As you may know, the Little Sisters of the Poor have been involved in a lawsuit opposing the HHS Mandate. This Mandate has placed us in a position of either 1) providing services in our healthcare plan that violate Catholic teaching such as contraceptive and abortifacient drugs, or 2) facing crippling fines. For us, this case is about conscience: we should not be forced to change our healthcare plan to offer these morally objectionable services, especially when those services can be provided more effectively through the government’s healthcare exchange.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments regarding our case on March 23. In advance of this date, our Mother Provincial has asked us to pray for the legal teams who will argue the case and for the Justices on the Supreme Court.
On Tuesday, March 15, Saint Louis Residence will be hosting “12 Hours to Watch and Pray for Religious Liberty” with the following schedule:
8:30 a.m. – Eucharistic Adoration and Exposition begins
11 a.m. – Mass
3 p.m. – Divine Mercy Chaplet
4:30 p.m. – Meditated Rosary
5 p.m. – Evening Prayer
8 p.m. – Night prayer and the close of the 12 Hours with Benediction
All are welcome to stop by our Home and pray with and for us and our Residents.
In addition, friends of ours, Women Speak for Themselves (www.womenspeakforthemselves.com), have been raising awareness of the importance of religious freedom since the HHS Mandate came down in 2011. In addition to hosting a rally in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on March 23, members of their organization will be volunteering at Little Sisters homes across the country. Here in Saint Louis, volunteers will be donating Easter candy and helping us to prepare for Easter.
To review more information about our case, we encourage you to visit our national website, www.littlesistersofthepoor.org, or The Becket Fund’s website at www.becketfund.org.
We thank you for your continued encouragement during our legal battle against the HHS Mandate. We are humbled by the support individuals and groups are showing for us and our case.
