“Fortnight for Freedom”

By Dr. Myron Kuropas

On June 22, Lesia and I attended a “Red Mass” at the Newman Catholic Center on the Northern Illinois University Campus.  The Mass is celebrated annually in honour of St. Thomas More (1478-1535), patron saint of the legal profession and law enforcement officers. 

The 1966 Academy Award winning Hollywood film, “A Man for All Seasons”, was about Thomas More who, as England’s Lord Chancellor, refused to endorse King Henry VIII when the King abandoned the Catholic faith in order to divorce his first wife.  Sir Thomas More was later convicted of high treason and executed.  He was canonised in 1935.

The Red Mass was especially well attended this year because it was part of “Fortnight for Freedom”, two weeks devoted to the support of religious freedom which many of us believe is under attack by the Obama Administration.

The major problem resides with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which recently mandated that all private health coverage plans, even those of religious institutions, must provide contraceptive services, abortion-inducing drugs, and sterilization.  All institutions that fail to comply face heavy fines.  Honouring the mandate, of course, would be a violation of deeply held Catholic beliefs.  Catholic bishops who attempted to reach an accommodation with the Obama Administration failed.   

Catholics are not alone in their objections to the HHS mandate.  “What’s truly remarkable about the current assault,” said Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention, “is that for the first time, the attacks are emanating from the highest levels of government.”

Yeshiva University professor Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik summarized it well. “Blessed by two centuries of First Amendment protections in the United States, Jews must speak up when the liberties of conscience afforded their fellow Americans are being threatened.”

Religious liberty is the cornerstone of American democracy. The First Amendment is clear. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...”

Some Ukrainian Canadians I know have wondered why so many Americans are still wary of socialised medicine.  “It’s wonderful”, they tell me, “and it works incredibly well in Canada.”

Perhaps.  But it won’t work in the United States because of the kind of culture driving the present administration in Washington, D.C.  When the entire Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - “ObamaCare” as it has come to be known - goes into effect, health costs will be reduced for some.  Most Americans, however, will find their premiums increased and their services reduced.  Bureaucrats in Washington and in State Capitals, not doctors, will determine which health benefits are cost effective.  Panels will decide when certain medical exams, procedures, and drugs should cease to be offered.

Once ObamaCare is fully implemented, a four-fold increase in the federal bureaucracy is inevitable.  Health programs for senior citizens (Medicare) and low-income citizens (Medicaid), which have operated fairly well since their inception, will be greatly affected. On April 23, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reported that health care costs will increase by $311 billion.

The difficulty with Medicaid is that it’s administered by individual States, many of which are cash-strapped.  Illinois and New Jersey, for example, are facing bankruptcy.  Small wonder that the Attorneys General of twenty-seven States have questioned the constitutionality of ObamaCare and are suing the federal government.  The United States Supreme Court is currently considering their case and a decision is imminent.

Many of us believe that the question of religious freedom goes beyond the HHS mandate. During the past few decades, there has been a slow chipping away of what were once accepted religious observances in the United States.  Political correctness has led to the banning of the Nativity Scene in the public squares.  “Happy Holidays” has replaced “Merry Christmas” as the acceptable greeting during the holidays.  Decades-old crosses have been banned in certain areas of the country.  Public prayers are forbidden at football games.  Photos in a reputable art museum include a crucifix submerged in urine.  I could go on. What’s happening in the U.S. could have an impact on our Ukrainian churches in the long run.

And finally, Hollywood’s bullying of Christians is increasing. Gone are the kindly Barry Fitzgerald and Bing Crosby priests in movies of the past.  Today, we have a homosexual priest struggling against church oppression (“Priest”), and Jesus Christ enjoying sexual fantasies while dying on the cross (“The Last Temptation”).  According to conservative Jewish columnist Don Feder, Hollywood’s prevailing world view revolves around sexual liberation, a live-for-the-moment ethos, the cult of “Me”, gender sameness, and militant secularism, ideals rejected by authentic Christians.

I hope that “Fortnight for Freedom” is the beginning of a cultural turn-around.  It’s time believers in the United States reasserted their rightful place in America’s public arena.  Regardless of statements to the contrary by President Obama, the United States remains a Judeo-Christian nation.