Save Your Stamps, Catholics

Good reporting, Amy. Thanks for the link. I didn't realize FOCA was such a non-issue in reality.

So maybe this is a post that shouldn't have been written either, huh, amy?

"Congress isn't about to pass the Freedom of Choice Act because no such bill has been introduced."
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"In some respects, President Obama only has himself to blame for the current controversy."
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What can I say, Amy Sullivan?

What percentage of the people who are anti-abortion activists are actually familiar with the issues presented in the following article:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ensoulment
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I am still astounded at the degree to which legitimate fascinating questions about human existence can get smashed into non-existence by the force of tradition promulgated, I might add, by demonstrably fallable humans.
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I'd be interested in Amy's reaction to this passage from the Wiki:
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It is important to note when discussing the Roman Catholic Church history of ensoulment within the abortion debate, that the Church teaches that ensoulment is at conception. This is taught as an article of dogma which is required belief by all its members. The Church draws a clear distinction between articles of dogma and articles of doctrine. The Church requires belief by its members of all dogma, which it considers infallible truth. Doctrine, including canon law, has differing levels of certitude, and may be open to some debate.
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I personally regard any claims of infallible truth to be blasphemous, but then again, I'm just a wiseguy.

This is sort of confusing to me.
"The campaign against FOCA, which would essentially codify the Roe v. Wade decision by saying the government can't place limits on abortions performed before viability, began shortly after Barack Obama's election in November, at the annual general meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). In a unanimous decision, the bishops voted "to mobilize the resources of the USCCB, dioceses and the entire Catholic community" to oppose the Freedom of Choice Act.'
And then at the end of the story.
"Catholic News Service — the official news agency affiliated with the USCCB — ran an article that began, "Internet rumors to the contrary, no Catholic hospital in the United States is in danger of closing because of the Freedom of Choice Act." Sister Carol Keehan, president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association, told the news agency that the legislation "has never contained anything that would force Catholic hospitals or Catholic personnel to do abortions or to participate in them." She added, "I don't believe that FOCA will pass."
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So is the US Catholic Church in an all out war or is it dismissing FOCA as not happening?
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Or am I misreading?

Good stuff, Amy. I know an Irish girl like yourself couldn't be naive enough to be fooled by the church, all the time. Though you are fooled most of the time, which is shameful enough for someone from the same stock as Oscar Wilde and Shane Magowan.

Look on the bright side. If the church is wasting time and money on an issue that doesn't exist, they're less likely to get up to some serious mischief on an issue that really does. The secular world does have it's upsides.

Andy: No, because churches are handing out leaflets about FOCA. It's good to inject some truth into a story.
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Paul: I think what you're seeing is simply that Catholics are not a monolith. USCCB says one thing, "internet rumors" say something else, and someone from CHA says a different thing.

Thanks Art, I think you are right.
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Just that the CNS which AS says is "the official news agency affiliated with the USCCB" prints a story that says FOCA ISN'T a problem while the USCCB is rallying the troops around the idea that it IS a problem it left me unsure how big a deal this is.

AS -- this had the potential to be an exciting post. Perhaps had you tied the uproar over non existent danger in this instance with the right wing SOP it might have been more relevant.
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As a non catholic I could care less, but I figure Catholics tend to care what the leadership has to say: An assumption I've made from seeing them turn out in droves to see the Pope. So a post illustrating how a leadership whose role is to provide guidance in an increasingly incredibly complex world were duped and used to promote an agenda of groups where the means don't matter.
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You totally lost me with the statement: "President Obama only has himself to blame for the current controversy."
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Does this mean that it's Obama's fault that his enemies are nuts? Who hyperventilate over anything they deem in opposition to their rigid beliefs or is it his fault that they didn't bother to do the research to find out that this was much ado about nothing?
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I have to ask, while the rest of us have gotten used to the right wing pulling crap out of the air and running with it, are we saying that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops also pull crap out of the air and run with it?

Art Pepper -- thanks for clarifying. As a non-Christian who is pro-choice, I wasn't aware of these church activities. Perhaps they should turn their attention to preventing child molestation, feeding the hungry, helping the homeless or those recently unemployed.

Irresponsible, biased, misleading, inaccurate reporting like this is what led me to cancel my Time subscription some time ago. FOCA has been introduced in numerous sessions of congress including the last one, in which Mr. Obama was one of the sponsors (See http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bill.xc?billnum=S.1173&congress=110). Further, Mr. Obama made a campaign promise at a meeting with Planned Parenthood to make its passage a priority for his presidency. It has not YET been introduced in the 111th congerss, but FOCA is very real! If anything, The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has not given it enough attention in the past.
Please check your facts and cease the vitreol.

The only thing I find irksome about this piece is that it fails to note that this is not in the least bit unique, or even rare.
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It's always been my view that the antichoice organizations and leaders are primarily fundraising vehicles. They never engage in policy efforts that would actually be effective in reducing the rate of abortion. For example, if they were serious about reducing the (already small number of) third trimester abortions, I think they could successfully wage a campaign to place more hurdles in front of women who wanted them. Roe permits state regulation of the third trimester.
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Instead they talk about the icky partial birth method, and try to legislate against that, even though such regulation violates Roe, and will not be permitted to actually take effect. Or the South Dakota ban on abortion. That was a pointless exercise; it was clearly unconstitutional under Roe. But it ginned up controversy, which generates money.
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Amy should consider looking at the entire anti-choice industry in this light.

Perhaps some of these groups use the anti-abortion crusade as a fundraising tool. Working on rational ways to reduce unwanted pregnancies instead of focusing solely on outlawing abortions might cut into some of those tithes and donations.

I've been trying to think what this reminds me of and it finally occurred to me-The Fairness Doctrine nonsense.

I really doubt that a chain e-mail and a letter sent by a cardinal to all members of Congress is preventing the Catholic Church from fufilling their obligations to confront poverty and starvation.

Why no comment from Cardinal Justin Rigali about his efforts in opposition to nonexistent legislation?

Several factual errors are in this article:
1) The postcard campaign is much broader than FOCA; it's against all legislation removing common-sense regulations on abortion.
2) The reason that FOCA isn't being introduced is likely due to the success of the postcard campaign.
3) There are idiotic spam emails sent around on issues all the time. The postcard campaign was in place long before this email came out and it had no impact on the USCCB's deliberations.
4) Catholics United's being opposed to the postcard campaign isn't unusual. Their position on abortion is different from that of the Catholic Church.
5) Sister Carol Keehan's position is good for public relations, but most attorneys, including the Office of the General Counsel of the USCCB, disagree with her legal analysis. It works until the Medicare and Medicaid checks stop coming in to the Catholic hospitals because they don't do abortions. The government won't ambush the hospitals; they'll just starve them of any government funding.

Time should be able to provide more objective reporting on these issues.

[...] senior editor took this one step further with a post on Time.com's “Swampland” blog flippantly titled “Save Your Stamps, Catholics.” She linked to her “Mythical Abortion Bill” [...]

[...] senior editor took this one step further with a post on Time.com's “Swampland” blog flippantly titled “Save Your Stamps, Catholics.” She linked to her “Mythical Abortion Bill” [...]

beingreal -
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I be believin' you be mistakin' wi' yer point number 5. Bein' of th' Catholic persuasion meself, this looks t' be nigh similar t' th' red herrin' about th' gay marriage forcin' th' churches t' offer th' weddin's. Catholic hospitals - none o' which provide abortions - be a receivin' plenty o' checks from medicare an' medicaid fer services they be providin'.
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Separation o' church an' state, lassie - th' state can't be forcin' th' church-sponsored hospitals t' offer services tha' no be in keepin' wi' th' church doctrine. They be gettin plenty o' fundin' fer providin other services, an anyone who be a thinkin' they might be a gettin' an abortion from a Catholic hospital be a smokin' a bit o' th' hemp, if ye know wha' I be sayin.
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An' it would be fair sportin' o ye commenters 'ere t' be offerin' th' same level o' live an let live respect wi' respect t' th' church as they be expectin' o' those o' a faith in return. Disagree wi' th' policies 'r beliefs, sure, tha' be fine, bu' insultin' th' institution no be a winnin' tack. Lord knows I luv me Pope, despite th' fact tha' I no be a believin he be quite as special or perfect as himself seems t' think he be .

[...] senior editor took this one step further with a post on Time.com's “Swampland” blog flippantly titled “Save Your Stamps, Catholics.” She linked to her “Mythical Abortion Bill” [...]

[...] senior editor took this one step further with a post on Time.com's “Swampland” blog flippantly titled “Save Your Stamps, Catholics.” She linked to her “Mythical Abortion Bill” [...]

I had suspected FOCA was b.s. when I sat in the pew and the priest wanted us to sign these cards. There just aren't enough votes to make this happen. Not even Democrats want to handle this hot potato unless they're looking for campaign bucks in a really liberal district.

I've often said that those who are virulent on either side of the pro-choice/pro-life issue are contributing to an industry that has it's leaders being paid millions of dollars off the backs of mostly working class people who think their contributions are going toward something worthy.

Instead, it's paying to continue a fight that could never be concluded, even if Roe v. Wade would get a rehearing in the Supreme Court. It's sad, because money being spent on all this could be offered to assist people in poverty. What a waste.

"In some respects, President Obama only has himself to blame for the current controversy." Well put, Sullivan! Word of caution: once you show your cards, the game is over. Stick to the blogosphere and focus on getting more liberal pro-choice candidates in office. That seems to be your strong suit. Leave the news reporting to the professionals. I don't want to hear another word about FOCA, either. Thanks to the success of the pro-life campaign to raise awareness of this radical bill, I think we will both get what we want.