Former Presidential candidate Rick Santorum claimed this week that the Obama administration forces Catholics to sin, primarily with its health care law.
At a campaign event for Mitt Romney, Santorum said that the President "is directly assaulting the First Amendment and freedom of religion."
"He is going to tell you what to do in the practice of your faith. He is forcing business people right now to do things that are against their conscience."
"If you're a Catholic - you’ll have to go to confession … to confess that you are complying with a government program that is a sin in the Catholic church."
He was referring to Obamacare (a.k.a. the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) requiring most employers to offer insurance that covers contraception.
Claiming that President Obama forces Catholics to violate their faith, a common talking point among some Republicans, is a tough sell for several reasons:
- Data shows that 98 percent of Catholic women who are sexually active and of child-bearing age have used an artificial method of contraception.
- Churches are exempt from Obama's contraception rule entirely and faith-based organizations that morally oppose it are offered a work-around.
- The Supreme Court upheld Obamacare's constitutionality this year, which likely wouldn't have happened if it violated the First Amendment.
- Romney enforced a similar contraception mandate as Massachusetts Governor.
Those are just facts. If you want to debate Santorum's logic on a philosophical level, other pillars of the GOP platform might also be affronts to his faith.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops lambasted Paul Ryan's budget - which cuts assistance for the poor in order to offset tax cuts for the wealthy - this year.
This summer, a network of nuns protested the budget, saying that "Catholic teaching is based on solidarity" and the plan "doesn't pass the moral test."
Speaking of cut, have you seen Paul Ryan shirtless?
Obamacare:
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