Other religious leaders join Catholic bishops in opposing HHS mandate
February 10, 2012
Prominent Protestant and Jewish leaders have joined in common cause with the US Catholic bishops, declaring their opposition to the HHS mandate requiring contraceptive coverage in health-insurance programs.
Rick Warren, the renowned pastor of the Saddleback Church, said that he stands "in 100% solidarity" with the Catholic bishops. "I'd go to jail rather than cave in to a government mandate that violates what God commands us to do," said the author of The Purpose-Driven Life.
Rev. Richard Land, who heads the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty commission, agreed. "Our Baptist forefathers went to prison and died for the freedoms that we have, and now it's our responsibility in the providence of God to defend these freedoms lest they be taken away by government fiat," he said.
Charles Colson, a prominent Evangelical figure and head of the Prison Fellowship, joined with New York Rabbi Soloveichik and Washington's Cardinal Donald Wuerl in co-authoring a column that appeared in the Wall Street Journal, concluding that "under no circumstances should people of faith violate their consciences and discard their most cherished religious beliefs in order to comply with a gravely unjust law."
For all current news, visit our News home page.
Further information:
- Pastor Rick Warren: I’d Rather Go to Jail Than Obey Mandate (LifeNews)
- Land: Obama mandate is a Baptist issue (Baptist Issue)
- United We Stand for Religious Freedom (Wall Street Journal)
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a current donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!