Love Each Other As I Have Loved You: A Catholic Lie

I was raised as a Catholic. My family went to church every Sunday for more than half of my life. My mom taught CCD, my grandmother sang in the choir, my grandfathers were Eucharistic Ministers, and my cousins were altar servers.  It’s fair to say that the teachings of the Catholic Church have had a significant role in my moral development. However, I am also an average woman with modern American values. And the values of Americans have changed over time to include groups of people that were previously ostracized. Sadly, not a single institution ostracizes people like the Catholic Church and their current target is women.

The Obama Administration began their “War on Religion” a few weeks ago with the announcement of a mandate in the President’s much scrutinized health care plan that all employers must provide insurance coverage for birth control pills. Naturally, this didn’t go over well with the Catholic Church.

The church famously preaches abstinence until marriage at which point they believe contraceptives of any kind are unnecessary. However, what the male dominated religion may not know is that besides preventing pregnancies, birth control is also prescribed for acne, heavy periods, and regulating estrogen levels. Fifty-eight percent of Catholic women agree with the President’s decision and 98% have admitted to using contraceptives. Therefore, I don’t see the argument. Women want and need birth control pills. Why is it fair that we should pay more for a simple solution to common health issues because they are gender specific?

The Catholic Church has a long history of targeting women though. During my eight years of religious education I was led to believe that women should not have sex before marriage. If a woman chooses to sin, by giving in to the natural human urge, and has sex she should not use contraceptives to protect herself against diseases or unwanted pregnancies. In the case of an unwanted pregnancy women should not, under any circumstances, including rape and incest, get an abortion. Women who have children out of wedlock are going to Hell.

Their hypocrisy is off putting to me. They tell us that we are surrounded by God and that He made everyone perfectly and loves equally and as his servants, they are supposed to be preaching those ideas. Instead they make it their business to ignore the idea of separation of church and state and voice their conservative opinions any time the progressive government makes a decision they don’t agree with. Now they are making the case that the government can’t force a religious institution to provide healthcare coverage that conflicts with their values. I say, as long as Catholic affiliated institutions are taking government funding they should be forced to comply. Additionally, they should respect that women know what is best for them health wise.

By now you’ve probably guessed that I don’t agree with many of the things Catholic leaders preach about and I stopped attending Mass regularly quite some time ago. It wasn’t because I lost faith in God. It’s because I lost faith in the Catholic Church. They have lost sight of what is most important. Their mission is to spread the word of God and last time I checked, that word was Love not Damnation.

 “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” - John 15:12

Kayla Mattioli 

Communication Studies

Wilkes 2012

Barack Obama’s “War on Religion"

Answer this question: As Americans, do we live in a country where we are encouraged to make choices based on our own interests? I would have to argue that the answer is yes. Why am I asking this question? I believe that requires a little background information. Currently, the country is in the middle of a political storm because President Barack Obama signed a bill that would make Catholic hospitals, educational institutions, and other Catholic facilities to purchase health insurance that covers contraceptives and “morning after” pills. If anybody has any sort of background knowledge about Catholics, they know that they believe they are to have as many children as God wants them to have, and therefore ban the use of contraceptives and morning after pills. In other words, the Catholic Church now believes that Barack Obama is attacking their religious rights by forcing them to carry contraceptives and thereby taking away their ability to choose to not promote these types of things.

There are two problems with this situation. The first issue is that President Obama should not be forcing this upon Catholic institutions. While this is not a malicious attack on Christianity, this issue does indeed infringe upon Catholic beliefs. It is the Catholic Church’s right to not carry things they are so strongly opposed to. It could be the equivalent instituting a time for prayer in public schools. The students could choose not have to pray, but there are people that would be offended because religion would be in the schools. In this instance, the students at the universities and people at the hospitals would not have to accept the contraceptives, but would be offended that they are being offered.

While President Obama is wrong, the Catholic Church is also wrong for furthering what some call Barack Obama’s “war on religion.” Right wing media outlets, such as Fox News, are claiming that Barack Obama wants to take away “religious freedom” from Christians. One Fox News correspondent even stated, “This (in reference to the bill), of course, is going over about as well as a BBQ joint in a Hasidic neighborhood.” President Obama is doing this to help people who are in times of their lives when they do not want children.. This legislation comes from a good place. Furthermore, while Obama is forcing the Catholic institutions to carry contraceptives, he is not forcing people to take the contraceptives and morning after pills. If the Catholic universities are doing a good job at instilling its morals into their students, then the students will not take the pills. Barack Obama may not give the Catholics a choice in the matter, but it is ultimately the choice of the people whether to use the contraceptives or not.

After stating all of this, the fact of the matter is everyone involved in this is wrong. President Obama is wrong for forcing this upon people with such strict beliefs pertaining to contraceptives. The Catholic Church is also wrong because President Obama is not attacking religion. His motives are to encourage more people to use birth control.

People get themselves into problems all the time due to unintentional conception. Therefore, if more people use birth control, the problem would be lessened. It truly comes down to whether Catholics at hospitals and universities choose to take the contraceptives.

Days after this whole debacle occurred, President Obama decided that the insurance Catholic institutions would have to purchase would not cover contraceptives and morning after pills, but these things would instead be given to them for free. The right wing is still claiming this is his “war on religion,” but this is really a sign that President Obama acknowledges concerns, but will not back down. I am sure that this issue is certainly not over.

Trevor Kurtz
Communication Studies
Wilkes 2013