I Stood For Religious Freedom in Norfolk, Virginia: Freedom Movement in America

That Right to the Free Exercise of religion has been called the FIRST FREEDOM in the American tradition for good reason

There were 140 rallies on March 23, 2012. It is only the beginning. We gathered in collaborative citizen Action in response to an unjust and unconstitutional Edict issued by On January 20, 2012 by Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The mandate requires all employers, including Catholic and other religious employers, to cover sterilization, abortion inducing drugs, and contraception in their health care plans. At risk is the future of the American experiment in ordered liberty and we will not cease our work until this horrid HHS Mandate is rescinded.

P>NORFOLK, VA (Catholic Online) - I stood for Religious Freedom on March 23, 2012.I joined thousands throughout the Nation in the beginning of a massive resistance movement. I emceed the rally in Norfolk, Virginia and was also privileged to speak. I live in the next city over, beautiful Chesapeake, Virginia.

This new freedom movement is a response to the growing hostility toward - and threats against - the first freedom, religious freedom. There were 140 rallies held on March 23, 2012. It is only the beginning. At risk is the future of the American experiment in ordered liberty - and we will not cease our work until this horrid HHS Mandate is rescinded.

I stood with other brothers in the Diaconate serving the Roman Catholic Church in my home Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, Deacon Bob Durel and Deacon Darrell Wentworth. I had the joy of introducing other Christian leaders from the "Hampton Roads" Christian community, of various Christian traditions. 

Deacon Bob read a letter from our Bishop Francis DiLorenzo who assured us, "The Diocese of Richmond deeply appreciates the efforts of so many women and men who have joined together across denominational and religious lines to advance the cause of religious liberty in our society."

"The Diocese stands united with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, resolved to work with all people of good will to preserve, protect, and promote the fundamental human right to the free exercise of religion."

"Be assured of our prayers and our support as we continue to defend the rights of citizens to freely exercise their consciences, and the rights of religious institutions to exercise their ministries with fidelity to their tradition."

His words were part of the extraordinary support every Catholic Bishop in the United States is giving to the defense of the fundamental right to Religious Freedom.

As I stood with other Christians, other people of faith, and the many people of good will who had gathered in Norfolk, I was aware of the important role that the Catholic Church is playing in this struggle to protect the first freedom, religious freedom.

I was keenly aware of the urgency of the hour. Among the several Protestant clergy I introduced was Bishop Earl Jackson. Bishop Jackson is an old friend who is passionate in his love for the Lord, and for this nation. He is running for the U.S Senate this fall. The Bishop, like me, is also a lawyer, a 1978 graduate of Harvard Law School.

I first met him in the nineties when he led "The Samaritan Project", a national outreach and racial reconciliation effort. We were doing evangelical and Catholic cooperation before it became "cool". It was such a joy to be with him after all these years.It inpsired me to see his fidelity to the work to which he has dedicated his life. 

I introduced Bishop Frank Allen of the Church of God and Bishop Anne Gimenez of Rock Church. I introduced courageous Catholic delegate Bob Marshall from Manassas, Virginia, one of my heroes in public service who actually walks the talk. 

Young people read quotes from the founding fathers of our Nation extolling Religious Freedom. The Knights of Columbus stood guard, displaying their dedication to all that is good and true about authentic patriotism informed by genuine faith. It was a beautiful sunny day and it gave me great hope.

We gathered in collaborative citizen Action in response to an unjust and unconstitutional Edict issued by On January 20, 2012 by Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The mandate requires all employers, including Catholic and other religious employers, to cover sterilization, abortion inducing drugs, and contraception in their health care plans.

The alleged exemption provided for religious employers did not cover hospitals, universities, soup kitchens, outreaches to the poor and many other vital expressions of our Catholic faith and mission. The purported accommodation which followed was a fraud, a shell game, which accomplished nothing. When the Mandate was recorded in the Federal Register, nothing had changed.

Catholics, like many other Christians and people of faith, believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ demands a response which goes beyond the walls of our Church buildings. We are our brother and sister's keeper. We do not reach out to people in need because they are Catholic. We reach out to people in need because we are Catholic.   

This HHS Edict is a violation of the Free Exercise of Religion which is protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.  "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or PROHIBITING THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF!

That Right to the Free Exercise of religion has been called the "FIRST FREEDOM" in the American tradition for good reason. It is a foundation for all of our freedoms. Religious Freedom is a fundamental human right.

The Birth Certificate of our Nation, the Declaration of Independence, affirmed the existence of inalienable rights and self evident truths. Those Rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness are endowed by our Creator and not conferred by a Government.

They cannot - they will not - be taken away by the Federal Government. Religious Liberty is at the heart of the understanding of Right to Liberty in the Western tradition. If this Mandate is not rescinded, it will require all employers, including Catholic and other religious employers, to cover sterilization, abortion inducing drugs, and contraception in their health care plans or face the boot of fines and penalties.

The fines and penalties would have the practical result of closing many of the Church's outreaches, ministries and institutions of care and compassion.  This HHS Mandate not only injures the Church and religious institutions it injures American society. It harms the common good.

It is an unjust law. The Federal Government of the United States is trying to force us to act against deeply held religious convictions and to violate conscience. The claim that such an edict is an unjust law is rooted in the western understanding of the nature of law itself.

This is the firm foundation upon which the American founders grounded their insistence that there are inalienable rights, endowed upon us all by a Creator, which cannot be taken away by any civil government. Positive law must reflect the Natural Law.

Saint Augustine said of an unjust law, "For it seems to me that an unjust law is no law at all." Saint Thomas Aquinas explained, "Human law is law only in virtue of its accordance with right reason: and thus it is manifest that it flows from the eternal law. And in so far as it deviates from right reason it is called an unjust law; in such case it is no law at all, but rather a species of violence." In doing so, they echoed Cicero, Aristotle and Plato and the entire Natural Law Tradition.

Martin Luther King, Jr., in his 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail, gave this explanation of how one determines whether a law is unjust, "How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law."

This Edict came one day after Pope Benedict XVI addressed a group of US Bishops during their visit. He warned them of the growth of radical secularism in the United States and the accompanying threats to the fundamental Right to Religious Freedom so integral to the American experiment. 

A massive resistance movement has been birthed. A New Freedom Movement is responding to this awful HHS mandate. In over 140 Cities rallies of every size, including people from every walk of life, were held on March 23, 2012.

Mark that day! It is only the beginning. Christians from every faith community, along with other people of faith and all people of good will who cherish our first freedom, stood up for Religious Freedom.
 
22 Catholic Bishops spoke at these rallies; many others unable to attend sent letters of strong support. Every single Catholic Bishop in the United States is unified in opposition to this egregious mandate. .

There is a silver lining in the cloud of the threat to this fundamental freedom. This HHS Edict has given rise to a tide of resistance which holds great promise for the future. We have also found one another. We are standing together in a movement of solidarity and citizen action.

We are using the Courts. Lawsuits have been filed against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius; the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner; and the U.S. Department of Labor and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis as defendants. They allege that the mandate is a violation of the First Amendment and of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.  AND IT IS!

There has also been a legislative response, as of yet unsuccessful but only just begun. The Respect for Rights of Conscience Act was introduced in Congress (H.R. 1179, S. 1467).  It aims to ensure that all who participate in the health care system "retain the right to provide, purchase, or enroll in health coverage that is consistent with their religious beliefs and moral convictions."

On March 23, 2012 we gathered in rallies in 140 places, a seed of what is yet to come. Citizens , standing together against an unjust federal mandate. We are exercising our other fundamental constitutional rights such as the Rights to Free Speech, Free Association and Free Assembly - and the Right to Petition our Government for a Redress of grievances.

We are defending the fundamental human right to the first freedom, Religious Freedom. We will succeed because our cause is just. It was a privilege to stand for Religious Freedom in Norfolk, Virginia on March 23, 2012. The work has only just begun, join us. 

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