http://theundergroundsite.com)" target="_blank" style="color: #888; font-size: 22px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">The Underground -- Catholic hospitals, bishops say conscience clause requirements too narrow |
- Catholic hospitals, bishops say conscience clause requirements too narrow
- Pew study shows that Christians are still the most persecuted group globally
- Malaysia church group condemns Islamic raid
| Catholic hospitals, bishops say conscience clause requirements too narrow Posted: 12 Aug 2011 11:51 PM PDT
Catholic hospitals have joined forces with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to protest rules in the new health care program of the government, because it may require them to lend free birth control coverage to their employees. Leaders from the Catholic health care sector and the USCCB have united to seek a broadening of the conscience clause under the rules of the health care program, particularly with regard to religious exemption, because the language used to describe it is too narrow. Sister Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association, said in a statement, “As it stands, the language is not broad enough to protect our Catholic health providers,” National Catholic Register reported. Keehan said, “Catholic hospitals are a significant part of this nation’s health care, especially in the care of the most vulnerable. It is critical that we be allowed to serve our nation without compromising our conscience,” NCR reported. Keehan’s statement is significant because in the final weeks prior to the passage of the Obama administration’s health-insurance reform bill, she endorsed its passage despite the fact that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opposed it. Keehan told the AP that she still supports the government’s expanded health insurance coverage program. However, she believes that the religious exemption clause needs to be widened, and she plans to lobby for its expansion. Under the government’s proposed religious exemption rule, the clause at issue is the definition of a religious employer, which is described as one who seeks to teach religious values, employs and serves people who share the same faith, and is nonprofit. The definition does not correlate with Catholic hospitals, which employ some 640,000 people of a range of different faiths without discrimination. It also does not cover educational institutions and organizations that serve disadvantaged populations, including the homeless and the hungry. Exemption is too narrow “Although this new rule gives the agency the discretion to authorize a “religious” exemption, it is so narrow as to exclude most Catholic social-service agencies and healthcare providers,” Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, chairman of the USCCB, told NCR. The USCCB is pushing a bill that will strengthen religious freedom within the new health law, called the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R. 1179), which was introduced by Reps. Dan Boren (D-Okla.) and Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.). CHA will proffer comments Keehan, who is with the Daughters of Charity, said the CHA will proffer its remarks to The department of Health and Human Services, which is accepting comments from all concerned parties before it renders a final decision on the conscience clause later this year. Keehan told NCR, “We will be submitting written comments to HHS and will continue our dialogue with government officials on the essential need for adequate conscience protections.” Government spokesman Richard Sorian told the AP, “We look forward to hearing from the public as we work to strike the balance between providing access to proven prevention and respecting religious beliefs.” |
| Pew study shows that Christians are still the most persecuted group globally Posted: 12 Aug 2011 11:51 PM PDT
Christians continue to be the most persecuted group globally either through government restrictions or social harassment, a new study revealed recently. The Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life released recently a new study, Rising Restrictions on Religion, covering the period mid-2006 to mid-2009. The study shows that there has been a general increase in government restrictions and social hostilities towards religion globally, with the largest amount of oppression being experienced by Christians at 66 percent globally in 130 countries. Incidents of violence related to religion also rose by 51 percent, including incidence of death, physical abuse, imprisonment, displacement from homes, and damage of personal and religious properties. While Christians experienced the highest incidence of social and government harassment in 130 countries at 66 percent, they were followed by the Muslim faith group at 59 percent in 117 countries. Together, both faith groups comprise more than half of the global population. The third faith group to experience the highest incidence of widespread harassment and hostility are the Jews, at 38 percent in 75 countries. However, Jews only cover less than one percent of total global population. According to the study, over 2.2 billion people out of a total global population of 6.9 billion live in countries with a rise in hostilities and restrictions towards religion. Only one percent of the global population lives in countries where restrictions and hostilities have decreased. Polarization The Pew study also noted that countries where there was a rise in hostilities and restrictions towards religion already had high to very high levels of the same, even before the survey period that was covered. Almost half of the countries that indicated a decrease in hostilities and restrictions, conversely, took place in nations that had already scored low in these areas before the survey period. This may indicate a possible growing polarization globally. The study was based on 18 publicly-available information sources that have been widely cited, such as reports by the United Nations, the U.S. State Department and Human Rights Watch. Other findings in the study are: Rise in government restrictions
Rise in social hostilities
|
| Malaysia church group condemns Islamic raid Posted: 12 Aug 2011 11:50 PM PDT
Christian leaders slammed recently a raid by Islamic officials in Malaysia on a Christian compound last week. Daniel Ho, senior pastor of Damansara Utama Methodist Church, where the raid took place last Aug. 3, said in a statement that the guests at a dinner being held in the premises were subject to undue harassment. The raid was also slammed by Catholic Bishop Dr. Paul Tan, head of the Johor-Malacca Catholic archdiocese, who said that he feared this could set a precedent and further endanger Christians and other minorities in the country. The incident occurred during a thanksgiving dinner organized by an NGO and held at the DUMC compound in Petaling Jaya, Selangor state (located west of the nation’s capital city, Kuala Lumpur). The NGO, Harapan Komuniti, has no ties to DUMC and simply used the premises as a venue. During the dinner, some 30 Islamic police and religious officials entered the premises without any warrant. They proceeded to take videos and photographs, and noted details of the Muslim guests who were present. The Muslims were advised by the officials to attend a guidance and counseling session at Jais. Just an inspection? The Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) insisted that they were merely conducting an inspection under the 1995 Syariah Criminal Enactment in Selangor. The raid was supported by the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) youth leader Nasruddin Hassan, who said Jais was simply implementing existing laws against proselytizing Muslims. Bishop Tan slammed Hassan for claiming there were attempts to proselytize, saying this was a “rash rush to judgment. The proper thing now is for him (Nasruddin) to provide evidence that has brought him to the judgment there was indeed proselytizing, so that Christians can take the necessary corrective and contrite answer,” The Star reported. Tan also said Jais should apologize for the raid as no attempts were made during the dinner to convert any Muslims who were present. He said that the incident could set the stage for more targeted attacks against Christians and other minorities in the country. During the raid, no explanation was given, except to say that there was a complaint. However, there were murmurings of concerns about conversion of Muslims. In Malaysia it is illegal for Muslims to convert to other faiths. Local newspaper reports within days of the raid alleged that Christian groups were offering money to poor Muslim families in exchange for their conversion. One publication, Berita Harian carried the headline, “Cash bribes, faith pawned. No names were mentioned but a caption on a pixelized photo said, “Jasmine admits receiving aid from a community church in Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya.” Hermen Shastri, general secretary, Council of Churches in Malaysia said in a statement that the raid has resulted in “undue trauma to all guests of the different ethnic communities,” AFP reported. Thank you dinner The dinner was organized and hosted by Harapan Komuniti, a nonprofit organization that lends assistance to the poor, afflicted, needy and marginalized sectors of society. The DUMC was not involved in the planning or hosting of the dinner. It was simply a venue for the occasion. Some 120 people, largely donors, friends and beneficiaries of projects of Harapan Komuniti attended the dinner. The NGO has no ties with DUMC. The hall was used for the event because it was offered for free. Concerns have been raised that the raid is indicative of the increasing Islamization of the country, where 60 percent of total population is Muslim, with only nine percent of total population being Christian including 850,000 Catholics.
|
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Underground To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
Posted via email from The Underground-- Not Your Average Christian Mag
No comments:
Post a Comment