We did not pick this fight

The U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has called for a Fortnight for Freedom from June 21 to July 4 to stand up for religious freedom.  Support them in their efforts to overturn the Obama Administration’s rules that:

·         Forces religious institutions and private businesses to provide coverage for sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs as well as for contraception without regard for the moral or religious objections of those forced to comply.

·         This rule does not exempt Catholic charities, schools, or hospitals.

·         Despite assurances by the Obama Administration that the rule would be modified, no such modification has been made.

·         This is not a partisan effort by the bishops, as some have claimed.  The Church has been clear on these issues for centuries, it is Obama and his ilk that are intruding into the religious beliefs and practices of the Church and those who follow its teachings.

Religious freedom has been infringed upon in other areas as well:

·         In CLS v. Martinez the court upheld the right of the University of California Hastings College of Law to deny student organization status to a chapter of the Christian Legal Society because it found the group’s adherence to biblical principles concerning sex outside of marriage and gay marriage to be “offensive.” This was the first time the school had ever denied such recognition to any student group.

 

·         Vanderbilt University forced the school’s Catholic student group off campus because it did not allow non-Catholics to be group leaders, although they could be members.

·         In Vermont, a Catholic couple who own a bed and breakfast was forced to pay over $30,000 when they refused to host a “wedding” for a gay couple. Numerous other small businesses across the nation have faced similar action.

·         In New Jersey the Division of Civil Rights found that a Methodist organization violated a public accommodations law by not allowing a same-sex civil union ceremony on its property.

·         Catholic Charities of Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and affiliates in Illinois had to close adoption services for face civil liability for not placing children in the homes of same-sex couples.

·          A Catholic agency that had for years provided excellent service lost its federal grant to serve victims of human trafficking because it could not comply with a new requirement to facilitate abortions and other morally objectionable procedures for its clients.

·         Health care professionals, especially nurses, face pressure to assist in abortions under threat of losing their jobs and licenses.

And the examples could go on and on.  We cover some of these things on our radio program, but there is never time enough for us to go into detail about each and every attempt to restrict your religious freedom.

Join the bishops and find out what you can do! Check out this web link to the USCCB page.