Here’s my take, as explained in an email to a popular Catholic blogger:
I get this terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach – people who oppose the mandate (I am among them) need to be very, very careful. As you pointed out, we must resist the temptation to point and yell ‘neener-neener-neener’ at the pro-Obama Catholics who are just now smelling the coffee. But I fear there are other, even darker temptations and stumbling blocks here.
It would thrill Obama’s team (with the possible exceptions of a few useful idiots) to fracture the Church. If the Pelosis and Bidens of the world start getting excommunicated – as justified as such an action is – then maybe half of the Georgetown faculty, for starters, will go with them, make a show of giving them communion, and cement their claim that ‘most’ Catholics are with them. This will force a choice on millions of Catholics whose faith and understanding of what the Church can rightly ask of them is weak.
In my neighborhood, there’s one parish that I’d put money on making a huge show of support for the excommunicants, if it comes to pass. I suspect this is true in many places in America – there are still many, many priest and maybe even a few bishops (God forbid!) who might just feel that this is the time to make the schism manifest. Are we so confident that, in the current political and judicial environment, they couldn’t get away with seizing church property, declaring themselves the ‘real’ American Catholic Church and then waging war for souls with Rome? Then, how is going to look when the Church ends up in court for years trying to get parishes and convents and monasteries back? All the while having various parties pop up on the news claiming to speak for the ‘real’ Catholics? Even more than now, I mean.
Chiefly, and to put it bluntly, we must recognize that, as clearly as the power grab of our delusional God-King is, there is more to this than political puppetry. Our president and government, their ambitions and hatred and arrogance, are being used. Obama’s non-human masters are not interested in politics or contraception or anything other than the destruction of the Church. People marvel at Obama’s lack of political savvy to how the Church would react to the HHS mandate. Didn’t he know people were going to get upset? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe the mandate going through or pleasing his political allies or even getting reelected doesn’t really matter here. What matters is doing as much damage to the Church as possible. Obama may or may not be thinking like this – doesn’t really matter, because he is not the enemy – he’s being used by the Enemy.
So, we must be careful, pray, fast, welcome any who will stand with the Church with open arms, and pray especially for unity and guidance for our bishops and leaders who have to decide what to do.
One further note: timing is everything. If Obama had been able to try this even as little as 10 years ago, schism would have been very, very much more likely. But, now, with the new crop of bishops and the many younger, more orthodox priest, it’s possible the Church can ride this out – God willing. This could be a desperation move by the Culture of Death. Another 10 years and the remaining crop of older, less orthodox bishops and many of the priests they ordained will be retired. It may be now or never if modernism is to fracture the Church in America.
This kind can be cast out only with prayer and fasting.
Yard Sale of the Mind 