LEGAL FIRESTORM TO HIT AT MIDNIGHT JULY 31

From: Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director

Priests for Life 

The deadline is set for midnight July 31.

That’s when you we must either:

• Bow to the Obama administration, violate our conscience, submit to the HHS mandate and become direct participants in the willful killing of our unborn brothers and sisters.

• Or defy the government, remain true to God and our pro-life principles, and take a stand for life and religious freedom!

You know my decision.  It is the same as yours. Neither you nor I nor Priests for Life will ever give in to the HHS mandate or any government threat.

Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever!

I’m not going to take up a lot of your time re-hashing all the arguments for why we are opposing this act of tyranny on the part of the Obama administration.  You already know them.

What I will remind you of is that the Obama administration is determined to force you to take a direct and active role in the murder of your unborn brothers and sisters.  The President’s arrogance and disdain for those who “cling to God” is such that, like the schoolyard bully, he thinks he can run roughshod over you and me and anyone else who stands in his way or dares to defy him.

Well, when it comes to you and Priests for Life and all champions of the unborn ...... he’s picked a fight with the wrong people! As I said, we will never submit to this blatant act of tyranny. That’s why we filed our original lawsuit last year.  We did so in order to protect you, your conscience rights, your pro-life principles and your freedom to practice your religion as you deem fit.

And we won an agreement from the government that Priests for Life did not have to pay any fines for non-compliance with the HHS mandate.  This was a temporary victory, however, and was set to last until the government issued new regulations regarding the mandate.

You’ll remember my writing back in February and urging you to take part in the 60-day review period for “citizen input” on the proposed standards – and to voice your total and complete opposition to the regulations.  In any case, Obama’s people at HHS have been huddled together for the past several months finalizing the directive. 

Knowing the pro-abortion extremism of the President and his administration, I fully expect Obama’s people to issue regulations that will be but another attempt to compel you and Priests for Life to submit to their pro-abortion agenda. And because I do, I went ahead and instructed our attorneys to be pro-active.  They have already drawn up the paperwork and are fully prepared to re-file our lawsuit against the HHS mandate the moment the White House announces its policy!

As I told you a moment ago: Priests for Life will disobey the mandate if it tries to force us to violate our conscience and compel us to take part in the direct killing of our innocent unborn brothers and sisters.

And because we will, it is critically important that we be financially prepared to re-file our lawsuit the day the revised HHS mandate goes into effect. We must win a PERMANENT INJUNCTION if we are to defend our pro-life principles and protect our First Amendment right to freedom of religion.

Click here to make a donation to help Priest for Life with their lawsuit 

Please help as best you can.  Our Priests for Life “Legal Fund” must be full if we are to have any chance of winning our lawsuit against the government.

That’s because, in spite of the fact that many of those arguing our case in court are doing so at no charge to Priests for Life, based on all the expenses we incurred with our original lawsuit, I know the cost to prosecute our new complaint will be extremely expensive.  We’ll have to pay for:

• Re-filing all the legal documents with the court

• New court costs

• Various legal fees

• The preparation of revised legal briefs

• More research

• Travel expenses for additional court testimony

And that’s only a partial list.

When all is said and done, I expect Priests for Life will spend well over $100,000 to see our lawsuit to its conclusion ... which could include a hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The bottom line is this: Until this unjust mandate is entirely and permanently struck down, we must turn to the courts to protect our First Amendment right to oppose abortion and practice our religion free from government coercion!

I’m not the only one who recognizes that reality. Our U.S. bishops do so as well. In fact, a short time ago, I had a conversation with Archbishop William Lori, who chairs the USCCB’s Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty.  He thanked me and Priests for Life for our lawsuit.  He also issued a statement in which he said:

“As Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, I am writing to express deep gratitude to the scores of people and organizations — from various denominations and walks of life — who have challenged the HHS mandate in federal courts around our country over the last year.  We continue to pray for the success of all of these lawsuits.  ... As Cardinal Timothy Dolan, President of the USCCB, stated [in response to] the [government’s] latest proposed rule [on the HHS mandate]: “[W]e will continue to stand united with brother bishops, religious institutions, and individual citizens who seek redress in the courts for as long as this is necessary.”  Catholics in America have ... consistently supported the rights of individuals not to act against their religious beliefs or moral convictions, especially when individuals seek to protect the dignity of human life. “

“Protecting the dignity of human life” is precisely what you and Priests for Life are all about. Our mission is to advance the cause of life, end legalized abortion-on-demand in America, and protect the youngest and most vulnerable members of our human family.

But our First Amendment right to fulfill that mission is now threatened.

Putting all of our trust in God, we are prepared to go forward full-steam ahead. We are doing so for you, for all pro-life activists, for our fellow Americans, and most especially, for the youngest members of our human family – our unborn brothers and sisters.

I beg you to stand with us in this fight and make as large a contribution to our “Legal Fund” as you possibly can.

Thank you.  May God bless.  And please include our lawsuit and the attorneys who will be arguing our case in court in your daily prayers.