Religious Freedom Webcast

From Father Frank Pavone, National Director
Priests for Life

Your right to speak out against the unjust killing of innocent children in the womb is in dire jeopardy!

Make no mistake:

The Obama administration is doing the bidding of the abortion industry and going all out to destroy the pro-life movement and silence the Church in America! Which is why Priests for Life is hosting a critically important national Webcast on Protecting Religious Freedom in America.

The Webcast will take place at 9:00PM EST (8:00 Central, 7:00 Mountain and 6:00 Pacific) next Tuesday evening, August 20 and last roughly one hour.

I urge you to click here and register to take part in this vital discussion!

This is the one of the best actions you can take to preserve and protect America’s most cherished liberty, Freedom of Religion, and the even more fundamental right to life!

I’m pleased to announce that former Presidential candidate and current Congresswoman Michele Bachmann will be with us next Tuesday to give you an eye-witness account of how the Obama administration is attacking this freedom. She’ll also explain why it is so terribly important that you remain on the front lines of the fight to oppose this administration’s all-out assault on the values and principles upon which America was founded.

In addition to Congresswoman Bachmann, Dr. Alveda King will join our Webcast.  Alveda – the daughter of Rev. A. D. King and the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – is Director of African-American Outreach for Priests for Life.  She is uniquely qualified to compare her family’s fight for civil rights with our fight to end abortion.  In fact, Alveda makes the point that the civil rights movement of today is the pro-life movement!

Both Congresswoman Bachmann and Dr. King will give compelling testimony on the threats against religious freedom that make it imperative for you – and all people of good will – to learn why and how you can fight back.

One way Priests for Life is taking the lead in this fight is with our lawsuit against the HHS mandate.

As I’ve told you in prior emails, in response to the recent announcement of the mandate’s final guidelines, Priests for Life has re-filed our lawsuit in order to protect you, ourselves, the People of Life and indeed all Americans from a dictatorial federal government that is determined to force you and every American to violate your conscience and cooperate in the killing of the youngest members of our human family.

According to the dictates of the Obama administration, come midnight December 31, Priests for Life must either:

Bow to the Obama administration, violate our conscience, submit to the HHS mandate and cooperate in the 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.

Neither I nor Priests for Life will ever give in to the HHS mandate or any government threat. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever!

Our lawsuit – along with all the others working their way through the courts – is the best way right now to rein in our out-of-control government.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has gone so far as to call these lawsuits the “best chance” you have to stop the Obama administration from compelling you to take a direct role in the killing of innocent children through abortion.

And he’s far from the only bishop saying that.

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:

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.

And one of the best ways to do that right now is by supporting Priests for Life’s lawsuit against the HHS mandate.

And because it is, Robert Muise, one of the lead attorneys arguing our case, will be present during next Tuesday’s Webcast to talk in layman’s terms about the solid legal ground upon which our case is built and why he is so confident that we will prevail in court.

He will also touch on some of the key aspects of our lawsuit that distinguishes Priests for Life’s case from the dozens of other lawsuits that have been filed; as well as address precisely why multiple lawsuits are necessary to carry the day rather than rely on just one or two.

The bottom line is this:

• The HHS mandate is a direct attack on your First Amendment right to practice your religion free from government coercion.

• The underlying and unstated purpose of the mandate is to destroy the pro-life movement and silence the Church in America.

• You and all freedom-loving Americans must ACT NOW if we are to stop the government from robbing us of what Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI rightly calls “our most cherished liberty”, namely, FREEDOM OF RELIGION.

• According to Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the “best chance” we have to do that is through the several lawsuits now making their way through our nation’s courtrooms.

• Priests for Life’s lawsuit is especially critical ... as you will learn on Tuesday from Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, Dr. Alveda King and attorney Robert Muise.

• And because it is, Priests for Life is sparing no expense to prosecute our lawsuit and in so doing, protect yours and every American’s religions liberty.

But we cannot win this fight alone.  No one person or single organization can.  It’s too big.

The only way we can win is if we stand united and work as one.

That’s why our August 20 Webcast on Protecting Religious Freedom is so crucial and why I’m counting on you to join us that night.

To sign up for this critically important Webcast and be part of the discussion ...... click here and follow the instructions!

Thank you for joining us.  I look forward to speaking with you next Tuesday evening.  God bless.