Posted by Eric Scheidler (May 30, 2012 at 5:45 am)
We fight for justice in government with many weapons. We use Rallies like we’ll hold on June 8, we use our power to vote, we use our voices and pens so our representatives in government know our concerns. But we must never forget that the strongest weapon we have is prayer.
Temporal rulers will come and go, but God is the great king over all, so recourse to Him is where our confidence must ultimately last. It is well within His power to stop the Obama Administration’s pernicious HHS Mandate.
With that in mind, we are asking all people of faith to join in a united prayer effort to Stop the HHS Mandate. In preparation for the June 8 Rally, we are calling on everyone to join in the “Novena for a Reversal of the HHS Mandate” that was such a blessing in the lead up to the Rally in March, which begins today.
The next Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally is 10 days away, and today our list of cities taking part just reached 140!
The number of cities on board for June 8 shows that the massive turnout seen at the first Nationwide Rally on March 23 was hardly a one-time phenomenon.
Opposition among the American people to the HHS Mandate’s assault on religious freedom is intense—and getting stronger!
From Augusta, Maine to Miami, Florida to Fairbanks, Alaska to Honolulu, Hawaii the American people are sending a message that we will not stand idly by while the federal government forces all employer health plans to provide free contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing drugs, regardless of any moral or religious objections.
Check out the Locations Page to see all the cities taking part and find a Rally near you.
Don’t see one in your area? June 8 is fast approaching, but there is still time to organize one!
You can find out what it takes to be a local Rally Captain here.
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We’ve received numerous requests the past few days from people across the country asking if they can get “Stand Up for Religious Freedom” buttons.
The answer is yes.
We’ve partnered with our friends at ChristianShirts.net to offer these great buttons (see left) as well as bumper stickers (see below). Buttons are available for only $.35 each, and bumper stickers are available for only $.79 each.
These buttons and bumper stickers are a great way to send the message that you’re not going to stand idly by while our federal government takes away our First Amendment rights—and they’re sure to be a conversation starter.
Yesterday, 43 Catholic institutions filed suit against the Obama Administration over the HHS Mandate.
News of these lawsuits shouldn’t come as a surprise. Since early March, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has been all but guaranteeing that lawsuits would be filed.
A few weeks later, Dolan, appearing on CBS’ Face the Nation, said, “We didn’t ask for this fight, but we won’t back away from it.”
Harvard Law Professor Mary Ann Glendon points out in the Wall Street Journal how it’s come to this in an op-ed appropriately titled, “Why the Bishops Are Suing the U.S. Government” that is accompanied by a picture of some of the 2,300 participants at the Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally in Philadelphia on March 23 (see above, right).
Professor Glendon writes:
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. [Continue reading …]
Lawsuits were filed by 43 Catholic institutions in federal court today against the Obama Administration over the HHS Mandate.
Among the plaintiffs, the University of Notre Dame is the most significant.
In announcing its lawsuit, Notre Dame’s president, Father John Jenkins, CSC, sent an email to university employees in which he wrote:
Today the University of Notre Dame filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana regarding a recent mandate from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). That mandate requires Notre Dame and similar religious organizations to provide in their insurance plans abortion-inducing drugs, contraceptives and sterilization procedures, which are contrary to Catholic teaching. The decision to file this lawsuit came after much deliberation, discussion and efforts to find a solution acceptable to the various parties.
Let me say very clearly what this lawsuit is not about: it is not about preventing women from having access to contraception, nor even about preventing the Government from providing such services. [Continue reading …]
Despite a strong rebuke delivered to Georgetown University by the Archdiocese of Washington, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius addressed the graduates of the school’s Public Policy Institute this morning.
In her remarks, Sebelius couldn’t resist wading into the area of church/state relations. Toward the end of her speech, she said the following:
Ultimately, public policy is about making difficult choices. Today, there are serious debates underway about the direction of our country – debates about the size and role of government, about America’s role as a global economic and military leader, about the moral and economic imperative of providing health care to all our citizens. People have deeply-held beliefs on all sides of these discussions, and you, as public policy leaders, will be called on to help move these debates forward.
These are not questions with quick and easy answers. When I was in junior high, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was running for president. I wasn’t old enough to vote, but it was the first national campaign I really remember. Some of then-Senator Kennedy’s opponents attacked him for his religion, suggesting that electing the first Catholic president would undermine the separation of church and state, a fundamental principle of our democracy. The furor grew so loud that Kennedy chose to deliver a speech about his beliefs just seven weeks before the election. [Continue reading …]
The Archdiocese of Washington has sharply criticized Georgetown University’s decision to invite HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to address its School of Public Policy’s upcoming diploma ceremony.
A recent the editorial in Catholic Standard, the Archdiocese of Washington’s official newspaper, notes:
Founded in 1789 by John Carroll, a Jesuit priest, Georgetown University has, historically speaking, religious roots. So, too, do Harvard, Princeton and Brown. Over time, though, as has happened with these Ivy League institutions, Georgetown has undergone a secularization, due in no small part to the fact that much of its leadership and faculty find their inspiration in sources other than the Gospel and Catholic teaching. Many are quite clear that they reflect the values of the secular culture of our age. Thus the selection of Secretary Sebelius for special recognition, while disappointing, is not surprising.
Monsignor Charles Pope, a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, comments thusly on the importance of the preceding paragraph: [Continue reading …]
Last week hackers attacked the Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally website as well as all the websites hosted by the Pro-Life Action League, one of the co-sponsors of the Rally effort.
Working overtime through the weekend, the Stand Up Rally IT team was able to locate and eradicate the source of the problem and restore security to the sites.
The attack couldn’t have come at a worse time as thousands were trying to access information about Rally news and locations and Rally Captains were trying to access crucial resources for planning and promoting the effort.
But all is well now and the effort will carry on undaunted. If anyone you know was disquieted by anti-virus software warnings or other error messages, please let them know that the problem has been solved and the site is now secure. And say some prayers for the protection of the Rally effort going forward.
This problem may have slowed us down, but it will not stop the Stand Up Campaign. We will stand up for our cherished liberties and we will fight to Stop the HHS Mandate!
As the battle to protect religious liberty rages on our friends at the Cardinal Newman Society are leading the way opposing the Georgetown/Sebelius scandal.
They’ve just released this great new video explaining why this invitation is an unconscionable slap in the face to the bishops and all Americans who care about religious liberty.
It’s hard to not sound over-the-top in describing how much of an outrage it is that the speaker at Georgetown University’s School of Public Policy diploma ceremony on May 18 will be none other than Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
The fact that the nominally Catholic architect of the HHS Mandate — which has been publicly denounced by every single bishop who leads a diocese in the U.S. — is being granted this honor by America’s oldest Catholic university is hard to believe.
Yet at the same time, given the history of the choice of commencement speakers at some other reputable Catholic universities in recent years, it isn’t hard to believe at all.
A “Direct Challenge” to the U.S. Bishops
Clearly, as the Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) observes, Georgetown’s invitation to Sebelius “can only be interpreted as a direct challenge to America’s Catholic bishops.” [Continue reading …]
We fight for justice in government with many weapons. We use Rallies like we’ll hold on June 8, we use our power to vote, we use our voices and pens so our representatives in government know our concerns. But we must never forget that the strongest weapon we have is prayer.
The next Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally is 10 days away, and today our list of cities taking part just reached 140!
We’ve received numerous requests the past few days from people across the country asking if they can get “Stand Up for Religious Freedom” buttons.
These buttons and bumper stickers are a great way to send the message that you’re not going to stand idly by while our federal government takes away our First Amendment rights—and they’re sure to be a conversation starter.
Yesterday, 43 Catholic institutions 
Lawsuits were 
The Archdiocese of Washington has sharply criticized Georgetown University’s 
Last week hackers attacked the Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally website as well as all the websites hosted by the