Dear Friend of CV, 
Every bishop in the country just received an urgent letter from Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Here's what he wrote: In the United States, religious liberty does not depend on the benevolence of who is regulating us. It is our “first freedom” and respect for it must be broad and inclusive—not narrow and exclusive. Catholics and other people of faith and good will are not second class citizens. And it is not for the government to decide which of our ministries is “religious enough” to warrant religious freedom protection.
Those are powerful words from Cardinal Dolan. But he also had a very urgent request. He called upon every Catholic in America to immediately contact their legislators to support the Respect for the Rights of Conscience Act.
The Senate is expected to vote Tuesday or Wednesday of next week on this legislation, which would repeal the HHS mandate – and provide conscience protections for ALL Americans. The legislation is sponsored by Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri and it would protect the rights of conscience for religious organizations and for businesses so they wouldn't be forced by the federal government to pay for medical procedures which violate their moral beliefs. My sources in Washington tell me that we are in need of several critical swing votes, especially the following Senators. Here are ten Senators we need to contact IMMEDIATELY: 202-224-2043 – Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota
202-224-2523 – Sen. Susan Collins of Maine
202-224-5344 – Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine
202-224-5824 – Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana
202-224-4041 – Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut
202-224-3954 – Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia 202-224-6154 – Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri 202-224-5274 – Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida 202-224-2353 – Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas 202-224-2644 – Sen. Jon Tester of Montana .
If you get a busy signal, try calling the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
If one of these Senators represents your state, it is critical that you call their office and tell them to Vote YES on the Blunt Amendment. Please also forward this message to all of your friends and family. We need everyone to call. If you don't live in a state on this list, but know someone who does, please forward this message immediately. We're also running web-based ads in these states encouraging people to call their Senator to protect religious liberty. Please consider a gift of $14 or $28 to fuel this campaign. Senator Blunt's legislation would stop the HHS mandate's assault on our religious freedom. It would protect the rights of conscience of all Americans. The Bishops are counting on Catholics everywhere to help them get this done. Please call and please help us get the word out. The time is now. Brian Burch, PresidentCatholicVote.org
