[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 603]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        GOVERNMENT PERSECUTION OF CATHOLIC CHRISTIANS IN AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Poe) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we hear about religious persecution 
throughout the Third World, but there is an anti-religious movement 
right here in the United States. The Catholic Church is being 
persecuted by this government.
  Our great country was founded on the principle of religious liberty. 
This right is in the First Amendment, and the provisions of the First 
Amendment are listed first because they are the most important. Yet, 
the administration is chipping away at this cornerstone of our society 
by violating the religious liberty of those who hold fast to certain 
positions of their faith, in particular, those of the Catholic Church.
  The Department of Health and Human Services recently announced that 
religious organizations will be forced to provide their employees with 
medical insurance that covers free contraceptives and sterilizations.
  While houses of worship are exempt, religiously affiliated 
organizations such as hospitals, universities, and charities are 
mandated to comply with this government edict. This goes against the 
basic tenets of the Catholic religion, as well as other faiths, 
Christian and non-Christian.
  The administration believes that it's enough to give religious 
organizations 1 year's notice to comply with this government 
oppression. But there will never be enough time for the church to 
change its core principles.
  Timothy Dolan, president of the United States Council of Catholic 
Bishops and New York archbishop, said it best: ``In effect, the 
President is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our 
consciences.''
  Mr. Speaker, religious principles are not negotiable. They are not to 
be subject to bullying by any government, especially ours. No 
government has the legal or moral right to target any religions and 
make them violate their religious conscience.
  The administration is violating two provisions of the First 
Amendment: the free exercise of religion clause and the establishment 
of religion clause. The government is prohibiting the free exercise of 
religion because it is punishing Catholics for exercising their 
religious beliefs.
  Government is also violating the establishment clause by establishing 
a government religion, statism, because government is establishing its 
own moral standard that must be complied with or else. Regardless of 
where Americans stand on the issues of contraception, sterilization, or 
the abortion pill, this government oppression should be alarming for 
those who believe the government should not punish religions or 
substitute a religious doctrine for citizens. The government should 
stay out of the business of persecuting religions.
  This recent anti-religious mandate is completely unacceptable, but it 
is only one example in a long line of new government actions that 
disregard freedom of conscience and religious liberty. This comes on 
the heels of the administration's denial of a grant to the United 
States Council of Catholic Bishops to aid victims of human trafficking. 
Not only have they been awarded this grant in the past, but their 
application has received the highest quality score.
  Mr. Speaker, this money is used to help victims from the scourge of 
human slavery. But the church was denied this grant because their 
religious convictions do not provide contraceptives or refer women to 
abortions. Apparently, under this administration, in order to aid 
victims, it is necessary for religious groups to violate their 
religious convictions.
  These are only two of the most recent assaults by government, our 
government, on religious liberty and conscience. As soon as this 
administration came into office, a proposal was submitted to rescind 
conscience regulations for medical professionals. Protections for 
medical professionals who would not violate their conscience by 
distributing emergency contraceptives was rescinded. This was just a 
glimpse of what was to come in deliberate disregard for the First 
Amendment.
  This administration's attack on religious liberty is a strike at the 
core principles of our Nation. Government is putting basic freedoms in 
jeopardy and bruising the U.S. Constitution. No government should force 
its citizens to violate their religious beliefs.
  Who would have thought that this Nation, founded on religious 
liberty, would now be engaged in religious persecution against certain 
citizens and against certain churches?
  This ought not to be. But that's just the way it is.

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