HHS Mandate and the Decian persecution

Last updated on: March 25, 2016 at 8:20 pm by Father Pablo Migone

HHS Mandate and the Decian persecution 2016-03-25T20:20:06-05:00 Father Pablo Migone

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This morning I read EWTN sued the federal government. Click here for article.

The US Bishops are decrying the overstepping of the government into our freedom of religion.

Members of the House of Representatives are debating the need to strike down or amend the HHS mandate.

With all this happening, someone asked me, “historically, what can we compare this?”

I thought about it for a few minutes, and I found an answer.

In the year 250 the Roman emperor Decius, wanting to consolidate his power and enhance Rome’s military prowess, ordered all Roman citizens to offer sacrifice by burning incense to the gods for the success of Rome’s military campaigns and the well-being of the emperor. The decree was not issued in hatred for the Church, but for completely secular reasons: the success of Rome.

This presented an enormous dilemma for Christians throughout the empire. They could not offer the mandated sacrifice because it violated their religious beliefs. It would be apostasy to offer the sacrifice, a violation of the first commandment.

The emperor set a system that after offering the mandated sacrifice in presence of an imperial official, a libellus was issued, a sheet of paper stating the person had offered sacrifice. Getting caught by Roman authorities without a libellus meant arrest, imprisonment and death for being an unfaithful citizen of Rome.

Thousands of Christians were martyred because they refused to violate their consciences by offering sacrifice to the Roman gods. Indirectly, Decius’ decree led to one of the fieriest persecutions of Christians in the Roman empire. The law of the empire forced Christians to violate their consciences and Christians were faced with a choice: offend God or offend the empire. Most chose to offend the empire and they suffered the consequences. Though they lost their lives, they saved them by remaining faithful to the one true God.

I believe the HHS mandate is not done directly out of hatred for the Church or an anti-Catholic bias, but is the product of a secular worldview. Two worlds collide and it is difficult to find common ground.

The HHS mandate forces Catholic institutions to pay for something that violates the consciences of Catholics. Granted, the mandate does not force Catholic faithful to purchase and use contraceptives and abortifacients in the way Decius’ decree mandated Romans to offer sacrifice, but the mandate does force Catholic institutions to pay for these things by paying for their coverage by insurance.

Defenders of the HHS mandate say that Catholic churches will not be forced to pay for insurance coverage for her employees to have access to contraceptives, sterilization and abortifacients. This is deceptive language. The government is making a fallacious distinction between Catholic parishes and Catholic institutions such as universities, hospitals, charities, schools, etc. In the eyes of the Catholic Church, all these Catholic institutions must adhere to sound Catholic teaching. These institutions are part of the Church, not separate from our religious worship and belief.

Above all when dealing with this current issue, we must pray. We must pray for strength for our bishops. We must pray for wisdom for our president and all his advisers. This is only the beginning, let’s hope the current administration realizes the harm its mandate causes to religious liberty and that it amends the mandate as it currently stands.

Click here for an interesting article on the church and birth control

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