Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
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The US bishops have called on priests, laypeople, public figures and others to mount a national campaign in defence of religious liberty, and urged resistance to laws that church officials consider unjust, said an AP report in The Huffington Post.
"We address an urgent summons to our fellow Catholics and fellow Americans to be on guard, for religious liberty is under attack, both at home and abroad," the bishops said, in a new 12-page document that quotes the Rev Martin Luther King Jr.
The highest-profile clash has been over the mandate in the Obama administration's health care overhaul that most employers cover birth control costs for workers. Critics have accused the bishops of pressing the issue to remove President Barack Obama from office. But the bishops wrote, "this ought not to be a partisan issue."
"The Constitution is not for Democrats or Republicans or independents. It is for all of us, and a great nonpartisan effort should be led by our elected representatives to ensure that it remains so," the bishops wrote.
FULL STORY
Fortnight Of Freedom: Bishops Say Catholics Must Disobey Unjust Laws (Huffington Post/AP)
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Archdiocese of New York