FIC Blog

The U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services has issued an interim rule mandating insurance coverage of contraception, sterilization and potentially abortifacient drugs–even for religious institutions. In fact, the rule includes a faux-exemption for religious institutions written so narrowly that the “exemption” itself is a threat to religious liberty.

Details on the rule, and what you can do about it, are here. Time is of the essence. HHS is allowing public comment only until this Friday, September 30th.

Helen Alvaré, Gerard V. Bradley and O. Carter Snead have published a must-read column on the HHS rule at the Witherspoon Institute’s Public Discourse site. “This is revolutionary,” they write. “Never before in American history has any administration—state or federal—been so willing to force religious institutions out of business.” Read the whole thing here.

The Master’s School, a private Christian school in West Simsbury, is being pressured to accept homosexual activity because it allegedly encouraged a student to withdraw or face expulsion after she told administrators she is a lesbian. The public knows only her version of events as told in The Courant and elsewhere, the headmaster having declined to comment. An electronic petition to the school to change its policy has gathered 15,000 signatures in two weeks and helped  to generate today’s Courant article, which will likely lead to further pressure on the school.

The Susan Campbell column that broke the story and the student’s subsequent comments in the Courant (”If you are a non-believer then you should be warned that if you live in a way that doesn’t correspond with the Bible there are consequences.”) leave the clear impression that she was practicing behavior that runs contrary to traditional Christian morality. It should be a scandal to no one that a Christian school encouraged the departure of a student if that student acted contrary to its beliefs and expressed no willingness to act in accordance with those beliefs.

Except that the behavior in question is homosexual, and in post-Kerrigan Connecticut homosexuality must be affirmed and never opposed, even by private Christian schools.

Though the mainstream media still doesn’t know it, FIC achieved an enormous victory in 2009 when we and others persuaded the legislature to pass the strongest religious liberty protections against same-sex “marriage” in the nation. Those sort of laws are why the Master’s School will not face threats from the government in this matter.

The student in question, while suggesting she isn’t bothered and doesn’t want to “bad mouth” the school, notes how “unfortunate” it is that the Master’s School is “legally allowed to do what they did.” This is a common misconception by many and it is perpetrated by The Courant in how it covers these topics. Freedom of religion and affiliation is one of the highest principles of our society. We wonder if The Courant and others have the courage to continue to support those principles in the face of affiliations that displease them.

We also wonder why the self-professed champions of “tolerance” never express outrage over incidents like this.

No, not that Rick Green. Made you look, though. This comes to our in-box from Ann Leatherwood:

This Sat, Rick Green, of Wallbuilders, hosts a free Restore America Conference 10:30am - Milford City Hall, 110 River Street, Milford. Hope you can make it, but if not, please help spread the word!

Such an amazing experience to relearn the truth of America’s Christian founding.  I have to think Wallbuilders could play such a big role in helping Pastors motivate Christians (both Catholic and Protestant) to take their faith to the public square - gently reminding them that government and the political arena are God’s work, and, participation is part of our Stewardship - not an option, or a hobby…

For me, this is the Big Idea for 2012! Sponsored by RealMilford and the Milford Christian Academy.

More information can be found here.

On September 16th a Hartford jury acquitted a blogger of threatening and inciting violence against three state officials because, they told the media, the prosecution did not meet its burden of proof.

This blog post is not about that. It is about the laughingly incomplete description of S.B. 1098, the 2009 Bishop Removal Bill, given by the media throughout the trial. A classic example can be found in David Owens’ Sept. 16th Hartford Courant story:

[The blogger's] remarks were a reaction to a bill that would have given some control over the Roman Catholic Church to lay members.

Really? That’s it? A reader could be forgiven for wondering why the bill provoked “an outcry from Catholics across the state,” as the next sentence tells us, if all it did was “give” those same Catholics “some control.” Why all the fuss?

In fact, the bill was an attempt by our civil government to reach into the state’s largest religious denomination and, in flagrant violation of the First Amendment and of that denomination’s theological beliefs, to strip Connecticut’s Catholic bishops and priests of authority over their own parishes. It was widely believed–one Senator said it publicly–that the true motivation behind the bill was revenge against the Catholic Church for its opposition to same-sex “marriage.” 4,500 outraged citizens, on just a few days notice, showed up at the state Capitol on a Wednesday to protest the bill. The state’s subsequent investigation of the Bridgeport Diocese for organizing that protest was so lacking in merit that then-Attorney General Richard Blumenthal refused to defend it against a lawsuit from the Diocese, thus effectively ending the investigation.

S.B. 1098 was the biggest issue to hit the state Capitol in years. Few other occasions in recent memory provoked 4,500 people to rally there on a weekday. As a bare minimum service to their readers and as a duty to history, the media should not whitewash it.

St. Paul’s Church-Darien and Mary of Bethany-Norwalk want you to “Let your passion for engaging a culture of life be ignited to burn ever brighter” by attending a talk given by John Ensor, executive director of Global-Initiatives-Heartbeat International.

John has “been a leader in the pro-life movement as a speaker, writer, trainer and co-laborer in developing pregnancy help centers as a winsome, life-saving response to abortion” for the past 20 years. After identifying the most abortion-plagued neighborhoods, John has helped to establish pregnancy help centers in Miami, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles. He now works internationally to promote a culture of life over death in Africa, Latin America and China.

Let’s join the fight to eradicate abortion as a viable alternative for the next generation as we approach the 20th year of legalized abortion in America. At Rev. Ensor’s talk we will: “Learn how the fight for life is rapidly growing into a growing movement of God today. Ask Questions of Rev. Ensor about efforts in China to dramatically lower abortion rates. Get involved and find out what you can do to fan the flames at home and abroad.”

Rev. Ensor’s talk will be Sunday, Oct. 2nd, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm at St. Paul’s Church, 471 Mansfield Avenue in Darien. For more information contact Mary of Bethany Pastor Gabrielle Beam at gbeam@gotlife2013.org or 203-984-7499.

The Archdiocese of Hartford Pro-Life Ministry is leading the Forty Days For Life, which begins Wednesday, September 28, 2011. They are asking every pro-lifer in Hartford, New Haven and Litchfield Counties to please pray and participate in whatever way the Lord calls you to do.

Forty Days is a national campaign of peaceful prayer outside abortion clinics. It has been credited with closing down 14 abortion clinics and saving over 4,000 lives–including dozens at the Hartford abortuary down the street from FIC’s office.

When FIC publicized the lives saved in the 2010 Hartford 40 Days, NARAL’s CT chapter said they would fight for buffer zones to prevent future pro-life success. When FIC exposed their threat and promised to lead the fight against it, NARAL backed away (see here and here).

To sign up for the 2011 Hartford 40 Days for Life Campaign, contact Mary Lou Peters at (203) 745-7300 or mlpeters@prolifeministry.org. More information is available here.

Pro-family pastors, come join with Watchmen Pastors from across the New England states Tuesday October 5th from 9am to 2pm.

Make plans now to join Randy Wilson, National Director of Church Ministries at the Family Research Council, Paul Jehle Pastor of New Testament Chruch in Plymouth, MA, Bob Emrich pastor and NE Regional Representative for the Watchmen on the Wall Initiative at the Family Research Council, FPC State Leaders, Kris Mineau, Kevin Smith, Peter Wolfgang, Carroll Conley and Chris Plante of RI NOM.

Our agenda is to hear from you pastors and from the state FPC directors regarding the current legislative issues facing NE. Paul Jehle will bring a local message and Randy Wilson a national overview of the role pastors can play standing in their communities.

We will have tools for you that can be handed to your people and support you as you educate and inform your congregations on matters as they relate to the Bible.

This is a FREE event for pastors hosted by Pastor George Small, Horizon Christian Fellowship 356 Broad St Fitchburg, MA.

This meeting will start at 9:00 AM and conclude at 2pm. Lunch will be provided.

Please email Randy Wilson at drw@frc.org and let him know you are coming so we can make enough food for you. Thank you for standing for truth in these intense times.

Trotman Reid To Share Stage With Planned Parenthood CEO Judy Tabar

The pro-abortion Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund (CTWEALF) announced in a Sept. 12th press release that it would be giving the Maria Miller Stewart award to Pamela Trotman Reid, the president of St. Joseph College. “Dr. Reid will be presented with her award at CWEALF’s One Women Makes a Difference event Tuesday, October 4, 5:00 – 9:00 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Cromwell CT,” says the press release.

Other recipients of the award include Judy Tabar, President of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England. (Listen to Peter Wolfgang debate Judy Tabar on WNPR’s Where We Live.)

The event’s financial sponsors include St. Joseph College, Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, CT AFL-CIO, Goodwin College, and the law firms of Day Pitney LLP, McCarter & English LLP, and Livingston, Adler, Pulda, Meiklejohn & Kelly PC.

CTWEALF is a Hartford based non-profit with a long history of promoting abortion on demand in the name of “women’s rights”. CTWEALF was a plaintiff in early lawsuits, challenging bans on Medicaid funding of abortions. Their radical anti-family activism has continued to this day. CTWEALF played a leading role in advocating for passage of the Bathroom Bill by the Connecticut General Assembly. The CT Equality Coalition seemed little more than a front organization; Sally Tamarkin, the lead organizer for CT Equality was employed by CTWEALF, working out of CTWEALF’s offices in Hartford.

St. Joseph College is a Roman Catholic women’s college located in West Hartford, CT. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy, it is the only women’s college in the State of Connecticut.

According to the College’s mission statement, “The College is a community which promotes the growth of the whole person in a caring environment that encourages strong ethical values, personal integrity and a sense of responsibility to the needs of society.” Its website lists Catholic Identity as the first of seven core values, “Catholic Identity: Saint Joseph College is grounded in its heritage as a Catholic institution, expressing the Catholic tradition in an ecumenical and critical manner.”

This is not the first time that Trotman Reid’s words and actions in the public arena have drawn scrutiny. In an October 2008 interview with The Hartford Courant, she remarked on her admiration for Barack Obama and why she wanted him elected president, “And the next president is likely going to make appointments to the Supreme Court. That could affect the right of women to make choices about their own health. These are issues of incredible importance.”

Subsequent to the publication of that article, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Hartford, the Most Rev. Henry J. Mansell, wrote to Trotman Reid, asking her to clarify her comments. Archbishop Mansell reported the results of his correspondence in his November 2008 Catholic Transcript column, “On October 9th, the Hartford Courant reported on an interview with Dr. Pamela Trotman Reid, President of Saint Joseph College. The quotes attributed to Dr. Reid suggested some ambiguity in her support for the Church teaching on abortion. I wrote to Dr. Reid that day, asking for clarification. Correspondence and conversations followed. I am pleased to report that in her most recent letter to me Dr. Reid stated: ‘I am committed to upholding the Catholic teaching and values that are the foundation of a Mercy college.’”

We’ve just updated the links at FIC Blog. Under “Opponents,” Love Makes a Family and Connecticut Local Politics have been out of business for some time and Spazeboy hasn’t posted since January. We’ve replaced them with local voices who share our interest in the intersection between family, faith and politics but from a worldview in opposition to FIC’s: Susan Campbell, Rick Green, Mark Silk’s “Spiritual Politics” and Norm Pattis. (We’re not really sure where Norm fits, but we think he’s the most interesting of the bunch.)

FIC Blog, originally “Connecticut in the Crosshairs,” is one of the oldest blogs in the state. Our first item was posted in October, 2004. In 2006 we upgraded to “FIC Blog” and added comboxes. But our–sigh, there’s no other word for it–liberal policy of allowing our opposition to post whatever comments they wanted to, no matter how nasty, drove away many who were interested in having a real conversation about the issues facing the family in Connecticut.

Those same opponents take pride in our low blog traffic, but of course, FIC Blog has gone long periods without a new post in the years since I assumed the responsibilities of executive director. While those lapses were bound to have an effect on our blog traffic, even at its height FIC Blog was never FIC’s main means of communication with our members. It’s our email blasts and direct mail that reach tens of thousands of pro-family citizens throughout Connecticut. That’s a fact easily lost on those whose entire world consists largely of blogging.

Blogs are about as au courant today as Ned Lamont’s campaign for Senator. The most interesting online action has been on Facebook and Twitter for years now. You will see links to FIC Action’s social networking sites on the right under “Connecticut.”

Nevertheless, FIC Blog will continue to play a key role in issuing official statements and passing along other important information. Readers will notice an uptick in posts over the last few days. Our hope is to get FIC Blog more active again and restore the role we originally intended for it as Connecticut’s premiere online site for the state’s pro-family citizens to discuss the issues of the day.

If all goes according to plan, we hope to have major revamps to the blog and our homepage in 2012. Thank you for sticking with us.

From Norwich “40 Days” coordinator Brian Daly:

2011 Fall Campaign 40 Days for LIFE

The Fall Campaign runs Sept 28 thru Nov 6th! For more info… contact Brian Daly at 860-822-1788 or BJDaly@aol.com PLEASE, WE NEED CHURCHES AND ORGANIZATIONS TO “ADOPT-A-DAY!” Thank you for your support & prayers for LIFE! ALSO you can go on the vigilcalendar to register and sign up for an hour to pray at 12 Case Street…Please go here and also visit our facebook page and “like” us!

There are some start-up costs associated with the 40DFL Campaign. Anyone wishing to contribute may do so here. Any support is greatly appreciated!!!

Thank you for your prayers and support for LIFE!!!