Sharpton Denies Reality on Contraceptive Mandate, Harris-Perry Finds Catholic Position 'Obscene'

February 10th, 2012 8:18 AM

On Thursday night's Politics Nation program on MSNBC, Al Sharpton accused Republicans of "totally misleading the people listening to them at CPAC" on the Obama administration forcing Catholic schools, hospitals, and charities to fund contraception, abortifacients, and sterilizations in their insurance plans. "This has nothing to do with their church," he mysteriously proclaimed.

"This has nothing to do with directing religious institutions to do anything," Sharpton said as he denied reality. The newest MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry called the Catholic position "particularly obscene because they feel fine taking religious beliefs and pushing them into secular areas," like abortion and "gay marriage." 

Here's how it went down:

SHARPTON: This has nothing to do with their church. Nobody is coming in saying the Catholic Church or any other church has to change its theology, has to change its dogma. But if you step outside of the church and you want to run a hospital, if you want to sponsor a school, you`ve got to operate it under the same employee's laws as anybody else in America. And if your religion forbids that, then you just don`t apply to run the hospital or the school. I mean, it's really not that complicated.

And how does this end up on a war on religion and the First Amendment? What are you talking about? You want to open up something, you follow the law of anybody else in that business. Melissa?

HARRIS-PERRY: But, also particularly obscene because they feel fine taking religious beliefs and pushing them into secular areas. For example, marriage. The idea that the argument against marriage equality is because certain religions believe that marriage is between one man and one woman and, therefore, that should be imposed. Or, for example, termination of a pregnancy that because one religion or some set of religions hold that to be a sin, that should, therefore, be illegal.

I am fine with a set of religious beliefs but there is law and we exist in a secular government. And then there's a set religious beliefs that should be able to operate freely and with no government feather.

SHARPTON: No. But, I agree with you there. 

On his MSNBC show Wednesday, Sharpton strangely discussed his "rights as a woman" with radical leftist Rep. Jan Schakowsky: 

SHARPTON: If I am a person that lives and works in an area that does not get a lot of services and, therefore, I get a job that I badly need at a hospital that is run by religious institution, don't I as a woman have the right to want to be covered just like someone across town that may have different options for jobs? Isn't this really about protecting people`s rights that work in these facilities that are not necessarily of the religious belief or a member of that church. Isn't it their rights at stakes here, not the institution's rights?

On his radio show, Sharpton boasted about how he has been preaching since he was a little boy, but the Catholics are wrong. He suggested Catholics aren't converting people to Christianity but shoving it down their throats: 

The church can’t say that we do not believe in contraception, we do not believe in women’s right to choose but you front us anyway and we’re not going to cover that with our employees who may not  believe. If you believe in that you should stand by your beliefs but then you do like those of us who have been arrested when we stood up against the government ,and like Ali did at the war, and say therefore I’m not going to  deal with the government. But they want to rewrite the laws based on their belief and based on some of their belief at that, 'cause divorce is against  the Catholic Church, but there not saying they’re not going to insure divorcees. So I mean, what is this? Now you can disagree with me and I  welcome disagreement, but that is my view and it doesn’t make me any less a  believer, a firm believer. But I believe in converting people not forcing people to abide by what I believe cause I don’t want anyone forcing me.