Bishop Thomas Tobin urges Catholics to stand up

Bishop Tobin urges Catholics to stand up for religious freedom

Bishop Tobin urges Catholics to stand up for religious freedom

June 20, 2012 10:32 am

By Tatiana Pina

Journal photo/ Tatiana Pina

Providence Bishop Thomas J. Tobin told Catholics "it is your task to fight the battle" of religious freedom during Mass Wednesday at the SS Peter and Paul Cathedral.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Providence Bishop Thomas J. Tobin told the hundreds of people at Fortnight for Freedom Mass in SS Peter and Paul Cathedral Wednesday that they must defend their religious freedom.
About 400 people showed up for the early morning Mass followed by a breakfast with speaker Dwight Duncan, a University of Massachusetts School of Law professor.
"This is not about the church teaching on contraception. It's not a statement about women's health or national health coverage. It's not about politics. It is about the defense of religious freedom," Tobin said.
The Fortnight for Freedom campaign is the nation's Catholic bishops' response to Obama administration efforts to mandate that religious schools and hospitals provide health coverage including free birth control, which they see as an infringement of the First Amendment's religious guarantees.