Let the pulpit resound with the doctrine and sentiments of religious liberty. Let us hear of the dignity of man’s nature, and the noble rank he holds among the works of God… Let it be known that British liberties are not the grants of princes and parliaments.
— John Adams
Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law, 1765
What the HHS Mandate means for the Sisters of Life
“As a result, this mandate would coerce each and every individual Sister of Life to betray her religious vows. We will be forced to pay for “services” that attack human life and deny the truth and beauty of human sexuality. This would directly contradict our special religious vow to “to protect and enhance the sacredness of human life,” and go against everything we believe in and have devoted our lives to. To us, it would be comparable to a law requiring a spouse to violate their marriage vows — an unthinkable intrusion upon a sacred promise.”
Read more of the Sisters of Life statement on the HHS Mandate.
Be part of the VIRTUAL VIGIL for Religious Liberty
Haven’t been able to make it to an religious liberty event or rally? You can take a stand online. Sign up and send a little figure representing you to the virtual vigil — at the base of the Washington Monument.
Over 4,600 people of faith are keeping watch.
Today the Supreme Court ruled that the so-called “individual mandate — the provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires individuals to purchase a health plan — was constitutional under Congress’ powers to tax.
This decision will allow the enactment of the ACA to proceed — and that is not without implications for religious liberty.
According to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, two important issues to remember are these:
First, ACA allows use of federal funds to pay for elective abortions and for plans that cover such abortions, contradicting longstanding federal policy. The risk identified in this area has already materialized, particularly in the initial approval by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of “high risk” insurance pools that would have covered abortion.
Second, the Act fails to include necessary language to provide essential conscience protection, both within and beyond the abortion context. . . . The lack of statutory conscience protections applicable to ACA’s new mandates has been illustrated in dramatic fashion by HHS’s “preventive services” mandate, which forces religious and other employers to cover sterilization and contraception, including abortifacient drugs.
The Bishops in their statement today urged Congress to pass and the administration to sign legislation to fix those flaws.
Threats to Religious Liberty should trouble people of all faiths. Here are two examples of how Protestant churches have been affected.
“Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.”
Rev. Billy Graham, American Evangelist
Discrimination against small church congregations. New York City enacted a rule that barred the Bronx Household of Faith and sixty other churches from renting public schools on weekends for worship services even though non-religious groups could rent the same schools for scores of other uses. This could be devastating to many smaller congregations. It is a simple case of discrimination against religious believers.
Christian students on campus. In its over-100-year history, the University of California Hastings College of Law has denied student organization status to only one group, the Christian Legal Society, because it required its leaders to be Christian and to abstain from sexual activity outside of marriage.
“Wendy is a remarkable advocate for women and families and we are thrilled with tonight’s victory,” said Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “Not only does she provide an ideal contrast to the pro-abortion leadership of Senator Gillibrand, Wendy is an accomplished leader in her own right. A mother and successful career woman who even went on to clerk for the Supreme Court, Wendy has the broad-based appeal that New York voters are looking for.
Read the rest of the article from the Susan B. Anthony Candidate Fund here.
The Susan B. Anthony List, and its connected Political Action Committee, the SBA List Candidate Fund, are dedicated to electing candidates and pursuing policies that will reduce and ultimately end abortion.
Religious Liberty –This is not a Catholic issue. This is not a Jewish issue. This is not an Orthodox, Mormon, or Muslim issue. It is an American issue.
The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America issued a statement about the administration’s contraception and sterilization mandate that captured exactly the danger that we face:
“Most troubling, is the Administration’s underlying rationale for its decision, which appears to be a view that if a religious entity is not insular, but engaged with broader society, it loses its ‘religious’ character and liberties. Many faiths firmly believe in being open to and engaged with broader society and fellow citizens of other faiths. The Administration’s ruling makes the price of such an outward approach the violation of an organization’s religious principles. This is deeply disappointing.”
— Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, Statement, Jan. 24, 2012.
“The issue is not contraception. The issue is religious liberty. It’s whether a government can force anyone to act against his or her conscience.”
— Fr. Jerry Deponai
Pastor of St. Anthony’s, Nanuet
At the meeting of the Knights of Columbus
Triune Council, June 25
St. Ann’s Church, Nyack, N.Y.
Sunday, June 24
ROCKLAND RIGHT TO LIFE COMMITTEE 