Pope Francis In Your Face Rebuke To Barack Obama Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words. ~St. Francis of Assisi Theres a lot of vitriol right now out there in blogger land and among conservatives here and there and in Washington. Theres a concerted effort to take the very pastoral visit and message of Pope Francis, the Vicar of Christ, and turn it into something very political. Thats a subject for another post. But what isnt is the Holy Fathers unscheduled stop to see the Little Sisters of the Poor on Wednesday evening in Washington. The Little Sisters are the order of religious at the forefront of the fight with the Obama Administration over the contraceptives mandate. Because the Little Sisters are not officially affiliated with a house of worship (none of the orders of lay religious are), and minister to the indigent elderly of all faiths as their mission dictates, they do not qualify for the religious exemption under Obamacare to not provide contraceptives and sterilization services to their employees regardless of whether or not it violates religious beliefs. After being at the White House with Barack Obama and saying that religious freedom is one of Americas most precious possessions, the Holy Father demonstrated his understanding of just how forked Obamas tongue is by singling out the one order of lay religious who are the acting thorn in the side of the administration for an unplanned visit. Some would say, that this is oh, so Francis, but really, there was more to it. It was a short visit that was not in the program, Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office, said at an evening press conference during the papal visit to the nations capital. This is a sign, obviously, of support for them in their court case, he affirmed. And with one totally unnuanced stop, Pope Francis showed the Obama Administration that their duplicity has not gone unnoticed nor that the religious liberty we hold so dear is subject to the whim of a ruling party. In this, the action spoke louder than any words possibly could, even if His Holiness words preceded the act: Pope Francis, with President Obama at the White House, called religious freedom one of Americas most precious possessions and had hearkened to the U.S. bishops defense of religious freedom. All are called to be vigilant, precisely as good citizens, to preserve and defend that freedom from everything that would threaten or compromise it, he had said. 