So, the Supreme Court has upheld “Obamacare,” calling it a tax.
The good news is that Congress can decide to repeal taxes. (Nice of the Supreme Court to pass the buck like that—way to show moral fortitude, guys!) So as Catholics, it’s up to us to vote in a Congress that will repeal Obamacare.
In the meantime, however, our Church in America is in a fine fix. How can it stand as a bastion of morality and conscience in light of this decision? A lot of people will say that Catholic services—from counseling to adoption to universities—will simply have to shut down rather than comply with the law. Others will say, “We fought the good fight; now we must comply and pray.” There a harder road, however, but I pray that we will take it.
Don’t comply. Make the government take the fight to us. Refuse as an organization to buy insurance that includes the “abortion option,” and refuse to pay the fine. To protect the employees of the Church and its many wonderful organizations, increase their pay to cover what they would have been putting in for the insurance, and let them decide how to purchase their own. That is individual choice.
Don’t comply, and don’t stop caring for others. Rather, make the government shut down our services.
If Catholic organizations acquiesce to the Obamacare tax, they are acquiescing to a great sin. The USCCB has been saying this for months; we can’t back down now. However, we should not be the “bad guy” by refusing to help others because the government is forcing the morals of the Catholic Church. This goes for all religious organizations that follow their conscience. Let the government force our hand. Let the government show its villainy in fact as well as theory.
Maybe then, America will wake up.
The Fortnight of Prayer continues. Pray for our nation. Pray that we remember we were founded to secure liberty, not comfort; and pray that we will have the strength of our founding fathers to weather this terrible storm in our nation’s history.
Karina Fabian
Karina Fabian writes everything from devotionals to serious sci-fi to comedic horror. Her latest novel, Live and Let Fly, stars a Catholic dragon and his magic-slinging partner, Sister Grace, as they save the worlds from maniacal middle managers and Norse goddesses. (Coming April from MuseItUp) Karina also teaches writing and marketing online. Learn more at http://fabianspace.com
I absolutely agree Karina–Let them come in and lock us up and shut us down etc etc–Bring it on !!! Do not quietly shut down and fade into the sunset. That makes it way too easy for them. Maybe we should all become the “Occupy Catholics” so they have to drag us out of our Catholic places.