Cardinal George Urges Catholics to Tell Administration: Keep Conscience Protections for Health Care Workers

“Respect for personal conscience and freedom of religion as such ensures our basic freedom from government oppression. No government should come between an individual person and God–that’s what America is supposed to be about,” Cardinal Francis George said. “This is the true common ground for us as Americans. We therefore need legal protection for freedom of conscience and of religion–including freedom for religious health care institutions to be true to themselves.”

“I ask you please to lLet the government know that you want conscience protections to remain strongly in place. In particular, let the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington know that you stand for the protection of conscience, especially now for those who provide the health care services so necessary for a good society,” he said.

Obama to Lift Ban on Funding for Embryonic Stem Cell Research – washingtonpost.com

“President Obama is planning to sign an executive order on Monday rolling back restrictions on federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research, according to sources close to the issue.

Although the exact wording of the order has not been revealed, the White House plans an 11 a.m. ceremony to sign the order repealing one of the most controversial steps taken by his predecessor, fulfilling one of Obama’s eagerly anticipated campaign promises.

The move, long sought by scientists and patient advocates and opposed by religious groups, would enable the National Institutes of Health to consider requests from scientists to study hundreds of lines of cells that have been developed since the limitations were put in place…”

The Proposed Rule to rescind the Conscience Regulations has been published in the Federal Register.

Operative excerpts of the regulation state:

“The Department is proposing to rescind in its entirety the final rule entitled “Ensuring That Department of Health and Human Services Funds Do Not Support Coercive or Discriminatory Policies or Practices in Violation of Federal Law,” published in the Federal Register on December 19, 2008 (73 FR 78072, 45 CFR Part 88). Commenters asserted that the rule would limit access to patient care and raised concerns that individuals could be denied access to services, with effects felt disproportionately by those in rural areas or otherwise underserved. The Department believes that the comments on the August 2008 proposed rule raised a number of questions that warrant further careful consideration. It is important that the Department have the opportunity to review this regulation to ensure its consistency with current Administration policy. Accordingly, we believe it would benefit the Department to review this rule, accept further comments, and reevaluate the necessity for regulations implementing the statutory requirements. Thus, the Department is proposing to rescind the December 19, 2008 final rule, and we are soliciting public comment to aid our consideration of the many complex questions surrounding the issue and the need for regulation in this area.”

Public comments may be submitted via email at proposedrescission@hhs.gov

Also, see the proposed rule for detailed information about other submission options.

According to the Proposed Rule comments should address the following:

1. Information, including specific examples where feasible, addressing the scope and nature of the problems giving rise to the need for federal rulemaking and how the current rule would resolve those problems;

2. Information, including specific examples where feasible, supporting or refuting allegations that the December 19, 2008 final rule reduces access to information and health care services, particularly by low-income women;

3. Comment on whether the December 19, 2008 final rule provides sufficient clarity to minimize the potential for harm resulting from any ambiguity and confusion that may exist because of the rule; and

4. Comment on whether the objectives of the December 19, 2008 final rule might also be accomplished through non-regulatory means, such as outreach and education.”

A mythical United States Congressman from New York, Jerry “Loch Ness” Nadler, is going to reintroduce Barack Obama’s “mythical” Freedom of Choice Act “sooner rather than later,”  according to his mythical spokesman Ilan “Sasquatch” Kayatsky.  Senator “Bigfoot” Boxer is expected to follow suit–it’s a mythical “priority” for them, and for their new President.

Urban Legend expert Michael “Stokes Prometheus’ Fire” Paulsen explained how this mythical FOCA would be disastrous for the Land of Nod.

Several alleged critics were skeptical, however.  Their existence could not be verified to obtain a comment, but it is rumored that Time Magazine’s ficticious “reporter” Amy “Narcissus” Sullivan has already begun Calliap-orating on an article, working with storybook “Catholics”  from Commonweal “Magazine,” David “Phantom” Gibson, Eduardo “Bogeyman” Peñalver and Cathleen “Specter” Kaveny.  

Their inspired tome is expected to muse upon how the Catholic Bishops should relocate to Roswell, New Mexico and stop wasting their time fighting imaginary ghouls like abortion.  That way, “real-world” pro-life Catholics like themselves and Kathleen Sebelius can get down to the important business of defining their own concept of the universe and resolving the “mystery” of which human beings have a right to life.

OSV Daily Take: Archbishop Naumann on Sebelius’ appointment

Obama’s Amazing Improvement Among Traditional White Catholics – Steven Waldman

“For years, pundits believed that the only Catholics a liberal Democrat could win en masse were theologically liberal, “Cafeteria Catholics” who don’t attend mass or listen to the Pope very often.While Obama did clean up with those lefty Catholics, a new survey by Professor John Green of University of Akron, shows that he also made stunning improvements among more traditional white Catholics.”

Good news for David Ogden, bad news for American families. 

The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times : DAG Nominee Ogden Wins Committee Vote, 14-5

“Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the committee’s ranking Republican, said the committee had received 11,000 phone calls, letters, and other contacts opposing Ogden. But, citing an opinion piece <http://www.law.com/jsp/dc/PubArticleDC.jsp?id=1202428401266>  in Legal Times, he said he was swayed by the principle that a client’s views cannot be attributed to a lawyer.”

Wrong.  First of all, Mr. Ogden has been nominated to a position whose duties are distinct, in some respects, from that of a federal judge.  The DOJ DOES have some policy role, and certainly some discrectionary power, particularly when it comes to specific cases.  Furthermore, the record of David Ogden suggests that he is likely to use this discretionary power broadly to seek policies, say by choosing not to prosecute a purveyor of child porn, that will endanger American families.

Ed Whelan made mince meat of these arguments on multiple occasions.  Here on our memo:

“One reader objects that the Fidelis memo largely faults Ogden for positions that he has taken in private practice representing clients, and I suspect that many other readers would make the same objection.  I do think that we need to be respectful of the range of arguments that an attorney must properly make on behalf of a client.  But the prior question here is how it is that Ogden has such a stable of hard-Left clients.”  

“My experience and impression are that a lawyer in private practice has broad freedom to represent, or not to represent, particular “ideological” clients.  I don’t buy into the prevailing ethos among lawyers that the practice of law is a moral-free zone.  So I think it’s fair to hold Ogden accountable for the hard-Left ideological cast of many of the clients and causes he has chosen to represent—and all the more so insofar as the representation has been unpaid or discounted.”

Also, here and here

The Archbishop of Denver, speaking in Toronto, thinks that some of the President’s zealous supporters might need take a breath and ease off their hero worship. He told the audience, “in democracies, we elect public servants, not messiahs.”

A spirit of adulation bordering on servility already exists among some of the same Democratic-friendly Catholic writers, scholars, editors and activists who once accused prolifers of being too cozy with Republicans.  It turns out that Caesar is an equal opportunity employer. 

Archbishop Chaput said that Americans elected Obama to fix the economy, not to radical alter society.

Americans, including many Catholics, elected a gifted man to fix an economic crisis. That’s the mandate. They gave nobody a mandate to retool American culture on the issues of marriage and the family, sexuality, bioethics, religion in public life and abortion. That retooling could easily happen, and it clearly will happen — but only if Catholics and other religious believers allow it.”

Read the press account of the speech, or read the whole speech. It’s gold.

This just out from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office:

WASHINGTON, DC –House Republican Leader John Boehner (OH) and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) announced today that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal will give the Republican address following the President’s first address to Congress on February 24, 2009.  The Governor will speak to the nation from Baton Rouge, LA.

In making the announcement, Leader Boehner noted the Governor’s leadership and innovation in public service:

“Gov. Jindal embodies what I have long said: the Republican Party must not be simply the party of ‘opposition,’ but the party of better solutions.  His stewardship of the state of Louisiana, dedication to reforming government, and commitment to bringing forth new and innovative ideas make him a leader not just within the Republican Party, but in our nation as a whole.”

Sen. McConnell said the Governor personified reform and recovery, saying he was a strong choice to offer the Republican address:

“Gov. Jindal’s leadership during a time of recovery in Louisiana, his commitment to real government reform, and his protection of hardworking American families make him an excellent choice to offer Republican solutions for the challenges which lay ahead.”

Wendy Long today in the Washington Times on David Ogden:

This past Thursday in U.S. Senate hearings, the man who has in private legal practice been one of the porn industry’s main advocates sounded like he was trying to edge out Phyllis Schlafly in his desire to protect children from smut and exploitation. Meanwhile, the porn industry calls his nomination “refreshing.”

But facts are stubborn things. Ogden fought to remove porn filters from the Internet in public libraries. He argued that the law requiring producers of sexually explicit material to keep records about the identity and ages of their performers was unconstitutional. He submitted a Supreme Court brief on behalf of the ACLU arguing that a man had been improperly convicted under the federal child pornography statute because the man’s videotapes, “Little Girl Bottoms (Underside)” and “Little Blondes,” which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit had found “clearly were designed to pander to pedophiles,” aren’t really pornography under the Constitution. Then-President Bill Clinton disagreed with Ogden, as did the U.S. Senate, 100-0.

 ”While Mr. Obama has staked moderate positions on many issues, appointing sub-cabinet officials with more radical views amounts to a kind of back-door activism, out of view of the voters. Shortened timelines for confirmation leaves the Senate with little time to consider the thousands of pages of documents that were submitted for consideration prior to these hearings.”

Senate Judiciary Committee to Hear Today From Obama’s Justice Department Sub-Cabinet Nominees Elena Kagan and Thomas Perrelli – WSJ.com

An interesting photo taken of President Obama over the weekend…

Via Yahoo AFP:

The Judicial Confirmation Network is running this ad today in Roll Call:

LifeSite News has the details.

It what will surely provide a stark contrast from President Obama’s first week, President Bush issued a final proclamation, declaring Sunday, Januaury 18 to be “Sanctity of Human Life Day.”

The proclamation reads:

“All human life is a gift from our creator that is sacred, unique and worthy of protection. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, our country recognizes that each person, including every person waiting to be born, has a special place and purpose in this world,” reads the presidential proclamation.

“The most basic duty of government is to protect the life of the innocent. My administration has been committed to building a culture of life by vigorously promoting adoption and parental notification laws, opposing federal funding for abortions overseas, encouraging teen abstinence and funding crisis pregnancy programs.

“The sanctity of life is written in the hearts of all men and women. On this day and throughout the year, we aspire to build a society in which every child is welcome in life and protected in law. We also encourage more of our fellow Americans to join our just and noble cause. History tells us that with a cause rooted in our deepest principles and appealing to the best instincts of our citizens, we will prevail.”

In this year which Catholics celebrate the life of Saint Paul, Christendom’s greatest convert, we pray that Barack Obama will one day issue proclamations like this.