Conscience Protection

US Bishops Throw Support Behind
Conscience Protections on Marriage
WASHINGTON, DC, July 14, 2016 -- Two leading U.S. bishops have spoken out in favor of a proposed law which would ensure federal religious freedom protections to individuals and faith-based organizations who disagree with same-sex marriage.

Beware 'Polite Persecution'
Archbishop Warns
WASHINGTON, DC, June 22, 2016 -- With relics of two English martyrs currently touring the U.S., the Archbishop of Baltimore implored Catholics to follow their example by defending religious freedom. 

Ahead of Supreme Court Marriage Decision
States Act to Protect Religious Freedom
WASHINGTON, DC, June 16, 2015 -- As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to deliver a ruling that could lead to sweeping changes in the definition of marriage nationwide, two states have enacted new legal protections for those with religious objections to recognizing same-sex ‘marriages.’

Senate Rejects Bill To
End Employer Conscience Protections
WASHINGTON, DC, July 16, 2014  -- The U.S. Senate on Wednesday rejected a bill that opponents warned would have stripped conscience protections for businesses, drawing a response of cautious relief.

Senate Bill Would
Strip Conscience Protections
Bishops Warn
WASHINGTON, DC, July 15, 2014 -- Leaders of the U.S. bishops have issued a strong rebuke of a Senate bill that would deny conscience rights to employers in the field of health coverage.

Lawyer: Colo. Baker
Forced to Choose
Between Faith, Work
DENVER, CO., May 30, 2014 -- A commission’s ruling that Colorado baker Jack Phillips must bake same-sex “wedding” cakes forces him to choose between violating his conscience and supporting his family, the baker’s lawyer said.

Why Silencing Christians
Will Continue
WASHINGTON, DC, April 24, 2014 -- The number of subjects we cannot talk about in public discourse are rapidly multiplying. The older notion of “free speech” as a search for the truth through reasonable argument is being replaced. We no longer want to hear speech if it “offends” someone’s feelings or self-defined identity. We would rather “just get along” than to have to decide about the truth of any issue or confront the consequences of its violation.

Lawyer: Catholics, Vegans and Starbucks
Need Conscience Rights
WASHINGTON, DC, August 13, 2013 -- A leading religious freedom lawyer says the HHS mandate controversy involves whether government can force businesses and their owners to disregard their own values as they seek to make a living.

Florist Faces Second Lawsuit
Over Gay Wedding Refusal
SEATTLE, WA, April 23, 2013-- A florist in Washington is being sued for a second time after choosing not to provide flower arrangements for a gay customer's upcoming wedding.  

Americans Encouraged to Join Mounting Opposition to Mandate
WASHINGTON DC, April 2, 2013 -- With six days remaining to file public comments on the federal contraception mandate, one Catholic leader is calling on Americans to join more than 140,000 concerned citizens in speaking out against the regulation.

Italian Religious Liberty Expert Worries
US on Path to Anti-Christian Violence
ROME, ITALY, July 4, 2012 -- The head of Italy's new religious liberty watchdog group warned that present threats of “discriminatory legislation” in the U.S. could eventually result in violence against Christians in America.

Archbishop Lori: Religious Liberty Bid
Unaffected by Supreme Court Ruling
ROME, ITALY, July 3, 2012 -- Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore believes that the fight for religious liberty has not been damaged the Supreme Court’s ruling that President Obama’s Affordable Care Act is constitutional.

Liberal Justice's Opinion May Help
Fight Against HHS Mandate
WASHINGTON DC, July 3, 2012 -- Challengers of the Obama administration's contraception mandate may have been handed a surprising advantage by the Supreme Court's liberal wing, in its partial dissent on the health care reform law.

Supreme Knight Says HHS Mandate has
Re-shaped Country's Political Landscape
INDIANAPOLIS, IND, June 26, 2012 -- Whether the federal contraception mandate stands or falls, it has changed U.S. politics forever, the head of the Knights of Columbus observed during the 2012 Catholic Media Conference.