Obama’s war on religion (update #10)

Obama's War on Religion

The administration’s unprecedented attack on religious freedom infringes on fundamental rights of Americans of every faith. Recently, the Cardinal Newman Society reported that non-Catholic colleges now outnumber Catholic ones in bring suit against the HHS mandate. That mandate FORCES us to fund highly immoral abortion inducing drugs and sterilizations for all. Over 100 plaintiffs (colleges and other institutions) have now brought suit.

Spreading Misinformation

In the recent vice presidential debates, Joe Biden falsely claimed:

With regard to the assault on the Catholic Church, let me make it absolutely clear. No religious institution – Catholic or otherwise, including Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital – none has to either refer contraception, none has to pay for contraception, none has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide. That is a fact. That is a fact.

NOT TRUE – Biden’s statement is completely false. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) immediately issued a statement exposing how blatantly wrong he is. This is not a matter of interpretation but black and white wrong.

I do not know why Biden made such an error-filled, outlandish claim. Paul Kengor makes some interesting points:

Joe Biden was wrong, and blatantly so. And it’s hard to imagine that Biden, a “pro-choice Catholic,” could not have known he was wrong. In fact, Biden has privately expressed misgivings with the policy.

According to the New York Times and Politico, both Joe Biden and Obama Chief of Staff Bill Daley urged the White House to carefully consider the backlash from the Catholic Church and Catholic voters over the HHS mandate. Unfortunately, they lost to Obama advisers Valerie Jarrett and Kathleen Sebelius. According to the Times, Biden even arranged for Cardinal Dolan “to meet with the president and express the church’s view.”

This means that Joe Biden privately did good work, whatever his motivation. Unfortunately, it means he didn’t do good work during the vice-presidential debate. Quite the contrary, during the debate, he misrepresented the mandate, and was factually wrong before a huge audience, surely convincing countless Catholic Democrats that the HHS mandate has been overblown. At the debate, Biden towed the party line and fell on his sword for Barack Obama. He did so before millions of fellow Catholics, and at the expense of his Church and religious liberty.

Some more articles on this blatant whopper:

How Obama’s Mandate Affects Businesses

Many business people – Catholics and other people of faith – have shared their stories. These are the job creators who will suffer costly penalties due to this mandate. That means, less jobs folks. Here are two recent examples:

The Green family talk about their Christian faith, their business (Hobby Lobby) and how religious freedom is being infringed.

Another businessman, employer and healthcare provider for many, speaks about the impact of ObamaCare on him. Listen to Autocam CEO John Kennedy:

Other Resources on Religious Freedom

Here are several good resources:

Further Reading

Here is a sampling of some new articles written on this topic in the last few weeks:

  1. America edging toward confrontation on religious freedom, Archbishop Chaput warns
  2. Amicus Briefs Filed in First Federal Appeal Regarding the HHS Mandate
  3. Appeals Court Grants Expedited Review of HHS Mandate
  4. August 1st: Mandate-day for Business Owners – A Dark day for Religious Liberty in America
  5. Ave Maria President: HHS Mandate Threatens Millions in Fines, Harms Faculty, Drains Resources and Endangers Future
  6. Becket Fund Testifies Before Congress
  7. Biden’s Remarks Debunked as Catholic Institutions and 13 States File Amicus Briefs Opposing HHS Mandate before DC Circuit Court of Appeals
  8. Cardinal George says mayor overstepped with Chick-fil-A remarks
  9. Catholic Doctors Tackle How to Survive in an ‘Increasingly Toxic Culture’
  10. Christianity Demands More Than Just Freedom To Worship!
  11. Conscience rights for pharmacists upheld in Illinois ruling
  12. Constitutional Experts Call Obama’s Abuse Of Power Historic
  13. Corporate Exercise of Religion and Other Thoughts on the RFRA Claim in the Mandate Litigation
  14. East Texas Baptist University and Houston Baptist University Sue over HHS Mandate
  15. Federal Court Asked to Dismiss Lawsuit Against Montana Jesus Statue
  16. For This Employer, Faith Is No Hobby
  17. Former diplomat prods US to widen worldwide religious freedom efforts
  18. Hobby Lobby Sues over HHS Mandate
  19. Hobby Lobby responds to DOJ brief against religious freedom
  20. Hobby Lobby v. Sebelius
  21. Illinois cannot make pharmacists give ‘morning after’ pill-court
  22. Mayors chicken out of true family values
  23. New study finds rise in religious restrictions worldwide
  24. Obama Administrations attack on Catholics in healthcare
  25. Obama reaffirms support for HHS mandate, downplays controversy
  26. Obama vs. Religious Freedom: Why his administration threatens your right to worship
  27. Religion and the Election of 2012
  28. Reply Filed in HHS Mandate Case
  29. Supreme Court to Consider Hearing Weighty Church-State Controversy
  30. The Government’s Argument is Atrocious!
  31. Thousands join grassroots women’s movement opposing HHS mandate
  32. What’s Next for Conscience Rights
  33. Wheaton College Seeks Emergency Relief Against HHS Mandate

Obama’s war on religion (update #9)

Obama's War on Religion

Some battles in the war against religion (specifically Christianity – and even more specifically Catholicism) have recently gone to the good guys. This gives us hope, but falls far short of any indication that the tide has turned.

This piece continues my series on the very real war on religion. My last summary was 1 month ago. This is the latest update. To see the whole series, click here.

Unnatural unions vs. Chick-fil-A

One would think from watching the media or listening to uber-liberal big-city mayors that virtually the entire country backs the destruction of “traditional” marriage as we know it. The pressure has increased markedly since President Obama has given it his fully “evolved” support. Over last weekend, the president’s party voted to endorse “gay marriage” in their platorm.

This is not about equal rights but is another avenue to attack religion. Were “gay marriage” to be the law of the land, teaching and practicing the true Christian faith would be greatly hampered. Speaking against it will become hate speech and marrying heterosexuals but not homosexuals discrimination. Count on it and count on vigorous legal prosecution.

Many companies see upside publicity in announcing their support with little downside. Chick-fil-A is not one of them. They embrace Christian values, natural law and 5,000 years of tradition by simply saying they support marriage as between 1 man and 1 woman. Imagine the outrage from the extremely intolerant homosexual community and their supporters!

Tomorrow Wednesday, August 1st is Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day. Show them your support. Also show every other company that the American people are NOT in mindless support of the gay agenda. Buy your lunch or dinner at Chick-fil-A. Treat the whole family, your Boy Scouts or Cub Scouts, your American Heritage Girls, your soccer team, your book club. Order from their catering menu for your function. Chick-fil-A food is a cut above typical fast-food fare, their restaurants are clean, their drive-thru is fast and their employees are friendly. Find them here.

This is something that YOU can do. It is small but may be part of something historic. It is easy, inexpensive, comparably healthy and tastes good too!

HHS mandate and private business

The issue of Obama’s HHS mandate against Christian conscience is often considered in the context of religious institutions such as schools, hospitals, charitable organizations and so on. They are good examples of how his decree (via the HHS which he controls) tramples religious freedom, but the issue is much larger than that because it also tramples upon individual business owners too.

Last week, a Catholic family-owned business in Colorado won an injunction against the ObamaCare mandate. The case must still be heard in court and the injunction applies only to this 1 company. It is a small victory, but it is a start.

This is a promotional video for Hercules Industries from 2009. The company employs 265 full-time workers.

NYC schools ban on worship

For a very long time, NYC schools have blatantly discriminated against off-hours religious use of their facilities. All other external parties were permitted. The ban applied only to the exercise of free speech which, in their opinion, represented “worship.”

Finally, after 17 years of litigation, a US District Court has overturned this law. Now we get to see what new obstacles they can invent.

Twisting the “separation of church and state” principal

The Freedom from Religion Foundation together with Robert Moss in behalf of his minor child, has sued a South Carolina school district. Elective credit is widely given around the country for off-site, elective study. The FRF wanted a test case to block credit if the study was religious in nature, proposing that it violated the so-called separation principal.

Year after year, this extralegal (i.e. not in law) principal is expanded to remove any trace of religious beliefs from every sector of government. This time, a federal appeals court sided with the good guys.

Further Reading

Here is a sampling of some new articles written on this topic in the last few weeks:

  1. A Kulturkampf Primer
  2. Affordable Care Act ruling promises religious fights for the forseeable future
  3. Archbishop Chaput: ‘It’s Going to Be a Long Fight’
  4. Archbishop Chaput’s Homily for the Closing Mass of the Fortnight for Freedom
  5. Archbishop Lori: Religious liberty bid unaffected by Supreme Court ruling
  6. Battle over ObamaCare shifts from courtroom to campaign trail
  7. Catholic Charities of Chicago lawsuit shows reach of HHS mandate
  8. Catholic business owners score win against ObamaCare mandate
  9. Catholics Need To Heed The Prophetic Voice Of The Church!
  10. Concluding the Fortnight: Now What?
  11. Congressman introduces Religious Freedom Tax Repeal Act
  12. Court strikes down NYC ban on churches meeting in schools
  13. Court’s Obamacare Ruling: What it Means for America
  14. Crucial Components of Religious Liberty
  15. Defining Religious Liberty Down
  16. Dems will include same-sex “marriage” plank in their platform at convention
  17. Federal court allows company to ignore birth-control mandate
  18. Five major ObamaCare taxes that will hit your wallet in 2013
  19. Gay marriage headed to DNC platform
  20. Government cannot take away true freedom, Archbishop Chaput teaches
  21. Hercules shows strength, halts Obama abortion pill mandate
  22. How Will the Church Respond to the Mandate?
  23. Keith Hennessey: A Strategy to Undo ObamaCare
  24. Key Quotes from Today’s Decision that Signal the Court’s Willingness to Strike Down the HHS Mandate
  25. Law in Service of Life
  26. More to come: Lawsuits over HHS mandate keep health reform law in court
  27. Obama Defends HHS Mandate: It’s “Not Fair” That Catholics Won’t Fund Birth Control
  28. Obamacare is Not Permanent Yet. Not Nearly.
  29. One HHS Mandate Case Dismissed, Don’t Read Too Much Into It
  30. Pelosi almost calls health law penalty a tax
  31. Post-Comfortable Christianity and the Election of 2012
  32. Religious Liberty and Its Contemporary Enemies
  33. Religious freedom: use it or lose it
  34. Religious liberty is ‘a foundational right,’ says Archbishop Chaput
  35. Rising Threats to American Religious Freedom
  36. Southern Baptists “Stand With the Bishops” Against the White House
  37. Supreme Court Keeps Health Care Law on Life Support
  38. Supreme Court Upholds Health-Care Law, Stage Set for First Amendment Showdown
  39. The Day After: A Declaration of War
  40. The Duty to Throw off Such Government
  41. The Fight for Freedom Begins July Fifth
  42. The HHS Mandate: What Now, In Light of the Supreme Court Ruling?
  43. The Obamacare Decision: A Mixed Bag
  44. The Roadmap to Obamacare Repeal
  45. The State Of Liberty
  46. The Two Social Justice Priorities
  47. To Fix Healthcare System, Put Consumers In Charge
  48. VICTORY: Private Company Wins Challenge to HHS Mandate
  49. What Will Independence Day in 2013 Look Like?
  50. Wheaton College (Protestant) joins Catholic institutions in lawsuit against HHS mandate
  51. Wheaton College Sues Over HHS Mandate
  52. Wheaton College backs, rabbi blasts Catholic bishops
Chick Fil A Appreciation

Obama’s war on religion (update #8)

Obama's War on Religion

Yesterday the Supreme Court of the United States ruled on the constitutionality of ObamaCare. Speculation has been rampant for months on the government’s authority to force people to purchase services under the commerce clause.

To the surprise of almost everyone, the Supreme Court saw ObamaCare as a massive new TAX. As a TAX, it passes constitutional muster based on the government’s unlimited authority to TAX.

This piece continues my series on the very real war on religion. My last summary was 1 month ago. This is the latest update. To see the whole series, click here.

What the Supreme Court did not decide

It is imperative that we understand the narrow scope of the Supreme Court’s decision. Specifically:

  • This case did not consider, in any way, the constitutionality of the HHS Mandate to force almost everyone, including the Catholic Church and its members, to purchase abortion inducing drugs, sterilizations, and contraceptive insurance coverage.
  • The Supreme Court did NOT rule that ObamaCare was in any way a “good idea,” merely that as a TAX it was not unconstitutional.

Where do we stand?

Nothing has changed. The numerous lawsuits brought by various Catholic dioceses and institutions remain full-steam-ahead. They are now more urgent than ever. We eagerly look forward to our day in court on this issue. ObamaCare enables the HHS mandate, which represents a major assault on freedom of religion. This is a completely different issue than what the Supreme Court decided yesterday.

Of course, we are disappointed. Had ObamaCare not been seen as a TAX (which admittedly, it actually is), it likely would have been overturned. That would have made the HHS mandate moot and our struggle to retain the religious freedom we have enjoyed for over 200 years intact.

Success in court is not the only way religious liberty can be restored. The other way is through legislative action. President Obama has been intransigent on this and with the Senate controlled by his party, legislative relief is impossible. Today’s decision therefore means that…

November 6th is now a REFERENDUM on ObamaCare

The decision to accept this controversial freedom crushing, pro-abortion healthcare law now goes to the voters. YOU decide. Cast your vote for president Obama and his party if you support this deeply flawed law. If you oppose the law and recognize that improving healthcare access does not have to be at the cost of religious liberty and innocent life, vote against President Obama and his enabling party. It really is that simple.

Fortnight for Freedom continues

Religious liberty has been a part of the American experience since before the United States even became an independent country. However, approaches to religious liberty have developed over time, as Catholics and people of other faiths have faced discrimination in various forms. Fortunately, there have been many heroes of religious liberty that span centuries.

Importantly, the First Amendment has protected the free exercise of religion since the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1789. While the HHS mandate forcing coverage of sterilization, contraception, and abortion-inducing drugs represents a significant threat to religious liberty, Catholics and others have endured religious crises throughout our country’s history.

Our bishops call to action continues through July 4th. Read the articles below to find out more about our country’s historic challenges, and view their educational resources page to find out more about current threats to religious liberty both at home and abroad.

Fortnight For Freedom 2015

What is at stake

The administration and their friends in the media try to spin this issue as either (1) the Church taking away everyone’s contraception or (2) a “war on women.” They know this to be false. In jeopardy is something much, much greater – with the unprecedented loss of religious freedom we would also irrevocably lose the very character of the country. This radical change sacrifices the birthright of future Americans.

Evangelical Eric Metaxas is the author of the new book on Dietrich Bonhoeffer how is remembered for his effort to overthrow Hitler. Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse is an economist and founder for the Ruth Institute which promotes families through the sanctity of marriage.

Protecting Religious Freedom

The Becket Fund released this new video on the good work they do:

Further Reading

Here is a sampling of some new articles written on this topic in the last few weeks:

  1. Activists gather to plot defense of “religious liberty”
  2. Archbishop Chaput speaks about religious liberty at Catholic Media Conference address
  3. Archbishop Gomez rejects ‘capitulation’ to HHS mandate
  4. Archbishop: Lawsuits Continue Against Health Care Law
  5. Archbishop Lori Opens Fortnight for Freedom at Baltimore Basilic
  6. Archbishop Lori kicks-off Fortnight for Freedom with call to action
  7. As Fortnight of Freedom begins, media responds
  8. At the Door of the Temple: Religious Freedom and the New Orthodoxy
  9. Becket Fund Submits Comments to HHS
  10. Bishops respond to Supreme Court ruling; renew plea to repair Affordable Care Act
  11. Bishops urge Congress to fix health law flaws after high court decision
  12. Catholic lawmaker seeks colleagues’ support for HHS mandate suits
  13. Churches Stand Together
  14. Colleen Carroll Campbell: How religion fosters freedom
  15. DC religious freedom event stresses role of liberty in America
  16. Early Religious Freedom in America
  17. Eric Rassbach Talks Religious Freedom at the Council of Europe
  18. Essential reading for the Fortnight for Freedom kick-off
  19. Faith leaders decry mandate’s creation of religious classes
  20. Faithful Catholic Colleges Urge HHS to Rescind “Direct Violation” of Religious Liberty
  21. ‘Fortnight’ about religious freedom, not politics, archbishop says
  22. Fortnight for Freedom: U.S. Catholics and Religious Liberty
  23. Fortnight for Freedom: Why Now?
  24. Fortnight for Freedom in a Country Parish
  25. Fortnight for Freedom in (your) photos
  26. Fox’s Chris Wallace Asks Cardinal About MRC’s Finding of a Near-Blackout of Evening News on Catholic Lawsuits
  27. Groups Vow to Continue Fighting for Religious Liberty as Supreme Court Upholds Affordable Care Act
  28. Groups opposed to contraception mandate will push forward with lawsuits
  29. Gut Check for Freedom
  30. Health care decision: Religious reaction swift; Catholic groups: lawsuits will continue
  31. Hooked on Sex
  32. How Will the Supreme Court’s Decision Impact the HHS Mandate?
  33. If Only We Weren’t Catholic…
  34. In the Teeth of an Election Year
  35. Individual Mandate Survives – Religious Liberty Challenges Move Forward
  36. It’s Time to Remember What Men Have Forgotten
  37. Key Quotes from Today’s Decision that Signal the Court’s Willingness to Strike Down the HHS Mandate
  38. Launching the Fortnight for Freedom
  39. Leaked e-mail shows media campaign against US bishops
  40. Liberty for the Church
  41. Morr-Fitz v. Blagojevich (2005-Current)
  42. Mother Church and the Nanny State
  43. Obama is paying for betraying progressive Catholics
  44. Obamacare Is Not Permanent Yet. Not Nearly.
  45. Obamacare’s Legal Battles Continue in HHS Mandate Cases
  46. Obama’s grand miscalculation with Catholics
  47. Purpose and Liberty
  48. Rallies Call for Standing Up for Religious Freedom
  49. Refusing to Render Unto Caesar That Which is God’s
  50. Religious Freedom Under Siege: The Bishops Respond
  51. Religious Freedom: Use It or Lose It
  52. Religious Groups Still Oppose Health Law
  53. Religious Liberty: Our Birthright
  54. Religious freedom issues at heart of HHS lawsuits, legal scholars say
  55. Religious liberty group launches massive HHS mandate site
  56. Religious liberty threatened in America, Archbishop Gomez warns
  57. Social Justice Priorities: Life and Religious Liberty
  58. Southern Baptists “Stand With the Bishops” Against the White House
  59. Supreme Knight says HHS mandate has re-shaped country’s political landscape
  60. Supreme Knight urges Catholics to put faith first while voting
  61. The Catholic Church and the Global Crisis of Religious Liberty
  62. The Church Pushes Back
  63. The “Episcopal Partisanship” Red Herring
  64. The Fortnight, The Pill, and the False Dichotomy
  65. The HHS Mandate: A Question of Religious Freedom or the Life Issues?
  66. The HHS Mandate: This is About Contraception
  67. The Sons of Caesar, Still Pulling Peter Down
  68. US health care reform efforts through history
  69. Washington rally brings 2,000 together in support of religious freedom
  70. What SCOTUS’s Decision Means for the Pro-life Cause
  71. What’s Behind the HHS Mandate?

Fortnight for Freedom

Fortnight for Freedom

Yesterday began a 14 day period of prayer, reflection, study, catechesis and action to preserve our God-given (and constitutional) right to live freely as Catholics. Catholics and non-Catholics around the country are uniting in defense against the Obama administration’s unprecedented attack on a basic liberty guaranteed by the very first ammendment.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) are the sponsors for this effort which runs through July 4th, Independence Day. Their website is the primary source for related information, which can be reached directly at Fortnight4Freedom.org.

Obama's war on religion

I have also been covering events as they unfold. If you would like background, please see my continuing series entitled Obama’s war on religion. There you will find commentary, videos and extensive links.

Be sure to check you parish bulletin for local events.

Obama’s war on religion (update #7)

Obama's War on Religion

Last week 43 Catholic dioceses and institutions throughout America announced lawsuits against President Obama’s attack on religious liberty. This raises significantly the number of federal suits filed over the blatantly anti-Christian (other religions are effectively exempted) moves by the administration.

Among those suing is Notre Dame. The Notre Dame administration has been a staunch supporter of Obama, awarding him an honorary doctor of laws degree at their 164th commencement. This they did before his attack on religious freedom but over the strenuous objection of the bishops who cited Obama’s atrocious record in support of abortion. The comments from Fr. Jenkins (their president) is online.

Overall, the list (currently) includes 23 separate cases filed by 55 individual plaintiffs. The Beckett Fund has published a complete list with details about each case.

My last summary was 1 month ago. This is the latest update. To see the whole series, click here.

Video Announcements

The bishops of the Michigan Catholic Conference explain the lawsuits:

Another very, very good video comes from the Archdiocese of Washington:

Cardinal Dolan

Cardinal Timothy Dolan (president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) simply describes the effect of Obama’s policy as strangling,” “straight-jacketing,” “handcuffing” and “choking” the Church:

Father Barron

Father Barron puts religious liberty in a historical context after his recent trip to the UK.

Mary Ann Glendon

The best written overview of the situation comes from Harvard Law School professor Mary Ann Glendon. It was published in the Wall Street Journal last Tuesday. This is the 1 piece I would send to someone who is confused on this issue. Many are confused too, as the administration and their proxies in government and the media do their best to make it something else (e.g. “war against women” or “Catholics taking away your birth control”).

This week Catholic bishops are heading to federal courts across the country to defend religious liberty. On Monday they filed 12 lawsuits on behalf of a diverse group of 43 Catholic entities that are challenging the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) sterilization, abortifacient and birth-control insurance mandate.

Like most Americans, the bishops have long taken for granted the religious freedom that has enabled this nation’s diverse religions to flourish in relative harmony. But over the past year they have become increasingly concerned about the erosion of conscience protections for church-related individuals and institutions. Their top-rated program for assistance to human trafficking victims was denied funding for refusing to provide “the full range of reproductive services,” including abortion. For a time, Catholic Relief Services faced a similar threat to its international relief programs. The bishops fear religious liberty is becoming a second-class right.

Along with leaders of other faiths who have conscientious objections to all or part of the mandate, they hoped to persuade the government to bring its regulations into line with the First Amendment, and with federal laws such as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act that provide exemptions to protect the conscience rights of religious institutions and individuals.

On Jan. 20, however, HHS announced it would not revise the mandate or expand its tight exemption, which covers only religious organizations that mainly hire and serve their co-religionists. Instead, the mandated coverage will continue to apply to hospitals, schools and social service providers run by groups whose religious beliefs require them to serve everyone in need.

Continued attempts to solve the problem by negotiation produced only an announcement by the Obama administration in February that insurance providers would pay for the contested services. Since many Catholic entities are self-insured and the others pay the premiums, the bishops’ concerns were not alleviated.

The main goal of the mandate is not, as HHS claimed, to protect women’s health. It is rather a move to conscript religious organizations into a political agenda, forcing them to facilitate and fund services that violate their beliefs, within their own institutions.

The media have implied all along that the dispute is mainly of concern to a Catholic minority with peculiar views about human sexuality. But religious leaders of all faiths have been quick to see that what is involved is a flagrant violation of religious freedom. That’s why former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister, declared, “We’re all Catholics now.”

More is at stake here than the mission of all churches, including the Catholic Church, to provide social services like health care and education to everyone regardless of creed, and to do so without compromising their beliefs. At the deepest level, we are witnessing an attack on the institutions of civil society that are essential to limited government and are important buffers between the citizen and the all-powerful state.

If religious providers of education, health care and social services are closed down or forced to become tools of administration policy, the government consolidates a monopoly over those essential services. As Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, put it, we are witnessing an effort to reduce religion to a private activity. “Never before,” he said, “have we faced this kind of challenge to our ability to engage in the public square as people of faith.”

With this week’s lawsuits, the bishops join a growing army of other plaintiffs around the country, Catholic and non-Catholic, who are asking the courts to repel an unprecedented governmental assault on the ability of religious persons and groups to practice their religion without being forced to violate their deepest moral convictions.

Religious freedom is subject to necessary limitations in the interests of public health and safety. The HHS regulations do not fall into that category. The world has gotten along fine without this mandate – the services in question are widely and cheaply available, and most employers will provide coverage for them.

But if the regulations are not reversed, they threaten to demote religious liberty from its prominent place among this country’s most cherished freedoms. That is why Cardinal Dolan told CBS’s “Face the Nation” on April 8: “We didn’t ask for this fight, but we won’t back away from it.”

I marked the bold text above as the key. Father Zuhlsdorf has also added his commentary and support.

Father Henry

Father Terence Henry, president of Franciscan University, discusses how Obama’s mandate impacts his institution:

Further Reading

Here is a sampling of some new articles written on this topic in the last few weeks:

  1. 2012 National Religious Freedom Conference: Rising Threats to Religious Freedom
  2. A Sleeping Church Wakes Up
  3. A Sunny Side to the Obama Mandate?
  4. A sleeping church wakes up
  5. ABC Skips Catholic Lawsuit Over Birth Control Mandate; NBC Allows 20 Seconds
  6. Archbishop urges people of all faiths to stand for religious freedom
  7. Becket Fund Praises Courageous Institutions for Joining the Fight for Religious Liberty
  8. Biggest Religious Lawsuit in U.S. History Launched, Liberal Evening News Shows Ignore It
  9. Bishop Morlino Decries Georgetown Invitation To Sebelius
  10. Cardinal Dolan Applauds Church Agencies As They Challenge HHS For Violating Religious Freedom
  11. Cardinal Dolan of NY, Cardinal Wuerl of D.C., Notre Dame–And 40 Other Catholic Dioceses and Organizations–Sue Obama Administration
  12. Catholic Business Leaders File Federal Lawsuit Challenging HHS Mandate
  13. Catholic dioceses/organizations, including OSV, file massive religious liberty lawsuit
  14. Catholic organizations file religious liberty lawsuits against the federal government in a dozen jurisdictions
  15. Centennial moment: Archbishop Noll on church-state relations
  16. Defending Religious Freedom in Full: A Generation’s Challenge
  17. Dolan: White House is “strangling” Catholic church
  18. Federal lawsuits by Catholic dioceses, groups seek to stop HHS mandate
  19. Forced Abortion Converage: It’s Next
  20. Forty-three Catholic organizations file lawsuits against HHS mandate
  21. Franciscan University Drops Student Health Insurance Due to HHS Mandate
  22. Fury Spreads: Catholic Leaders Join MRC Outrage Over Network Silence on Catholics vs. Obama Lawsuit
  23. Good for Religion, Good for America
  24. HHS Information Central
  25. Inside the Beltway: Lawsuit, what lawsuit?
  26. Mary Ann Glendon explains why Bishops and Catholic institutions are suing the Federal Government
  27. Massive Religious Lawsuit Eclipsed on CNN by ‘Stroller Brigade’ Protest of About 100
  28. National Day of Ironic Prayer
  29. Nine Lawsuits for Religious Freedom – A Brief Rundown of the Arguments
  30. “Our First, Most Cherished Liberty” and the State
  31. Pelosi: No to Provision Protecting Chaplains From Being Ordered to Act Against Faith
  32. Pres. Obama is finally going to be properly vetted – before an election
  33. “Sober Determination” in Defense of Religious Freedom
  34. Surprise! MSM Ignoring Catholic Lawsuits against Government
  35. The Declaration of Religious Independence
  36. The Triumph of Ideology Over Law
  37. This Is A Serious Attack on Religious Freedom
  38. We Cannot Be Silent: Obama Supporting Gay Marriage
  39. White House Lie: Our Door is Open to Bishops
  40. You Should Be Worried!
  41. Your Move, Obama

Memorial Sacrifice Soul And Freedom

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