Our U.S. bishops have unveiled a new website targeting the current threats to religious freedom, called firstamericanfreedom.com.
The website by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops offers a brochure that details how our Catholic faith is being rewritten. The mandate handed down by the federal Department of Health and Human Services Department is the most egregious offender. It requires all employers — including religiously affiliated employers — to offer insurance coverage of abortion-inducing drugs, contraceptives and sterilizations.
More importantly, however, the mandate attempts to define what is "religious," requiring an organization to primarily evangelize about its faith, employ people of its faith, and serve people of its faith in order to qualify for a religious exemption. This is a severe violation of the religious protections guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The website also features a radio ad in English and Spanish, and a full page newspaper ad that reminds everyone that religious freedom isn't red or blue — it's American.
The radio and print ads are being run in select markets across the United States.