Obama Crosses Line on Church-State

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” US Constitution, Amendment I

Obama Crosses Line on Church-State

Commentary by Sanford D. Horn

February 2, 2012

To paraphrase Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today we are all Catholics.

Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 men, women and children due to the airplane attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, PA, by radical Muslim terrorists, Netanyahu said “we are all Americans.” He said this to demonstrate the mutual support and grieving by decent people the world over.

Today we are all Catholics – at least those of us who are vehemently opposed to the complete overreach of government by Barack Obama and his unconstitutional mandate of state sponsored health care. Now more than ever it is vital that we the people stand united in opposing this heinous demand by an administration so hell-bent on pole vaulting over the fine line of church-state relations.

In yet another step toward total domination of government over the lives of a so-called free people with a constitution compete with a bill of rights, the Obama administration is attempting to destroy the formerly protected conscience clause by demanding that all health care plans include coverage for sterilization and contraception – including those that induce abortions.

This edict will force Catholic institutions such as schools, charities and hospitals to act contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church. This odious law is tantamount to government interference with church business.

So why am I, a non-Catholic, so apoplectic about this? First, this is a monstrous blow against religious liberty potentially affecting other religions. The slippery slope will lead us all into the depths of hell in a nation under siege by its government. This isn’t Communist Russia after all.

Second, it begs the question what religion will come under fire next? Will the insidious Obama-care outlaw circumcisions as unnecessary and elective in nature? And the Catholics don’t have a monopoly on being pro-life either. Clearly, this is an excessive entanglement impeding the free exercise of faith.

“This is not how our country was founded,” said Rabbi Aryeh Spero, in an interview in the Fox News Channel regarding his staunch opposition to Obama-care in general and the intrusion into the business of religious institutions. Spero is president of the Caucus for America, a conservative organization “dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the historic American civilization,” and “battling for the soul of America,” he explained.

This is an ongoing battle over the morality and culture of the United States – a war on religious liberties.

If the NCAA can jigger its March Madness schedule to prevent BYU from being forced to play Sunday games, surely the federal government can keep from violating the First Amendment to the Constitution by forcing Catholic organizations to act counter its teachings.

Does the federal government have the right to force its citizenry to purchase a product it deems necessary – in this case health insurance? Does not this violate the commerce clause in the Constitution? The Supreme Court will have to right the wrongs of the Obama administration, and sooner rather than later. The Obama administration cannot be allowed to trample over the Bill of Rights in an effort to forever amend the nature of the free society we call the United States of America.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.