The 1976 Academy Award winner “All the President’s Men” memorialized the line, “Follow the money.” The advice given to the young reporter investigating the Watergate scandal led ultimately to President Nixon’s resignation. That advice—follow the money—couldn’t be more relevant today.
The current national debate about the president’s Health and Human Services mandate for all insurers to fund contraception, sterilization and abortifacient drugs could stand to gain from the Watergate mantra.
While the national mandate seeking to make contraception, sterilization and abortion more widely available is a depressing sign of a loss of a culture of life, the reluctance of the administration to provide an exception for religious institutions is particularly egregious. As many have pointed out, you don’t need to be Catholic or even pro-life to understand that nuns shouldn’t be forced to pay for abortion in order to teach children how to read.
But make no mistake: that is exactly what the current policy requires.
The Watergate mantra—follow the money—seems especially apt. If a teacher at a local Catholic school seeks to buy an abortifacient drug and the druggist asks for a health insurance plan—even under the president’s so-called accommodation—it is only in providing the policy number for the Catholic school that the employee can get the abortifacient.
Accounting tricks aside, forcing insurers to pay for contraception and forcing employers to pay for insurance, means every employer in the country—including religious institutions—is forced to pay for contraception, sterilization and abortion.
But following the money shouldn’t stop there. Where does the money that funds most of the church’s social services come from in the first place? The answer to that question reveals why the bishops of the Catholic Church—and to a large degree the Catholic people—have seen this mandate for what it is and are unwilling to compromise.
It is called the offertory procession.
During the celebration of Mass, when the bread and wine are prepared to be offered in the Eucharist, a collection is taken up to serve the needs of the church and her social ministries.
Just as we are preparing for the most sacred action in the world, when God himself will become present on the altar, the Catholic people unite their prayers and sacrifices with that holy offering. One manifestation of that holy activity is the generosity of the Catholic people to contribute to the mission of the church.
Follow the money. It goes from the celebration of the Eucharist, to a soup kitchen or Catholic school, to the health insurance of the lay employees who work there, to—under the president’s mandate—funding contraception and abortifacient drugs.
For the president of the United States to say that the money one puts in a collection basket has to go toward contraception and abortion is a violation of the natural law of enormous proportions. The import of this moment should not be underestimated. It is no wonder the Catholic bishops have used words like civil disobedience. Compliance with this mandate does not seem to be an option.
In God’s good providence, good may come from this evil. A greater unity among the Catholic people, a deepened realization that Catholics need to stand for their faith in the public square, and the courageous witness of bishops speaking truth to power are just some of the good things we have seen thus far.
The current situation is as serious as it is distressing. One thing it is not though is complex. It is actually pretty simple: mandating coverage of contraception, sterilization and abortifacients is indefensible. It is only made worse by insisting money put in collection baskets be used for it.
You don’t need a degree in economics to connect the dots. In a word, just follow the money.
Deacon Ryan Connors is a fourth year Theology student studying at the North American College in Rome. He is a member of St. Brendan Parish.
