In the religious-mandate fight, More is more

IF YOU LOOK at a Catholic calendar (and, I mean, who hasn't, right?), virtually every day is devoted to the veneration of one or more patron saints. My own namesake, Christine, is the patroness of mental illness, which prompted several irate readers to send me cards last July 24 suggesting I pray harder.

My favorite days are those devoted to the warrior or martyred saints, the ones who "did not go gentle" but took a stand for their faith. Chief among them is St. Michael, patron of the soldier and policeman, who protects whoever goes into battle (whether martial or personal.)

Another favorite is St. Sebastian, who is usually depicted as a human shish kebob and who, because of his physical strength as a Roman centurion, was able to endure crushing physical pain before succumbing.

To the non-Catholic, our seeming preoccupation with redemption through suffering might seem a bit masochistic, and in some ways it is. It might also seem anachronistic since no one is actually forced to sacrifice his life for God in the 21st century, unless you happen to be a Christian in Africa.

But there is a great deal to be learned from those who paid the ultimate price for their faith. I thought of that on June 22, the feast of another martyr, St. Thomas More. More has particular significance for me as an attorney, since he is both the patron of my profession and the great example of the fierce battle between conscience and compromise.

The triumph in his story is that it is still relevant, nearly five centuries after he placed his head on a chopping block and commended his soul to eternity. Thomas More reached the pinnacle of his profession as chancellor of England, and represented the power and glory of the state. But when he was forced by a higher terrestrial power to renounce his faith (and therefore save both his job and his head), he refused to do so. Although we do not have a transcript of his actual words, these lines from "A Man For All Seasons" give a fair approximation of what was in his heart and mind a half millennium ago:

"If we lived in a State where virtue was profitable, common sense would make us good, and greed would make us saintly. And we'd live like animals or angels in the happy land that needs no heroes. But since, in fact, we see that avarice, anger, envy, pride, sloth, lust and stupidity commonly profit far beyond humility, chastity, fortitude, justice and thought, and have to choose, to be human at all . . . why then, perhaps we must stand fast a little - even at the risk of being heroes."

We do not have a shortage of heroes in this country today. Just look at the 19 who lost their lives fighting fires in Arizona. But in terms of conscience, there aren't quite as many heroic figures out there waging battle against the convenience of compromise. And yet, if he were here today, Thomas More would be smiling at a judge in Oklahoma.

Hobby Lobby, a Christian-oriented company, fought against the Obamacare mandate that all employers provide birth-control coverage for their employees even if this coverage included drugs that acted as abortifacients. A lower court held that it had no right to challenge the mandate, and that the First Amendment wasn't relevant. On appeal, Judge Joe Heaton, of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, in Oklahoma City, ruled that there were legitimate religious grounds on which the company could challenge the mandate, and issued an injunction preventing the government from levying fines against the company for refusing to comply.

The story isn't over, and there will be future hearings on whether religious employers like this one have the right to stand up and challenge the governmental fiat that conscience can be violated in the interest of "women's rights" or public policy. But the fact that a judge in 2013 was able to look at the situation with a clear, unbiased eye and say that respecting religious liberty is not a "utopian ideal" approximates the heroism of More.

Of course, neither President Obama nor Kathleen Sebelius seem to be great fans of St. Thomas. Last Friday, the administration issued its final order regarding just who is exempt from the religious mandate. It still requires that, unless you fit an extremely narrow exemption, you will be forced to provide birth control for your employees, either directly or indirectly.

Many of those who support the administration's position will try and make this into a crusade against women. But anyone who understands what is truly at stake won't rise to that bait. You do not have to oppose birth control or even abortion to understand that this is a battle for our national identity.

And with this mandate, all of our heads are on the chopping block.