Obama Culture of Death Update™: Obama's HHS Makes Persecution of Church Official Administration Policy [UPDATED]

At Creative Minority Report, Patrick Archbold reports on HHS Secretary and dissident Catholic Kathleen Sebelius' full-frontal assault on religious liberty:

This is outrageous. HHS has issued its final ruling on exemptions from contraceptive coverage for health plans even in the face of religious obejctions. Too bad.

And in what passes for compromise for the lunatic secular left currently running the country, they will give religious groups an extra year to comply if you can PROVE you are really a religious group (which is difficult to impossible with these people), but comply you will...

[More]

The result of this is that religious persecution is now the official policy of the Obama Administration because many Catholic organizations simply will not comply and will therefore be subject to legal repercussion.


UPDATE
At National Catholic Distorter, Democrat and Obama shill Mikey Sean Winters expresses his "disappointment" that he and so many other left-leaning Catholics like Sr. Carol and President Jenkins just got played by the Obama Administration.

I'm pretty sure a whole lot of us have been saying for years that they were being played by Obama, but they were hearing none of it, willingly allowing themselves to be utilized by the Obama as an "alternative liberal magisterium" to the Bishops.

Besides, Mikey Sean seems far more concerned with the potential political fallout from Obama's declaration of war on the Church for Democrats who now might not fare so well among Catholic swing voters than he does with the fact that religious liberty has been placed in jeopardy.


UPDATE #2
The U.S. Bishops have vowed to fight the HHS edict, again, putting them and the Church on a head-on collision course with religious persecution:

WASHINGTON—The Catholic bishops of the United States called “literally unconscionable” a decision by the Obama Administration to continue to demand that sterilization, abortifacients and contraception be included in virtually all health plans. Today's announcement means that this mandate and its very narrow exemption will not change at all; instead there will only be a delay in enforcement against some employers.

“In effect, the president is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences,” said Cardinal-designate Timothy M. Dolan, archbishop of New York and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The cardinal-designate continued, “To force American citizens to choose between violating their consciences and forgoing their healthcare is literally unconscionable.It is as much an attack on access to health care as on religious freedom. Historically this represents a challenge and a compromise of our religious liberty."

[...]

“The Obama administration has now drawn an unprecedented line in the sand,” he said. “The Catholic bishops are committed to working with our fellow Americans to reform the law and change this unjust regulation. We will continue to study all the implications of this troubling decision.”

Sr. Carol Keehan, who used her role as head of the Catholic Health Association to provide an "alternative magisterium" in defying the Bishops on Obamacare and undermining their teaching with respect to public funding of abortion, was, unsurprisingly, understated in expressing her "disappointment" (just like Mikey Sean) in the Obama Administration's decision to reveal her as being nothing more than a useful idiot:

Daughter of Charity Sister Carol Keehan, president and chief executive officer of the Catholic Health Association of the United States, voiced disappointment with the decision. Catholic hospitals serve one out of six people who seek hospital care annually.

“This was a missed opportunity to be clear on appropriate conscience protection,” Sister Keehan said.

Gee, thanks, Sis. Way to be strong in speaking out for the Church. If only you were as forceful in your condemnation of the Obama Administration's efforts to curtail religious freedom as you were in calling the Bishops liars for their efforts to protect the unborn from public-funding of abortion in Obamacare. Hope you're enjoying the souvenier signing pen.





This Obama Culture of Death Update™ has been brought to you by Douglas Kmiec, all the fine folks at Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good / Catholics United / Catholic Democrats, and countless other Catholics for whom "Hope" and "Change" trumped LIFE.







Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Obama Culture of Death Update™: The Obama Administration's Anti-Life Attack on Franciscan University

Obama Culture of Death Update™: Kill Babies or I'll Hurt the Poor

Obama Culture of Death Update™: A Compilation of President Obama’s Pro-Abortion Record

Obama Culture of Death Update™: Obama Would Rather Shut Down the Government Than See Planned Parenthood Lose Taxpayer Funding

Obama Culture of Death Update™: President’s Faith-Based Council Punts on "Reducing Abortions" Yet Again

Obama Culture of Death Update™: President's "Science Czar" on When Life Begins

Obama Culture of Death Update™: White House Budget Director "Not Prepared to Rule Out" Publicly Funded Abortion as Part of ObamaCare

Obama Culture of Death Update™: President's "Science Czar" Supports Forced Population Control Measures [UPDATED]

Obama Culture of Death Update™: Obama Disbands President’s Council on Bioethics

Obama Culture of Death Update™: Obama Advisor Says “It is Not Our Goal to Reduce the Number of Abortions” [UPDATED]

Obama Culture of Death Update™: Administration Now on Record That Promoting "Reproductive Health" Equals Promoting Abortion Abroad

Obama Culture of Death Update™: President Lifts Ban on Federal ESCR Funding

Obama Culture of Death Update™: Obama Nominee for Deputy Sec. of State Says Taxpayers Constitutionally Obligated to Fund Abortion

Moral Accountability . com

Obama Culture of Death Update™: Abortion Necessary to "Ensure Our Daughters Have the Same Rights and Opportunities As Our Sons"

Obama Culture of Death Update™: "White House Web Site Becomes Pro-Abortion After Obama Takeover"

Obama Culture of Death Update™: Among President Obama's First Official Acts is Promoting Abortion Abroad [UPDATED]