The United States Constitution in general, and the Bill of Rights in particular, is structured in a very peculiar manner. Most of what's there defines what the Government cannot do. Congress shall pass no law respecting an establishment of Religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof: The First Amendment. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed: The Second Amendment...
The mask slipped, in a big way here. This is only nominally about religious freedom and the Catholic Church. It's about Congress shall pass no law vs. Come the Revolution you'll do as you're damn well told.
The HHS ruling on Obamacare is not a Catholic issue.
It is not a Christian issue.
It is not a religious issue.
It is a freedom issue.
Edit: As usual, someone else - in this case, Jill of Pundit and Pundette - makes the same point, although much more clearly than I could. As she comments, you don't even need to consider the problems the latest HHS ruling has with respect to Catholic hospitals... because there is no exemption for individuals under the mandate, either:
In other words, you don't have to run a Catholic hospital or school, or even a non-denominational donut shop, to be affected by the mandate. You merely have to collect a paycheck. Individuals, as Mr. Capretta points out, have no recourse, no way to exempt themselves from paying for whatever the HHS commands them to pay for.
As it amasses more and more power, the last thing the Obama administration is going to worry about is some peon clinging bitterly to his puny little conscience.
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