… [Brent Bozell] added, "The fact is that the Catholic Church has unleashed legal Armageddon on the administration, promising 'we will not comply' with a health law that strips Catholics of their religious liberty. If this isn't 'news' then there's no such thing as news."
It is interesting to note how many non-Catholics realize what's at stake in this fight. For example, Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptists said that instead of a letter from the Birmingham Jail (referring to MLK's 1963 missive, voicing civil disobedience), there may have to be a letter from the Nashville Jail (Dr. Land's residence). Mike Huckabee, Baptist minister, said, "We're all Catholics now."
If the administration (or any administration) gets away with denying the sacred right of conscience to any group, then all Americans should be concerned, regardless of your religious persuasion.
In the totalitarian context of Nazi Germany, Luther pastor Martin Niemoller (who ended up in a concentration camp as a dissident) famously said: "First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out--because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out--because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me." Obviously, our situation is far removed from a totalitarian context. But the principle of the slippery slope applies. Today religious freedom is denied the Catholics, tomorrow the evangelicals, the next day, the Jews, etc.
No comments:
Post a Comment