HHS Mandate A Blessing in Disguise? 11 August 2013 6 PM

As of January 1, 2014 the HHS Mandate will take full effect for religious institutions. But the Mandate itself is only one of a series of issues that have challenged religious freedom in the United States in the last few years.

Did you hear about the photographer in New Mexico (Elane Photography) who was sued for refusing to photograph a gay wedding? How about the florist in Washington (Arlene’s Flowers) who was sued – by her own state’s Attorney General – for refusing to provide flowers for a gay wedding? Or the baker in Colorado (Masterpiece Cakeshop) who faces not only fines but even jail time for his refusal to provide cakes for gay weddings?

In many different kinds of cases we’re seeing that the fundamental push in our culture is not really to ‘promote diversity’ or even ‘tolerate’ everyone’s views, but to enforce a new set of cultural and legal norms – even at the cost of violating religious freedom. The evidence is mounting that – as Robbie George said – the days of comfortable Catholicism are over.

How should Catholics respond when our religious freedom is threatened? And how can these challenges actually be a blessing in disguise – an invitation to draw closer to Jesus?

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Logistics

This Forum will be held at the Rigali Center, not at the Crowne Plaza hotel as usual. The address is 20 Archbishop May Dr; St Louis, MO 63119, but that doesn’t help very much. The Rigali Center is off of S. Laclede Station Road, about 8/10ths of a mile north of Watson Road. Click here for a map.

Our August Forum with Archbishop Carlson will include a delicious buffet dinner, catered by Genesis. You may recall that they served us in some of our past forums and received rave reviews of their food quality.

We’re going to get underway at 6 PM sharp, so please arrive early enough to get checked-in beforehand.

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