Comments submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by the General Counsel of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on the controversial birth control mandate say the rules still force religious employers to provide services they find morally objectionable, and urge the administration to resolve "in favor of more, not less, religious freedom."
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In anticipation of the United States Supreme Court’s ruling on the constitutionality of Obama Care, tens of thousands of Americans will take to the streets on Friday, June 8, in a second public protest against the Obama administration’s birth control mandate.
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Political strategists are warning that the U.S. bishops planned two weeks of protest in June and July could lead to powerful images of nuns and priests being led away in handcuffs, scenes that could have an enormous impact on the 2012 presidential election.
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Three private, evangelical colleges have filed suit in federal court to block the implementation of the HHS mandate which they believe violates their right to free speech and the exercise of their religion by forcing them to provide coverage for services that violate their religious convictions.
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In a newly released essay, Philadelphia's Archbishop Charles Chaput explores the greatest religious issue of today - religious persecution and how it threatens the freedom of us all.
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Cardinal Francis George of Chicago is warning that the HHS mandate, which will force Catholic institutions to either violate their conscience by providing services that are against Church teaching or close, says that unless it is rescinded, Catholic social services may become a thing of the past.
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Senator Marco Rubio has introduced the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 2012 that is aimed at repealing the Obama administration's mandate forcing faith-based employers to offer insurance coverage that provides contraceptives, abortifacients and sterilizations free-of-charge.
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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
In a country that values religious freedom as much as the right to vote and bear arms, national outrage is growing over a California couple who was fined by the city of San Juan Capistrano for holding Bible studies and religious gatherings in their home.
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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
An end to the debt limit crisis isn't the only battle being fought in the U.S. House these days. Lawmakers are also taking on the fight to protect religious minorities around the world by creating a new diplomatic post that will be charged with defending religious freedom overseas.
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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Church authorities are expressing shock and sadness over the killing of Shabhaz Bhatti, Pakistan's lone minister for minorities, who was gunned down in a hail of bullets as he left his mother's home in Islamabad yesterday morning.
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