Freedom>

Catholic Health Association
Reverses Course
On Mandate Accommodation 
WASHINGTON DC, June 15, 2012 -- In a call for broader religious exemptions, the Catholic Health Association has backtracked from its initial support for the Obama administration’s compromise on a rule that mandates employer coverage of contraception and sterilization. 

State Department Separates Religious Freedom
From Human Rights in Report
WASHINGTON, DC, June 11, 2012 -- Catholic News Service has reported that the U.S. State Department for the first time has eliminated the status report on religious liberty from its annual human rights report. According to CNS, former US diplomat Thomas Farr, who served in the Clinton and Bush State Departments and as the first Office of International Religious Freedom, speculated that the move may be a reflection of the low priority that the Administration places on religious liberty compare to other issues they place under human rights.

Amb. Ray Flynn: HHS Mandate Driving Wedge
Between Catholics and Democratic Party
BOSTON, June 8, 2012 -- Ambassador Raymond L. Flynn expressed concern about the HHS mandate driving a wedge between Catholics and the Democratic Party as he addressed a Stand Up for Religious Freedom rally at the Boston Commons today.

Democrats Leave Party Over
Marriage, Religious Freedom Concerns
WASHINGTON, DC, June 7, 2012  -- A wave of local and state Democrats throughout the U.S. are leaving the party due to controversy over its leaders’ support for “gay marriage,” as well as concerns about religious freedom and the defense of the unborn.

Most Americans Support
Religious Rights, Health Care Exemptions
NEW HAVEN, CT, May 22, 2012 -- A new survey found that the majority of Americans support religious rights whenever they are in conflict with other laws, as well as the right to opt out of providing drugs, services and procedures for religious reasons.

Mary Ann Glendon:
Why Bishops Are Suing the U.S. Government
BOSTON, May 21, 2012 -- This week Catholic bishops are heading to federal courts across the country to defend religious liberty. On Monday they filed 12 lawsuits on behalf of a diverse group of 43 Catholic entities that are challenging the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) sterilization, abortifacient and birth-control insurance mandate.

Proposed Kansas Rule May Force Churches
To Host Same-sex Ceremonies
TOPEKA, KS, April 25, 2012  -- A proposed ordinance in Hutchinson, Kansas could force individuals and institutions – including Catholic churches – to host and participate in events that violate Church teachings on sexuality.

America Needs Religious Awakening,
Supreme Knight Says
WASHINGTON, DC, April 20, 2012  -- The leader of the Knights of Columbus called for strong Catholic witnesses to defend religious liberty before a gathering of roughly 1000 members of the faith in Washington, D.C.

Bishops Launch
Religious Liberty Campaign
Prayer, Fasting and Public Action
Government Abuses Listed
WASHINGTON, DC, April 12, 2012 -- The U.S. bishops have issued a statement alerting American Catholics that they are obligated to disobey unjust laws that infringe upon their fundamental liberties by forcing them to violate the core of their beliefs.

Bishops Say New Mandate Proposals
Fail to Solve Problems
WASHINGTON, DC, April 4, 2012 -- The U.S. bishops said that the government’s latest recommendations on its federal contraception mandate fail to address religious freedom concerns.

We Cannot Give Scorpions
SAN FRANCISCO, April 3, 2012 -- From March 29 to 31 the Christus Medicus Foundation and the Life Legal Defense Fund presented Make Straight the Pathway: An Integrated and Unified Solution for Catholic Healthcare Reform. The conference was co-sponsored by the dioceses of Oakland and Santa Rosa and the archdiocese of San Francisco and was held at St. Mary’s Cathedral and the Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco.

Dawkins at 'Reason Rally'
Calls for Mockery of Catholics
WASHINGTON, DC, March 27, 2012  -- At the March 24 “Reason Rally” in Washington, D.C., an estimated 20,000 atheists and agnostics heard author and activist Richard Dawkins encourage mockery of Catholic beliefs and those of other religions.

Bishops Say Mandate Fight Is About
Government Defining Religion
WASHINGTON, DC, March 14, 2012 -- The U.S. bishops are emphasizing that their opposition to the Obama administration’s contraception mandate is not about birth control or health care, but about the government’s attempt to impose its narrow definition of religion on the country. 

HHS Mandate Threatens
Little Sisters of the Poor Elder Care
BALTIMORE, MD, March 8, 2012 -- The Little Sisters of the Poor say the HHS contraception and sterilization mandate threatens their continued ministry to the impoverished elderly. They are “strongly objecting” to the federal rule and say it should be repealed as soon as possible.