Call to Action - Fortnight for Freedom

BISHOPS ISSUE CALLTO ACTION

TO DEFEND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

Urge strong lay involvement

Outline threats to First Freedom at all levels of government and abroad

Call upon dioceses to pursue religious liberty fortnight, June 21-July 4

WASHINGTON—The U.S. bishops have issued a call to action todefend religious liberty and urged laity to work to protect the First Freedomof the Bill of Rights. They outlined their position in “Our First, Most Cherished Freedom.” The document was developed by the Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), approved for publication by the USCCB Administrative Committee March 13, and published in English and Spanish April 12.

            The document can be found at http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/our-first-most-cherished-liberty.cfm

“We have been staunch defenders of religious liberty in the past.We have a solemn duty to discharge that duty today,” the bishops said in the document, “… for religious liberty is under attack, both at home and abroad.”

The document lists concerns that prompt the bishops to act now.  Among concerns are:

•           The Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate forcing all employers, including religious organizations, to provide and pay for coverage of employees’contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs even when they have moral objections to them. Another concern is HHS’s defining which religious institutions are “religious enough” to merit protection of their religious liberty.

•          Driving Catholic foster care and adoption services out of business. Boston, San Francisco, the District of Columbia and Illinois have driven local Catholic Charities adoption or foster care services out of business by revoking their licenses, by ending their government contracts, or both—because those Charities refused to place children with same-sex couples or unmarried opposite-sex couples who cohabit.

•          Discrimination against Catholic humanitarian services. Despite years of excellent performance by the USCCB’s Migration and Refugee Services in administering contract services for victims of human trafficking, the federal government changed its contract specifications to require USCCB to provide or referfor contraceptive and abortion services in violation of Catholic teaching. Religious institutions should not be disqualified from a government contract based on religious belief, and they do not lose their religious identity or liberty upon entering such contracts. Recently a federal court judge in Massachusetts turned religious liberty on its head when he declared that such a disqualification is required by the First Amendment—that the government violates religious liberty by allowing Catholic organizations to participate in contracts in a manner consistent with their beliefs on contraception and abortion.

            The statement lists other examples such as laws punishing charity to undocumented immigrants; a proposal to restructure Catholic parish corporations to limit the bishop’s role; and a state university’s excluding a religious student group because it limits leadership positions to those who share the group’s religion.

            Other topics include the history and deep resonance of Catholic and American visions of religious freedom, the recent tactic of reducing freedom of religion to freedom of worship, the distinction between conscientious objection to a just law, and civil disobedience of an unjust law, the primacy of religious freedom among civil liberties, the need for active vigilance in protecting that freedom, and concern for religious liberty among interfaith and ecumenical groups and across partisan lines.

            The bishops decry limiting religious freedom to the sanctuary.

           “Religious liberty is not only about our ability to go to Mass on Sunday or pray the Rosary at home. It is about whether we can make our contribution to the common good of all Americans,” they said. “Can we do the goodworks our faith calls us to do, without having to compromise that very same faith?”

            “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,” they said.

The bishops highlighted religious freedom abroad.

            “Our obligation at home is to defend religious liberty robustly, but we cannot overlook the much graver plight that religious believers, most of them Christian, face around the world,” they said. “The age of martyrdom has not passed. Assassinations, bombings of churches, torching of orphanages—these are only the most violent attacks Christians havesuffered because of their faith in Jesus Christ. More systematic denials of basic human rights are found in the laws of several countries, and also in acts of persecution by adherents of other faiths.”

            The document ends with a call to action.

“What we ask isnothing more than that our God-given right to religious liberty be respected.We ask nothing less than that the Constitution and laws of the United States, whichrecognize that right, be respected.”  They specifically addressedseveral groups: the laity, those in public office, heads of Catholic charitableagencies, priests, experts in communication, and urged each to employ the gifts and talents of its members for religious liberty.

            The bishops called for “A Fortnight for Freedom,” the two-week period from June 21 to July 4—beginning with the feasts of St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher and ending with Independence Day—to focus “all the energies the Catholic community can muster” for religious liberty.  They also asked that, later in the year, the feast of Christ the King be “a day specifically employed by bishops and priests to preach about religious liberty, both here and abroad.”

HHS Rally Buffalo NY 23 March 2012

Video of Religious Liberty Rally today.
HHS (Health & Human Services Mandate opposition)
The video includes a beautiful prayer for our political leaders.




Other prayers available at http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/upload/USCCB_Religious_Freedom_Prayer_Campaign_ENG.pdf

versión Española - http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/upload/USCCB_Oraciones_por_los_Derechos_de_Conciencia.pdf

US Bishops Renew Call to Legislative Action

This statement was released late Friday night by the USCCB:
Bishops Renew Call to Legislative Action on Religious Liberty
February 10, 2012

Regulatory changes limited and unclear

Rescission of mandate only complete solution

Continue urging passage of Respect for Rights of Conscience Act

WASHINGTON – The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) have issued the following statement:

The Catholic bishops have long supported access to life-affirming healthcare for all, and the conscience rights of everyone involved in the complex process of providing that healthcare. That is why we raised two serious objections to the "preventive services" regulation issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in August 2011.

First, we objected to the rule forcing private health plans — nationwide, by the stroke of a bureaucrat's pen—to cover sterilization and contraception, including drugs that may cause abortion. All the other mandated "preventive services" prevent disease, and pregnancy is not a disease. Moreover, forcing plans to cover abortifacients violates existing federal conscience laws. Therefore, we called for the rescission of the mandate altogether.

Second, we explained that the mandate would impose a burden of unprecedented reach and severity on the consciences of those who consider such "services" immoral: insurers forced to write policies including this coverage; employers and schools forced to sponsor and subsidize the coverage; and individual employees and students forced to pay premiums for the coverage. We therefore urged HHS, if it insisted on keeping the mandate, to provide a conscience exemption for all of these stakeholders—not just the extremely small subset of "religious employers" that HHS proposed to exempt initially.

Today, the President has done two things.
First, he has decided to retain HHS's nationwide mandate of insurance coverage of sterilization and contraception, including some abortifacients. This is both unsupported in the law and remains a grave moral concern. We cannot fail to reiterate this, even as so many would focus exclusively on the question of religious liberty.

Second, the President has announced some changes in how that mandate will be administered, which is still unclear in its details. As far as we can tell at this point, the change appears to have the following basic contours:

It would still mandate that all insurers must include coverage for the objectionable services in all the policies they would write. At this point, it would appear that self-insuring religious employers, and religious insurance companies, are not exempt from this mandate.

It would allow non-profit, religious employers to declare that they do not offer such coverage. But the employee and insurer may separately agree to add that coverage. The employee would not have to pay any additional amount to obtain this coverage, and the coverage would be provided as a part of the employer's policy, not as a separate rider.

Finally, we are told that the one-year extension on the effective date (from August 1, 2012 to August 1, 2013) is available to any non-profit religious employer who desires it, without any government application or approval process.

These changes require careful moral analysis, and moreover, appear subject to some measure of change. But we note at the outset that the lack of clear protection for key stakeholders—for self-insured religious employers; for religious and secular for-profit employers; for secular non-profit employers; for religious insurers; and for individuals—is unacceptable and must be corrected. And in the case where the employee and insurer agree to add the objectionable coverage, that coverage is still provided as a part of the objecting employer's plan, financed in the same way as the rest of the coverage offered by the objecting employer.

This, too, raises serious moral concerns.

We just received information about this proposal for the first time this morning; we were not consulted in advance. Some information we have is in writing and some is oral. We will, of course, continue to press for the greatest conscience protection we can secure from the Executive Branch. But stepping away from the particulars, we note that today's proposal continues to involve needless government intrusion in the internal governance of religious institutions, and to threaten government coercion of religious people and groups to violate their most deeply held convictions. In a nation dedicated to religious liberty as its first and founding principle, we should not be limited to negotiating within these parameters. The only complete solution to this religious liberty problem is for HHS to rescind the mandate of these objectionable services.

We will therefore continue—with no less vigor, no less sense of urgency—our efforts to correct this problem through the other two branches of government. For example, we renew our call on Congress to pass, and the Administration to sign, the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act. And we renew our call to the Catholic faithful, and to all our fellow Americans, to join together in this effort to protect religious liberty and freedom of conscience for all.

Bishop Kmiec on HHS 1st Amendment Violation

Versión Española abajo.

                                                                                    January 27, 2012

TO BE BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF YOUR PEOPLE IN A SIGNIFICANT WAY.

My Dear Diocesan Family,

I write to you concerning an alarming and serious matter that negatively impacts the Church in the United States directly, and that strikes at the fundamental right to religious liberty for all citizens of any faith.  The federal government, which claims to be “of, by, and for the people,” has just dealt a heavy blow to almost a quarter of those people—the Catholic population—and to the millions more who are served by the Catholic faithful.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced last week that almost all employers, including Catholic employers, will be forced to offer their employees’ health coverage that includes sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs, and contraception.  Almost all health insurers will be forced to include those “services” in the health policies they write.  And almost all individuals will be forced to buy that coverage as a part of their policies.

In so ruling, the Administration has cast aside the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, denying to Catholics our Nation’s first and most fundamental freedom, that of religious liberty.  And as a result, unless the rule is overturned, we Catholics will be compelled either to violate our consciences, or to drop health coverage for our employees (and suffer the penalties for doing so).  The Administration’s sole concession was to give our institutions one year to comply.

We cannot—we will not—comply with this unjust law.  People of faith cannot be made second class citizens.  We are already joined by our brothers and sisters of all faiths and many others of good will in this important effort to regain our religious freedom.  Our parents and grandparents did not come to these shores to help build America’s cities and towns, its infrastructure and institutions, its enterprise and culture, only to have their posterity stripped of their God given rights.  In generations past, the Church has always been able to count on the faithful to stand up and protect her sacred rights and duties.  I hope and trust she can count on this generation of Catholics to do the same.  Our children and grandchildren deserve nothing less.

And therefore, I would ask of you two things.  First, as a community of faith we must commit ourselves to prayer and fasting that wisdom and justice may prevail, and religious liberty may be restored.  Without God, we can do nothing; with God, nothing is impossible.  Second, I would also recommend visiting www.usccb.org/conscience, to learn more about this severe assault on religious liberty, and how to contact Congress in support of legislation that would reverse the Administration’s decision.

Let us continue to pray fervently and work together to protect and defend our religious liberty as Roman Catholics and citizens of the United States of America.

            Be assured of my prayers and all best wishes.

            Sincerely in Christ,   


            Most Rev. Edward U. Kmiec 
            Bishop of Buffalo

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            27 de Enero, 2012

                                                                        PARA SER PRESENTADO A LA ATENCION

DE SU GENTE DE UNA MANERA SIGNIFICATIVA.

Mi querida familia Diocesana,

     Me dirijo a ustedes acerca de un asunto grave y alarmante que repercute negativamente la Iglesia en los Estados Unidos directamente, y que ataca el derecho fundamental a la libertad religiosa para todos los ciudadanos de cualquier fe.  El Gobierno federal, que reclama ser "de, por y para el pueblo", sólo ha asestado un golpe fuerte a casi una cuarta parte de esas personas, la población Católica — y a los millones más que son servidos por los fieles Católicos.

     El Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de Los Estados Unidos anunció la semana pasada que casi todos los empleadores, incluyendo los empresarios Católicos, se verán obligados a ofrecer cobertura de salud a sus empleados que incluye la esterilización, medicamentos que inducen el aborto y métodos anticonceptivos.  Casi todos los aseguradores de salud se verán obligados a incluir estos "servicios" en las pólizas de salud que escriben.  Y casi todos los individuos se verán obligados a comprar esa cobertura como parte de sus pólizas.

     Con tal decisión por lo tanto, la administración va ha dejar de lado La Primera Enmienda de la Constitución de los Estados Unidos, negando a los Católicos la primera y fundamental libertad de nuestra nación, la libertad religiosa.  Y como resultado, a menos que la regla sea revocada, nosotros los Católicos nos veremos obligados ya sea para violar nuestras conciencias, o para rechazar la cobertura de salud para nuestros empleados (y sufrir las penalidades por hacerlo).  La concesión exclusiva de la administración fue de dar un año a nuestras instituciones para cumplir.

     No podemos, y no lo haremos — cumplir con esta ley injusta.  No pueden convertir a la gente de fe en ciudadanos de segunda clase.  Ya estamos unidos por nuestros hermanos y hermanas de diferentes creencias y muchos otros de buena voluntad en este importante esfuerzo para recuperar nuestra libertad religiosa.  Nuestros padres y abuelos no llegaron a estas costas para ayudar a construir ciudades de Estados Unidos, su infraestructura y las instituciones, sus empresas y la cultura, sólo para que su posteridad sea despojada de sus derechos dados por Dios.  En generaciones pasadas, la iglesia siempre ha podido contar con los fieles para defender y proteger sus sagrados derechos y deberes.  Espero y confío que ella puede contar con esta generación de Católicos para hacer lo mismo.  Nuestros hijos y nietos no merecen nada menos.

     Y por lo tanto, pido a ustedes dos cosas.  En primer lugar, como una comunidad de fe debemos comprometernos a oración y ayuno para que la sabiduría y Justicia puedan prevalecer y poder recuperar nuestra libertad religiosa.  Sin Dios, no podemos hacer nada; con Dios, nada es imposible.  En segundo lugar, también se recomienda visitar www.usccb.org/conscience  para obtener más información acerca de este grave ataque sobre nuestra libertad religiosa y cómo ponerse en contacto con el Congreso en apoyo de legislación que podría revertir la decisión de la administración.

     Debemos seguir orando fervientemente y trabajar juntos para proteger y defender nuestra libertad religiosa como los Católicos y los ciudadanos de los Estados Unidos de América.  

     Pueden estar seguros de mis oraciones y todos mis mejores deseos.

         Sinceramente en Cristo,

         Su Exelencia

         Rev. Edward U. Kmiec

         Obispo de Buffalo

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You are also encouraged to consult "Six Things Everyone Should Know About the HHS Mandate" from the US Catholic Bishops' website - http://www.usccb.org/news/2012/12-021.cfm