Blogs For Victory

Imagine, the nerve of these Catholics; thinking they have a right to believe as they wish and live their lives uninstructed by the State:

…Belmont Abbey College is nestled in the plush green rolling hills of Belmont, North Carolina. The campus could provide the backdrop for a film depicting the idyllic Catholic College. Founded by and still served by Benedictine Monks, it provides a visual witness to the beauty of the Benedictine mission of “work and prayer” and the Order’s significant role in helping to birth the great European Universities out of the Monasteries of the Middle Ages. The Monastery on campus is a symbol of the dynamic Catholic faith, life and culture which characterizes this Catholic College.

What is more appealing than even its beauty is Belmont Abbey’s dedication to handing on the fullness of Catholic faith, thought and culture to their student body. It has an overt commitment to teaching the fullness of the Catholic Christian faith and infusing in its graduates a Catholic worldview….

…In 2007, a faculty member discovered that under the College’s existing Health Insurance Plan, anti-life and anti-family products and procedures were potentially covered, including abortion, contraception and sterilization. The College, a Catholic institution committed to the infallible teaching of the Catholic Church concerning the sanctity of life, removed the provisions…

…a complaint was filed by eight faculty members with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) alleging that the exclusion of these “services” constituted discrimination against women in violation of both North Carolina and Federal law. An investigation ensued.

In March of 2009 the College Administration received a “Dismissal and Notice of Rights” determination letter from the EEOC indicating that they were closing the file. As a constitutional lawyer of almost thirty years, I know that such letters usually indicate the Commission’s intention to dismiss the claim. The College understandably interpreted it as an indication that the Commission found that the College’s decision to amend the plan did not violate the law.

So, imagine the shock as summer was winding to an end and the Administration received a “determination letter” from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing them of discriminating based upon gender. Reuben Daniels Jr., of the EEOC Charlotte District Office Director wrote that the Commission had determined that Belmont Abbey College discriminated against women: “By denying prescription contraception drugs, Respondent (the college) is discriminating based on gender because only females take oral prescription contraceptives… By denying coverage, men are not affected, only women.”

So, we can be Catholic all we want – but unless we make provision for supporting hateful, anti-Catholic actions, we’re in violation of the law. This is just a foretaste of what the left wants to bring against all believers and all religious institutions. It won’t be illegal to believe in God, but it will be illegal to act upon one’s faith.

Note the way this attack is made – while the Catholic Church is opposed to all artificial birth control, the EEOC is saying that since a particular type of birth control is used only by women, it is discriminatory against women – deliberate and with malice, or the EEOC would have no basis for complaint – to deny that particular type of birth control. This is Alice in Wonderland nonsense – the sort of thing only insane people can think of. In this case, people who are insanely opposed to the Catholic Church and will use any club which comes to hand against it.

We must pray for the good people at Belmont Abbey – and also pray for the misguided fools who brought this case.