Unless you live under a rock, you have heard about the battle raging between the Catholic Church and the Obama Administration regarding health care coverage that stands in stark contrast to basic Catholic doctrine. For more information check out my post: http://tcavey.blogspot.com/2012/02/this-isnt-going-away-why-you-should.html
While the media hasn’t given this topic much attention lately, the conflicting views have not simmered over the weeks. In fact, new actions taken by the State Department make some wonder if our government isn’t trying a new tactic to achieve its goals- coercion through hitting the Church’s finances.
Recently the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement released a report naming the Vatican as having potential for money laundering. While several countries (including the United States) were named, some speculate that the timing is fishy. To view the report: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/184329.pdf
No one can say the Vatican has been innocent over the years. It wasn’t long ago that the “Vatileaks” scandal emerged. Also, many have not forgotten in 2010 when $33 million of the Vatican’s funds were frozen in two different Italian banks while an investigation was underway for suspicion of money laundering.
However, the Catholic Church has made great strides to increase its security in order to prevent such scandals and crimes from occurring and no new evidence has emerged to suggest the church’s financial holdings are in danger. In fact, the Vatican is endeavoring to be named among the prestigious “White List” in the European Commission. So why have they been placed on the “financial crimes” list now?
Is it coincident that the Catholic Church was named on this report or is it more nefarious? Is the Obama Administration trying to strong arm the church into complying with its health care mandate?
To shed light on this topic, let’s dig further.
Shortly after the Vatican was listed as a moderate threat for money laundering (there are three levels), JP Morgan announced it is closing the Vatican’s account.
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! JP Morgan has a murky past with the banking bailout (yes that was under the Bush Administration, but the Federal Reserve isn’t under the limits/restrictions of our government and there are ties linking players of JP Morgan and the Fed). Also worth noting, is at the beginning of this month Obama announced a new Mortgage Relief Bailout plan with JP Morgan as one of the recipients. Add to this, JP Morgan is one of the few institutions (along with William Daley) Obama has publically praised so highly. To top it off, last month JP Morgan is listed as one of Obama’s top financial supporters for his upcoming election. Again, is this coincident or politics as usual?
For me, what speaks volumes is a letter penned by Cardinal Timothy Dolan after meeting with White House Officials. Here is a portion of that letter:
At a recent meeting between staff of the bishops’ conference and the White House staff, our staff members asked directly whether the broader concerns of religious freedom—that is, revisiting the straight-jacketing mandates, or broadening the maligned exemption—are all off the table. They were informed that they are. So much for “working out the wrinkles.” Instead, they advised the bishops’ conference that we should listen to the “enlightened” voices of accommodation, such as the recent, hardly surprising yet terribly unfortunate editorial in America. The White House seems to think we bishops simply do not know or understand Catholic teaching and so, taking a cue from its own definition of religious freedom, now has nominated its own handpicked official Catholic teachers.
What I take from this letter is t the Obama Administration isn’t willing to discuss options, they are insisting the Catholic Church violate their conscious which is the underlying reason for the separation of church and state (again look at my previous post if you have questions). To read more of the letter visit http://walkingwithpeter.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/the-tyrannical-future-revealed/ (also check out other posts related to this topic).
I’ve attached links to various articles related to this topic but there are plenty more out you can Google.
I will let you draw your own conclusions about the nature of what is transpiring between the government and the Catholic Church. But I want to leave you with a few questions on my mind:
Is religion being attacked? Should every religion fear restrictions/regulations from our government? Is our Media doing a good job informing us of the facts or are they rubbing elbows? How can you be more aware and sensitive to what is transpiring in our nation?
No comments:
Post a Comment