Archbishop's column

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I write to you concerning an alarming and serious matter that negatively impacts the Church in the United States directly and that strikes at the fundamental right to religious liberty for all citizens of any faith. The federal government, which was formed to be "of, by, and for the people," has just dealt a heavy blow to almost a quarter of those people – the Catholic population – and to the millions more who are served by the Catholic faithful.

File Attachment: 

Archbishop Robert J. Carlson's letter to the faithful regarding the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' mandate.

Catholic social teaching has articulated a simple but very important moral principal: The economy should exist for the good of human persons, not the other way around.

As we prepare for the important local, state and national elections that will be held later this year, we bishops of the United States have focused our attention on several current and fundamental problems that must be addressed by all of us as we form our consciences and vote as faithful citizens. Some of these problems involve opposition to intrinsic evils such as abortion and other threats to the lives and dignity of human beings.

Today we are facing grave and unprecedented threats to our religious freedom here in the United States.

Days before final votes in Congress on the Affordable Care Act, Cardinal Francis George, then president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, reaffirmed what we bishops had said many times over the previous year: "Any final bill, to be fair to all, must retain the accommodation of the full range of religious and moral objections in the provision of health insurance and services that are contained in current law, for both individuals and institutions."

The most fundamental value of human life is the dignity of every human person. Nothing is more important than our awareness that life is sacred, and that human life is inviolable, because all are made in the image and likeness of God. No one has the right to take a human life arbitrarily.