Dear Friends: Over 50 cities will have “Standing Up for Religious Freedom” events this Friday. This includes San Diego: The details are:
Time: Noon – 1 pm Date: Friday – March 23, 2012
Location: San Diego County Administrative Building; 1600 Pacific Highway.
Most Catholics are aware that in January of this year, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a mandate requiring employer health care plans to include free contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing drugs — regardless of any moral or religious objections. Catholic universities and hospitals will be forced by the federal government to provides services that directly contradict Church teaching.
This mandate is viewed by the Catholic Church as a direct assault on religious freedom, and is being countered by vigorously at all levels within the church. In fact, prior to the mandate, my church, Ascension Catholic Parish, had not really tread on any territory that could be considered strongly political. However, this Sunday at Mass, my Pastor specifically asked parishioners to attend this event. In fact, when I asked him to comment, here is what he said:
Father Anthony Saroki: With the HHS mandate, the administration is engaging in soft totalitarianism, playing the role of Caesar who demands what is due to God. It has defined health care and religious practice in such a way as to require churches and individuals to participate in evil actions. Churches, families, and individuals have God-given rights and responsibilities that are prior to the state. People of faith and lovers of freedom need to unite in opposition to this, or much worse governmental tyranny is sure to follow.
This sentiment prevails at all levels with the Catholic Church. As I noted in a post last month, Bishops across the country have recently issued strong statements of protest. This includes the Bishop Robert Brom of the San Diego Diocese, whose letter is below.
My Tea Party group, SoCal Tax Revolt Coalition, has just issued a press release for this event.
UPDATE: The Anchoress has her compendium of related news and views.
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SOCAL TAX REVOLT COALITION JOINING MANY SAN DIEGO CITIZEN AND RELIGIOUS GROUPS IN “STAND UP FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM” EVENT
San Diego, CA – So Cal Tax Revolt Coalition (SCTRC) is the original home and organizers of San Diego tea party events and activism, including the first local tea party on February 27th, 2009, annual Tax Day Tea Parties, and over 40 rallies, protests, petition drives, film screenings, and educational seminars. Representatives of our group will be hosting a booth at the “Stand Up for Religious Freedom” event, which is one of many nationwide that will be held at the same time and date. The rallies are scheduled to demonstrate the enormous concerns about the detrimental impact of the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate forcing religiously affiliated institutions to support medical practices contrary to faith practices. The San Diego rally, one of over 50 “Stand Up” functions, will be held:
SCTRC will be on-hand to distribute information packet on the specific details of the Affordable Care Act legislation, better known to most Americans as “Obamacare”. SCTRC’s main focus will be informing participants of the enormous costs associated with the program’s implementation, most of which has been put-off until well after the Nov. 6th election. Additionally, we will offer many other details about the Act, to show that the HHS mandate is only one of the many unconstitutional aspects of the Obamacare.
Dawn Wildman, SCTRC Media Director states: “We consider ourselves to be stewards of the US Constitution and that means especially those rights that the Founders deemed most important in the First Amendment, including the freedom of religion and speech. The continued assault on our rights as American citizens is staggering and we want to support all those standing up for these most important rights. Today we are all Catholics!”
Leslie Eastman, SCTRC Media Director states: “I will be attending the Stand Up for Religious Freedom event not as a “Tea Partier”, but as a Catholic woman. I will also be bringing my 10-year old son, to make a personal statement about how vital excising “Obamacare” from our lives is, as it relates to our treasured American freedom to practice our faith as it is intended to be practiced.
I would like to point out that I attend Mass regularly: At no time prior to the implementation of the HHS mandate has my church offered one statement regarding any political issue. However, this past weekend, our pastor offered details about this rally, and respectfully asked for parishioners to attend. Any politician cynical enough to think that the Catholic Church will roll over and not push back against being forced to comply with the HHS mandate using every means and tactic available to it is being very foolish. The fact that our new bishop, Cirilo Flores, will be a keynote speaker at this event speaks volumes in and of itself. No matter what stance an individual Catholic may take on contraception or abortion, we will stand united in protest of forcing Catholic affiliated institutions to go against its conscience and creed, per our First Amendment protections.”
Sincerely,
The co-founders of the SoCal Tax Revolt Coalition:
Dawn Wildman
President
Leslie Eastman
Media Director
Flight into Egypt 
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