide into the anti-marriage mentality. Before I get into the reasons why same-sex marriage is gaining ground we need to explore some of the fundamental reasons why same-sex "marriages" are not good for those in them or society.

WHAT MARRIAGE IS.
Marriage is the basic cultural building block of society. One man, one woman, and their children unite as a family - every bit of evidence shows that families thrive in monogamous and stable homes with two biological parents of opposite sexes who remain married. This means that there is less poverty, crime, strife, etc. in homes where marriages do well. This is because the mother and father of children cannot be replaced. Two fathers or two mothers cannot provide what one mother and one father can. The role of the father can't be replaced by a woman and the role of the mother can't be replaced by a man. Studies back up this claim. Thus, same-sex couples can never provide all that children need to thrive. When families suffer the rest of our culture suffers.

Furthermore, same-sex relationships are not the same as male-female ones. While a same-sex couple might have strong affectionate feelings for one another, nature shows us they cannot bond as a married couple can. They cannot procreate and their bodies are not made to compliment one another. Think of this - a male or female by themselves is incapable of creating human life. They need the other. Thus, our bodies are incomplete without the opposite sex.

NOT ABOUT LOVE.
True love is to choose what is best for the other regardless of the cost to myself. This means same-sex relationships can never have loving sexual relationships. This is because the true act of sex is about giving yourself away, but in same-sex relationships you can't do this because the body isn't made to be given to someone of the same sex. A married couple can say, with their bodies, I want to create life and bond with you. I want to be one with you. This is impossible with same-sex couples, because while the body might still be saying this, the act itself is ordered toward selfish pleasure - not creating life or bonding the couple as one flesh.

NOT ABOUT EQUALITY.
Many people say that same-sex couples "deserve" the "right" to marry and that those that oppose them are merely bigots who want stamp out the rights of others. This isn't the case. The Catholic Church consistently teaches the respect of others, regardless of sexual orientation. It also teaches us to love and serve all. But, we must also work for truth and the common good. This means while we fight against same-sex marriage, we do not fight against individuals.

That being said, marriage laws are by definition discriminatory. They discriminate FOR families (not against non-married persons) in order to build up what is good for society. Where do children thrive? In the traditional family. If we tear that down, then society will suffer. Thus, the government needs to help support this building up of what is good for society.

Thus, marriage is about more than two people who have good feelings for one another. It is about the good of society - which is why the government got involved in it in the first place.

Some may argue that a same-sex couple should be able to do things such as share property rights, visit in the hospital, etc. But, all of these legal hurdles can already be overcome with current laws and a few documents.

So, what they are really looking for is social acceptance of their behavior. This is why the Catholic Church is enemy #1 for advocates of same-sex marriage. They cast us as homophobic, archaic, and mean-spirited. Which is not the truth.

Catholics need to fight such lies. But, to do so we need to know where it all comes from.
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My thesis is that there are two main cultural culprits that have gotten us to where we are today:

1. Contraception
2. Pornography

REASON #1 - CONTRACEPTION - THE ROOT OF THE ISSUE:

Contraception has caused a number of cultural issues, not the least of is the fundamental re-orienting of the purpose of sex for the majority of people. What is the purpose of sex to modern man? Pleasure. This contraceptive mentality has changed us as a people. Sex is for pleasure however we can get it and is what we wish it to be. Sex is not for making babies or for bringing two spouses together. It is purely a selfish act of fulfilling a 'need', not a giving of self to another.

Contraception makes us turn inward, rather than outward - it perpetuates this selfishness on our part. It also sees marriage as an optional social construct (an attitude which harms women and children most of all)

This mentality is tearing apart our culture. I have seen it time and time again. It happens when sex between two people becomes about me rather than you. Thus the fruits of contraception include:

• Divorce rate doubled between 1965-1975 from 25% to 50%
• One demographer has shown that access to the pill paralleled the increase to the divorce rate
• 41% of births are to unwed mothers in 2008 (72% of black babies)
• 41% of pregnancies end in abortion in New York City
• 50% of marriages end in divorce.

Now pick one of these that is good for our culture.

When sex isn't about babies or bonding, then it becomes selfish. Once this happens, the family breaks down. Once the family breaks down, society breaks down.

REASON #2 - PORNOGRAPHY - THE DEATH OF MARRIAGE:

If contraception weakened marriage, pornography is killing it. More and more marriages are being ravaged by pornography and the trend will not slow down anytime soon. With 80% of young men and 33% of young women regularly using porn, more people will be unable to really love another person. Why? Take a look at this:

• Shown to devalue the other person and sex within marriage.
• Porn creates fantasies that real persons can't live up to.
• Porn sets up sexual habits or addictions that create "boredom" with only one other person.
• Porn creates distrust within marriage and is cheating on your spouse.
• Sexual satisfaction is decreased significantly.
• Porn strips sex of love and makes it about using others and objectifying them.

That is just the tip of the iceberg. It gets much worse when you really crack open the stats.

Suffice it to say, porn kills marriages. Thus, it is destroying our culture. But, at the root of porn is the contraceptive mentality that sex is about ME.

HOW CONTRACEPTION AND PORN LEAD TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE:

How does it all fit together? Well, it is quite simple.

1. Contraception strips sex of it's intended purpose - babies and bonding.
2. Pornography re-defines sex into pleasure alone.
3. Thus, once someone has bought into contraception and pornography, they won't be able to argue that same-sex relationships are wrong, because there is nothing left to argue about. Who are they to tell someone what they are doing is wrong? Who are they to say someone shouldn't have pleasure when having sex?

We have given away too much. The stakes are too high. So, what do we do?

THE GOOD NEWS

The good news is that there is THE Good News - the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Christ CAN restores hearts.
Christ CAN forgive sin.
Christ CAN change our culture.

But, we have to do our part. This is the action plan.

• We have to pray for our culture and for all people.
• We can't see anyone as the "enemy".
• We have to educate ourselves.
• We have to speak up and fight back.
• We have to vote our morals and faith.
• We have to evangelize others so God can change their hearts.

This battle for our culture is not lost yet.

Further reading:
**What is Wrong With Porn?
**Contraception - What the Church Teaches.
**"Same Sex Marriage: Why Not?"
**The Debate about "Same-Sex Marriage"
**Special Report on Gay Marriage