Friday, March 23, 2012

Our Rally was Great! How was Yours

Our Freedom of Religion Rally in Omaha was great.  We had a huge turn-out including our Archbishop, George Lucas, many families, and a good representation of priests and political candidates. 

If there's one thing we need to improve on as Catholics, it's our ability to hoot and holler.  With so many priests as speakers, some of the people seemed a bit timid about cheering.  Being a veteran of  political rallies, I started a few chants, rounds of applause,  and loud responses.  My sister gave me an eye-roll a  few times.  But in my non-political family, I had a brother, two sisters, a niece home from college, and of course my son and 4 of my sister's kids. 

The best part was the speakers.   Archbishop Lucas began the rally with a prayer and comments, followed by Creighton University Law Professor, Edward A. Morse.  Morse discussed the Constitutional violations of the HHS Mandate.  He received cheers for saying that we allow this mandate at our peril.  

That started the booing and hissing at every mention of Obama and Sibelius.  Dr. Lloyd Pierre of the Sancta Familia Medical Apostolate got everyone going calling the HHS mandate the Hiss Mandate.  Father John Brancich, FSSP, roused the troops with our need to fast and pray.  Father James Buckley, used Lewis Carroll's The Walrus and the Carpenter to show how Obama's administration is chumming all of us in, only to make oyster stew.  Greg Schleppenbach, who is head of the Bishop's Pastoral Plan for Pro-life Activities spoke movingly in his explanation of the many ways in which the USCCB has been lied to by the Obama administration.  Finally, Father Michael Voithofer encouraged us to remember that Jesus will crush the head of the serpent.

Some of the news people seemed upset that we had 1500 to 2000 people in attendance, (my brother's estimate based on counting heads in horizontal and vertical lines in front and behind of where he stood).  Our local Occupy protest only had about 20 at it's height.  They learned they ignore us at their peril.  For every person there, we have hundreds who would have come if they could. 

Father Buckley asked those who could to come to the Upstream Brewery after the rally to make friends and discuss the road ahead.  My obligations made that impossible.  (One brave soul called out, "Are you buying?")   But making friends and working together, cheerfully as he and others said, is going to be very important in the next few months.

While I have been feeling like I'm banging my head against a wall hoping that others would see what I see since I read, yes I did, the first draft of the health care bill back in 2009,  I now feel differently.  I am not alone.  Catholics are waking. 

Obama lies.  Babies die.