Originally, I was thinking of using the Fathers of Mercy federal charity number, it being that I’m a member of the Fathers of Mercy in good standing. There were surmountable but very difficult, convoluted logistical problems with this, and that was put in the too-hard bucket.
Then I was thinking of getting Holy Souls Hermitage its own federal charity number. However, because of a recent up-tick in the persecution of religion by the United States Department of Health and Human Services – an indication of how things are developing in the U.S.A. – I thought better than to get such a number.
If I did get that federal charity number, then Holy Souls Hermitage would be a non-profit religious employer, employing me, the hermit, so that I could benefit from any donations. Because of that, Holy Souls Hermitage would have to provide me with health insurance that is acceptable to the government. Since I was recently automatically denied health insurance, I cannot get any health insurance outside of government health insurance, which demand that employees receive coverage for contraceptives and abortifacients. Obviously, I won’t be using contraceptives and abortifacients, but I would be obliged to pay for contraceptives and abortifacients that are used by others. I won’t do that.
Is there a conscience clause, a kind of exemption for a religious non-profit organization that cannot supply such anti-family, pro-death premiums? Not really. Holy Souls Hermitage does not fall within the parameters of the exemption provided by the government, due to the conditions under which that exemption is provided.
It’s true that the Hermitage would employ only myself, a member of the religion to which Holy Souls Hermitage belongs. That’s the first condition, and it is met. However, Holy Souls Hermitage would not meet the other condition. I would be limited to primarily serving those who share Catholic beliefs.
While Holy Souls Hermitage is dedicated to the sanctification of priests in the purgatory of this life and the next by way of prayer and sacrifice – an unprovably large part of how my time is spent – what I write, either in books or on this “web-presence” – what auditors actually see – may well be perceived to be aimed at a primarily non-Catholic readership, meaning that Holy Souls Hermitage would fall outside the draconian condition for the exemption of serving Catholics alone. Please God, I will be writing a great deal for Muslims and Jews and non-Catholic Christians. Catholics may very well peak over the shoulders of these non-Catholics – and enjoy themselves entirely – but it might well be said that I will not write for a strictly Catholic readership. Even as a hermit – you have to understand – I am an enthusiastic, zealous missionary at heart.
Imagine Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta and her Missionaries of Charity carding people in their soup kitchen lines for their Catholic baptismal certificates! Imagine me doing the same for everyone who comes to this web-presence! We help people because we are Catholic, not because others are Catholic. The Department of Health and Human Services command: “Hate thy neighbor!” Holy Souls Hermitage says, “Love even those who persecute God’s love!”
I do, in fact, have permission from the Fathers of Mercy not to provide Holy Souls Hermitage with its own charity number. However, if I were to solicit donations in North Carolina without this federal charity number, I would be acting outside of the letter of the law in this state. So, things are extra difficult for non-profits with a conscience.
THE SOLUTION: Holy Souls Hermitage will not solicit donations! If you would like to donate to Holy Souls Hermitage, you will have to force me take your donations by sending, for instance, a personal/business/bank/postal service check not made out to Holy Souls Hermitage, but rather made out to – GEORGE DAVID BYERS – sending it via snail mail to:
GEORGE DAVID BYERS
102 COLLEGE STATION DRIVE
SUITE 3, PMB 233
28712 BREVARD, N.C. U.S.A.
Alternatively, you may send me an email at holysoulshermitage using gmail dot com, twisting my arm to provide you with the SWIFT code for a bank to bank transfer, all entirely against my repeated protestations, of course!
Your gifts will be noted on the Benefactor’s Page, that is, what you “force” upon me in this way[!], again, entirely against my protestations. I will not insult you by not putting what you send to me into the bank account.
Why all this? Again, because I would like to retain the freedom of speech enshrined in the Constitution of the United States, though its guarantee in law has fallen apart. Perhaps I will be able to do some something useful for the eternal salvation of those who will come to know Holy Souls Hermitage.
As a side note on this, anything I would write on the Natural Moral Law would be considered “politics”, even though it is also part of Catholic moral doctrine. Politics, of course, are not allowed by a religious non-profit organization. But that’s a mute point, after the Department of Health and Human Services has had its way.
See, for instance, the USCCB on this, as well as Catholicnews.
======================================================
All those "forcing" me to take donations -- which I am not soliciting -- will be remembered in my daily prayers and Mass about once a month for all benefactors (for dates, see Holy Mass on the top menu).
I have an Amazon Wishlist, for my own consultation and purchasing, of course. If you were to go to peruse that wishlist and force me to take what you send me because you have it sent to my mailing address (which acts like a physical address, being that it is a UPS Store), then, against my unending protestations, I will just have to take it. Actually, the UPS Store will literally force me to take it just to get it out of their way! /// If the link doesn't bring you to the wishlist, just type in "Byers George D" into the search for someone else's wishlist option. See the Benefactor's Page for more details.
The very first post of a series I started the other week entitled Tips on Exorcism from Holy Souls Hermitage seems to have caught the interest of a certain crowd. That first post went a bit viral in this limited circle. ISP provider names from all over quickly began to include non-public providers, including:
As I’ve been writing this post, these visitors and many, many more have moved on to the second and third posts in the exorcism tips series.
Accompany me, Father George David Byers, S.S.L., S.T.D., as I begin life as a Catholic Priest-Hermit by choice. Holy Souls Hermitage is dedicated to the sanctification of my fellow priests, bishops & seminarians going through the purgatory of this life or the next. I pray for benefactors daily, offering Holy Mass for their intentions about once a month. You'll have to force me to take your donations, though. Scroll down for an explanation.
