The CatholicTV® Network to Support the Nationwide Religious Freedom Rally to Oppose the HHS Mandate

The Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom is being held Friday, March 23, 2012. The theme for the Rally is “Stand Up for Religious Freedom—Stop the HHS Mandate!”

Thousands of Americans of all faiths will be participating in these peaceful rallies, organized by the Pro-Life Action League and Citizens for a Pro-Life Society to oppose the new mandate from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that requires all employers provide free contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs through their health plans, even in violation of their consciences.

Religious leaders and other public figures will speak out against the HHS Mandate at each Rally site. Holding signs reading “Stand Up for Religious Freedom” and “Stop the HHS Mandate,” participants will offer hymns and prayers for our nation and pass out literature to the public about why the HHS Mandate is unconstitutional and un-American.

President of the CatholicTV Network, Father Robert Reed, spoke out against the HHS Mandate in support of religious freedom:

I believe that not just Catholics, but all citizens need to oppose the HHS mandate, recognizing the dangerous precedent it would set. The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution, part of the Bill of Rights, prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion. As a result, the mandate would impose a law that contradicts the conscience of many faithful individuals.

Here's Father Reed's official statement on the HHS mandate, as seen on the CatholicTV® Network: