Real Catholic Blog

Many of you probably remember the purported 70,000 nuns who, during the final hours leading up to the health care bill vote in the House of Representatives, announced their support for the bill — and this was before the window dressing executive order bone President Obama threw Rep. Bart Stupak, the allegedly pro-life Democrat from Michigan. Making matters worse is the gloating from the vile, nefarious group Planned Parenthood.

Thomas Peters, at CatholicVoteAction.org Blog, makes note of the thank you message sent to the nuns by Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood. The abortion-on-demand leader wrote this Wednesday on the left-wing Huffington Post:

Richards claimed that it was Catholic nuns who “most importantly broke with the bishops and the Vatican to announce their support for health care reform.”

“This brave and important move, demonstrating that they cared as much about the health care of families in America as they did about church hierarchy, was a critical demonstration of support.”

These nuns must know Catholic Teaching. They must also know the heinous nature of Planned Parenthood. Most people, even if unfamiliar with an issue or proposal, can make an informed decision based on who supports and opposes it. Doubtless, these nuns knew the issue involved.

But even if they didn’t and were sold a bill of goods, in what world are they, or any Catholic with proper formation, living in when they side with Planned Parenthood? On anything?

Yesterday was heartbreaking for a number of reasons. Not only has a cabal of secular progressives hijacked the American health care system — that has produced the best health care in the history of the world — and furthered the culture of death, it did so with the aiding and abetting of so-called “pro-life” lawmakers. For whatever reason — immense pressure by their political bosses or a disingenuous or cynical position to begin with — these Congressmen caved in and/or betrayed us. Worse, they betrayed our faith.

They, in turn, were misled by people and groups, claiming to represent to the Church, who said the health care bill passed yesterday had no pro-abortion provisions in it. Simply not true, as the U.S. Catholic Bishops reiterated during the final hours of the process. Words cannot express the disappointment, but Brian Burch at CatholicVote.org does a good job. Below is the letter just released. In addition, here is the official statement from CatholicVote.org on Representative Bart Stupak’s (D-Mich.) decision to change his mind at the last minute to vote for the pro-abortion bill, a decision that gave the bill its margin of victory.

Dear Friend of CatholicVote.org,

I just got off the phone with the campaign director for Rep. Bart Stupak.

I told her that the members of CatholicVote.org were appalled by his decision to cave and give President Obama control over taxpayer funding for abortion. I also told his staff that we are rescinding our invitation for him to speak at a special CatholicVote.org event scheduled in Chicago for late April.

Rep. Stupak accepted a meaningless promise of an “Executive Order” that does not address the fundamental problems of the bill. In doing so, he not only allowed the pro-abortion bill to pass, his actions gutted any hope for a bipartisan pro-life movement that many argued would have been possible had he stood firm.

After everything we did to support Stupak and his coalition, his actions yesterday were devastating. We were betrayed.

Reality Check

Confronting a loss of such significance is dispiriting. The emails pouring into CatholicVote range from frustration with politics in general to questions about whether there can truly be a pro-life Democrat.

I share many of these frustrations. Our staff did everything possible to stop this disaster. We worked around the clock last week and all weekend to hold the votes together. We worked with individual bishops and staff to encourage wavering votes to hold firm. We were in regular communication with key representatives and their staffs. We ran radio ads, and launched the Stand With Stupak campaign.

We were confident that we had the votes to stop the legislation, until the end, when Stupak and his key allies folded.

The “Stand With Stupak” campaign was about a principle, not a single man. The principle was simple — no compromise on abortion.

And in the end, even Bart Stupak didn’t stand with Stupak.

Looking Ahead

We may be a movement that is hope-filled, but we are also a movement of action.

The frustrations and anger you are inevitably feeling now cannot be ignored. Over the next 7 months, we will be preparing for the November elections.

Any politician who supported this bill must pay a price. And that price is ultimately paid at the ballot box.

The backers of this health care bill never gave up. They fought for nearly a year against public opinion, and wore down their opponents until they got what they wanted.

We must resolve to do the same.

Remember what happened last night.

Remember how you feel right now.

November will be here before you know it.

Sincerely,

Brian

Regarding the last post about the U.S. Bishops not doing enough until, possibly, now, to affect the debate on the “health care” bill and its funding of abortion, as well as their tolerance of groups and individuals who intentionally misrepresent Catholic teaching, here is the latest commentary from Michael Voris of RealCatholicTV.com. How appropriate the timing! As I posted yesterday, there are real lessons to learn from Saint Patrick. Mr. Voris gives us one, today, that certainly is applicable to the abortion debate and the “health care” bill.

Drive out the snakes as they are present among us to this day and we’re not talking reptiles, either.

Here is a message from Father Frank Pavone, national director of Father Frank Pavone, about this week’s March For Life events in Washington, D.C. (see Father Pavone’s Blog). Now, more than ever, it is important to let our elected leaders know what we think about the important issues of our day — especially the paramount issue of our age, Life. The politicians now are listening. Agreeing? Maybe not. But we are making progress, otherwise, how to explain the difficulties in passing such anti-life legislation such as the health care bill? Stay vigilant. Pray, then put your prayers into action with civic activism.

Father Frank Pavone calls us to our civic duty, to put our prayers into action. 

I don’t like saying I told you so — okay, in many respects, I do — but I hope the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have learned their lesson. Today, U.S. Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (a name that leaves no doubt about its ruthlessness), called for the IRS to revoke the Church’s non-profit status (see her piece on Politico.com). This is the thanks the Bishops get for swimming with the sharks all these years on health care, immigration and a number of other “social justice” issues.

The Bishops’ crime? They adamantly supported attaching the pro-life Stupak Amendment to the health care bill passed (barely) late Saturday night. Rep. Woolsey thinks the Bishops are more lobbyists than moral conscience, more fat cat than free speech; chutzpah judgments from her as she knows only of the former and none of the latter in each case.

Unfortunately, the Bishops think they have won a victory with the Stupak Amendment. In fact, they have only been played for enablers in this monstrous bill potentially becoming law. While they think they may have protected the unborn, Ms. Woolsey’s “progressives” eventually will strip out the Stupak Amendment. Meanwhile, the rest of the bill will ration care for the sick and elderly, making this a death on demand bill for people at any stage of life.

It’s the hottest of topics in the realm of Catholics and public policy: What, on the surface, seems to be the only good thing about the health care bill barely passed by the U.S. House of Representatives Saturday night, was the Stupak Amendment, offered by Representative Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) It upholds the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding of abortion, and explicitly denies any part of the health care bill from mandating insurance companies cover abortion services or compromises medical professionals conscience protections.

However, by passing the amendment and adding it to the bill, it made a horrible bill — which still violates Catholic teaching by eliminating health care to elderly and sickly people by rationing it and denying access to it — more palatable to certain members of the House, and was enough for them to vote in favor of the bill as a whole. Not only that, but certain radical feminists in Congress are not unhappy that the Stupak Amendment moved the bill forward to the Senate, where they are hopeful it will eventually get stripped out and eventually approved by the House after a conference report. So says U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the House’s chief deputy Democrat whip (see Life Site News).

On the other hand, as Matt Bowman of CatholicVote.org writes, passing the Stupak Amendment ultimately will make the bill distasteful for the abortion-on-demand crowd and force them to abandon ship.

So, a lot remains to be seen — and done. If you are concerned, and we all should be, it is not a time to relax under a false pretense, nor throw in the towel in frustration. Contact your senators and carry on the good fight.