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Fact Checking. The Catholic Bishops Do A Job America’s Media Just Won’t Do.

By: streiff (Diary)  |  October 12th, 2012 at 02:30 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Last night in the Vice Presidential debate, America’s Rain Man, Joe Biden made a rather astonishing claim about the Obamacare mandate that martyrs religious freedom in favor of sexual gratification:

“With regard to the assault on the Catholic Church, let me make it absolutely clear. No religious institution—Catholic or otherwise, including Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital—none has to either refer contraception, none has to pay for contraception, none has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide. That is a fact. That is a fact.”

Of course this is a lie. As I pointed out last week, this was one of the dangers facing Paul Ryan. Ryan is a decent man who was prepped for the debate by another decent man. Decent men tend to expect their opponents to be honorable and not us barefaced lies as an argumentation technique.

As Ryan pointed out, this is rather a distinction without a difference. They don’t have to pay for contraception, but they do have to carry health insurance policies that are legally required to cover contraceptive services. The fact that these services are baked-in expenses rather than add-ons means nothing.

This prompted the US Conference of Catholic Bishops to issue a press release today challenging nominal Catholic Joe Biden on this egregious lie. This is unprecedented in the history of presidential debates. Responding to his laughably false “That is a fact” statement:

This is not a fact. The HHS mandate contains a narrow, four-part exemption for certain “religious employers.” That exemption was made final in February and does not extend to “Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital,” or any other religious charity that offers its services to all, regardless of the faith of those served.

HHS has proposed an additional “accommodation” for religious organizations like these, which HHS itself describes as “non-exempt.” That proposal does not even potentially relieve these organizations from the obligation “to pay for contraception” and “to be a vehicle to get contraception.” They will have to serve as a vehicle, because they will still be forced to provide their employees with health coverage, and that coverage will still have to include sterilization, contraception, and abortifacients. They will have to pay for these things, because the premiums that the organizations (and their employees) are required to pay will still be applied, along with other funds, to cover the cost of these drugs and surgeries.

I’ve also drawn some comment from the left for my avowed intent to ban anyone who quotes a media “Fact Checker” in any post on this site. So how do they treat this incident?

The shameless Democrat shills and bootlicks at Politifact didn’t even bother to rate this howler.

The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler finds “there are still unsettled issues in this matter” despite acknowledging precisely what Paul Ryan said:

The Obama administration made a decision to fully exempt religious institutions such as churches from this rule. It also said it will exempt religiously affiliated organizations such as Catholic schools and hospitals, but their insurance providers must still cover birth control with no out-of-pocket costs for the insured.

This is incredible. The Vice President tells a brazen lie, a lie he is called on by the organization representing the Catholic bishops in the United States and the media refuses to even acknowledge.

COMMENTS

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  • streiff

    http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2006/edpeters_excommun_nov06.asp

  • kowalski

    It was one of those things he said with such conviction that it could have blown Martha Raddatz’ hair out from the roots. He said it with such rectitude. He repeated himself! That is a fact. That is a fact. There was to be no further questioning about it about it from her. The logic was crushing. It was The Answer.

  • http://libertynews.com/ mbecker908

    Well,

    To those wanting the immediate excommunication of pro-abortion politicians, I have to say that canon law simply does not read that way. To make a long story short, an excommunication for abortion has to be linked to a specific abortion and, given the structure of American government and medical institutions, one simply can’t link a given legislator’s vote with a specific abortion within the limits of causality recognized by canon law.

    [...]
    In the meantime, though, as I have also pointed out many times, there are most certainly immediate actions that the Church can take against pro-abortion politicians, and I’m happy to say that some bishops are doing that. I have in mind here, for example, the withholding of the Eucharist…

    I don’t pretend to be an expert, or even knowledgeable on cannon law, but I find the first paragraph to be rather incredulous. He’s reading the law to give a pass to the very people who make the murder of the innocent possible after noting above:

    …a given Catholic committed an action for which automatic excommunication is the penalty (for example, heresy, schism, abortion)…

    Abortion equals automatic excommunication but facilitating the abortion draws a pass. BIG disconnect.

    That said, how about withholding the Eucharist and public condemnation of the offending politician? If, as the author notes in the linked piece that the whole point of excommunication is to reform the sinner, and if we assume the offending politician is indeed a sinner by denying Church doctrine, how can the Church remain silent and how can they justify withholding all punishment?

  • jaykali

    Would be nice if the MSM actually covered this pretty huge controversy…

  • ohiohistorian

    Thank you, Catholic Bishops, the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church, and the others that have stood up for religious freedom. We salute you, contrary to the Vice President, who says that you are a bunch of liars that his beloved ObamaCare takes away your religious freedom.

    The Vice President is a renowned liar, and this is just one more. That the lie is against the church that he loves, and to which he contributes in such a niggardly manner. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=5791846&page=1#.UHioOFHFhXs $369/year for all charitable contributions! He doesn’t even feed the hungry through his food pantry.system. He thinks that Jesus came to tell Rome to love thy neighbor.

    The people that believe this sanctimonious fool deserve to get their ears fully fertilized.

  • fightnright

    It’s one thing ~not~ to excommunicate (and contrary to being the bulldog Benjamin XVI has often been called, re: excommunication he has seemed more of a pussycat) and another to award honors and accolades. Watching Obama being cheered by the crowds of ‘the faithful’ at the ceremonies that afternoon was a truly sickening experience for me.

  • streiff

    This guy gives an excellent description of excommunication. That’s why the nun on the hospital board in Phoenix was excommunicated… she was involved in a specific abortion… and why Nancy Pelosi is not.

    More detailed version http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05678a.htm

  • streiff

    you’ll get no disagreement from me on that point, though this year about a half dozen Catholic schools have been forced to rescind invitations to speakers because of their beliefs.

  • M_Becker

    I could quibble, but I won’t, over excommunication, I’m pretty sure this Baptist’s opinion doesn’t count.

    I will quibble over being allowed to take communion though. That’s pretty clearly an abdication of their responsibility.

  • The_Gadfly

    That kind of hair splitting is why I don’t think I could ever convert to Catholicism. (Of course, my first church teachings were Lutheran, but I’m comfortable in any number of the churches which grew out of that schism.) At some point, precisely because he affects so many people in a diffused way, a leader must be held accountable for the cumulative effect his decisions have on society. In the case of the church, this means the church needs to hold him accountable for his moral effects.

    I still respect the Catholic Church, will make common cause with them on most issues, and when their doctrine is logical and sound adopt it for myself as well.

  • basil

    And N.D. alum and friends should remind the N.D. caller of this each time before politely saying no to any requested donation.

  • edintexas

    Of course it was ignored, it doesn’t advance the re-election of Dear Leader. Anything which does not advance that re-election is an item to which the Drive-by Media must be dragged kicking and screaming when it is no longer possible to pretend it didn’t happen/doesn’t exist.

  • jaykali

    It’s funny to me bc there is such a huge Catholic bias in the media to begin with, evangelicals are largely ignored even though they constitute a huge part of the Christian population. And yet even when you have a huge story with Catholics in the middle of it – it isn’t covered at all.

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