Great New Video from AUL on the HHS Mandate
Posted by Eric Scheidler (March 3, 2012 at 6:23 pm)
Check out this great new video from Americans United for Life, created by Ryan Bomberger of the Radiance Foundation:
Archive: “News and Commentary” Category
Blunt Amendment Fails; Rally for Religious Freedom Needed Now More than Ever
Posted by John Jansen (March 2, 2012 at 10:53 pm)
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate had the opportunity to pass the Blunt Amendment, which would have rolled back the Obama administration’s HHS mandate that all employer health plans provide free contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing drugs.
The Blunt Amendment would have protected the religious freedom of churches and other institutions from being forced to provide insurance coverage for “services” that violate their moral beliefs.
In other words, it would have restored what was, up until a few weeks ago, the status quo. [Continue reading …]
Posted in News and Commentary | 1 Comment »
Cardinal George Pulls No Punches on HHS Mandate
Posted by John Jansen (February 29, 2012 at 8:18 pm)
In the current issue of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s newspaper, the Catholic New World, Francis Cardinal George has a must-read column in which he explains how high the stakes are in the fight against the HHS contraception mandate.
Never one to mince words, His Eminence states clearly that if the contraception mandate is not rescinded, there will be no Catholic hospitals left in the U.S. in two years.
Perhaps the most important paragraph of the column is the following:
The strangest accusation in this manipulated public discussion has the bishops not respecting the separation between church and state. The bishops would love to have the separation between church and state we thought we enjoyed just a few months ago, when we were free to run Catholic institutions in conformity with the demands of the Catholic faith, when the government couldn’t tell us which of our ministries are Catholic and which not, when the law protected rather than crushed conscience. The state is making itself into a church. The bishops didn’t begin this dismaying conflict nor choose its timing. We would love to have it ended as quickly as possible. It’s up to the government to stop the attack.
The Cardinal goes on to recommend getting a copy of the 2012 Archdiocesan Directory “as a souvenir”: [Continue reading …]
Posted in News and Commentary | 3 Comments »
HHS Mandate is Not Just a Catholic Issue
Posted by Matt Yonke (February 27, 2012 at 11:52 pm)
To hear the media tell it, one might think that the fight against the HHS Mandate was an issue of the Catholic Church being belligerent about an issue that only affects the Catholic Church. One might even think that the whole Catholic Church was not being affected, but only a small minority who actually follow the Church’s teaching on life issues.
But nothing could be further from the truth, and people of all faiths are realizing that the HHS Mandate is nothing short of the first salvo in an all-out war on religious liberty.
The flood of lawsuits that have been filed in the wake of the announcement of the mandate—not just from the Catholic Church and Catholic institutions, but from Protestant colleges, several Protestant denominations as well as the Orthodox Churches and non-profit organizations, states and even individuals make it clear that the impact of this mandate reaches far beyond the Catholic Church. [Continue reading …]
Posted in News and Commentary | 1 Comment »
Join the Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom
Posted by Eric Scheidler (February 10, 2012 at 10:50 pm)
On January 20, the Obama administration made it clear that the new HHS mandate requiring employers to provide free contraceptives, sterilization and abortifacient drugs through their insurance plans would be imposed on religious institutions.
The HHS provided a “religious exemption” so narrow that it would exclude Catholic hospitals, universities and charities, forcing these institutions to act in direct opposition to Catholic teaching through the health care plans they provide.
Institutions run by other religious organizations would be similarly affected.
Religious leaders across the country have been speaking out against the HHS Mandate, including 181 Catholic bishops, and numerous lawsuits have been filed by Catholic institutions.
And now it’s time for direct, grassroots activism!
On March 23 at Noon, concerned citizens will gather outside federal buildings in cities across the United States to rally in defense of religious freedom and stand up against the HHS Mandate.
Join the effort! Find a Rally for Religious Freedom in a city near you.