"Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again your sword into its place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.”  Matthew 26:52

“The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness….” --Karl Marx

“Religion is the impotence of the human mind to deal with occurrences it cannot understand”-- Karl Marx

The Catholic Church has brandished the Marxist sword and I am very concerned that it will perish with it. What is the Marxist sword? It is the sword of the godless, soulless, secular State. A sword that becomes more tyrannical and immoral as it grows in power. It grows in power by more and more of its citizens demanding that it take care of its wants, which have been with us since the beginning of time. Citizens, most with the best of intentions, want to cure suffering and need by creating complex centralized institutions ultimately designed to take from one and to give to another. The centralized government and the institutions do not take voluntarily, but by force of law. This is not a charitable construct, but willing citizens have acquiesced in this construct due to their concern for their fellow man and belief in Judeo-Christian values. But, is there a point where the centralized government goes beyond the will of the governed?

With a generous heart, our country created Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, as well as countless government programs designed to address the needy. There is no dispute that many of these programs are significantly underfunded and face potential collapse in the not too distant future. Mismanagement, fraud and waste in the hundreds of billions of dollars contribute to their potential demise. Despite this, the Obama administration policies have taken control of the medical industry and have gone down the road toward socialized medicine. Although many Catholics warned of the pitfalls in socializing medicine and the significant increase of power to the federal bureaucracy, the United States Council of Bishops supported this unprecedented increase of federal government power out of the desire to help the needy, but at what cost?

This from the United States Council of Bishops:

“Conscience Protection--Bishops Vow to Fight Coercive HHS Mandate

The Catholic bishops of the United States are speaking out clearly -- both individually and collectively -- against the unjust HHS mandate due to its infringement on conscience rights and religious liberty. … the USCCB, sharply criticized the decision by the Obama administration in which it "ordered almost every employer and insurer in the country to provide sterilization and contraceptives, including some abortion-inducing drugs, in their health plans....Never before has the federal government forced individuals and organizations to go out into the marketplace and buy a product that violates their conscience. This shouldn't happen in a land where free exercise of religion ranks first in the Bill of Rights."…

“The exemption provided for "religious employers" is so narrow that it fails to cover the vast majority of faith-based organizations, including Catholic hospitals, universities, and service organizations that help millions every year. Ironically, not even Jesus & his disciples would have qualified….Now that the Administration has refused to recognize the Constitutional conscience rights of organizations and individuals who oppose the mandate, the bishops are now urging Catholics and others of good will to fight this unprecedented attack on conscience rights and religious liberty….”

Obama's health care plan and his administration’s policies are antithetical to the Church. This is not a surprise if you understand the history and beliefs, or lack thereof, of a socialist/Marxist. Look to Obama’s associates, his cabinet appointments and political stances, including on abortion and partial birth abortion. Where did he stand on partial birth abortion when he was a State Senator? 

Unfortunately, Obama's administration would like the US to become more socialist/Marxist, which does not bode well for the Church.  Throughout history, Marxism/communism has attacked and undermined the Church's role in society.  We see the results in Europe with less and less people attending Church because the State takes the role of administering “Charity”.  Simply put, if the State takes care of all needs, then why do they need the Church?  The State not only becomes hostile to the Church, but competes for financial support from its citizens. Also, the more people are taxed, the less they have for their Church and Charity. 

Recently, a priest criticized capitalism and then when on to say that we need to change our capitalist society to a new system to allow more equality and social justice.  This was disturbing on many levels, especially since Marxism does not have room for God. It is one thing to criticize greed, materialism and an uncharitable heart, but to openly attack free enterprise to be replaced by a socialist system will only result in disaster for the Church, as clearly evidenced by current events and history. How does the Catholic Church fare in socialist/communist societies? The Catholic Bishops supporting “universal healthcare” cedes too much power.  We should not give more power to a godless, secular State.  We should devise a new paradigm that would create non-profit charities in every state that would take care of people without more government power and control.  Increasing the charitable deduction significantly would reduce the federal government's power, and serve more people.  People would also have more money for their Church, and the value of Charity amongst men would be preserved.

Despicably, one of the first things the Obama administration tried to do was float the idea of decreasing the charitable deduction.  Luckily, they were pushed back, but the Statist will try again and try again.  If they are successful in decreasing the charitable deduction, then they increase their power with more money and will continue to undermine the Church. 

It is a grave mistake for the Catholic Church, or any religious sect, to ask a secular government to take more money and more power from its members, only to then beg the secular government not to take positions antithetical to the Church. How many years have dutiful Christians marched on Washington D.C. begging for the secular government to stop abortion? The people that support abortion rights are the same people the Bishops have trusted with our health care. Also, public schools are failing, while Catholic schools are closing, but the secular government won’t allow school vouchers. For example, NYC spends $15,000 to $20,000 per student a year for a failed public school system. Imagine if those monies could be used with vouchers to provide a Catholic education to needy students. The secular progressives will never support this because they want the Catholic institutions to fail.  Case in point, a Catholic foster child program in D.C. had to be handed over to the government because the government required placement in same sex homes.   Catholic bishops in Illinois have shutdown adoption centers rather than comply with anti-discrimination laws requiring equal treatment for gay couples. Euthanasia will also be a concern if bureaucrats make health care decisions.

The position of religious organizations and the Catholic Church should be that they are best suited to take care of the poor among us, and allow greater charitable deductions to go to the institutions caring for the poor. Again, a new paradigm ought to be used to address social policy issues, namely non-profits separate and apart from the federal government set up to pay for such things as insurance policies for the poor and/or pay for health care directly. This would avoid immortal federal, wasteful government agencies and the need to beg the federal ruling class to honor our religious beliefs, which they have already proven that they ignore.

Instead of espousing and acquiescing into the power and role of the federal government, the Church should champion their true role and emphasize the importance of CHARITY from one human to another, rather than the taking by law and force to redistribute anonymously to someone who takes the help for granted. Isn't easier for someone to cheat the federal government, rather than a charitable organization? Have we created a welfare/dependent society? Does this degrade the soul of the person becoming dependent?  The wisdom of the phrase, idle hands are the devil’s workshop, still applies. Wouldn't we also get more value out of each dollar expended if the money went to a local non-profit who are aware of the needs of their people, rather than to send the money to D.C. sinking in the wasteful dark hole of the federal government? Anonymous redistribution of wealth creates ungodly chasms between the people receiving and the ones “giving” at the point of a gun. Resentment can grow between these groups under these circumstances. Aren’t we better Christians if we give voluntarily? There is also no doubt that with more money, the federal government has more power and control, and we then have less Freedom. 

We all applaud the Council of Bishops and the Catholic Church when they speak up for the poor, the needy and the unborn. However, we ought not to outsource the Churches' role of Charity and taking care of the poor to the federal government, as the bureaucracy has been an abject failure in providing the care that the people need, especially spiritually. They also trample the rights of others in the process. The more money the federal government takes from us in taxes, the less we have for our families and our Church. If the Catholic Bishops could champion the increased charitable deductions everyone can make to religious organizations and non-profits, then everyone would be better off.

If there is ever any question as to whether the socialists/Marxists are hostile to the Church, then remind yourself of the number of abortions that are subsidized; remind yourself about the number of Catholic schools are closed while they object to school vouchers; remind yourself the number of adoption agencies that are closed; remind yourself of the history of the Church in communist/socialist societies; and, NOW, remind yourself how President Obama betrayed your trust. 

Please put down the Marxist sword. Bandage the wound. Let us all work together to preserve all Freedom, including religious freedom, and pray that we can rely on the goodness of man, free will given to us by God and the value of Charity.