To Friends, Family, Alumni and Supporters of Aquinas College, St. Cecilia Academy and Overbrook School,

We are writing to you today to add our voice to many others that have raised serious concern over the recent decision of our government to require employers to provide insurance coverage that includes sterilization, some abortion-inducing drugs, and contraception.

The January 20, 2012 ruling by the United States Department of Health and Human Services was made in conjunction with the recently approved health care law.

In response, our local bishop, the Most Rev. David Choby, issued a statement this weekend calling the government's action a "severe assault on religious liberty." While some people question the moral teachings of the Church, the real problem with this mandate is that it violates our rights as outlined in the First Amendment to the Constitution. The mandate denies our nation's first and most fundamental freedom, that of religious liberty. Consequently we are in a situation where we are compelled to violate our consciences by either complying with the law or by failing to provide our employees with health care, which justice and the full implementation of the health care law demands. Neither option is acceptable to us.

It is important for us to acknowledge that this is, therefore, not just a "Catholic issue" but one that has much broader implications.

We have attached the following for your information:

1. Letter from Bishop Choby
2. Statement of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation for more explanation of the issue, an invitation to fast and pray a 9-day novena, and access to other helpful links on the topic.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has urged us all to study the issue and to write to Congress urging support for the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act:

This following link enables readers to write to their congresspersons, with options for using a prepared text and/or one's own text:
Write your representatives about the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act

It is our hope that through prayer and appropriate action this decision will be reversed.

Yours in Christ,

Sister Mary Sarah, O.P., Aquinas College
Sister Mary Thomas, O.P., St. Cecilia Academy
Sister Mary Gertrude, O.P., Overbrook School
Sister Catherine Marie, O.P., The Dominican Campus