Roman Catholic Health Care Crises

We, as a religious community, as Christ’s most Holy Church on earth, are in crises. Please note that all of this is just my opinion. But it IS my opinion. Consider: About one out of every four people in the U.S. are Roman Catholic. And we’re growing. Granted, a lot of the growth is due to immigration, but not all. We are the largest religious group in America. Taken at face value this makes our nation a Catholic country. In fact we are the fourth largest Catholic country in the world. The second largest religious group in the U.S.? I know this will sound like a bad joke but its … Fallen away Catholics. There are more fallen away Catholics than there are Baptists, and they’re the second largest denomination after us. My point? Think about this: We have legalised abortion. Now, given the new health care provider laws, we have inforced abortion and contraceptive mandates that directly affect Catholic businesses, Catholic health care providers (Doctors, nurses, hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, etc. & etc.), and the Roman Catholic Church in America at large. Bottom line? We have lost, or are loosing, or will lose, our right to religious conscience. We are being forced to give up our religious freedom of choice or be fined, shut down and legally harassed by a government that has become adamantly anti-Christian and specifically, with the help of a very liberal and very verbal media, anti-Roman Catholic. This is blatant persecution marching against us in the name of “human rights”. Religious freedom no longer means the right to conscience. It seems now to mean no more than the right to go to the house of worship of your choice. No more. I have a crucifix on my front door. I draw Social Security. Will I be forced to remove a religious symbol from my home because I receive government funds? Don’t laugh. People laughed at Hitler and Stalin believing that such men could never gain power, much less enforce their madness. And the faithful suffered. Not only in the political arena but in their homes as well. Many a boot kicked in many a door at midnight, dragging faithful Catholics (and MANY others) to a bad end. It’s not a  joke. I’m sure lots of folks in Germany and Russia thought it wouldn’t/couldn’t happen there either. But my point is something else. My point is that its OUR fault. If 25% of the U.S. population is Roman Catholic, faithful Roman Catholic, how did WE let this happen? How? It’s not because of what we did. It’s because of what we didn’t do. Didn’t vote faithfully, didn’t set a good example, didn’t give voice to the truth often enough or loud enough, didn’t obey the magisterium, didn’t support the proper causes with ether volunteers or money, didn’t live our faith. Someone asked Mother Teresa once which country in the world was the poorest. She said the U.S. Spiritual poverty is the worst form of poverty. It wrecks society from the heart of the individual outward. The result? We are about to suffer. Like never before. Why? Because we brought it on ourselves given what we DIDN’T do. But, in God’s economy, things have a different worth and value. God can bring good out of evil. I think, and again this is my opinion, (hey, its my blog) that we’re about to find out who amongst us is real. About to see who is wheat and who is weed. Look up the parable of the wheat and the tares, or weeds. But its the end result I’m looking forward to. I remember when we were persecuted by the Roman Empire. No, I wasn’t there personally. I’m not quit that old yet. But I read a book. The result of THAT persecution was to separate the wheat from the weeds. The real Christians stood out. And the result of that? We had saints. And Rome fell. And it fell to the cause of God. There is hope, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Just be aware that the light is attached to a train. Destruction, often as not, comes before reconstruction.