Religious Freedom (2012-06-21)

 [_01_]     In the Lord’s Prayer, we learn that God is our Father.      Yes, we have a personal relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

But, we also have a communal relationship with our Lord through and with one another.

A spiritual director once advised me to consider if this in order to love particular individuals with whom I might have difficulty. In other words, to love those who do not return our love – or who are somehow difficult to love.

Remember the Our Father. Remember that God loves the other person as a son or daughter. Remember that what you and I might find difficult to forgive – or understand – in other person…that God knows their heart, their mind. God loves this other person for whom he truly is, for whom she truly is.

God will see the good that we have difficulty seeing. The Our Father reminds us of this communal relationship. To love as God loves.

[_02_]     At times, we might prefer to be in a private club. A private relationship.

A private club often has better facilities, better air conditioning, better groundskeeping.

Privacy has its benefits over the public facility, and away from the so-called crowd.

Nevertheless, we are one community. We are one Church.

And, the Lord invites us to be public witnesses in the world, between Van Saun and Kinderkamack and beyond.

Sometimes, this means enduring longer lines, encountering people of diverse backgrounds. 

It may mean doing things that are unpopular.

We are doing this, living out the petition of Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be done in our lives.

 [_03_]     Today – June 21 – is also the beginning of a 2-week period of prayer – until July 4 – in our country to pray for the endurance of religious freedom in our country. Of course, we celebrate all of our freedoms on July 4, Independence Day.

But, this year we are reminded of a particular legal challenge in new legislation.

This does not affect only the Catholic Church or Archdiocese of Newark but also Jewish synagogues, Islamic mosques, Christian churches and faith communities, all people of faith who also have employees with group health insurance coverage.

The challenge exists due to a federal mandate that all health care plans conform to standards that do not meet our Catholic ethical standards and belief in the sanctity of life. In this case, we are particularly concerned about the sanctity of unborn life and the requirement to provide abortion, contraception, and sterilization.

In the past, Catholic and other religious institutions were given exemptions based on the First Amendment.

The new exemption allows very few organizations to qualify for this exemption. This would mean, for example, that the Archdiocese (and parishes of the Archdiocese), certain schools, universities, hospitals would have to offer these coverages in their plans.

What Catholics and other faiths object to is not the legality or availability of these services. They are already legal and available. However, now an employer/institution would be required to participate in and pay for a plan which offers them.  

In a February 2012 compromise, the White House has responded that the employer would participate and the employee would receives the benefit but neither would actually pay. In other words, the services must be supplied by the insurance company free of charge.  Nevertheless, the employer would pay for a total package of services which includes those (abortion, contraception, sterilization) we find objectionable.

[_04_]     The government is mandating that certain things must be included in a health care package.

We might respond, would it not be easier if we all went to the doctor privately, paid privately for services…or that we could individually buy our own health insurance?

In other words, privacy = freedom?

But, the government has been involved in health care, in law-making, and matters of justice for a long time. Consider the government must make laws about medical malpractice or doctor-patient confidentiality.

The government is already involved.

This matter of health care cannot – and will not – be perfectly privatized.

[_05_]     But, we struggle for and pray for is a balance of private/individual freedom and public accountability/standards.

And, we pray that people of all faith will have constitutional freedom to practice their faith not only in the worship space but also the emergency room.

[_06_]     We also are called to pray for those who lack health insurance or access to care. Certainly, private access is better.

Not everyone enjoys private access, private health insurance.

So, the government is making an effort to support the poor, the indigent.

And, we have a responsibility to make our voice heard, publicly, communally, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so that we can speak up for our standards of life and health care ethics in the world.  [_fin_]