Pres. Obama’s “Plan B” compromise, Sr. Keehan, and the Magisterium of Nuns

Even before Pres. Obama made the announcement that he is taking his “Plan B” pill, an exponent of the Magisterium of Nuns, Sr. Carol Keehan of the Catholic Health Association (which – against the US bishops – gave cover to Catholic democrats to vote for abortion providing Obamacare) made a statement that she is pleased with Obama’s compromise… er um… accommodation.

BEFORE the President’s announcement.

This suggests to me that someone in the White House contacted Keehan to make sure that she would back Obama on this even if the American bishops were not adequately appeased (read “duped”) by Obama’s compromise… er um… accommodation.

The American bishops had better figure out very soon that an alternate “magisterium” is being created against their own authority, and that the exponents of that false “magisterium” are in bed with those who would violate the 1st Amendment in order to get their way.

Sister Keehan: Give back that pen!

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49 Comments

  1. alanphipps says:

    CNN reported that Obama briefed both Keehan and Archbishop Dolan on this before the official announcement. I’m waiting to hear what Dolan said.

  2. StJude says:

    Alan… I await Dolan too.

  3. This is what I’ve been predicting would happen, although I didn’t predict Sister’s actions specifically.

    I expected from the start that the President would come out, grandly, with a concession as the protests mounted, in order to divide the opposition. He had this in his pocket the whole time.

    Pray, pray, pray for the bishops; this is WHY we need to be praying for them.

    God help Sister Keehan. She puts the authority of Caesar over that of Christ’s Apostles. She loves Caesar; doesn’t care what the Apostles say. Pray for her, too.

  4. wmeyer says:

    If Sr. Keehan thinks this makes it all better, then I can only assume she has massive misunderstandings of Catholic doctrine, as well as a total inability in formal logic. However, if she thinks we will be so easily satisfied, then the poor woman is delusional.

  5. wmeyer says:

    There is nothing here over which to be duped. It is not a compromise, not an accommodation; it simply makes every health insured citizen complicit in the act. I suspect that is a larger number than those who pay taxes, so we may pay less per abortion this way.

    Tyranny it remains, however, and treason, as well.

  6. Jim Ryon says:

    POTUS must think all Catholics are as dumb as Pope Keenan. Different wording, same effect.

  7. AvantiBev says:

    So Obama shifts the responsibility over to private insurance with the stroke of his pen. He and we who let him get away with it are still shredding the Constitution and diminishing freedom. Rush is right as usual. Obummer will use that term “preventative care” and define it, distort it, stretch it as needed for more unConstitutional mandates and regs guiding us from abortion to euthanasia.

    The bishops will be appeased, Leviathan continue to grow with their blessings (after all “social justice” demands it), my freedom whittled away even more. Soon more private insurers will pack it in unable to make it, the federal beast becomes the only insurer and soon the only provider of what my medical care will be or will NOT be. THAT WAS THE END GAME AFTER ALL.

  8. Sr. Keehan said:

    “Sister Carol Keehan, a Daughter of Charity who is president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association, praised what she called ‘a resolution … that protects the religious liberty and conscience rights of Catholic institutions.'”

    “The framework developed has responded to the issues we identified that needed to be fixed,” she said in a statement. “We are pleased and grateful that the religious liberty and conscience protection needs of so many ministries that serve our country were appreciated enough that an early resolution of this issue was accomplished.'”

    http://www.catholicsun.org/2012/february/10/obama-hhs.html

    I hope Dolan or whoever has authority reigns her in, perhaps even deposing.

  9. Ralph says:

    Well said Fr. Fox.

    We are all slowly moving toward the point in time where we will have to choose to listen to Caesar or Christ’s Apostles. When that time arrives, I pray that our bishops will have the courage to lead and that we will have the courage to follow.

  10. AvantiBev says:

    Check out Ann Barnhardt’s blog entries at her website which can be found at her last name then .biz. She really calls the past 40+ years of Catholic catechesis and Marxist strategy correctly but be aware, she pulls no punches and is quite blunt. St. Anne pray for her and give her good health and strong typing fingers!

  11. scarda says:

    The world needs to remember that when you take money from Caesar, you take his orders, too.

  12. rssalazar says:

    Does Sr. Keehan not have a superior? Does she not have a bishop? The bishops have already dropped the ball because the longer it takes Archbishop Dolan to respond, the less credibility he will have.

  13. Ryan M says:

    Ugh, I have personal experience with alternate magisteria. In taking a course on “Contemporary Catholic Theology” through my grad school’s Newman Center, we had a theologian try to explain the conflicts that arise between the bishops and certain theological societies that a certain Sr. Elizabeth Johnson once ran. While talking, she tried to make the case (that I’m slightly oversimplifying here) that bishops should teach catechism and leave theology to the theologians. When pressed, she said that most bishops don’t have theologian credentials, something that she seemed to mean PhDs in theology. When I followed up that statement by asking/challenging her that bishops aren’t to be followed because of knowledge–a borderline Gnostic view–but because of the promise of Christ that the Holy Spirit would protect His church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it, she responded something along the lines of ‘sure, but bishops have theology advisers and that’s different.’ I was most displeased. Admittedly, this is a woman trained under a friend of Charles Curran, married to a former Jesuit, and who has written a work in which she accuses people who believe that the priest who consecrates must be “a certain gender” are basically modern-day Donatists, so what should I expect.

    After all of that, though, to bring it back on course: what can and should the bishops do to prevent the establishment of this alternate magisterium of nuns and theologians? I can certainly co-diagnose the problem, but I don’t know the treatment.

  14. pm125 says:

    Maybe Sr. forgot her catechesis and promises when the habit was forsaken.
    God help her sphere of influence.
    Wonder how the accommodator and his catholic crew regard the Catholic Church. Do they laugh like kids up to no good, and try to figure out a way to get past their strict Father but still get his inheritance?
    He brought the issue of ‘contraception’ and its boon to women’s health to the bright lights without the rest of the bad words like abortion, euthanasia, IVF etc., but forgot the bottom line subject of most concern – 1st Amendment Right of Freedom to exercise religion and control of the Church’s teaching.

  15. Adam Welp says:

    I emailed the Archdiocese of Louisville, as that is the See of the USCCB’s VP, inquiring about a statement from the USCCB or Cardinal-Designate Dolan, and here is their response:

    “It is our understanding that a statement is being drafted and should be published soon. Keep checking back to the USCCB’s website http://www.usccb.org and ours http://www.archlou.org for more information regarding this sensitive issue.”

  16. persyn says:

    America Magazine has already published the contents of “Sister” Keehan’s statement, along with their approbation of Obama’s “compromise”, quoting Keehan as the “authority” they recognize. I pray that the Society of Jesus may again become a bastion of Catholic Faith, and no longer be a gaggle of postmodern rebels against the Magisterium. For this I invoke the aid not of St. Ignatius, but of St. Jude.

  17. rfox2 says:

    Why are we so concerned and intimidated by Sr. Keehan? (whatever “sister” means now in her context) The Fr. Pflegers and the Sr. Keehans of the world should be ignored, really. She’s simply a mouth-piece for Mario Cuomo-esque Catholic/political compromise, and she is not a threat to the legitimate authority of the bishops. The bishops need to continue to speak out consistently and strongly against the tyranny that is currently taking place in America and bolstering Catholic faith by not compromising the message in any way. If the bishops could always be united consistently on moral issues, as they have been in this issue, Catholics would have a better sense of what to fight for and what to defend in the political realm. Ignore Keehan. She only has a short time left to self-promote and then she’ll need to answer before the Great Judge.

  18. Johnno says:

    You have to hysterically admire the audacity of this move by Obama… He thinks it’s that simple…

    You no longer have to violate your conscience as much anymore if the insurance companies do it for you!

    But isn’t this what sinners do? Find ways to go around the law so as to exempt yourself and avoid penalty through the use of sophistry? Obama is precisely the sort of sophist st. Augustine hated! And precisely the sort our Lord despised. The sort that adhere to the letter of the law to burden those who deserve mercy and justice, and then find ways to legally argue how to go around those letters for their conveniences.

    And it’s all the more ironic that the secular society of today is simply the inevitable logical outcome of Protestantism! They chose to individually define and interpret the Bible for themselves! And when the Word of God is no longer sacred, I don’t see why the U.S. constitution is either! So the Obama administration is applying Protestant logic to redefining the words of the US Constitution and amendments and religious liberty, as well as what the right to life is, etc.

  19. wmeyer says:

    America and Commonweal are two of the magazines most prominently displayed in our parish library. They are not on my reading list–I have limited time for reading, and must settle for praying that those people may someday rejoin the Church.

    What matters now is for us to remain firm, and to let our priests and bishops hear our support for the stand they have already taken, and for its continuation. And we must pray and do penance.

  20. onesheep says:

    This is what obama has been planning all along, to have the HHS make the demand of the Catholic Church so that he can come in with a compromise and win back the hearts of Catholic voters. And they will be fooled by him.

  21. disco says:

    This is actually much worse than before. See when Obama was just assaulting religious freedom at least he wasn’t insulting our intelligence.

  22. Adam Welp says:

    Here’s the USCCB’s statement:

    February 10, 2012

    New opportunity to dialogue with executive branch
    Too soon to tell whether and how much improvement on core concerns
    Commitment to religious liberty for all means legislation still necessary

    WASHINGTON— The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sees initial opportunities in preserving the principle of religious freedom after President Obama’s announcement today. But the Conference continues to express concerns. “While there may be an openness to respond to some of our concerns, we reserve judgment on the details until we have them,” said Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan, president of USCCB.

    “The past three weeks have witnessed a remarkable unity of Americans from all religions or none at all worried about the erosion of religious freedom and governmental intrusion into issues of faith and morals,” he said.

    “Today’s decision to revise how individuals obtain services that are morally objectionable to religious entities and people of faith is a first step in the right direction,” Cardinal-designate Dolan said. “We hope to work with the Administration to guarantee that Americans’ consciences and our religious freedom are not harmed by these regulations.”

  23. tealady24 says:

    Somebody needs to invoke a novena here, where beginning on a specific date we can all pray vigorously to our Lady! She above all understands what look like lost causes.

    Carol Keehan can keep her pen, and she can keep Obama, and the Church needs to rid itself of her!

  24. Bryan Boyle says:

    Oh, yeah, more dialogue.

    This is nothing more than two wolves (Obama and Sebelius) and a sheep (USCCB) discussing what’s for dinner.

  25. dep says:

    Looks to me as if the USCCB has folded like a cheap card table. If the Magisterium had behaved like this through the millennia, there would have been no Church for the protestants to protest. Sorry, but that is a pitiful response.

  26. She not only stepped ahead of Obama, but she also stepped ahead of the bishops – potentially in opposition to them.

    I blogged on this point here: http://te-deum.blogspot.com/2012/02/on-hhs-compromise-why-is-sr-carol.html

  27. heway says:

    For anyone interested, this is the email address of Sister Keehan . at least the published one. I have written to her, as a catholic of over 75 years and a catholic nurse for 55 years, I am appalled at her reaction to today’s offer from Obama. She has put all catholic nurses at risk for having to perform, assist and participate in procedures that are offensive to her conscience.
    It is important for her to be quiet and support the Bishops of our country. This is not about health care, but religious freedom.

  28. Mdepie says:

    1) This is a complete fold by the USCCB. [How do you figure that? THe USCCB hasn’t issued an official response yet.] The details are pretty straightforward, the Catholic Institutions will be forced to pay for insurance that includes the mandatory obligation by the insurance company to ask the insured if you want free birth control, and free moring after pills, like ella which are essentially abortifacients. I do not see how substantively this differs from the original mandate. The Cost of the abortifacients will be paid for by the Church institutions. This will completely undercut those who were coming to our aid.

    2) To even hint that this is acceptable will take all the steam out of the fight against this. This mandate is only the begining. The screws will be so tightened that it will be impossible to practice Catholicism in any recognizable form and function in health care. What we are in effect going to have is an “American Church”, analagous to the People’s Church in China.

    3) Obama has shown that he will run rough shod over religious freedom. He is the most radical abortion president ever and in fact the most radical president ever. If he wins a second term the real squeeze on the Church will begin. This is just a foretaste.

    We are in very deep trouble.

  29. NoTambourines says:

    What in the world just happened? It’s like the Obama administration came out and jingled its keys to see who it could distract with something shiny.

  30. catholicmidwest says:

    Mdepie,

    I don’t think they’ve folded. I think they’re considering how they can best get the situation around to where it needs to be. They might also be praying, which would be a good idea along about now.

    IF we don’t get this right this time, we will come back to it really quickly, you realize. If you are full of concern, you won’t wait long to see it again and next time it will be worse if we don’t get it right this time. This is not going to go away til it all goes away.

    The problem is that if we fold this time, they will have something to throw in our faces when they confront us with the next part of the plan, whatever that is. IT might be “birth prevention” of full-term babies; it might be regulation of what we believe or can say about religion in public; it might be prophylactics or sex toys for homosexuals paid for with insurance. Who knows what it will be?

    But if we screw this up, we will be back to the same place next time, and that will repeat til we get it right. Hold onto your hat. It might be an interesting ride.

  31. Pingback: FRIDAY EXTRA: REACTION TO OBAMA “COMPROMISE” | ThePulp.it

  32. kat says:

    I wrote a letter to my congress woman, who is pro-life and does a lot of things right. I begged her to get Congress to act on this abuse of power by our President…

    and suggested that if Congress cannot stop him, then she ought to sponsor a bill asking for more prisons, as “there are many of us out here willing to be imprisoned, and die” for our beliefs.

    We all need to not only pray for all the intentions needed but one more: that we use the graces of our Confirmation to be “strong and perfect soldiers of Jesus Christ, willing to suffer, and even die, for our Faith.”

    Things are moving very quickly in this country. I don’t have much more faith in the Republican party, as all of these things did not just begin with Obama. The Republicans seem to move a little slower than he did though. He got in and started pushing the Masonic agenda with full force.

  33. Phil Lawler also opines on something similar: http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/the-city-gates.cfm?ID=171

    So here’s where we stand: Within hours of President Obama’s announcement, without waiting for guidance from the US bishops, the heads of the Catholic Health Association and Catholic Charities USA—two of the largest Church-related employers in the country—have announced that they are now satisfied with the plan. Their defection will make it all the more difficult for the bishops to hold the line in defense of religious freedom.

    There is a solution ready at hand, however. The US bishops could announce that, No, Catholic Charities USA will not provide healthcare under the terms of the HHS mandate—or it will cease to be called “Catholic.” (It would be a small loss; Catholic Charities USA today is mostly a conduit for government funds, carrying out government contracts.) And No, the Catholic Health Association will not accept the Obama “accommodation,” or else its member institutions will cease to be known as “Catholic” hospitals.

  34. Shamrock says:

    This “accomodation” is so full of deceit and dishonesty! It does not take a room full of Philadelphia lawyers 24 -48 hours to figure this out. Does the President think that our Bishops are really so naive and un-sophisticated? Hopefully they will not take too long deliberating this and will keep in mind the axiom: ” Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me”!
    While they are at it maybe they should give Sister Keenan five minutes to deliberate or swiftboat her to oblivion.

  35. Pingback: This is suspicious timing. Sr. Carol Keehan started praising Obama's announcement... - Christian Forums

  36. Elizabeth D says:

    I completely do not understand why this would satisfy any Catholic organization. Catholic institutions still are not being permitted to provide insurance to employees that doesn’t provide sterilization/abortifacients/contraceptives. The Obama administration still achieves their goal of making universally available, including to employees of Catholic organizations, parishes, dioceses, students at Catholic universities, etc, various immoral and artificial means of preventing birth.

  37. Tom T says:

    This is exactly the response I expected from the USCCB and Sr. Keehan. I like her hair style
    she can keep the pen. I would imagine they would have to walk a thin line here rather lose
    tax exempt status or be viewed by the IRS as being political. I don`t think any of this will really be settled before the next election. The battle right now is for the hearts and minds and votes of liberal Catholics and others who adore his ideology and smooth manner. Next best thing for some to American idol. He was shocked by the mid-term elections which may give you a clue to how out of touch he is. He may be in for another surprise come November. But then, who knows? The numbers are almost split down the middle. A mis-step on either side could swing it. Pax.

  38. sparks1093 says:

    President Obama has sat at the table and showed everyone his cards. It’s that simple. Yes, he makes concessions now but what happens on January 20th, 2013 when he is a lame duck and no longer responsive to public opinion? A stroke of his pen brings us right back to square one. Anyone that trusts this president is easily mislead, and he will lead us all over the precipice.

  39. Pingback: Vichy Catholics | The American Catholic

  40. irishsmile says:

    Obama is the commander-in-chief who is standing safely behind his ‘Catholic’ pawns in this battle. The Judas goats include Keehan, Sebelius, Kmiec, Jennings, Pfleger, Biden, Pelosi, Commonweal, America, the Catholic Health Association and Catholic Charities. Thes folks and organizations are very good Democrats but heretical Catholics. A strong counter-attack against these political toadies, from the USCCB is imperative! These Judas goats are the ‘Catholic’ legs of the Democratic Party. Please, Please censure publicly these Judas’s who are sell-outs to the Catholic faith. Please, please show solidarity and you will begin to kick out the under-pinnings of this attack on religious freedom.

  41. davwen says:

    In my opinion, the sister has excommunicated herself from the Roman Catholic church. Pray for her and priests who give her communion.

  42. Supertradmum says:

    irishsmile, not all the bishops have signed the statement, either

  43. Margo52 says:

    Since when is Sister Keehan the voice of the Roman Catholic Church, anyway?? Who is the WORLD does she think she is?? The Bishops need to take the crooks of their collective crosiers and YANK her bodily out of the conversation. She does NOT represent the Roman Catholic Church’s Magisterial teaching authority through apostolic succession! She needs to go NOW NOW NOW!!!

  44. Marion Ancilla Mariae says:

    Worst case scenario: The American Experiment has possibly wound its way down to a fizzle, leaving we the people with a few good memories, some nice mementoes (like the Constitution), and a brave new form of government best described as “government by judicial and / or executive fiat”, which is more or less what we have in place now.

    No freedom of speech, or of religion, or of association, except what our Robed Masters and / or Chief Executives deign to graciously bestow upon us. In other words, an oligarchy. A secular oligarchy, at that, hostile to the Church.

    As awful as this sounds, this situation very much resembles what the Holy Family – Jesus, Mary, and Joseph – faced in Israel. The pagan Roman empire occupied and governed Palestine, that is, the land of Israel. The pagan Roman empire collected taxes and made all sorts of other offensive laws, exactations, and requirements of the Jewish people living in that territory. I think that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph would have devoted themselves to being as loyal to God and to their own people and their religion, and they would designed their lives so as to have as little as possible to do with the pagan occupiers, avoiding them as much as they could; neither assisting them, cooperating with them, imitating them, nor troubling themselves about them except to the extent necessary to avoid being imprisoned or fined into bankruptcy (which is what the our Secular Oligarchy is able to do to present-day faithful Catholic Americans).

    How might we imitate the way in which the Holy Family lived under the occupation of the pagan Roman Empire?

    Serving in their military? Absolutely not! Speaking admiringly of Big Government solutions to social problems? Heaven forbid.

    Perhaps Catholic families today are forced – as the Holy Family was then – to pay taxes that go to immoral purposes. To have to do so is against their will, but they have no choice. Maybe one response is for faithful Catholic American families deliberately to keep their taxable income a little lower than it might be, such as by working fewer hours, so as to pay less in taxes to the anti-Catholic Secular Oligarchy. In other words, to scrimp and save and make it at home, instead of work, work, work for a paycheck that the Dark Side will get to take a big bite out of.

    As for the poor and the unfortunate in our society, maybe instead of depending on Big Government handouts to help these folks, maybe we Catholic laypeople get out there and evangelize among them. Maybe that’s something our college students, recent college grads, retirees, stay-at-home Moms while kids are in school do. The LDS (Mormons) have their teenagers spend a year or two on mission. And while we evangelize we set up programs to help these folks help themselves.

  45. Nicole says:

    I think the fact that this “nun” looks more like a woman dressed in drag as a man (and that most of our so-called “nuns”/”sisters” look this way) may be good reason to check her orthodoxy…

  46. shin says:

    This isn’t just about Catholic institutions, it’s about Catholic individual rights whether working in religious contexts or not. What happens to them, and what they are forced to do or accept or not is the real key.

  47. Nicole says:

    Exactly, shin. If this whole meshugga thing is bad for the employers of religious institutions, it’s bad for private sector employers who profess to be Catholic, too. Otherwise all we’re dealing with is a double standard.

  48. shin says:

    Thanks Nicole! It’s reassuring whenever I hear anyone recognize this!

    Let’s pray that if there is another so-called “compromise” which actually does move the bar a bit, this isn’t what we’re supposed to “compromise” with the support or dereliction of duty of authorities and guides or “authorities” and “guides” as the case may be.

    ‘My watchmen are blind, all of them unaware; They are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; seeing vain things, sleeping and loving dreams. These are the shepherds which know no discretion; Each of them goes his own way, every one after his own gain, from the first even to the last.’

    Isaiah 56:10-11

    ‘Son of man, I have made thee a watchman to the house of Israel: and thou shalt hear the word out of my mouth, and shalt tell it them from me. If, when I say to the wicked, Thou shalt surely die: thou declare it not to him, nor speak to him, that he may be converted from his wicked way, and live: the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but I will require his blood at thy hand. But if thou give warning to the wicked, and he be not converted from his wickedness, and from his evil way: he indeed shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul.’

    Ezechiel 3:17-19

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