Fall of the Roman Empire

68 million members of the Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. have come under attack by none other than the Obama administration and the Department of Health and Human Services. In the 2,000 year history of the Church and a long line of successive leaders starting with the Apostle Peter the Church has survived assault from many fronts.

Long after the fall of the Roman Empire, the Church has been a rock, not just for their followers, but for civilization itself. The Church even survived a 500 year battle with Islam, but now one of the core tenets of the Church is in the cross-hairs of Obamneycare.

Obama himself has drawn a line in the sand and dared the Catholic Church to cross the line.

Obamneycare makes provisions for exemption for certain religious groups including Muslims, Christian Scientists, Scientologists, Amish and Native Americans.

But Christians and Jews need not apply for an exemption.

While attending a fundraising event in St. Louis, Obama rallied the troops in attendance, bragging about a provision in Obamneycare that is a slap in the face of the Catholic Church. As reported by CNS News:

The proposed regulation, designed to implement part of Obamacare, will require all private health plans in the United States to cover sterilizations and all FDA-approved contraceptives--including those that cause abortions—without charging any fees or co-pay. These regulations were drawn to implement a provision in Obama’s health-care law that calls for all health-care plans to cover “preventive services.”

Combined with Obamacare’s mandate that all individuals must buy health insurance, the “preventive services” regulation would require all American Catholics to buy health care plans that pay for sterilizations, contraceptives and abortions--all of which violate Catholic moral teaching.

While there is a religious exemption from Obamneycare it appears the Catholic Church will have to yield to the boot heel of HHS.

A “religious exemption” in the regulation is so narrowly drawn that it does not include any lay Catholics, or any Catholic hospitals, charitable organizations, or colleges or universities. Thus, many major Catholic institutions in the United States would be forced to choose between dropping health insurance coverage for their employees and students or violating the moral teachings of their own church.

At this point there does not seem to be a way for Catholics to follow their faith without coming into direct conflict with the mandates of the Obama administration.

“Insurance companies can’t drop your coverage for no good reason,” said Obama. “They won’t be able to deny your coverage because of preexisting conditions. Think about what that means for families all across America. Think about what it means for women.”

At that point, an audience member shouted: “Birth control.”

“Absolutely. You’re stealing my line,” said Obama.

And you, sir, are stomping on our religious freedoms.