Petition Against the HHS contraception mandate (Again)

Introduction

In past months the United States government has tried to pass mandates that require Catholic institutions though not Catholic churches and parishes to materially provide for contraceptives, even those that may cause the abortion of a newly conceived child before pregnancy occurs, to its entire staff under its health insurance policies. The argument from the United States government states that institutions that are not solely dedicated to spreading a religious message and are not dedicated to solely employing employees of that same religion cannot be exempt from this ruling. This effectively requires Catholic hospitals, charities, schools, and many other Catholic institutions to provide contraception against the will of those who run these institutions. These groups will either eventually be required to cease being Catholic institutions, since the bishop of the diocese grants the title of Catholic to the institution, and become secular institutions, have to be shut down, at the bishop’s will, or in some manner co-operate materially with what is against the Divine law as promulgated through the Church. Catholics are prohibited from using artificial contraception as outlined in Humanae Vitae a papal encyclical that is binding on all Catholics. Here is the official document at the Vatican website: Humanae Vitae

The government's reply:
The US government on their White House webpage made a reply that they were trying to balance with religious organizations towards their mandate. They cited certain organizations that have the name Catholic in them that supported the compromise-mandate, but we must bear in mind that the Catholic bishops who are our lawful pastors and shepherds have stated that the compromise-mandate still goes against what is lawful for the Church to comply with and what is lawful under United States 1st Amendment rights.

How to help

This is of course seen as a grave evil against the Catholic Church and we must do everything we can to petition the government as well as our state representatives. There was once a petition made at the whitehouse.gov webpage concerning the HHS contraception mandate, and now there is a second one passing around:

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/%21/petition/rescind-hhs-mandate-requiring-catholic-institutions-provide-insurance-covering-contraception-their/mG8SwXxj

Which I strongly urge you to sign at the website, by:
- Signing up and registering on whitehouse.gov by giving a name, address, and email account.
- I believe you must wait a day before the account becomes active.
-  Petitioning the United States government to overturn this contraception mandate
-  Petitioning your local congressman or representative to support legislation that goes against this mandate.

The online petition has until March 12^th to reach 25, 000 signers, which is unfortunately quickly approaching. May God grant us the victory.

Litany to become more submissive to the Church

Now I will try to turn my attention towards dispelling the dissent of some Catholic who advocate the use of contraceptives like Ms. Sebellius or those who say the Church is not right in prohibiting such a matter to the laity. Let these Catholics remember that the Church is a divine institution given by God’s total grace and mercy to us sinners who are most unworthy of His condescension and love. The Lord of all Creation, of all that is, has granted to mankind a divine institution for the shepherding of souls with the mark of His own authority, the authority that Christ, who holds the universe in His palms, vested to the most holy Apostles and by which authority they granted the bishops, especially the successor of the Prince of the Apostles, St. Peter. God’s will is manifest in the declarations of the Church, and any who deliberately goes against the Church’s infallible doctrines knowing fully that the Church is the Body of Christ cannot attain salvation, and those who deliberately and maliciously go against the possibly fallible but authoritative dictates of the Church have placed their souls in grave danger of salvation.

Here is a small humble litany I composed for dissenting Catholics to reflect on:

V: Lord, You who have ordered the stars and the entirety of the universe, granted us in Your mercy a Church to be within Your very Body.

R: Grant us the grace to be obedient to the lawful authority of Your Sacred Body, the Church

V: Lord, You Who destroyed the Tower of Babel and exiled all those men who opposed Your holy will.

R: Grant us the grace to be obedient to the lawful authority of Your Sacred Body, the Church

V: Lord, You who endured for forty years the stubborn hearts of Your people wandering in the desert who disobeyed Your lawful ministers, and so too You proclaimed that they should not enter into Your rest.

R: Grant us the grace to be obedient to the lawful authority of Your Sacred Body, the Church

V: Lord, You have descended from Heaven through no manner of indebtedness or reason rather than Your holy will and love for us to grant us the faith once delivered to the saints as transmitted through the Church.

R: Grant us the grace to be obedient to the lawful authority of Your Sacred Body, the Church

V: Lord, You who have stricken down Saphira and Ananias through Your holy Apostle St. Peter, lawful prince of the Apostles and the Holy Church.

R: Grant us the grace to be obedient to the lawful authority of Your Sacred Body, the Church

V: Lord, You who has placed us, the most unworthy of sinners, within Your holy Body.

R: Grant us the grace to be obedient to the lawful authority of Your Sacred Body, the Church

V: May the Lord who is gracious to all men in His mercy grant us each to one day be placed under the sweet yoke of His commandments and the sweet mercy afforded to us in the Sacraments of the Church. May He keep us within His Body for ever and ever, and in times of affliction hide us in His wounds. R: Amen.

If time permits, one day I will try to draw up specific arguments regarding the injustice of this law. Suffice it to say that the United States government is not supposed to in any way inhibit the free expression of religious values in the public square, and likewise we will be stifled of our capacity to express or religious values and beliefs if we Catholics are forced to provide contraceptives for others.

Recall that Christ tells us to render unto Caesar what is due unto Caesar, but render unto God what is due to God. Now God demands the totality of our devotion to Him and likewise we cannot provide something materially to others that violates His divine precepts. Though we ought to provide some money to the government (i.e. taxes) for our general defense and national services, but we must not think that God allows us to break His divine precepts for this sort of a rendering.

In all, may God’s mercy provide for us, and may He deliver us from all evil.