The abortion war is upon us.

Grab your rosaries and keep your guns in hot standby.

WASHINGTON, November 19, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The possible signing of the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) by President-Elect Barack Obama would be "the equivalent of a war" an unnamed senior Vatican official recently told TIME magazine. (This will be seen as meddling in politics by the Vatican and it's followers, look for a hardening of the stance for the proabort crowd.)

The startling comments make the second time this week that a Vatican official has forthrightly and in the strongest language condemned Obama's extreme policies on abortion. Speaking at the Catholic University of America a few days ago, Vatican Cardinal James Stafford labeled Obama's anti-life policies as "aggressive, disruptive, and apocalyptic," also noting that, "On November 4, 2008, America suffered a cultural earthquake"

With Catholic, but outspokenly pro-abortion individuals occupying two prominent positions (Joseph Biden as vice president and Tom Daschle as Health and Human Services Secretary) the specter of public excommunication or denial of communion for prominent members of the Obama Administration has arisen. (Schism is on it's way for guys like this and their buttkissing apologists who wear Roman collars.)

The focus of the Vatican’s concern, FOCA, is a bill that would do away with state laws on abortion, including laws mandating parental involvement, or banning partial birth abortion. FOCA would also compel taxpayer funding of abortions, and, of greatest concern to Bishops, would force faith-based hospitals and healthcare facilities to perform abortions.

Obama has in the past said that he would make signing FOCA one of the highest priorities of his presidency. (With his track record on the topic of abortion as an Illinois state senator, why doubt him?)

Last week at the meeting of US Bishops in Baltimore, Cybercast News Service asked Chicago Cardinal Francis George, the current president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, if voting for FOCA would bring a penalty of automatic excommunication for Catholic politicians. The Cardinal did not rule it out.

"The excommunication is automatic if that act is in fact formal cooperation, and that is precisely what would have to be discussed once you would see the terms of the act itself," responded Cardinal George. When asked for more, he added: "The categories in moral theology about cooperating in evil, which make you complicit in the evil even though you don't do it yourself, are material cooperation, which is usually remote and therefore doesn't involve you in the moral action except in a very auxiliary and minor way, and formal cooperation, which would involve you even though you are not doing it, in the way that makes you culpable.

"So we would have to take a look at each case, and at each law, to determine whether or not the cooperation is material or formal. We've never done that."

Cardinal George has, however, personally analyzed FOCA and expressed his grave concerns about the legislation. In a message to the Obama Administration at the end of the USCCB meeting George wrote on FOCA, saying it would, "outlaw any ‘interference’ in providing abortion at will. It would deprive the American people in all fifty states of the freedom they now have to enact modest restraints and regulations on the abortion industry. FOCA would coerce all Americans into subsidizing and promoting abortion with their tax dollars. It would counteract any and all sincere efforts by government and others of good will to reduce the number of abortions in our country."

The Cardinal added: "FOCA would have an equally destructive effect on the freedom of conscience of doctors, nurses and health care workers whose personal convictions do not permit them to cooperate in the private killing of unborn children. It would threaten Catholic health care institutions and Catholic Charities."

In light of this possible attempt to revoke conscience rights under the Obama administration, Catholic League president Bill Donohue has urged President Bush to enact regulations, already in draft for months, which would protect the rights of doctors, nurses and health workers from being discriminated against if they refuse to perform or assist in abortions, as well as other morally contentious procedures. "At stake are the religious rights of these professionals," said Donohue.

"To put it differently, were FOCA to become law (it needs to be reintroduced in the House), the culture war that the Vatican official was referring to would come to a boiling point," he warned. "In practical terms, this would mean the closure of every Catholic hospital in the nation: No bishop is going to stand by and allow the federal government to dictate what medical procedures must be performed in Catholic hospitals. (Unfortunately there will be some.) Make no mistake about it, the bishops would shut down Catholic hospitals before acquiescing in the intentional killing of an innocent child. Were this to happen, it would not only cripple the poor, it would cripple the Obama administration."

Donohue concluded: "It is for reasons like these that the Catholic League urges President Bush to move with dispatch in instituting rules protecting the religious rights of all health care workers. If Obama wants to undo them, it will set up a confrontation he will surely regret." (Not knowing the political climate of that time, it may very well prove a useful diversion from other problems this highly inexperienced Chief Executive may have).

Don't look for any long term relief from Bush trying to protect the rights of religious healthcare workers. It will be a firewall that will hold off the proaborts for six months at best, according to this article.

As for shutting down hospitals crippling the Obama administration, Donohue is in lala land if he thinks that'll happen. The shutting down of any hospitals will result in a condemnation of the Catholic Church and their "bigoted" theology. The MSM will be in the tank for that one and you can bet the shit will be in the fan.

Don't look for any relief from the GOP either, they're fast coming to the conclusion that ditching all those embarassing social conservatives who are typified by strong religious beliefs is the only surefire way to win the White House in 2012. We'll be on our own.

Look for Catholics and those like us (Mormons) to become the scapegoat for all of society's coming ills. As the battle lines become more clearly drawn we can expect those bishops in communion with Rome to call for more overt acts on the part of the truly faithful. The others will find "nuance" and "shades of gray" to be considered, they'll straddle the fence and hope to be ignored. I'm really beginning to believe we're in for a major schism here in the USA. We'll have a national Catholic Church and a Roman Catholic Church. The latter will become a target of opportunity

Other blogs have made comparisons about Hitler & Obama, I've always taken them with a HUGE grain of salt. But Hitler was elected in part because of his rock star persona, he promised (& delivered) economic success for Germany. Whenever he needed a scapegoat he was able to use the Jews, homosexuals, gypsies, etc. with enviable success. Seems Obama may be able to follow a similar pattern, though in the present scenario I believe homosexuals will be wildly embraced by our secular society and gypsies aren't too visible in this country.

But theres always those nutty religious folks who cling to their Bibles, especially groups like those fools who follow the guy in Rome, want to take away a "woman's right to choose" and would cheerfully punish all pregnant teenagers with a baby.

And though I doubt Obama will continue past a single term in office, the die will be cast and the oppression will continue. Look for hate crime laws to be enacted, homeschooling to be placed under a microscope while it's practitioners will be heavily taxed for their choice, homilies from the pulpit to be monitored by the new Thought Police. This will continue for the forseeable future.

Now we find out who the real followers of Christ are, many WON'T be Catholic in name. Unfortunately we live in interesting times.



It's time to call on the Church Militant (found via the Curt Jester).





Sue me, it's a serious topic but I figure we might as well go out with a few laughs.