Conscience rights for prolifers under attack

 

In a tale of three baptized Catholics, it is instructive to remember that those who are baptized often turn radically against their own Church and the teachings of Christ.

We are seeing that happen under the presidential administration of Joseph Biden (a baptized Catholic) who has appointed Xavier Becerra, a virulently pro-abortion  and anti-conscience-protection director of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, who is also a baptized Catholic. 

Roger Severino is a baptized Catholic who holds fast to the Church's teaching on the sacredness of life.  He was the director of the federal Office of Civil Rights under the previous presidential administration.   He recently wrote an instructive piece in a national journal regarding the case of a nurse who worked for the University of Vermont Medical Center.  Their doctors and staff tricked her into assisting in the abortion of a child, which crime against God she was adamantly opposed to.  Although preferring to remain anonymous, she has spoken out about the trauma this has caused her since then. 

Although the university was in clear violation of federal conscience protection laws, Mr. Biden's Department of Justice simply dropped the case against the University, sending the clear signal that they would not only promote abortion and require taxpayers to fund it, as they have been doing since the beginning of his administration, but they would not protect those medical personnel who object to being complicit in this grave sin.  They have so radically bought into promoting abortion that they appear to be willing to bend the law to that end. 

Read more about this story here, here and here. 

Mr. Biden continues to receive Holy Communion as our bishops continue to discuss what to do about this problem, if anything. 

Please pray for the conversion of Catholic politicians such as Mr. Biden and Mr. Becerra, and the courage of our bishops and pastors to act justly and decisively toward those who cause grave scandal in the Church and continue to attack the sacredness of life. 

It is important to note that the pro-abortion forces currently in power are moving beyond their original claims that this was the  individual and private "choice" of a woman made between her and her "doctor," to attempting to require participation in this "choice" even by those who oppose it in conscience.  In other words, it is becoming increasingly coercive.  It is critically important for Christians to stand up against the evil of this coercion.

UPDATE: August 19th.  It looks like some federal courts have recently been moving in the right direction to prevent the Biden administration from violating conscience rights.  

Roger Severino