Conscience and Religious Freedom: Fact Sheets; an Open Letter; More

Being Catholic means 'going to church on Sunday,' but we're also expected to act as if God and our faith mean something. Lately, that's been put us at odds with America's national government: a strangely comfortable position for me. In a way, I'm a "child of the '60s," and that's another topic.

Acting as if Faith Matters

Catholic bishops in America put together, and have been updating, a sort of resource page. It explains why murder is wrong, and what folks who agree can do about that counter-cultural belief:

• Conscience Protection
  "Bishops Call the Faithful to Get Informed, Advocate & Pray for Conscience Rights"
  United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
  (www.usccb.org/conscience)

Some of that page's content was added after the last time I did a 'what the bishops say' post.

From the Bishops: New or Urgent

Here's what I found that was new, or still urgent:

• New bulletin inserts
  • "The Most Cherished of American Freedoms - Past and Present"
    (April/May 2012)
  • (La Más Preciada de las Libertades Americanas Pasado y Presente"
    (abril / mayo 2012)
• Open letter signed by more than 400 Catholic leaders
  • "Catholic Organizations Respond to HHS 'Preventive Services' Mandate"
    (January 26, 2012)
    (from www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/conscience-protection/upload/Full_List_Webpage_CURRENT.pdf (April 20, 2012))
    • Published as a full page ad
      • The same letter
      • With more than 150 Catholic leaders
      • In the New York Times and the Washington Post (December 21, 2012)
• "Backgrounder: The New Federal Regulation on Coerced Abortion Payments"
  (April 11, 2012)
  (from www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/health-care/upload/Backgrounder-The-New-Federal-Regulation-on-Coerced-Abortion-Payments.pdf (April 20, 2012))

I strongly recommend checking the USCCB's Conscience Protection page yourself. They may have added something since I was there today, and I may have missed something.

From the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment

The National Committee for a Human Life Amendment (NCHLA) thinks that being alive is important, for everybody. If you agree, here's a suggestion:

• Read the most recent action alert
  • "Oppose HHS Mandate and Support Respect for Rights of Conscience Act"
    Action Alert, NCHLA (April 19, 2012)
• Write to Congress & HHS opposing the mandate and calling for conscience protections
  Deadline is June 19
  • Oppose HHS Mandate
    and Support Respect for Rights of Conscience Act"
    Message recipients
    • Regulations.gov Document - CMS-2012-0031-0001
    • Your
      • US Senators
      • US Representative

I've written Washington. But hey: no pressure.

Yet More 'Resource' Links

These links take you to 'bookmarks' in another post:

• Catholic Bishops in America, Conscience,
  and Religious Freedom
• "TAKE ACTION"
• Bulletin Inserts
• Action Alerts
• This is About Religious Liberty
  • USCCB Press release
  • Full statement
• Letters
  • Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan
  • Archbishop Nienstedt
• HHS Mandate, and Why Catholic Hospitals Won't Kill
  • Six Things everybody should know about the HHS mandate
  • White House Misrepresents Its Own Contraceptive Mandate
  • The HHS Mandate for Contraception/Sterilization Coverage: An Attack on Rights of Conscience

I could have set up a page with those links, and kept updating or revising it. So far, writing new posts as new material surfaces has seemed easier. These are the two most recent 'resource' posts before this one:

• "Resources: Conscience Protection (Bulletin Inserts, Prayers, Fact Sheets, More)"
  (April 1, 2012)
• "Conscience and Religious Freedom: What the Catholic Church in America Actually Says"
  (March 30, 2012)

Conscience, Freedom, and Other Inconveniences

I think freedom is worth the fuss and bother of paying attention to issues, and voting sensibly. I also think having a functional conscience is preferable to the alternatives.

The good news is that Americans still enjoy a degree of freedom: even those of us who aren't quite on the same page as the establishment.

The bad news is that maintaining that freedom seems to take effort.

I think it's a good idea to have a clue about what's going on, so I went through resources, mostly from that USCCB 'Conscience' page, and put together those link list. It's helped me keep track of what's been said - and what's new. Your experience may vary.

Religious Freedom and the Bishops

Catholic bishops in America think that Catholics should be allowed to practice our faith. And since we're Catholics, "practicing our faith" means acting as if it's right to heal the sick; and wrong to kill innocent people. We're not even allowed to pay some assassin to do the job:

• "Backgrounder: The New Federal Regulation on Coerced Abortion Payments"
  Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, USCCB (April 11, 2012)
  (from www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/health-care/upload/Backgrounder-The-New-Federal-Regulation-on-Coerced-Abortion-Payments.pdf (April 20, 2012))

Religious Freedom and Me

I think freedom of religion is important. Since I'm a practicing Catholic, I have to. It's 'in the rules:'

" 'Nobody may be forced to act against his convictions, nor is anyone to be restrained from acting in accordance with his conscience in religious matters in private or in public, alone or in association with others, within due limits.'³⁴ This right is based on the very nature of the human person, whose dignity enables him freely to assent to the divine truth which transcends the temporal order. For this reason it 'continues to exist even in those who do not live up to their obligation of seeking the truth and adhering to it.'³⁵"
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2104)

That's from a longer discussion of religious freedom. (Catechism, 2104-2109)

I've given my take on freedom, particularly religious freedom, before. Basically, I think freedom is a good idea. Real freedom: not the 'free to agree with me' attitude that's been practiced from time to time.

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More posts about forcing Catholics to violate our conscience:
The Department of Health and Human Services vs. Conscience

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