Chairman’s Thoughts

The Bush administration instituted a rule in its last days that strengthened job protections for doctors and nurses who refuse for moral reasons to perform abortions.  Now President Obama may want to force doctors and nurses to participate in abortions against their will.  Please send your comments to President Obama at president@whitehouse.gov.

President Obama wants to rescind a Bush administration rule that strengthened job protections for doctors and nurses who refuse for moral reasons to perform abortions.

A Health and Human Services official said Friday the administration will publish notice of its intentions early next week, opening a 30-day comment period for advocates, medical groups and the public. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the notice has not been completed.

The Bush administration instituted the rule in its last days, and it was quickly challenged in federal court by several states and medical organizations. As a candidate, Obama criticized the regulation and campaign aides promised that if elected, he would review it.

The news that he was doing so drew praise from abortion-rights supporters and condemnation from groups opposed to abortion.

“It would be a horrible move. These regulations were a long time coming,” said Tom McClusky, a vice president at Family Research Council. “What they seek to do is protect patients, nurses, doctors and other health care professionals from being forced to violate their consciences.”

McClusky and other abortion opponents said the Bush regulation clarified federal policies and raised awareness about the rights of medical providers to follow their consciences. But abortion rights advocates said it was vague and overly broad, and could reduce access to other services — allowing a drug store clerk to refuse to sell birth control pills, for example.

“I think it’s a wonderful step,” Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., who co-chairs the Congressional Pro-choice Caucus and has introduced legislation to overturn the regulation, said of Obama’s move.

“That rule was actually a poorly drafted last-minute attempt to, I think, restrict health care access and I think it would have had far-reaching and unintended consequences.”

Federal law has long forbidden discrimination against health care professionals who refuse to perform abortions or provide referrals for them on religious or moral grounds. The Obama administration supports those laws, said the HHS official.

The Bush administration’s rule adds a requirement that institutions that get federal money certify their compliance with laws protecting the rights of moral objectors. It was intended to block the flow of federal funds to hospitals and other institutions that ignore those rights.

But the Obama administration was concerned that the Bush regulation could also be used to refuse birth control, family planning services and counseling for vaccines and transfusions.

“The administration supports a tightly written conscience clause,” said the HHS official. “While we are concerned about the Bush rule, we also understand there might be a need to clarify existing laws.”

The administration will review comments from the public before making a final decision. Options range from repealing the regulation to writing a new one with a narrower scope.

The administration’s move was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

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Cleveland Bishop Richard Lennon appealed to Catholics this weekend to consider the special importance of issues such as abortion and euthanasia in making their decision on Tuesday.  The bishop’s statement, distributed at masses throughout the diocese on Sunday, said that Catholic teaching opposing abortion “is essential and foundational and can never be compromised.”

Lennon concluded: “As we all prepare for Election Day let us be guided by our Catholic faith and teaching which respects the inestimable value and dignity of every human life.”

I, Joe Soltis, ask you to prayerfully take into account our good Bishop’s words as you vote tomorrow.  It is our job to build a culture of life in the greatest country on God’s earth.

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Judging from what I can tell of the current financial and economic woes of the nation, I am beginning to believe that this presidential election may be a “no-win” proposition — the loser might very well be the lucky one, indeed.

We always will have our economic downturns. They basically are cyclical and we’ve suffered through many since World War II. There is simply no way of getting away from them.

Our current situation, however, is quite different. This time the difficulties are not a few in numbers but entail a rather long list. Neither are they simplistic but instead very complex, and I believe that they will take quite a long time, perhaps even a decade, to resolve.

Instead of looking at a recession, we might very well be looking at a complete economic meltdown more global in nature, rather than national, something that most of us never have seen.

The problems include a very weak American dollar; a trade deficit that will come to roughly $700 billion at year-end; the cost of foreign oil that has literally tripled over the past two years; possible trade wars with countries like China, which own sizable portions of our bond markets; a ballooning federal budget that has gone from $2.1 trillion to $3.6 trillion in just eight years — a whopping growth of 75 percent; a national debt of $9.6 trillion, closing fast on $10 trillion with a debt ceiling placed at $10.6 trillion and which cost the American taxpayer $230 billion in interest alone last year; untold numbers of jobs that are being outsourced to foreign nations through Free Trade acts adding long-term pressure to unemployment; a nation which has maxed out on credit-card debt; millions of Americans losing their homes due to the subprime lending debacle; and last, but not least, tens of millions of baby-boomers now coming close to retirement, which will dry-up America’s tax base while adding huge amounts to Social Security and Medicare outlays.

A growing number of financial institutions, including banks, are tanking-out with government picking up the tab in bail-outs and payments to depositors at taxpayer expense. Bear Sterns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and IndiMac and so many other big names, believe it or not, are only the early warning signs of what I fear is yet to come.

Neither presidential candidate, you will note, has done much talking about any of this either because he doesn’t have an answer; doesn’t want to give us the answers because this may only turnoff voters in the midst of a race for the nation’s highest office; or is simply afraid of panicking the nation, thereby adding fuel to the fire. All reasons have some validity.

If and when this meltdown does occur, whoever is president, of course, will be blamed and blamed heavily for the crisis, taking his party with him. But we should remember that successive administrations over the past 40 years all bear a share of the responsibility.

Both government and we overly consumer-minded Americans as well must realize that we cannot continue to spend what we do not have nor receive that for which we refuse to pay.

Put simply, there is no free ride in this world. And government at all levels, not only in Washington, has failed to understand this. Whoever wins this election had better be prepared to show some real leadership and be willing to take strong action immediately to save the nation from what could be tantamount to a catastrophe.

A good place to begin, I believe, would be freezing the federal budget and begin working toward some deep cuts and re-prioritizing expenses in favor of the nation’s infrastructure. Balancing our federal budget and making some headway against an out-of-control national debt are an absolute must.

There must be a return to sound fiscal policy.

Realizing that this could be political suicide for the new president, I can only say that he most likely will go down in history as the one who saved the nation.

 By: Paul M. Weyrich
Source: http://www.newsmax.com/weyrich/Economic_Crisis/2008/09/22/133116.html

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Join the Cleveland Catholic Forum & Lawyers for Life for lunch with Fr. Frank Pavone from Priests for Life. Fr. Pavone will be talking on the issue of Building A Culture of Life.

When
Wednesday, August 20th At 12:00 Noon

Where
Sammy’s Metropolitan Ballroom
925 Euclid Ave.
Huntington Bank Building
Suite 2100
Cleveland, OH 44115

Cost
Tickets are $20.
Click Here To Order Your Tickets To
“Building A Culture of Life” With Fr. Frank Pavone.

About the Speaker
Fr. Frank Pavone is one of the most prominent pro-life leaders in the nation. He serves as the National Director of Priests for Life. He has traveled to all of the 50 states and to five continents, preaching and teaching the building of a culture of life. In 1999, Fr. Pavone was named among the Top 100 Catholics of the Century. He serves on Dr. James Dobson’s Focus on the Family Institute. The National Right to Life Committee awarded him their highest honor, the Proudly Pro-life Award. The Franciscan University of Steubenville bestowed on him an honorary doctorate, in recognition of his pro-life work. He is a leader of the people and countless lives have been saved due to his work.

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Join the Cleveland Catholic Forum, St. Mary’s Seminary & Bioethics for Life for a presentation of Pope Benedict XVI’s message to America by Vatican-insider Dr. Robert Moynihan.

When
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
7 PM - Talk
8 PM - Refreshments & Book Signing

Where
The Center for Pastoral Leadership
28700 Euclid Ave.
Wickliffe, OH 44092

Cost
Free Admission

About the Speaker
Dr. Robert Moynihan has interviewed and met with Pope Benedict XVI over 25 times, and is the publisher of the esteemed Inside the Vatican magazine. His new hit book “Let God’s Light Shine Forth: The Spiritual Vision of Pope Benedict XVI” is quickly gaining wide acclaim.

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Hi Friends,

The Cleveland Catholic Forum’s July 3rd Holy Hour will be cancelled due to Independce Day.  Please pray for our great nation.

 Thank you,

 Joe Soltis

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The rights of Christians are under attack again! Consider what has happened just in the last week:

• In New Jersey, East Brunswick High School officials told football coach Marcus Borden he cannot kneel and bow his head while members of his team have a student-led pre-game prayer.
• In Wisconsin’s Tomah Area School District, a teacher refused to give a student identified only as A.T. a grade on an art project because his work included “John 3:16″ as well as “A sign of love.” However, Buddha, Hindu and sorcerers are considered “approved” forms of art by the school.
• In Mt. Vernon, Ohio, school leaders told teacher John Freshwater he must put his Bible out of sight when students are in his room. Mr. Freshwater has refused to do so. He has had a Bible on his desk for the past 18 years.

Our religious freedoms are slowly being taken away, mainly because Christians have not taken a stand! People of faith are being forced to remain silent while other religions are accepted in the name of “tolerance.”

This is wrong.  This is un-American.  All of this has happened at the same time that Pope Benedict XVI was in our nation asking us to reweaken to Christ our Hope.  When you hear of injustices such as this - be firm, stand strong and let your voice be known.

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The Cleveland Catholic Forum recently had an event entitled “The God of Washington: Religion, Liberty & The Founder of Our Country.”   The keynote of the event was theologian, author of 26 books, and former U.S. Ambassador, Michael Novak.  He talked about his latest book, Washington’s God, Liberty, Religion & The Founder of our Country.

The Cleveland Catholic Forum hosted this event for two basic reasons:
First, we love God, and second, we love our country

Looking back, I remember when I was a young boy, my Mom and Dad would point to the American Flag and I would look up to it with awe as they told me that the flag symbolized the sacrifices of generations that created and built a nation. Today, that nation offers more freedom, hope and love for God and neighbor than any nation before in history.

I see in daily life, talking with family, friends, coworkers, and volunteer organizations, and in the heart and soul of America, that Love for God and neighbor is still the rock-solid foundation and deep felt belief of this blessed nation.

So much of our national identity and values come from God, our Creator, and it was instilled in our nation by the will of God through his instruments - our founding fathers.  John Adams, a patriot, founder of our nation, and U.S. President stated that “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

I ask if the American people want God to be the foundation of our society?  If the founding fathers – the very ones who wrote the Constitution that governs our land - want God to be the foundation of our society?  If having God in the public discourse is so important for so great a nation?  Then, why are we constantly being told by a powerful and vocal minority of elites that our nation has no room for God in public life?

Removing God from public discourse is wrong.  The excessive separation of church and state that we see today is not what the founders intended.  Not only do the American people want God to play a leading role in their nation, but the historical facts and opinions of our founders, the Declaration of Independence, and the United States Constitution all push for and allow for faith to play a huge role in government, society and free thought.

So my friends, I encourage you to pray for the United States of America, and to bring God into your daily life.

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You may not be aware of the situation in Berkeley, California. Here is the situation. The Berkeley City Council has told the Marine Recruiting Office to get out of Berkeley.

Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina has put together a video that shows you explicitly what the City Council members of Berkeley said about our Marines and the effort to force the recruiters to leave the city. They include comments from the Mayor who says that the Marines “don’t belong here in Berkeley.”

These people aren’t just against the war, they are against our soldiers who are fighting and dying in that war.

Contact the Mayor of Berkeley and tell him your thoughts:

Mr. Tom Bates, Mayor
Berkeley Mayor
2180 Milvia Street
Berkeley, CA  94704
Primary Phone: 510-981-6900
Fax: 510-981-6901
E-Mail: Mr. Tom Bates, Berkeley Mayor

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After John McCain’s 3rd straight primary victory, as well as victories by Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, and Rudy Giuliani’s non-stop failure to win a primary or caucus, Rudy Giuliani is set to announce that he is withdrawing from the race to win the Republican Party Nomination.

Many pundits are shocked by his fall from grace with the American public.  They ask, “How could a 9/11 hero, who was such a good manager of New York City fall from front-runner to defeated in just two short months?”

The answer is simple:
1) A Republican Party nominee must be truly pro-life.  Every year the nation as a whole becomes more and more pro-life.  Almost every major poll has backed this fact up for years.  The Republican Party has always been solidly pro-life and that is not going to change.  If a person can look at a 3D ultrasound and not see that that infant deserves the dignity and protection of their own life – you have to question the wisdom of that person.

2) The Republican Party nominee must be a friend of the family and a friend of traditional marriage.  Rudy Giuliani was not.

3) The American people want a President that has lived a virtuous life where he or she  treats their family with love, fidelity and respect.  If a person has made a mistake,; American people who are decent and forgiving, are willing to forgive someone for their personal sins – if they publicly repent.  Sadly, Rudy has made mistakes in his personal life, but he never repented, at least to the knowledge of the American people.

There is a moral lesson that all of us can take from the failure of the presidential candidacy of Rudy Giuliani.  In our personal lives, it is very important that we always strive to live our lives in perfect service to others, starting with our family and then with the community.  If we make a mistake, we should repent from the bottom of our hearts, and then move on.

Often we find when looking at our own lives and looking and the lives of those in public service, that if we just live our lives the way God asks us to, we will find greater success in our lives here on earth.

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