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May 4, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — The latest liberal plan to save the nation is the Biden administration’s American Families Plan. It is heralded as a lifesaver for struggling families. Finally, Americans can supposedly enjoy the long-overdue benefits similar to those enjoyed by citizens benefiting from Europe’s extensive social safety net.
The Plan’s wish list is impressive. There is affordable child care for everyone. Add free preschool for all three- and four-year-olds, paid leave for new parents, extended tax credits, health benefits, and two years of free community college. There is something for everyone in this plan. What is there not to like in this program that only the most hardened scrooge can hate?
A hefty price tag
The plan’s $1.6 trillion price tag is a bit hefty. However, President Joe Biden claims it can be recouped with higher taxes on corporations and wealthier individuals. The rich will be made to pay because they are rich. Moreover, the government is big and has unlimited possibilities for expanding its low-interest debt.
With such deep-pocketed resources, liberals argue, there is no limit as to what can be done to improve the lives of millions of American families. They claim it matters little if the government gets bigger as long as American families benefit. Think of it as an investment in the future and the Plan will not appear so bad.
The limits of money
However, the American Families Plan has two major defects. The first is that it frames the debate in economic terms. The left holds the absurd belief that any problem can be resolved if enough money is spent.
Indeed, the debate is all about money – or more precisely about free money and other people’s money. The discussion is how to transfer more money from the taxpayers’ pockets to the government’s coffers.
Opponents to the plan have responded in kind. They rightly notice the grave injustice in taxing the rich to foot the bill for the left’s wish list. Tax hikes can only go so far before they weigh down the economy. Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina criticized the plan, saying it will initiate “the biggest job-killing tax hikes in a generation.”
The problem with limiting the discussion to economic consideration is that it neglects the most important moral arguments against the plan. It ignores the plan’s most vulnerable flank. Money will not solve the moral problems that so ail today’s families.
Refusing to define the family
Thus, the second and most important defect of the American Families Plan is its refusal to deal with the notion of what the family is. The Biden administration’s programs typically exclude what is highlighted in their titles. Most of his stimulus plan was not about stimulus. The infrastructure scheme has very little infrastructure spending in it. Likewise, this American Families Plan has next to nothing in it for the family.
The family has gone missing in Biden’s Plan. He adopts the modern individualist concepts of the family as defined by Kant, who called it a complex of purposeful and legal relations. Today’s liberals also include the postmodern notions of a family being whatever individuals declare it to be. It assumes no permanent commitment. Any group of individuals might qualify.
Aristotle defined the family as the original natural community for the creation and maintenance of life. Saint Thomas Aquinas called it the first and smallest social union. Leo XIII said it is a small but real society through which the individual enters society. It stands between the individual and the State. The family presupposes a stable fruitful marriage and the development and education of offspring to carry forward society for future generations.
PETITION UPDATE (3/15/21) -
Reports suggest that the U.S. Catholic Bishops' Conference (USCCB) is preparing a vote on what to do about pro-abortion Joe Biden (and, presumably, other abortion-promoting politicians) who continues to present himself (themselves) for Holy Communion.
Public excommunication would be a suitable response for Biden's obstinate, public and grave sin of scandalously promoting abortion.
Please continue to SIGN and SHARE this important petition.
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PETITION UPDATE (2/4/20)
Since Joe Biden was sworn-in on the 20th of January, he has wasted no time in signing Executive Orders to destroy the protections which former President Trump offered to the unborn and to the innocence and modesty of children of the United States.
In one executive order, Biden rescinded the Mexico City Policy prohibiting the federal government from spending taxpayer monies on abortion and the promotion of abortion.
And, in another executive order, Biden seeks to force girls' athletic programs, restrooms, and locker rooms to accept gender-confused males.
Since the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was shamefully silent throughout the presidential campaign on the pre-eminent issues of abortion and gender ideology, and what Biden vowed he would do as president, it is cold comfort that their pro-life office is now speaking up about this Administration's wilful disregard for human life and for God's design of human nature (i.e., two biological sexes).
Stated plainly, Joe Biden is as bad as he said he would be, and the bishop, acting in unison (as the USCCB) have an obligation to the Lord (first) and to the faithful (second) to refuse Holy Communion to this grave public sinner.
With all due respect to these bishops, they diminish the Holy Eucharist and their high office, as well as cause grave scandal to the faithful, by dialoguing with a man who is promoting mass murder of the unborn against the constant teaching of the Church.
A man who continues to use the church as a backdrop for statements about how "Catholic/religious" he is, but, at the same time, is now doing everything in his power to protect the murder of the innocent, needs to publicly repent before dialogue can begin.
The bishops should not dialogue with or congratulate someone who has publicly betrayed the Church's teaching and who is leading others astray.
It's an embarrassment and a scandal for the bishops to continue to allow him to receive Holy Communion.
Please SIGN and SHARE this petition today!
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PETITION UPDATE (12/10/20)
Prior to the election on November 3, the U.S. bishops did not address Joe Biden’s anti-Catholic position regarding faith and morals as a unified body.
The USCCB, the organization to which every U.S. bishop belongs and which is staffed and led by bishops, remained disgracefully silent in the run-up to the election.
What were the bishops afraid of, losing their charitable tax status with the IRS, or being deprived of fat checks from the HHS (immigration programs) and USAID (foreign aid programs)?
Or, were they just too cowardly to clearly declare Christ's law to be above man's law and risk the ire of a Joe Biden as president?
Either way, the bishops’ lack of clarity in this regard is a terrible scandal in itself and probably greatly contributed to the possible election of a pro-abortion, anti-Catholic Catholic to the presidency.
Given the fact that exit polling shows Catholics split their vote 50-50 for Trump and Biden, even a slight deviation in the heavily-Catholic swing-states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania could have produced different results.
The bishops could have spoken out against Biden’s pro-abortion stance collectively, but, again, they were overwhelmingly and shamefully silent.
Because of this, they will be at least partly responsible for the policies advanced by a Biden administration, in the event that Biden is sworn into office.
However, the bishops can, even now, mitigate the damage done by their inaction by taking the following steps: 1) Speak with one voice, as the USCCB, and plainly condemn Biden's pro-abortion stance; 2) Publicly advise Biden not to present himself for Holy Communion because of his scandalous position on abortion and homosexual "marriage;" and, 3) Tell Biden to publicly repent of publicly promoting the wilfull murder of the preborn, sins against nature, and diminishing the natural family.
Thankfully, some individual bishops have spoken out forcefully on Biden's scandalous behavior, and his standing in the Church.
On November 9, Archbishop Strickland of Tyler, Texas tweeted: “A dark cloud has descended on this nation when the USCCB and Planned Parenthood speak in unison in support of a Biden-Harris administration that supports the slaughter of innocents by abortion for all 9 months of pregnancy.”
Additionally, Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver, Colorado and Archbishop Charles Chaput have both declared publicly that Joe Biden “should not receive Holy Communion."
But, to add insult to injury, Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C. has said that he will give Holy Communion to Biden because “it’s a matter of the responsibility that I have as the archbishop to be engaged and to be in dialogue with him, even in those areas where we obviously have some differences.”
And, Bishop W. Francis Malooly of Wilmington, Delaware and Bishop McElroy of San Diego also congratulated Biden in statements, but they have not indicated whether or not they would administer Holy Communion to him.
With all due respect to these bishops, they diminish the Holy Eucharist and their high office, as well as cause grave scandal to the faithful, by dialoguing with a man who is promoting mass murder of the unborn against the constant teaching of the Church.
A man who uses the church as a backdrop to make sickening political advertisements about how "Catholic/religious" he is, but, at the same time, says that he will do everything in his power to protect the murder of the innocent, needs to publicly repent before dialogue can begin.
The bishops should not dialogue with or congratulate someone who has publicly betrayed the Church's teaching and who is leading others astray.
It's an embarrassment and a scandal for the bishops to continue to allow him to receive Holy Communion.
Please SIGN and SHARE this petition today!
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
https://www.ncronline.org/news/politics/us-catholics-weigh-mixed-reaction-biden-win
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PETITION UPDATE (9/29/20)
Cardinal Raymond Burke has stated that Democratic candidate Joe Biden should not receive Holy Communion because of his support for abortion.
In an interview for Thomas McKenna's Catholic Action for Faith and Family podcast, Cardinal Burke states the following (starting around 5:00):
First of all, I would tell him [Biden] not to approach to receive Holy Communion, out of charity toward him, because that would be a sacrilege and endanger the salvation of his own soul.
But, also, he should not approach to receive Holy Communion because he gives scandal to everyone, because if someone says, 'I'm a devout Catholic," and, at the same time is promoting abortion, it gives the impression to others that it's acceptable for a Catholic to be in favor of abortion.
Of course, it's absolutely not acceptable, and never has been, and never will be.
We give thanks for Cardinal Burke's frankness and clarity. And, we call on every U.S. Catholic bishop to follow Cardinal Burke's lead and call out Joe Biden for his bloody-minded hypocrisy on the issue of abortion.
To reiterate: You cannot be a Catholic and support abortion.
Thank you for continuing to sign this urgent petition.
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PETITION UPDATE (8/17/20)
The Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden, keeps claiming to be Catholic but has said he will do everything in his power to support abortion.
And, with his pick of California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate, Biden has just cemented abortion into the Democrats' 2020 presidential ticket.
Indeed, Harris is vehemently pro-abortion.
During her time as attorney general of California, Harris played a key role in defending Planned Parenthood over its sale of aborted baby parts (which violated multiple federal laws, according to undercover video of abortion industry personnel).
And, last year, Harris unveiled a plan to essentially force pro-life states to seek permission from the federal government before pro-life laws can take effect.
Additionally, Harris has dangerous views on religious liberty and freedom of speech.
Harris displayed anti-Catholic bigotry in the confirmation hearings of Judge Brian Buescher. Harris cited his membership in the “all-male society” the Knights of Columbus and its stances against abortion and same-sex “marriage” as grounds for rejecting Buescher for a federal district court in Nebraska.
And, David Daleiden, head of the pro-life investigative group Center for Medical Progress, wrote that from his firsthand experience, he considers Harris the “greatest threat to First Amendment civil rights our country has ever seen.”
Joe Biden has seriously erred by taking on Kamala Harris as his running mate, further distancing himself from the truths of the Catholic Faith, especially that every life is sacred from conception till natural death.
Please CLICK HERE to read an article which details one U.S. bishop's warning about the Biden-Harris ticket.
And, please continue to SIGN and SHARE this petition.
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Of course, these two things are incompatible: you cannot be Catholic and pro-abortion.
And, a "Catholic" politician's responsibility in this regard is absolute: On pain of serious sin, he or she can never promote abortion because abortion is the wilful murder of innocent preborn human beings, and also because doing so causes grave scandal to the Church and the faithful.
Please SIGN this urgent petition asking the bishops of the United States to refuse to give Holy Communion to Joe Biden until he publicly repents from his scandalous promotion of abortion.
Biden recently promised to “codify Roe v. Wade” as president, adding, "my Justice Department will do everything in its power to stop the rash of state laws that so blatantly violate a woman’s protected, constitutional right to choose."
And, since starting his latest run for the presidency, Biden also flip-flopped against the Hyde Amendment, saying that he would allow federal funds to be spent on abortion - a position he claimed to be against for more than 40 years.
In short, Joe Biden will do everything in his power to enable and defend the wilful murder of innocent preborn human beings.
So, this should not be a hard decision for our U.S. bishops. In fact, in another circumstance, it was already done by an Illinois bishop.
Indeed, Bishop Paprocki, of Springfield, Illinois, invoked Canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law to withdraw Holy Communion from two Illinois state politicians who had worked to enact radical new abortion legislation in 2019.
Canon 915 states: "Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion."
Of course, no-one, least of all the bishops, wants anyone to be deprived of Holy Communion.
A politician who publicly and obstinately advocates for the murder of innocent preborn babies puts himself out-of-communion with the Church and her teaching.
Pro-abortion politicians should not think that they can advocate for the murder of the unborn and receive the Body of Christ at the same time. This would be to defile the Eucharist while giving scandal to the faithful.
Depriving politicians of Holy Communion is not just meant to prevent scandal; it is also designed to bring a grave public sinner to repentance. In this way, such an action is meant to be for the good of their souls, too.
Thank you for SIGNING this urgent petition which calls on the U.S. Catholic bishops to refuse to admit Joe Biden to Holy Communion until he publicly repents from his scandalous promotion of abortion.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Joe Biden: I support abortion ‘under any circumstance’ - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/joe-biden-i-support-abortion-under-any-circumstance
Catholic priest denies Joe Biden Holy Communion for pro-abortion stance - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/catholic-priest-denies-joe-biden-holy-communion-for-pro-abortion-stance
Cardinal McCarrick and the Concealing of Rome’s Position on Denying Communion - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/cardinal-mccarrick-and-the-concealing-of-romes-position-on-denying-communio
**Photo Credit: Joshua Roberts / Getty Images
Thus, a family has an end, and any plan that works against this end jeopardizes its survival. Any definition outside this purpose is not a family but a group of individuals.
An anti-family agenda
The Biden Plan works against the nature and purpose of the family.
To start with, judging from the administration’s LGBTQ+ agenda, family for it is anything a person wants it to be.
The Plan offers affordable child care and universal preschool. However, such programs presuppose babies. The administration is doing everything possible to expand the abortion agenda through government policy. Contrary to his professed Catholic faith, the president is actively working against the family by denying the abundant births that should come from marriage. His program would be better labeled as one to benefit infant survivors and facilitate their care away from home.
A family plan should be about doing something about birth rates. The family is in crisis because of America’s demographic meltdown caused by the failure of families to replace the country’s population. However, official government policy embraces the contraceptive mentality that destroys families.
Family presupposes a father and a mother that provide the best possible condition for children’s solid physical and spiritual development. However, there is nothing in these programs that encourages more healthy families. There is nothing that helps defend them against the dangers of contraception, abortion, cohabitation, and divorce.
While child care might be needed in some cases, nothing can replace the parent in the home that bonds with children. The universal placing of infants and children in daycare centers should not be a desired goal.
American broken family plan
While traditional families might benefit from some parts of the Biden Plan, it does not address the essential issue of what makes up a family and how the stable family is the only way for individuals to get ahead.
Since its focus is only economic, the American Families Plan appears to target the broken family. The primary cause of poverty is not the lack of training or education but the broken families that fail to fulfill their responsibilities. Thus, government programs do not address single parenthood, absent fathers, and rampant promiscuity destroying families everywhere. Tragically, the government often facilitates their perpetuation. Instead of aiding the family, the government absorbs it into its care.
Thus, the Biden program is self-defeating. The best possible way to help the family is to form healthy families: the healthier the family, the less need for government intervention. The family is an essential social unit, but it is also an economic powerhouse that creates and distributes wealth beyond anything that the government can provide.
The Church is a much better instrument for shaping healthy families than the State. The Church can provide moral advice, encourage fidelity, and instill virtuous habits. All this can be done at little cost yet great benefit to society. Instead of browbeating Catholic nuns into paying for contraception, a good family policy would focus on developing a moral climate for families to flourish.
What is ailing the American family is not money for the family. Without the correct notion of the family, no amount of money will fix American families. What is needed is moral direction, and there is none in the Biden Plan.
John Horvat II is a scholar, researcher, educator, international speaker, and author of the book Return to Order, as well as the author of hundreds of published articles. He lives in Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, where he is the vice president of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property.