Rep. Ryan to Catholics: act before religious freedoms are eroded

From CNA:

Paul Ryan urges Catholics to act before religious freedoms erode

Presumptive Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan says Catholics must act now to protect their right to religious freedom from being diminished in American society.

“This is a time where people of all faiths – especially Catholics – have to stand up and speak for our rights,” he said. “And if we do, we will rekindle civil society.”

In an August 17 conference call organized by the online fundraising group Catholics2012.org, Rep. Ryan (R-Wis.) said that he tries to apply the teachings of his Catholic faith to his work.

“I’m proud to acknowledge that it’s why I do what I do,” he said.

[…]Ryan warned that this “assault on our religious liberties” constitutes “a serious threat to all peoples of faith.”

“It is a violation of the First Amendment of our bill of rights,” he said.

The vice presidential contender cautioned that the philosophy behind such actions “seeks to displace civil society” and “crowd out our social mediating institutions,” such as churches, charities and hospitals.

These are “groups that connect the person to the community,” he explained, and they play a role in implementing the principles of subsidiarity, solidarity and the preferential option for the poor that should be practiced in civil society.

Ryan said that he “shudder(s) to think what the world could look like” if President Obama is re-elected and his administration is able to continue eroding religious liberty[My fear as well.  But I think the real problem would come during Obama’s third term, if you get my drift.]

There is a need for practicing Catholics to “get the word out” on these important issues, he said.

Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.), who is also Catholic, warned that the mandate presents “an unprecedented form of government coercion.”

“It is a different worldview that is operative,” he stated.

Following the passage of the Affordable Care Act, [OBAMATAX] Fortenberry introduced the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act in the House of Representatives to preserve the conscience rights of employers and health care providers across the country.

[…]“No American should be forced to choose between their faith and their job,” he said. “No one should be forced to choose between their conscience and their livelihood.”

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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20 Comments

  1. iPadre says:

    My fear also! I can picture priests/ bishops put to death for not performing same-sex marriages. Many say it could never happen in the US. Really, it couldn’t!

  2. jessicahoff says:

    I hate to disagree with the next VPOTUS, but your freedoms are already being eroded. Acton [As in the Acton Institute, I’m sure! HERE.] is needed to stop this going further, and I hope the R&R boys are the ones to do it, and to send Obama off on a long vacation.

  3. wmeyer says:

    [My fear as well. But I think the real problem would come during Obama’s third term, if you get my drift.]

    Third term, or the absence of an election in 2016. There are otherwise intelligent commentators who have already speculated on the strategy for 2016, should Obama get a 2nd term. Pollyanna in the flesh! Obama has already ridden roughshod over Congress, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence. And how about those checks and balances? How are those working for you?

    The real core here is that the checks and balances appear to have been nullified, suspended, abandoned. They were created to deal with exactly the sort of tyrant now enthroned.

  4. HeatherPA says:

    Very sobering. A priest I greatly respect made the seemingly offhand comment that they need to get in all the retreats and missions they can before Obama is re-elected and drives all priests underground.

  5. Sissy says:

    wmeyer: I agree with you. If Obama is re-elected, it will be the last Presidential election for a while. Things will go downhill quickly if the calamity of a second administration falls upon us. In Michael O’Brian’s excellent book “A Father’s Tale”, a character explains that it was necessary for the communists to brutally crush the Church before they could fully implement their system of total oppression. Obama’s attack on the Church is no accident, and he must be stopped now.

  6. wmeyer says:

    Sissy, besides A Father’s Tale, I recommend reading Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson.

  7. Facta Non Verba says:

    Congressman Ryan is correct, and I am glad that he is so willing to discuss this issue with such frankness. His frankness is refreshing for a politician, and I suspect his firm roots in the midwest (Wiscsonsin) have much to do with that.

    Please condsider asking your representative in the House to support the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act. I have been in contact with my Congressman, Keith Ellison, but I have received no response from his office. Given Congressman Ellison’s record, I am not optimistic, but I note he was quite willing to offer tearful tesimony to the House regarding discrimination against Muslims. Perhaps he will be willing to support this bill, considering the assault on all religious liberty (again, I am not optimistic).

  8. Sissy says:

    Thanks, wmeyer! I have it on Kindle, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. I’ll move it up to next in rotation! (OT: finally started Jesus of Nazareth by our Holy Father…..simply incredible)

  9. wmeyer says:

    My pleasure, Sissy. It’s a scary read.

  10. Supertradmum says:

    I am afraid that even before the election, if POTUS thinks he will lose, that he and his lackeys will fabricate a war and he will either be voted in, as Americans never change presidents in a war, or he will create a tyranny overnight with laws already passed in place. This is not so weird as some may think. If he is re-elected, we shall no longer have a republic, but yet another inept, tyrannical, socialist nation which does not value either the individual or religions. The State will be god.

  11. wmeyer says:

    It is too late to act before our religious freedoms are eroded; that has been going on for decades. It appears to be the primary focus for the ACLU.

    We can, however, act to prevent further erosion, and to reverse the horrible things which have been done. But we can have no time for feel-good homilies; we need strong men with strong messages, to awaken those still sleeping in their pews. The battle cannot be postponed forever.

  12. JKnott says:

    Nothing is off the table in Obama’s desperation to sink this country. He plans on stealing the election with the help of his Chicago thugs. Add the fact that they are suing to keep the military from voting (the Ohio case), and the opposition to voter identification. Bring in the Latinos with the lawless act of amnesty. How obvious can they get? There is much more to come. We seriously must MUST pray and fast and sacrifice every day and not just talk about doing so. Ryan and Romney seem to be fired up and are doing their part.
    Ryan gave a powerful speech at the Village in FL.
    http://www.therightscoop.com/10am-watch-live-paul-ryan-talk-about-medicare-at-the-villages/

  13. HeatherPA says:

    Every hurricane has an eye, where the violent winds die out and an eerie calm descends with an air of menace disguised in its false sunshine before the violent wind assaults anew. How many decades have we been in the eye of the storm?

  14. wmeyer: “Obama has already ridden roughshod over Congress, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence.”

    Is it beyond the the realm of possibility that a couple of new justice appointments during his second term could result in a supreme court ruling that the two-term limit violates the founders’ intent, and is therefore unconstitutional?

  15. Henry Edwards says: two-term limit violates the founders’ intent, and is therefore unconstitutional?

    Remind me. How much ammunition did the Dept of Homeland Security recently buy?

    Wasn’t it something like 450 million rounds of hollow point ammo .40 caliber?

  16. wmeyer says:

    Were it not likely that it would be taken seriously, Obama appealing to “founders’ intent” would be laughable.

  17. Clinton says:

    Fr. Z, there was a recent spate of articles on the Social Security Administration’s recent
    purchase of 174K rounds of hollow point ammo. As I’m sure you’re aware, hollow point bullets
    are not what one uses if one’s goal is merely to wound — they are designed to expand on
    impact and blow out huge holes as they exit. They are what you load if you mean to kill.

  18. Johnno says:

    Obama may be the face of this corruption, but he is not alone. Getting him out of office won’t magically undo the damage he’s done. Limiting government size and getting them out of matters that concern the Church is. Government can only work well with teh Church under a Catholic Confessional State. But America is secular. It shall always be a government to be tolerated by Catholics, but never allied with. As of now, both the Republicnas backing Romney and the Democrats as a whole are for big government and expanding their power over the people adn the consitution which they no longer acknowledge or follow. It is not enough to just vote for the alternate party. The entire system must be brought down and restructured. Either you do this through the system, or it will end in violence. And if you haven’t noticed steps have been taken to ensure Americans aren’t able to fight back and the goverment has for a while been setting up the seeds for an internal military and prison system to police the people. Something bad is coming, and the authoritarian powers granted to teh President little by little by each administration have long been anticipating it.

  19. wmeyer says:

    Johnno, you observe rightly that removing Obama will not undo the damages done, but it is an essential first step. To leave him in office ensures a virtual torrent of executive orders in his second term.

    Both parties need correction. Both appear to believe in endless growth of government, which of course, can lead only to socialist tyranny, as there will be no producers left, so a fake economy, with currency worth nothing.

  20. Pingback: From Father Z: Rep. Paul Ryan Says Catholics Need To Act Before Religious Freedoms Are Eroded « Catholibertarian

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