Cardinal George criticizes Sebelius’ declaration of “war on citizens”

Francis Cardinal George of Chicago, in his June 17, 2012, column in Catholic New World, writes:

Our current economic problems and political impasses bear devastating witness to a society obsessed with controlling every aspect of experience and life. This drive is deadly and destroys trust, which is betrayed in order to advance one’s own projects. Belief in Christ’s presence and in God’s providence, by contrast, frees people to trust that they can take care of those whom God has given them to love without fear of losing their deepest selves. Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and to the Sacred Heart of Jesus places us within the safety of God’s infinite love and gives us courage to risk our own lives for the salvation of others. Faith makes us free.

As everyone knows, freedom to express our faith through the public ministries of the church is now outlawed. Contesting the current HHS mandate in which the government usurps the right to determine which of our ministries are truly “religious” and which are not is a series of lawsuits being brought by dioceses and universities and other Catholic organizations. That it is necessary is clear in a declaration from Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, quoted in many of the plaintiffs’ legal briefs, that “We are at war.” So far as I know, this is the first time that a U.S. government official has declared war on citizens of the United States who do not agree with government policy. The public conversation continues to be manipulated by the government and many in the media, hiding what is at stake in the mandate to strip religious institutions of their identity so that they can be forced to act against their religious beliefs.

Read the entire column.