At the end of the summer, the Catholic League asked its online audience to sign the following petition that was listed on our website:
I am requesting that the Obama administration withdraw the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate.
Considering the amount of time and money that has been spent trying to fix the problems that are inherent in this legislation—without a satisfactory resolution—it makes no sense to continue this process any longer. Religious liberty is a First Amendment right that cannot be abridged by any administration or policy initiative. Indeed, it is our most important inalienable right: it is not a bargaining chip that can be traded for some other purpose. That is why I urge the Obama administration to withdraw the Health and Human Services mandate.
Tens of thousands signed the petition, and during the first week of October we mailed all of the names to Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of Health and Human Services. We did not get a chance to contact our mailing list, but the point we wanted to make has been served: Catholics want their First Amendment right to religious liberty respected, and that means dropping the HHS mandate.
We also contacted the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court about our initiative. They will likely decide the ultimate fate of the HHS mandate, and they need to be aware of the resistance there is in the Catholic community to it. Obviously, one does not have to be Catholic to oppose this draconian edict; many Christians, Jews and others are equally outraged over this violation of religious liberty.
Thanks to everyone who supported this important effort. The fight will continue until justice is served.
